Anyone on Combipatch?, I just went on it. Options

[LizardQueen]

Just went on Combipatch last night, after finally hitting the wall last week with what I could tolerate. Piles of assorted naturaly remedies finally stopped working and in some cases made things worse.

Doc refused to test my estradiol but my FSH was 67. I'm 43, been dealing with this in some form since 41 and the wonky periods started at 38.

It's been under 24 hours but I feel a bit more human - slept better last night, my brain fog has partially lifted, and I'm feeling more hopeful.

The estradiol in the patch I'm fine with but I'd rather be on a non-synthetic progesterone (this one contains norethindrone acetate, a synthetic). But I feel I scored a victory just in getting the doc to prescribe something that wasn't Premarin - what is it with those people that they immediately dive for the horse pee at the first mention of HRT?

If they ever come out with a natural estradiol/progesterone patch I'm all over it.

Anyone here on Combipatch? What was your experience with it?

Thanks in advance,
LQ

[fairyhedgehog]

I've just started (today) on Estracombi, which sounds very similar: estradiol with norethindrone acetate. Mine is on a cycle, as I had a period 10 weeks ago, so I have two weeks of estradiol only and two weeks of estradiol plus the progestogen.

I'm reassured to hear that you've seen an improvement in less than 24 hours. I'll let you know how I get on!

[DesRothchild]

At least the estrogen part is bioidentical, right? The problem is that in the Women's Health Study, it wasn't the estrogen that was the biggest problem---they continued women just on the estrogen in the study. It was the fake progesterone that caused the problems. The problem could have been that it is synthetic, or that it wasn't cycled, or both.

I wouldn't want any kind of combination patch, because women shouldn't have progesterone in her system all month long.

Couldn't the doctor just prescribe an estrogen patch, like Vivelle, and add Prometrium in the last part of the cycle? Personally, I tell my doctors point blank exactly what I want when he/she walks in, so they usually back off a bit (maybe they think I'm dangerous, lol).

My new gyn is really flexible. She originally offered Premarin suppository-type for vaginal atrophy, but I said how about a pure estradiol suppository, and she said fine and gave me samples.

Most doctors don't really care which prescription HT you use, so I don't know why they push the Prempro, etc., unless they are getting "favors" from those reps.

[fairyhedgehog]

My patch is estrogen for half the month, then estrogen and progestogen for the other half. In the UK, unless you have private healthcare insurance (which most folks don't) you are stuck with the National Health Service (NHS). Progesterone is not licensed on the NHS for HRT. You can get a doctor to prescribe 'off license' but only once you've tried the alternative and found it doesn't work for you.

It's odd, because in the UK there's no problem with synthetic estrogen, the norm seems to be to prescribe estradiol.

I could go private, but although my husband has health insurance from his job, it tends to be very restrictive as to what it will cover.

So for me at least, it's wait and see.

[DesRothchild]

I think in countries where there is universal healthcare there are fewer drug choices, fewer options in general. I think it keeps things more consistent that way.

At least in the UK, you automatically get a bioidentical estradiol, not the synthetic as a first choice. They probably think we are crazy here prescribing horse hormones for human women. But I don't understand why they don't also have a bioidentical progesterone as the first choice also.

[fairyhedgehog]

I don't understand it either. I just hope I can find a way to get the natural progesterone after the first month or so.

[fairyhedgehog]

Well, I'm on the progestin and I've got a huge red itch where the patch is. So, off to the doctor's this morning to see what she can suggest. Anyone else had this?

[simba2]

Well, I'm on the progestin and I've got a huge red itch where the patch is. So, off to the doctor's this morning to see what she can suggest. Anyone else had this?

quote name = Simba 2 Date = Feb 1st 2008

Dear Fairyhedgehog, Cant give you any positive feedback on this I'm afraid. I am in the U.K. and have tried Evorel Conti but only stuck it for two months. I was feeling tired on it, depressed as if I had continual PMS. Then I started to get discomfort in the uterus and lots of gas, bloating and backache, so I had to stop. I am one of those ladies who seems to struggle with HRT while some seem to have fewer problems - goodness knows why. I dont think its just the progestin I struggle with but I've also had trouble with the oestogen bit as well! Good luck to you in your search for answers - dont give up.

