First cycle of HRT but started period on day 23 as usual. Do I stop progesterone or carry on?

[HappySeven]

I'm assuming I'm perimenopausal and so trying HRT to see it helps. This is my first cycle and I've started my period on day 23 as per last month. Do I keep taking the progesterone or stop? The leaflet doesn't seem to cover this.

Also the pharmacy sticker on the box says to take the progesterone day 14-28 but the leaflet says days 15-26.

Any advice?

You can take the progesterone as usual even if on your period. It’s annoying they don’t elaborate!

Source: my own experience of starting HRT last year (still cycling, using oestrogen gel daily and taking micronised progesterone days 15-26 whether bleeding or not) — all is well!

I know some people switch to 100mg progesterone daily (continuous) for this reason.

Thanks. So when you start calculating days for starting progesterone the next month do you just stick to the 28 days or does your period restart the counting?

Right, so if you do days 15-26 and the leaflet says that I'll do the same. Going to review after 3 months so might ask about continuous progesterone then if I carry on.

Count the 28 days and go from there. In theory your cycle will fall in line with the hormones you're taking in a few months.

Continuous progesterone is for women who aren't having periods anymore but you're still having them it's important to be cyclical to prevent your womb lining thickening too much.

No, you start ignoring your natural cycle as that will become erratic. Pick days of the calendar month and stick to that. Some women do days 1-12, some do 15-26 or thereabouts.

I do 1st-12th of the month, two tablets on those days. Sometimes I bleed at some point in the month; usually I don’t. Last proper bleed was July so I’m hoping it’s nearly all done. I’ll talk to my GP soon about possibly moving to continuous and one tablet daily.

Also a lot of women take it 14-28 because it's easier to remember but it's supposed to be 15-26. It's not enough of a difference to be a problem I gather

Thanks, everyone, this is really helpful and reassuring. I'll carry on and the 14-28 makes sense but I may stick to the 15-26 as I like to follow the rules if I can. 😉