How long to adjust to hormone change?

I had my total hyst almost 3 years ago- I was 36 at the time. Like so many people here, I have been bouncing around a bit trying to find the combination of hormones that works best for me. I started out on Premarin I just didn't feel great on it and was hoping to get some of my sex drive back so I then tried estratest. It didn't do anything for my sex drive and acne became a problem so I decided it was time for a change. After reading so many great things about it here, I switched to the Vivelle dot 0.075 about a year ago. This was definitely the best so far. I haven't felt terrible on any of the hormones I have tried but just haven't felt great either. Maybe I will just never feel great again but I have felt compelled to keep trying to feel even better which is probably what prompted me to change again.

Two months ago I think I got a bad batch of the patches, they didn't seem to be sticking as well and I started having terrible hot flashes that kept me up at night almost every night. The next months patches stuck fine again but I was still having occassional hot flashes at night so I decided I would try a higher dose of the Vivelle patch.

Last week I switched to the 0.1 dose and now I am feeling just awful, hot flahes all the time again, my breasts are so sore I can't stand it, I've been getting bad headaches and am just moody. So this is my question, are all of these symptoms just my body's way of adjusting to the switch or is it likely to mean that this is just too much estrogen for me? I am ready to call my doctor and switch back to the 0.075 patch tomorrow.

I think a lot of my symptoms could be from low progesterone and not low estrogen (after reading the too much/too little article), but my doctor is a firm believer in the 'no uterus, no progesterone' theory so I upped my estrogen instead but I definitely felt better on the lower dose. I just ordered some progesterone cream from the Hystersisters store so I will try that on my own but first I want to get stabilized on some dose of estrogen.

How long do I need to give this new dose a chance? Is one week enough for me to know that this is not going to be an improvement? Any advice is much appreciated. I may be ready to settle for feeling 'just OK'. The thought of going through the whole process of tweaking my doses through a compounding pharmacy just sounds exhausting to me. I just want to feel normal again so I can get back to living my life!

Hi

It sure can be a tough balancing act! Not enough can feel as bad as too much.

When you were using the lower Vivelle Dot, where did you put it--on your abdomen or on your rear? If you used it on your abdomen, changing it to your rear would give you better absorption.

Where are you applying the 0.1 Dots? If you are using them on your rear moving them up front will in effect lessen the amount of estrogen you get from them.

Some women have successfully tweaked the amount of estrogen they get by cutting off a portion of the Dot. Instead of tossing out your 0.1 Dots you could cut off a bit to make them 0.075, so I've read.

It does take time for changes to register and for symptoms to go away. If you felt better on the lower dose, it may be best to return to it. Hopefully your progesterone will help balance you out but it's not a good idea to add it in while you're still working on the estrogen changes.

You mentioned being on Estratest for sex drive. If you still need help with that aspect of your hormone balance, you can consider having a compounded testostrone cream prescribed. I use it and like it because I can control the dosing and not get the side effects of too much testosterone.

This is all a lot easier to do with the help of a knowledgeable doctor. If you're not getting the help you need, it might be worth looking for a different one.

I hope this helps!

s

Hi!
I personally am slow to adjust to new doses. I went from Tri est to Bi Est and noticed nothing the first month. After that, i noticed gradual improvement. We are all different, but I would give it at least a few weeks. Keep a journal of your symptoms, and if they get better or worse. This was the BEST advice I got! I didnt notice the changes until I looked back. Good Luck! Laura

Thanks for the input. Last night, I decided I couldn't stand the sore breasts and I ripped off my patch, cut a new one down to approximately 3/4 size and slapped it on. Since I didn't feel actually bad on .075 dose I decided that's where I should stay for now- hopefully one week at a higher dose won't mess my balance up for too long. Besides, as my DH reminded me when he found out I had switched doses, the problem I had my ovaries removed for in the first place may have been hormone-dependent and I definitely don't want to mess with that.
I have tried applying patches to my backside but never noticed a difference in how I felt versus when they are on my frontside (maybe I just have as much fat on the frontside as the backside).

I tried the .05 and then went to the .075, and then on to the .01. I have really sore breast with the .01 and the doctor suggested I go all the way back to the .05. I don't have the sore breast anymore, but feel lousy on the .05. No hotflashes, just anxiety. It's been a week on the .05 and think he may have cut me down too fast. I also wonder how long I should wait this out? I assume it would take at least a month to see if it works on a particular dose.
Annie