Should reduce my estradiol? Please help!

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Sorry for long post, don't want to drip-feed.

I am a bit desperate and looking for someone who really knows there HRT to advise please:

I am 48, but menopause early (38/9) and have been on HRT for about 8 years.

Every night I take:

4g estrodial gel (sandrena)
A pea sized amount of testosterone gel
100 mg of oral utrogestan for 2 weeks a month (it messes with my mental health and I find it very hard to tolerate so take a minimal dose)

This was pretty brilliant for years, but then I began to get horrifically heavy bleeds, I had a biopsy and got told I wasn't taking enough utrogestan - which causes the excessive bleeding and is a high cancer risk.

I tried doubling the dose of utrogestan as required, but within days I was impossibly moody and low, so I switched back to what I was doing. I just couldn't live with it.

BUT, since I went back to what I was doing before I am suddenly massively out of balance. In three weeks I have got all my menopausal symptoms back, the worst two being very stiff and achy joints to the extent hat I can't run and I limp a bit for a few minutes when I get up from sitting, and a weird weight gain around my middle (I normally have a flat stomach and now I am all puffy and big). My boobs are suddenly huge - I feel like I am pregnant. I have put on about 5lb very fast but it feels like maybe it's mostly water.

I have been referred to the hospital menopause clinic to work out what to do next, but the waiting list is 6 months minimum. I am due to have a hysterectomy in December (unrelated, this is for a severe prolapse), so it will be irrelevant by then!

So in the meantime, my question is this:

Are my symptoms oestrogen dominance? How should I adjust my dose to get rid of the achy painfulness and the pregnancy-like body?

My GP doesn't want to do anything because she says just wait until you get a clinic appointment, but I am really struggling!

TIA

“Weird weight gain around middle….all puffy and big” summarises brilliantly well exactly what happened to me.

I have temporarily moved on to Evorel Conti patches for this reason - which seem to be better and the puffiness is reducing.

I much prefer the Oestrogel (which feels like gold -standard treatment that suits me so well, but alas the progesterone element (Utrogestan) I can’t tolerate.

Having said that, the EverolConti patches feel to me like HRT-Lite/ or like diet HRT - not as effective as the Oestrogel.

Presumably after the hysterectomy, then you can just be on Oestrogel only?…..and not need to suffer the progesterone side effects?

This progesterone effect reminds me of when I was much younger and always had to have two different work uniform skirts, a small one for the last part of the cycle, and a larger skirt for the first 😬

Thanks for the reply! So did you work out what it was causing the puffy weight gain for you? Was it too much or not enough of the oestrogen or the progesterone?

I can't work out what's doing this to me all of a sudden, and really can't stand it. I hear you on the skirts - suddenly my clothes don't fit!