Has anyone REALLY not got on with Utrogestan?

[Hairfriar]

I’ve been OKish on evorel sequi for 18 months and recently switched to utrogestan for the progesterone, as the prescriber thought it might be a good tweak. I’ve been getting some PMS symptoms when I’m on the combined patches, and with utrogestan being bio identical, he felt that might improve my symptoms. Well, last month was awful. One of the worst months ever since I began hrt. My mood was awful, headaches came back every day. I had intrusive thoughts, I’ve been so irritable it’s been really difficult to function.

I really thought this would be an improvement, being bio identical. But I’m terrified to take it again. Was it a freak month? It was it the utrogestan switch?

@VictoriaSophieK what are you on currently? Are you taking the Utrogestan?

I’m not medically trained in any way at all. Can only speak to my own experience and I know that everyone is different. I’ve found the combined patches much easier to cope with. I don’t know if that’s an option for continual progesterone? I’m not even sure why we move to continual combined hormones. That’s what I was advised to do since it’s been more than a year since I started HRT, but I declined! The pharmacist, who reviews my prescriptions, didn’t seem to mind that I declined. The thought of taking progesterone continually when it’s the estrogen only weeks that keep my going would tip me over the edge.

I’ve only spoken to a GP once when I was absolutely desperate and they phoned me. I was initially prescribed HRT by a nurse who only prescribed the oestrogen part and I had to ask for progesterone otherwise wouldn’t have got it. No instruction on when to take it - part of the month or all of the month so I just took 1 tablet every day.

Since then I’ve spoken to a Physician’s Associate (whatever that is) on the phone and that’s it.

@Hairfriar I had a terrible time with Utrogestan too. I don’t think I ever got past managing more than about 6 or 7 nights of taking it - it gave me terrible insomnia, crazy dreams, and I was so wired. I tried for a while, had a break, tried again for a few months and eventually gave up, as I decided that I’d be better of trying to cope with the peri-menopausal symptoms I was experiencing than how Utrogestan made me feel.

I’m still debating whether to have another go at HRT with a different progesterone, but have been really nervous to try anything else as I’ve been told I’m likely progesterone intolerant (based on experience the pill when much younger, history of PMDD, other health things that seem to co-occurs). Interestingly I did find that for a couple of cycles when I’d taken as many nights of Utrogestan as I could manage, I felt totally brilliant about a day after stopping, which has made me wonder whether the standard dose was just way more than I could tolerate.

Hi,
I went to them also at the cost over £500 including prescription, I have been on the gel in the morning along with a small amount of testosterone then in the evening utrogestan 100mg, I have done this for 4 weeks now and I feel awful! Swollen breasts, heavy bleeding, stomach cramps like early labour! And a bloated stomach like I’m 6 months pregnant! I know people say it might need tweaking but I feel so much worse than I did before esp the bloating which I’ve never had before. X