Break-Through Bleed while on bioHRT - Next Steps?

[miavink]

I am 53 years old and have been on bioHRT for about 1.5 years now (0.05mg estradiol biweekly patch and 100mg Progesterone at night before bed). The last couple of months I have been experiencing a breakthrough bleed at about 2 weeks. It lasts 4-5 days, same as my regular cycle. To stop the breakthrough bleeding, my OBGYN md says to start taking 200mg progesterone every night for a couple of weeks and then increase the estradiol patch biweekly to 0.10mg and stay on both. She said to then give it a a month or so to see if the breakthrough bleed stops. HOWEVER, my naturopath dr says to increase progesterone to 200mg only for two weeks and then go off Progesterone for two weeks. She also says to stay at 0.05mg estradiol patch and not increase. I trust both doctors. What would you recommend under the circumstances?

[emilyjames]

I’d love to know the answer to this question too. I’m 46, taking progesterone (prometrium) 200mg every night with a 5 day break during my period. And every 2 weeks I get a period. Ugh. Or is it a breakthrough bleed when I ovulate?

[miavink]

Hi Emily, thank you for this reply. It's nice to know I'm not alone although I'm sad you're experiencing similar issues. I'll keep you posted. Right now, I'm on the track to keep taking 200mg P nightly and then in two weeks increase my biweekly estradiol patch to 0.1mg (I'm presently on the 0.05mg patch). My symptoms that hopefully will be helped are the breakthrough bleed at around 2 weeks as well as the mild cramping pain in my lower abdomen that is always there no matter whether I'm bleeding or not. I wish I had an answer for you but hope to maybe provide at least some experienced feedback in a couple of weeks.