Hi All,

I've have tried to self-medicate for years with Evening Primrose Oil/Agnus Castus/Calcium - you name it i've done it - but finally in Feb 2012 i'd reached breaking point and I went to see a consultant in Harley Street - he put me on 4 doses of oestrogel every day, testorone every other day and progesterone 7 days a month. This has only worked to an extent - the 7 days of progesterone are hell and i'm now on my first month of taking prozac to counter the effects - I'm not sure if it will work - but i'm giving it a go.

Has anyone any advice on progesterone side of things? Is there anyway I can reduce without causing my womb extra harm? I'm 26 and want babies in the future! xx

I saw a specialist who started me on the same regime! Probably the same person but we're not allowed to promote gynae's here.

The oestrogen and testogel did wonders for me, although I did have to decrease the amounts of these eventually to 2 pumps of oestrogen and a tiny pea-sized amount of testogel per day. Everyone is different though.

There are different types of progesterone you can take. I have been taking norethisterone. When i tried utrogestan it didn't trigger a period and I was in a bit of a pms fog. However, as I said, we're all different and this may not happen with you. There is also the mirena coil which delivers progesterone directly to the womb and therefore is supposed to have less pms effects. Im not sure if this is an option if you want children though? Perhaps someone else can advise. My daughter is 22 and on oestrogel and norethisterone too. She likes this because she feels so well most of the time and only has a couple of pms days on the norethisterone.

I would suggest you telephone the office of the gynae who you consulted (I presume it was a private consultation?). If you have paid to see them then they should give you follow-up advice by email or telephone. They may change your type of progesterone if you tell them you are having problems with it.

Hi

Mirena is definitely a good way to take the progesterone. As you haven't had any children yet it may be uncomfortable going in but you can make it easier by having it inserted during a bleed. I've had c-sections and never given birth naturally so get treated as if I haven't given birth when it comes to the Mirena. The first time I had it put in during a period and it went in OK - at the changover time 5 years later it was more of a problem as I was no longer having periods!

The Mirena delivers a tiny amount of progesterone directly to your uterus, it does everything it needs to in order to protect you from the oestrogen but without any progesterone circulating in your system.

When you want the Mirena out (to have children or for any other reason) it is really quick and simple to remove. Lots of nurses can remove them so you don't need to go back to the Dr. Your fertility will return to normal straight away (if you were only using a Mirena).

I have used Mirenas for over 10 years (with a break to have a baby) and would recommend them. I'm considered high risk for problems but have still only had issues a couple of times. For me they are much better than any other form of prog.

Good luck!

_________________
I'm 36 and have had PMDD since my teens. After years of fighting for treatment I'm finally having a TAH & BSO on 15th January 2013! Currently having monthly Gonapeptyl, Oestrogel & Testim.

Hi,

many thanks for your replies - sorry I didn't get back sooner.

Strangely enough my medication seemed to work just fine this month - im so shocked but still don't trust it enough to say its a cure at all - im doing the oestrogel/testid and utrogeston plus 20mg of prozac a day - but think will cut this down to the last two weeks of the month.

I'm also going to see a new spec gynae as I wasn't enamoured with the other one at all.

Crystal - thanks so much for your PM i can't PM you yet because i havent racked up enough comments.

Let us know how you get on with your other gynae. All the best. xxx

Hi All,

Just wanted to give you feedback on my progress so far - so I was taking the 4 x Oestrgoel every day, testid every other day, utorgestan for 7 days and 20mg of prozac every day.

