Post by Admin on Jun 24, 2012 7:38:22 GMT
This seems to be something that affects a lot of women yet why don’t doctors talk about it more? I have read that it affects about 20% of women, and it’s often given as the reason why a lot of women stop using HRT.
Sure there’s a lot of information on google, if you know what to look for, but I’d never even heard of it until a few months ago, so how could I ask about it if I didn’t know about it? I ended up finding out that it was my problem quite by accident.
The story would always be the same. I’d start on a new HRT, really hopeful that this would be the one. The first couple of weeks would be good, then the depression, anxiety, insomnia and suicidal thoughts would return. Seeing as every HRT I tried would always be the continuous kind I was never on just oestrogen alone, so I never realised that the progesterone was the problem. However, by accident one day the chemist dispensed sequi patches to me (2 weeks oestrogen/2 weeks oestrogen and progesterone) and it became very apparent very quickly that when I was on the progesterone I felt like crap.
Now I have a very good GP, but even she never mentioned that my problem could be related to progesterone, even though I was sitting in her office on average every 2-3 weeks, literally crying from despair and frustration. She was about to refer me to a gynaecologist, so had that happened I hope he/she would have had the sense to pinpoint it as my problem. Although I don’t know what their remedy would have been. In Australia, for some reason, we don’t have a bio-identical progesterone available for menopause (Utrogestan) like practically every other country does. We do have one for pregnancy, but it's not licensed for menopause.
I’m not sure why that is. Australia leads the world in so many other areas of women’s health research like breast cancer, and the HPV vaccine was invented in Australia, but for some reason no one's interested in helping menopausal women with this problem. I even sent an email to the Australian Menopause Society, but they never even bothered to answer me.
Anyway, through our very own Candy, I found out about a European website where you can buy it online. I discussed it with my doctor, and she is perfectly fine with me getting it that way. Her attitude has always been “you do what works for you”. She is also interested to hear how I go, because I'm sure she has other patients like me. Of course ethics will prevent her from telling her patients to buy medication online, but she may be able to prescribe the pregnancy progesterone pessary. It is a lot more expensive than buying the Utrogestan online, so I wasn't interested in getting it that way, although if I was desperate I would pay for it.
So for anyone else who is unable to get Utrogestan from their doctor, or who wants to buy it online, here is the website that Candy and I use. It’s a perfectly legitimate website and the price is also very reasonable. I can get 30 capsules for about AU$30 which includes the cost of the prescription and postage. Just type Utrogestan into the search field, and away you go.
goldpharma.com/?show=login&lang=ENGLISH
I know we have a number of members who have done a lot of research into its use, so I thought this would be a good place to discuss all things Utrogestan. There are numerous way women use it – vaginally, orally, continuous, 2-3 monthly cycles. It’s all trial and error really. You just need to find a way that suits you.
I personally am currently using a 100mg capsule vaginally every second night as a continuous method (no periods). I’m still in the settling in period, where I’m getting some break-through bleeding, but hopefully that will settle in time.
Other ladies use 200mg for 10-12 days every 2-3 months. This gives them a period a few days after ceasing the Utrogestan. Others use 100mg for 10-12 days every month, and that gives them a monthly bleed. These ladies either use it orally or vaginally.
Sure there’s a lot of information on google, if you know what to look for, but I’d never even heard of it until a few months ago, so how could I ask about it if I didn’t know about it? I ended up finding out that it was my problem quite by accident.
The story would always be the same. I’d start on a new HRT, really hopeful that this would be the one. The first couple of weeks would be good, then the depression, anxiety, insomnia and suicidal thoughts would return. Seeing as every HRT I tried would always be the continuous kind I was never on just oestrogen alone, so I never realised that the progesterone was the problem. However, by accident one day the chemist dispensed sequi patches to me (2 weeks oestrogen/2 weeks oestrogen and progesterone) and it became very apparent very quickly that when I was on the progesterone I felt like crap.
Now I have a very good GP, but even she never mentioned that my problem could be related to progesterone, even though I was sitting in her office on average every 2-3 weeks, literally crying from despair and frustration. She was about to refer me to a gynaecologist, so had that happened I hope he/she would have had the sense to pinpoint it as my problem. Although I don’t know what their remedy would have been. In Australia, for some reason, we don’t have a bio-identical progesterone available for menopause (Utrogestan) like practically every other country does. We do have one for pregnancy, but it's not licensed for menopause.
I’m not sure why that is. Australia leads the world in so many other areas of women’s health research like breast cancer, and the HPV vaccine was invented in Australia, but for some reason no one's interested in helping menopausal women with this problem. I even sent an email to the Australian Menopause Society, but they never even bothered to answer me.
Anyway, through our very own Candy, I found out about a European website where you can buy it online. I discussed it with my doctor, and she is perfectly fine with me getting it that way. Her attitude has always been “you do what works for you”. She is also interested to hear how I go, because I'm sure she has other patients like me. Of course ethics will prevent her from telling her patients to buy medication online, but she may be able to prescribe the pregnancy progesterone pessary. It is a lot more expensive than buying the Utrogestan online, so I wasn't interested in getting it that way, although if I was desperate I would pay for it.
So for anyone else who is unable to get Utrogestan from their doctor, or who wants to buy it online, here is the website that Candy and I use. It’s a perfectly legitimate website and the price is also very reasonable. I can get 30 capsules for about AU$30 which includes the cost of the prescription and postage. Just type Utrogestan into the search field, and away you go.
goldpharma.com/?show=login&lang=ENGLISH
I know we have a number of members who have done a lot of research into its use, so I thought this would be a good place to discuss all things Utrogestan. There are numerous way women use it – vaginally, orally, continuous, 2-3 monthly cycles. It’s all trial and error really. You just need to find a way that suits you.
I personally am currently using a 100mg capsule vaginally every second night as a continuous method (no periods). I’m still in the settling in period, where I’m getting some break-through bleeding, but hopefully that will settle in time.
Other ladies use 200mg for 10-12 days every 2-3 months. This gives them a period a few days after ceasing the Utrogestan. Others use 100mg for 10-12 days every month, and that gives them a monthly bleed. These ladies either use it orally or vaginally.
. I decided against it. The other thing he suggested was Evening Primrose Oil. I took 3g daily of that for months with no effect what so ever.
