Do I stop taking the utrogestan?

[PremiumLady]

Hello helpful people. Been on this board a lot as a lurker in the past, and wisdom here got me on to HRT which has been great. I'm on oestrogel 2 pumps and utrogestan 2 tabs x 10 days per month. All been going pretty well, have been having monthly withdrawal bleed for most of the time I've been on this regimen. However lately (last...5? months?) withdrawal bleed has stopped, so no bleed at all. I'm 50. My problem is that I am SO TIRED especially during the utrogestan days. Of course it could be other things and I must go to the GP to check iron etc etc. But it just occurred to me... could it be that it's time to stop taking the utro? Obviously will check with GP first, but just wanted to run it by the wisdom of the menopause board.

Not sure if I've understood your question, but if you carry on with gel, you have to take Utrogestan (or some kind of progestogen) for as long as you use HRT, even if it's for 20 or 30 years! It's to stop the womb lining overgrowing.

However, if you are worried, see your GP and maybe ask for a scan to make sure the lining isn't too thick and just not shedding for some reason. (It's also supposed to be 12 days per month unless you've been advised otherwise.)

If you have a womb and are on HRT with oestrogen then you also need progesterone (in some form - utrogestan is one type) to prevent the womb lining becoming too thick and becoming a cancer risk.

If you are post- menopausal (no bleed for 12 months) then you take 1 progesterone a day for 25 days and short break or continuously (there’s some variation in practice about having a short break)

Really? Hmm, okay. So much for that idea! For some reason I thought that once periods stopped completely, the utrogestan wouldn't be needed anymore and I'd just be on estrogen. I must have misunderstood something somewhere along the line. Many thanks, all.

For some reason I thought that once periods stopped completely, the utrogestan wouldn't be needed anymore and I'd just be on estrogen

The bleeds are withdrawal bleeds, which happen when you stop Utrogestan each cycle.

They are not your own periods.

You won't know if your own periods have stopped when you're using HRT.