i'm not in the uk. i live in the usa but i had the same problems over here. finally found a dr. who would prescribe bhrt. i started on a low dose estrogen patch and a progesterone pill. like you, some of my symptoms disappeared and then others seemed to get worse. i read alot and educated myself and began to think i was "estrogen dominent" - meaning i actually had too much estrogen in my system. so at my next visit i told my dr and we decided i would go off the estrogen and take only the progesterone. he also suggested i take an herbal supplement with in "5htp" it. i found something at our local health food store called "calm advantage" - this really helps when i begin to feel a little tense or moody. i take one or two every day. it is natural, so very safe.

sadly, most dr's think that women lack estrogen when they begin periminopause symptoms....when actually it is the progesterone that begins to drop first. the symptoms that most of us feel (irritability, mood swings, sleeplessness, hot flashes, etc) are actually caused by our bodies being out of balance with TOO MUCH ESTROGEN AND NOT ENOUGH PROGESTERONE. giving a woman more estrogen often causes the symptoms to get even worse and then the dr prescribes some kind of mood altering drug like prozac to counteract the symptoms. it is crazy that these dr's are treating women and are really screwing everybody up! my suggestion to you is to keep looking until you find a physician who will LISTEN TO YOU and who is willing to work with you using bioidentical hormones until you find the perfect combination that suits you! no two women are exactly alike and you will need to work to find what is best for you. please do not settle for prozac and premarin or some other synthetic hormone. there are dr's out there who know their stuff....you just have to search a little. my dr. is abut 30 minutes away from where i live but he is well worth the trip! i started on bhrt about 5 months ago and it has taken this long to get the perfect combination for me.....but my dr and i now feel i am there and so i just had a visit with him yesterday and we agreed to check things again in 6 months to see how i feel. but if i begin to feel i need a change sooner i will certainly call him. this is not one pill you will take for the rest of your life.....your body will make gradual changes and you will need to work with your dr to tweak things as needed to keep you feeling at your optimal best health. good luck to you and everyone on this sight. may we all have the blessing to find a great dr who is knowledgeable in menopause and who is willing to work with us on this journey!

Yes, very good advice from 'teachermom'! I just did see an endocrinologist (woman in her 40's) and she is treating me for thyroid issues. All this time, the horrible feelings of anxiety that I thought were menopausal symptoms have almost entirely gone away. I do bioidenticals (progesterone and a little testosterone) compounded here in my city. Yes, your body changes and you will need to adjust from time to time.
Good luck on this difficult quest,
JK

Hi Janice
I am in menopause, having been mis- diagnosed for 3 years. I am also in the UK, and have so far been in for endoscopy (which I cancelled) had an ECG for my erratic heart beat, been on medication for the dizzy spells, gained over 2 stone in weight, (the first stone in little over 2 months!), been tearful, anxious, offered anti-depressants, seen a rheumatologist for tingly fingers, had an MRI scan (also for circulation), been put onto Mirena, been offered a hysterectomy to stop the flooding, etc.... And only now I realised its just menopause!!! I have been researching ways to help manage these symptoms, and have come across a really great product, which we are now going to bring into the UK next year. It is supported by the worlds top gynaecologists and is totally safe, and is at least as effective as HRT. It is not like all the other natural supplements, with little clinical evidence of improvement, this works in at least 75% of women within a month. If you would like to try some, let me know. I am looking for women like me to try it out, so that we can tell others about it. It is called Femarelle, so if you visit their website, you can check out its details, just so you know I am not offering something dodgy! It has really worked for me! Also, it helps prevent osteoporosis, my mum who is 76 has severe osteoporosis, and I really don't want that to happen to me. Let me know if you are interested, it will be free, it could work for you! You can reply to this forum, and I will let you have my contact details so that I can arrange to have some sent to you.
Kind regards, Alison