Nausea and Headaches on HRT

[Jacinthe]

Hi all,
10 days into my doctor prescribing Everol100 (6.4mg) patch and utrogestan I feel awful, with headaches and intense nausea. I should say that I was on the gel previously, and after recent blood tests it looked like I was not absorbing well as oestrogen levels were very low.
Anyone else had this problem with HRT?

that’s quite a high dose patch. How many pumps of gel were you on? Sounds like your patch could be too high. Do you take progesterone everyday or are you on cyclical regime?

Originally just 2 pumps, but after blood test revealed my oestrogen levels were really low, and I had been experiencing all my old symptoms she upped the dose to 4 pumps. After 2 weeks I wasn't really feeling the benefits, so she changed to patches. I guess I wasn't absorbing on the gel, and it looks like I'm definitely absorbing on the patches albeit with headaches and nausea as side effects. It does seem to fluctuate though, so will persevere on patches for as long as I can. I agree it is a high dose and my body may need to adapt, or not
Thanks for your reply..

You can cut the 100mg patches in half to see if a lower dose stops the nausea and headaches.

I had awful migraines on HRT tablets.

I didn’t get on with the patches, they made me feel shocking even on the same dose as I was using with the gel. They fell off a lot as well.
They suggested I try tibilone but I’ve decided to persist with the gel for a bit longer.

Maybe you could try a lower dose patch and work your way up to the dose you require.

Thanks for your messages. Yes might try halving the dose to see if it reduces symptoms. It really is trial and error, for me anyway! I think many women seem to adjust well to HRT, it just takes a little longer for some😬

I think it’s very much trial and error and listening to your body. I really hope the next generation will have more knowledge and be better prepared for perimenopause than we (and in most cases, our GPs) are!

Your GP ought to be following specialist guidance which is give each dose 3 months. 2 weeks is nothing.

Also, blood tests for estrogen are not accurate. In over 15 years on HRT with a consultant I've never had one because he insists (rightly) they are inaccurate (he's a hormone and fertility specialist.)

You're supposed to go by symptom control and that includes giving each new dose time to work.

Nausea is a common side effect of too much estrogen.

Not criticising you by the way but your GP's being a bit quick to chop and change.

Yes I had heard that blood tests are not always accurate. She did the test as my awful menopausal symptoms were back and it did feel as if I wasn't absorbing the gel anymore. TBH I'm heartily sick of trying to work it out , and as a previous comment pointed out, we really need this to be so much easier for women going forward. We are all different and one size doesn't fit all..but I guess that would require more money, research and funding.
Thanks again for all your posts, it really does help to get the feedback..😄