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Menopause and running

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sallykate 9 Jan 10:50am, 9 Jan 2025 16,071 posts	0 sallykate I've had a couple of good NHS interactions in the last couple of days. Yesterday I went for a standard over 50s health check. The nurse was great - I explained I'd had blood tests done as a results of an initial discussion about HRT and having ruled out thyroid issues had managed to get a telephone consult to see what the next steps would be. She advised emphasising my symptoms, leaving the doctor in no doubt as to how I feel. As part of that she took blood to test for vits D and B12, as well as cholesterol. The telephone consult was this morning, and to my surprise the blood tests were back already, showing vitamin D levels so low that a prescription is needed - which is clearly not going to help me feel good. But the doc also agreed that HRT would be appropriate. Although I'm likely to be better off with a Mirena coil, that won't happen for several months because I need to be referred to a gynae clinic as I'm over 55 (she sounded frustrated at that), so will be on oral to begin wihth So that leaves me thinking about the best delivery for the oestrogen - any thoughts on the pros and cons? I will have a google of course, but Fetchie advice is the best advice.
Little Miss Happy 9 Jan 10:54am, 9 Jan 2025 7,736 posts	0 Little Miss Happy Glad you have been treated well sallykate. Getting your Vit D levels up should hopefully help you to feel better. I'm on oral HRT only.
Meglet 9 Jan 10:55am, 9 Jan 2025 25,502 posts	0 Meglet I have gel and get on fine with it, I opted for that rather than patches as I was worried about them staying on. Also with gel you can adjust dose quite easily, I occasionally have an extra pump or perhaps split between morning and night if sleep has been affected.
Ness 9 Jan 10:56am, 9 Jan 2025 47,537 posts	0 Ness I'm not expert but my experience of HRT is using oestrogen gel and progesterone tablets. I've been fine on that for a couple of years. I think other Fetchies have had oestrogen patches. I was hesitant about trying them for me because I'm allergic to Elastoplast.
Velociraptor 9 Jan 11:01am, 9 Jan 2025 73,138 posts	0 Velociraptor I've never switched from oral HRT, but if I feel the need to restart after stopping it (which I plan to do this year, in the expectation that I'm unlikely to have even intermittent ovarian activity now and therefore shouldn't be bothered by flushes) I'd opt for transdermal oestrogen and choose a gel in preference to patches.
runnerbean 9 Jan 11:11am, 9 Jan 2025 47,357 posts	0 runnerbean I have coil and gel. It’s a good combo for me . Have you tried getting coil through sexual health clinic but without mentioning it’s for HRT ? I know several people who got it fitted quickly . Just a thought.
IdrisTheDragon 9 Jan 11:17am, 9 Jan 2025 10,745 posts	0 IdrisTheDragon I have a coil and gel which works well for me. There was a while where supplies of gel were intermittent and I was prescribed patches instead which didn't seem to deliver it well plus they fell off and also left residue that stayed on.
Elsie Too 9 Jan 11:37am, 9 Jan 2025 5,520 posts	0 Elsie Too I've had combined patches and now patches and oral progesterone. Both have worked fine for me the patches stay on well even when swimming and sweating. They do leave a residue that is tough to wash off.
Little Nemo 9 Jan 11:38am, 9 Jan 2025 16,249 posts	0 Little Nemo Tablets for me. I did try estrogen gel and progesterone tablets for a while but that caused my periods to restart. Tablets work much better for me.
sallykate 9 Jan 11:45am, 9 Jan 2025 16,073 posts	0 sallykate My practice is only offering transdermal. I do need to get my normal coil removed, it's well overdue, but I'm not sure they'd go for a (nearly) 57 year old asking for Mirena as a contraceptive - might be worth a go I guess!