New to HRT and think progesterone sensitive. What to do?

[Reginaphalangeeeee]

Hi all.
New to HRT aged 46. I still have regular periods and began Oestrogel (2 pumps a day) with local vaginal cream too and cyclical vaginal 200mg progrsteronefron day 12. Well I am 3 days into the prograterone and after feeling euphoric with the estrogen (cured my brain fog and joint pain and generally lifted my low mood), the progesterone hit hard. Pelvic cramp initially& bloat/constipation. Now feeling quiet low mood/sad/can't be bothered and also have sore boobswith return of joint pain. I have put on 2 kg and sure retaining water.

Do I just see it through and hope For the best?
I really don't want the Merina coil but understand that is the solution for some.
I think another option is to take it continuous, but would Injust stay miserable and forget happiness as the norm?

If I hadnt have felt so bloddy great with the estrogen gel for the first 2 weeks, I would be saying right now that the progesterone symptoms are as bad as PMT and maybe it's not worth it?

Will it settle and get better?

I have this exactly. Go said give it 6 months and it’s not improved. I’m going back to ask for the fancy progesterone-synthesised is it? To see if that helps.

After 2 years of nhs HRT not working for me and getting zero help - even being gaslit like 100s of other women over the doseage discrepancy when Besin changed their factory and packaging - this has changed my life and I feel fantastic. Lots of my friends are on it too (one of them suggested it to me) and they all feel the same. I said it’s a private treatment not nhs in my post.

It doesn't matter if it's private or not.
You are using compounded HRT - made to order by saliva and blood tests.
Licensed HRT is regulated.

This is a summary by the British Menopause Society (many of their doctors also work privately so the guidance doesn't just apply to the NHS.)

https://thebms.org.uk/publications/consensus-statements/bioidentical-hrt/

Bioidentical HRT

Key messages

• Prescribing of cBHRT [compounded bio identical HRT] products is not recommended by national or international guidance. rBHRT options are available and cBHRT products are not evidence based for effectiveness and safety.

• There is insufficient evidence to justify multiple serum and saliva hormone tests often claimed to precisely individualise cBHRT.

• Claims for the benefits of cBHRT have been largely extrapolated from studies of conventional rBHRT.

• rBHRT studies have demonstrated some advantages over other types of HRT, particularly those with androgenic progestogens.

• Further data from larger studies on major cardiovascular and breast endpoints are required to confirm the potential benefits of rBHRT.

• The management of women with menopause related problems should be underpinned by national and international guidance and wherever possible, regulated products should be prescribed.

Summary of key terminologies

rBHRT: Regulated Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy: Precise duplicates of human hormones developed in a conventional way by the pharmaceutical industry and authorised by the regulators such as the MHRA in the UK.

cBHRT: Compounded Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy: Precise duplicates of human hormones which are produced by specialist pharmacies and do not follow the same MHRA regulatory pathway as conventional rBHRT.

Private gynaecologists can often offer different doses and ways of using regulated HRT, which GPs can't.

I hope it is the answer for you. It definitely helped my libido actually. That was a real benefit.

Yes I knew from your post on MN to ask about both these options.

He laughed at me re Slynd, and said the other drug wasn't available in my NHS Trust area yet.

I'll age out at this rate.

You don’t need to speak to me like I’m a child thank you. I’m well aware what I’m taking but nhs HRT is one size fits all and doesn’t fit all! I gave it two years. The doseage between one bottle of oestrogel and the next was often entirely different. Generic progesterone pills varied in effectiveness between brands. It caused my hormones to go up and down and be all over the place because there is little continuity between the different manufacturers due to cost cutting.

Some women, like me, choose to have bespoke HRT that is made based on their actual hormone levels. It’s not illegal! It’s completely valid to discuss it in this thread. Thousands of women use it and it’s excellent. We aren’t all terrified of anything that isn’t nhs licensed! There are many treatments, medications etc that are not nhs licensed that work!

I quoted the BMS guidance.
Their guidance is informative, not 'speaking like a child' to women.
Take it up with them if you disagree with their guidance, not me.

Its your choice, what you choose.
But if you leave links it's important that women know both sides if they are making choices.