Vivelle dot dosage

I am 7 weeks post op and have been on the vivelle dot - TAH on July 17. I was fine up until about 3 weeks ago and now I feel very tired, angry and out of control with yelling. It is terrible. My Panic attacks are coming back and I am a wreck. I am on the vivelle dot .25 - I had my left ovary removed with the hysterectomy due to cysts and my right removed 10 years ago. Am I on a low dose?- I never made it to the doc for my 6 week - I feel fine - I have been working and doing pretty much everything since 10 days after my surgery. I finally hit tired and started sleeping. Now I am waking up with insomnia again. Should I go back and have them check my blood or?? I do not know what I need. I have always been high strung but this is BAD - Any ideas?
Stacy

Hi Stacy!

The dose of Vivelle you are using is the lowest. Vivelle comes in 0.025, 0.0375, 0.05, 0.075 and 0.1. It could be that you had enough estrogen stored from your ovaries that you felt okay but now that it's depleted, the 0.025 dose isn't enough for you.

I think it's worth calling your doctor to let him/her know how you feel. There's plenty of room for you to go up in dose and you can do that slowly to find out which dose is the best one to control your symptoms. Maybe your doctor has some free samples of various doses you can try.

I hope you feel better soon!

s

Thanks,

I think he is going to tell me to come in since I missed my 6 week. I think that was my 12th surgery so I am tired and I know how I feel. I feel good and have been super active. I just do not care for the mood swings turning me into a monster. I feel out of control and I do not like that feeling since I am a control freak anyways. I will call him today and see - although I am sure a come in will be necesary maybe I will find the time to go see him. Thanks again. I have not experienced any weight gain, but will I if I up the dose?? - I am already a little over - maybe 20 pounds - I do not need anymore - is there one that can help me lose weight or is that just a dream that will never come true? What do they test when they do the blood tests?
Thanks again - sorry for so many questions. I did not even know I had that many until I started typing...

ok one more - does anyone have the problem of the dissapearing patch - I put it on and cannot find it the next day - these things are NOT working right if I go through 3 in 6 days - they keep falling off after I shower or I am not sure where???????

Stacy

Yikes! It's not good that you're going through that many patches. If they aren't sticking to you properly they can't deliver the right amount of estrogen. If they're falling off, obviously they aren't delivering any to you at all. There are some tricks to getting them to stick. You'll want to start by having clean hands which are dry and free of all oils, lotions and powder. The area where you are going to apply your patch should also be clear of all those things. Some of us who use the estrogen patches gently clean the area with rubbing alcohol on a cotton ball, allow it to dry, and then apply the patch. I put my new patch on before I shower rather than after as my skin is much drier before showering than it is after toweling dry. After applying the patch, hold it down firmly with the palm of your hand for several seconds to help seal and set it. If it starts to come off before it's time to change it, you can try pressing it back into place and then shoot some warm air at it using a hair dryer, being careful to keep the setting low enough that you don't hurt your skin. If you try all of those steps and still are having trouble getting it to stick, you can try covering it with a Tegaderm bandage in a size large enough to cover the patch. There are quite a few Sisters on this site who do that and have good success with that method. If all of that fails, it could be that you're just not a good candidate for the estrogen patch and would do better using a different method of delivery. You can learn more about some options in articles 10 - 13 in this link to the Hormone Article List.

The patch should be changed every 3 1/2 days. I change mine on Thursday mornings and Sunday nights. I put mine on my rear as absorption is around 20% better back there versus wearing it on the abdomen. Whichever area you choose, rotate side to side, never front to back, as that can cause fluctuating hormone levels.

Weight gain when using hormone therapy isn't a given. I think it's about balance--finding the dose that gives relief without causing unwanted side effects. If there was one hormone therapy that could guarantee no weight gain, we'd all be using it. As for testing hormone levels, it can be useful for someone who has been having trouble finding balance and whose doctor just has no idea what to try next. My experience has been that the testing isn't as good an indicator of how I'm doing as my own symptoms are. I prefer to have my hormone therapy adjusted based on my symptoms rather than by test results. Unfortunately, the levels which are considered normal are very broad and what may be normal for some women isn't necessarily normal for others. What they test for varies--they can test all of your estrogens (estradiol, estriol and estrone) and they can also check your progesterone and testosterone levels.

Here is a link to this site's Too Much/Too Little symptom list. You can refer to it while working with your doctor to find hormone balance. It's also helpful to keep a journal of your journey through the Hormone Jungle. Write down what your symptoms are, how often they occur and how severe they are. Also note any other medications and supplements you are using. You can share the journal with your doctor as you work together to figure out the best hormone therapy for you.

I hope this helps you!

s

He changed me to estrace? I think - I still need to pick it up - he was very unhappy that I did not make my appointment. I will be seeing him on Thursday! He put me on 1.00?? I hope it works better. Without weight problems - but I will just have to watch what I eat.

I apprecaite all of your help. I am not a big on posting, I am more of a read and learn but this time I feel terrible. I hope he made the right choice changing me. He is the best Doc I have ever had so I am sure he has made an informed decision.

Thanks again and I will let you know how the pill is...

Thanks for the update! Estrace is a pill which is made up of the same estradiol (estrogen) that is in the patch you were using. That works out to be a higher dose of estrogen than the patch you were using but that's okay as it sounds like you could use the extra estrogen.

I'm glad you decided to post! Let us know how your appointment goes and how you do on Estrace. I hope you feel better soon!

s