Feeling absolutely bananas when tinkering with oestrogen

[RipleyGreen]

I feel absolutely wired when I attempt to increase my estrodial, it’s a very unpleasant sensation. You know the feeling twixt sleep and wakefulness when your head runs away from you and fills with nonsense? I get that when I attempt to increase my oestrogen. I feel quite mad. I’m 55 and STILL having a cycle (although I’ve a Mirena fitted, I have a show every 28 days) My blood levels are subterranean and so every now and then I try to increase from 37.5 for bone/heart protection. Yesterday I increased by c. 10ish (I snip the patches) and the cray-cray rocked up in the evening. I hadn’t even considered it until my husband asked if I’d fiddled with my HRT. Is anyone else ludicrously sensitive to oestrogen? Thanks :)

I have a similar issue. I've tried patches and gel for 3 years but I cannot go above 50mg patches or 1.5 pumps of gel without getting the jitters, a locked jaw and feeling totally spaced out/out of my mind. I also cannot fall asleep easily on the higher doses as I get body jerks. I really persevered with the gel, adding more and more small doses over several months to get it up to the equivalent of 3 pumps but as soon as I hit a certain level of oestrogen my body just seems to go haywire. I tried to stick with it for quite a few weeks in the hope that my body would get used to it and I would come out the other side but I couldn't cope with it.

I'm 51 and have the coil and I know I still have periods as I get break through bleeding (always have) when I have my period. I keep reading about women whose symptoms magically disappear on the higher doses and really want that for myself but I've given up for now. I'm also worried that I'm not going to benefit from the protective elements at these low doses.

I've actually stopped the oestrogen all together for a few months to see where my body is at generally. The hot flushes have returned at night but I’m actually feeling OK in myself and seem to have more energy. I’m not ruling HRT out going forward but do feel quite mixed about it and unsure whether to carry on. I do feel scared about not taking it and missing out on the protective aspect. But I also worry that my body just doesn't tolerate it and I am somehow damaging it by taking it. Seems we can’t win either way sometimes as women….

Sorry, not much help, but you’re not alone!

Yes! I’m exactly the same. My first attempt at HRT with the recommended 2 pumps of gel a day I thought I’d have a nervous breakdown.
I clenched my teeth so much I developed TMJ, couldn’t sleep, I had internal shakes and was very depressed yet wired.
I stuck it for a whole month and hated every second. I went back to the GP and she’d never heard of it.
I now am trying patches and am meant to take Progesterone cyclically as I’m still having regular periods at 51. The patches are 25mg and the only way I can tolerate them is if I take Progesterone daily.
Oestrogen alone just makes me feel dreadful, however small the dose (I’ve tried just a blob of gel before now).
I think it’s the ratio of P to E that causes the issue with me. I’ll keep trying with the daily P even though it causes my periods to spot for about 10 days. See how I feel when my own E climbs towards ovulation - I’ve got this far before with P and ended up taking the patch off as I felt like I was going crazy.

Thank you both so much.

@TheToast I felt I’d written your post! It mirrors completely how I feel. It’s such a comfort to know I’m not alone.

@Greatallblack it’s so tough, isn’t it? I feel absolutely mad on it too. I hope you find your balance. I feel I never will.

Yep. Horrendous heart palpitations here. I've stopped.

That's interesting about the progesterone potentially balancing things out for you @Greatallblack I wonder if being on the coil I don't have enough progesterone in my system, so to speak, as it is localised to the womb? Who knows? GP certainly doesn't....

I just feel like HRT administration is a bit of a dark art. GPs generally haven't got a clue and most people don't have enough money for private consultations where they can probably spend the time 'balancing' all your hormones over a period of time?

Quite depressing for those of us for who would quite like to take it but just don't seem to be able to get along with it.

@TheToast Please don’t feel if you spend money on private care that you’ll get a magic elixir, for I (alas) have literally spent thousands on various specialists over the past few years and it’s all the same. The most help I’ve received is from forums. They all (even the sainted Newson) tell you basically the same thing. It’s a try it and see approach with the same two ingredients (three if you want to tinker with testosterone). There’s no sophistication in it at all. And for what it’s worth I couldn’t tolerate utrogestan either, made me feel PMS all the time I was taking it. The Mirena my last port of call.

Thanks @RipleyGreen for that. It's useful to know. I hope you make it to the other side soon and find relief. Maybe there will be some more research on all of this in the coming years that might shed some light on why it's such a lottery? I wonder if the Newson clinic ever talk about people for whom HRT doesn't work/body can't tolerate? Hmm.....🤔

Today took the biscuit.

I’m on day 17 of my cycle and I’ve had a 25mg patch on since the start of my cycle. I had thought I’d cracked it (continuous P and 25mg Everol patch).

This morning though, I started to be feel dizzy and sick in work. I also had a very upset stomach. Bumped into the nurse in the loo and she offered to take my BP. It was 189/85!

Took it again a few minutes later and it was 167/78.

I took the patch of as I was feeling awful. Over the next few hours I felt much better and blood pressure returned to normal 122/70.

Can excess Oestrogen do this? Wondering if my own oestrogen is raised as it’s near to ovulation and the patch on top was too much??

I feel done with HRT, Progesterone only was ok but I got achey eventually on that alone.