[simba2]

Well, I'm on the progestin and I've got a huge red itch where the patch is. So, off to the doctor's this morning to see what she can suggest. Anyone else had this?

quote name = Simba 2 Date = Feb 1st 2008

Dear Fairyhedgehog, Cant give you any positive feedback on this I'm afraid. I am in the U.K. and have tried Evorel Conti but only stuck it for two months. I was feeling tired on it, depressed as if I had continual PMS. Then I started to get discomfort in the uterus and lots of gas, bloating and backache, so I had to stop. I am one of those ladies who seems to struggle with HRT while some seem to have fewer problems - goodness knows why. I dont think its just the progestin I struggle with but I've also had trouble with the oestogen bit as well! Good luck to you in your search for answers - dont give up.

[fairyhedgehog]

Dear Fairyhedgehog, Cant give you any positive feedback on this I'm afraid. I am in the U.K. and have tried Evorel Conti but only stuck it for two months. I was feeling tired on it, depressed as if I had continual PMS. Then I started to get discomfort in the uterus and lots of gas, bloating and backache, so I had to stop. I am one of those ladies who seems to struggle with HRT while some seem to have fewer problems - goodness knows why. I dont think its just the progestin I struggle with but I've also had trouble with the oestogen bit as well! Good luck to you in your search for answers - dont give up.

Sorry you had such a bad time. Does that mean you just have to suffer with it all, or what do you do?

I've gone back to the estrogen only patch now, with some tablets to give me progestogen for half the month. It's a bit of a nuisance but with any luck it will work.

If I don't get on with the progestogen, then I'm going to try and get natural progesterone but I know that will be an uphill struggle so I'm really hoping I get on with the pill.

[simba2]

Sorry you had such a bad time. Does that mean you just have to suffer with it all, or what do you do?

I've gone back to the estrogen only patch now, with some tablets to give me progestogen for half the month. It's a bit of a nuisance but with any luck it will work.

If I don't get on with the progestogen, then I'm going to try and get natural progesterone but I know that will be an uphill struggle so I'm really hoping I get on with the pill.

quote name Simba 2 Date = Feb 4th 2008

This is really my dilemma at the moment, whether I will just have to go on suffering all of these debilitating symptoms. This all seems to have been going on for so long, (just over three years). After I stopped the Evorel Conti, I just tried to slog it all out for about another eight months and then just before Christmas I'd had enough again and stuck on a 40 mg oetrogen patch, this did stop the sweating which was a relief but I was also getting side-effects. I started to reduce the patch by chopping it up but was putting off taking the duphaston bit. I wonder if you can get away with taking a very small amount of the oestrogen without the progestogen. Anyway I was too scared to keep on with a small amount of oestrogen without the progestogen so took myself off the HRT again last week and the sweats are pretty volcanic again. In desperation I am at present looking into herbals again but would love to know if and when all of this will stop and how many years more I will have to endure it. Honestly I think this is probably much worse than puberty and the forty years of menstrual cycles!

Keep hanging in there- from Simba

[fairyhedgehog]

It does seem to go on forever, doesn't it? If you decide to go the herbal route, Black Cohosh is brilliant but they have found that it can cause liver problems. So you might want to see a herbalist if you decide to take it, and you might need regular blood tests for liver function. I took it for a year and it made a huge difference but I was worried about keep taking it when I didn't know the possible damage it might be causing.

I'm on a different patch now: Estraderm mx, which is the matrix patch that is kinder to skin than the one I was on. Just as well: the last estrogen patch caused a reaction, so I can't now use either of the Estracombi ones! So far the side effects have all been to do with my skin, so no other problems. But I'm not feeling better yet. I'm not getting night sweats (yay!) or much in the way of hot flushes. But my more personal symptoms are unchanged, and the exhaustion and aches are the same - and that's what's stopping me from doing almost anything.

Hope you find something soon that will make you feel better.
G