Initially I was fairly happy with how it all went, I had a less worse month than usual - however bear in mind I was surrounded by family and friends over xmas (which mostly helps because it keeps me distracted) - I came on with no fuss, very little period pain and I thought i'd cracked it! To begin with it was a very subtle bleed but I was beginning to get pains. After seven days I kept expecting my period to stop but then i started to get all the physical symptoms of initial pmt, bloated stomach, eating everything in sight, spots, painful chests and pains. After 10 days of being on, I then got what can only be described as another period (which I believe to be my natural one) So now I have been on for more or less two weeks and whilst I've had a couple of grumpy days, I think the prozac might be keeping things at bay. Its obvious now, that this treatment is not and won't work for me, after a year of trying! So back to a new specialist now on 25th Feb - i'm going to continue on the treatment until then and then fingers crossed he can recomend something else. Anyone else had something similar like this? (PS. I'm noticing alot of views on pages but no responses - c'mon gals lets help each other out )

Hi Guys,

Just an update i've now had two PMS free months on the oestrogen, testorone, utrogestan and 10mg per day prozac treatment. Still at that stage where im literally praying that it will work again next month - I now realise I have to be really periodic about taking the oestrogen even missing one day can mess me up.

Im still going to see a new specailist at the Chelsea and Westminster and will keep you updated.

PS. Naps is on Twitter now under naps_pms - really enjoying it

Hi All,

Feel like this is my own personal blog! Just another update:

I've now had two (and close to three) months of non-pms - let me tell you it feels good! But as i've said before I can't celebrate or be too smug because we all know that the beast can come back and quickly. This is my meds now:

4 * Oestrogel daily
Testid every other day
Utrogestan 100g for 7 days of the month
Prozac 20mgs daily.

Side affects: unfortunatley there are a few side effects, extreme itchy skin (regularly have cuts on my legs from itching so much) v.dryness - so uncomfortable - but natural live yoghurt is a godsend and spots like boils on my neck and back (not too many just a few but not very nice) and increase in body hair especailly on my arms where I apply the testid.

So I went to see the new specialist yday - he was v good and took lots of notes and has said it sounds like I might need to reduce the Testid which is fine and that to combat the dryness he can recommend a little pessary for that which has oestrogen on it. Further I did say I can sometime get the pms symptoms when I take the progesterone and he said some ladies use the same tablet as a pessary and this helps. So I will try that.

The Doc said next step may be Gnrh Annalogues buts that if the PMS comes back and he has assured me it won't affect my fertility - which is excellent news because I'm only 26 and definatley want children.

Just waiting on blood tests now to see how all my levels are.

Anyone else on Twitter? Naps are on it now xx
Hope this helps some of you - xx

Hi All,

Time for another quick update - still on the hrt (oestrogel, utrogestan and testid) and Prozac.

However, I hardly use the Testid anymore because I was becoming very alarmed at the increased in bodily hair and actually that's ok.

I'm using the utrogestan as a pessary now rather than taking it orally and this seems to stop the PMS symptoms coming on so quickly. So for example, day three or four of taking the Utro I'd feel the PMS now its a dull ache (physical and mental) until about day five.

I'm reducing the Prozac gradually to just taking it over the pms time - I haven't sought my docs opinion on this but feel confident it will be ok.

You'll see from my other posts that there is a bit of a question mark surrounding my fertility so i'm having a scan in June and I'm pretty sure this will determine whether I decide to stay on this current treatment for a couple of years or go forward with the zoladex.

PLEASE PLEASE feel free to respond - this should be a two way thing !

Hi, sorry for not responding sooner. The notifications of new posts doesn't seem to be working!!

Anyway, glad your current treatment is working for you but I have to say I was alarmed to read that your specialist said that GnRH analogues won't affect your fertility. He cannot guarantee this! There are a small percentage of women who use the analogues and never have their cycle return so please be aware of this if thinking of going down this route.

For vaginal dryness can I suggest you ask for Vagifem which is an oestrogen pessary and is very effective for dryness and protecting tissue down there. Live yogurt is ok but not what you need.

Some women are able to use the progesterone only 3 or 4 times a year instead of every month so might be worth asking about this too.

As for reducing your Proxac, there is a lot of research that says intermittent dosing is effective but I would chat with your GP about the safety of what you're doing so that you stay well. Hope to hear how you're doing again soon. Jx

_________________
38 years old. Suffered PMDD for many many years. Had very successful treatment on GnRH Analogues and oestrogen only HRT. Had TAH + BSO 15/11/12 for severe complex atypical hyperplasia. Hopefully now completely symptom free permanently.