Mirena instead of utrogestan - help with fatigue etc

[2024onwardsandup]

Hiya

ive been on hrt for about four months and REALLY struggling with the two weeks on utrogestan. I aM exhausted low mood etc. I do have a history of pmt but this is off the scale. I’m 49.

just wondering if anyone had made the switch and found it helped?

im terrified by stories of coil insertion horror and mood swings after, but feeling like I reallly need to give it a try….

2 stone weight gain in a year and exhaustion so bad I could barely function. I had it for heavy periods though, rather than HRT as I was mid 30’s, although it didn’t work for that either! Oh and awful anxiety.

I started on utrogestan but changed to a mirena after a couple of months as I didn’t want the hassle of periods. No problems and very little pain having it inserted. I did get spotting for far longer than usual - about 5 or 6 months, but that stopped as soon as I’d been booked in for an abdominal scan.

I still get very mild pmt symptoms (the compulsion to eat my own body weight in carbs for about 24 hours 🙄) every so often but that’s because my natural cycle is still chugging away in the background. I was virtually suicidal with pmt before starting HRT.

Finding the right oestrogen dose was like magic for me - I’m on the maximum the gp can prescribe and it has got rid of the low mood and lack of energy. It is worth adjusting your oestrogen dose to see if that helps with your symptoms. I just gradually increased it myself and my gp was fine with that.

This is what I’m afraid of 😂 but it’s what’s happening with the utrogestan anyway so I think I’m just going to take the punt. Hope you’re improved now!

Do you use oestrogel or the patch? At the moment I’m using three pumps of the gel.

have you seen if testosterone has made a difference?

thank you 😁

i started on gel and was on 4 pumps but then the formulation got changed and it stopped working. I changed to patches - Evorel, then Estrodot, but they’re unavailable at the moment so I’m back on Evorel. They are much better than gel IMO, none of that having to stand and wait for the gel to dry, and patches are so much more convenient if you travel.
I’ve never felt the need for testosterone as the combination I’m on works well.

Oh, and another reason I stopped utrogestan is that the capsules have gelatine in them. There isn’t an easily available vegetarian alternative.

i have the copper coil so not quite the same but I LOVE it!!!
the insertion really wasn’t that bad- I haven’t had kids so they told me I’d find it worse but honestly I felt maybe 3-4/10 pain wise (of course everyone’s different)
I planned mine to be inserted during my period so my cervix was softer. Apparently dates soften your cervix so could be another option to try!
also I took co codamol and ibuprofen 20 mins before. They told me to do this because then I have relief from 3 painkillers. Had a little snack and a drink before and one at hand.
just felt like an intense period pain for 10 seconds then done.
the pain for the next 24 hours however was intense as my cervix was trying to expel it (natural reaction)
it’s been 2 years and I love my coil!