Switching from oestrogel & utrogestan to Evorel Sequi - when in cycle to switch?

[LittleMy77]

Am about to change my HRT from oestrogel and 12 days of utrogestan, to evorel sequi patches

I know I can start them once my utrogestan has finished, but can’t figure out when!

nhs website says the following, but I don’t understand what constitutes a ‘cycle of current medicine’ as the oestrogel pump is daily and continuous. Anyone know?

‘If you have been using sequential combined HRT (taking your progestogen only on some days, and having a break), wait until the end of the cycle of your current medicine before using your new patches.’

nhs website says the following, but I don’t understand what constitutes a ‘cycle of current medicine’

A cycle is a full cycle over a month (the same as a normal period cycle.)
Day 1 is the first day of a withdrawal bleed and Day 28/30 is the day you finish Utrogestan.

So you apply your estrogen only patch on Day 1 and the combined patch as the instructions tell you, after so many days.

Hi JinglingSpringbells,

I've just seen your message which has been very helpful for me as I'm looking to go back on the Evorel Sequi patches and had been looking for support as I'm getting mixed information from my GP

I started my HRT journey with Evorel Sequi bit switched a few months ago to Utrogestan/oestrogel but looking back now I can see I was doing very well on the patches and I've gone downhill since switching.

I'm due to take Utrogestan again on Saturday but don't really want to. My GP said I can not take it and carry on with oestrogel only until day 1 of my cycle where I can then start the patches but I've been reading and I'm now concerned about teaching oestrogel for two weeks without any progesterone.

I don't know if I should have the Utrogestan and then start the patches on day 1, not take utrogestan and carry on with oestrogel as advised by GP or stop taking both and have a break before starting the patches on day 1.

Any advice or guidance would be most appreciated as I'm not getting anywhere with my GP.

Take care

I would have the Utrogestan and then start the patches on day 1. Out of interest what made you swap from the patches in the first place?. I am taking oestrogen only 50 Patches and Utrogestan for 12 days a month.

I am waiting to talk to my GP about going back to the combined patch. The main reasons being that utogestan causes awful bloating and very heavy periods, so heavy I now have iron deficiency anaemia I almost feel like stopping altogether as I have tried so many regimes and seem no further forward.
I will however continue if my GP agrees to switch me back to the combined patch for the health benefits.

@Chugabur

Why don't you want to start your Utrogestan on Saturday?
Is it because it doesn't suit you?

I'm a bit confused to be honest by your question.

Is your GP saying wait until Day 1 of your next cycle before switching back to patches? So he wants you to complete a whole cycle, ending with a bleed, before you start your patches?

It's fine to do some estrogen-only weeks as there is guidance by NICE that women can use long cycle HRT which is 10 weeks of estrogen only then 2 weeks of progesterone.

OR you could start with the combined patch instead of Utrogestan now.
Can't you do that and just switch the products about a bit?

Hello everyone, thank you very much for your replies.
I went to see my GP last year as I was getting a lot of hormonal migraines and was very anxious/depressed. I've been through five years IVF with no success with the last treatment ending 5 years ago. I wasn't sure if the low mood was due to hormones or was depression. My doctor appears to be very knowledgeable about HRT and I've been very lucky with her support, unfortunately she's away at the moment and I'm not sure the other doctor is that clued up. I originally started on evorel sequi patches as I'm still getting periods and after the initial three months I started to notice a massive improvement in headaches, mood, memory loss and energy levels. I then started to have a dip in mood around the time of taking the progesterone patch so my doctor prescribed one pump of oestrogel to top me up and help with the progesterone side effects. That started to help. I then got some weird bladder sensation, like I need to pee even though I've just been and when I sit down or lay down it feels really sensitive and painful. The doctor advised me to have another pump of oestrogel to see if that helped but it didn't. I started to get fixated on the progesterone not being body identical in the patches so asked to switch to Utrogestan to see if that helped with my bladder issues but unfortunately it hasn't and I now feel really bad again with mood, energy, memory etc. I regret coming off the patches as I was doing well apart from the bladder issues which I've still got.

I'm due to start the Utrogestan again tomorrow so I think I'll continue with those and then start the patches on day 1 of my cycle which if I remember correctly is what I did when I first started my HRT journey last year.

Sorry for the long post.

Thanks again x

LittleMy77 did you switch to patches. How you getting in with them?

Hi, just one suggestion, you could go back the patches and add vagirux for the other symptoms. It does worth a try.