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[choppycheeks]

Hi

I have been prescribed angeliq and have a fibroid.

Has anyone had a fibroid grow when taking angeliq which caused pain.

Many thanks for any answers

[CLKD]

   if you browse the menu left of screen you will find lots of hints and advice.  If you use the 'search' button for your medication you should find members who have posted about Angeliq previously.

We have a humerous room too 

[Hurdity]

Hi choppycheeks and  from me too!

This is what it says about Fibroids in the blue menu to the left under A-Z of menopause and medical conditions:


Fibroids   
    Fibroids are benign smooth muscle tumours of the uterine (womb) wall and are dependant on estrogen. They tend to shrink after the menopause but shrinkage may not occur, or they may even increase in size with HRT use. Increase is thought to occur in 25% of HRT users and mainly occurs in the first six months of therapy. There is some evidence that transdermal (patch or gel) but not tablet HRT nor tibolone may promote fibroid growth. [ref 24] Fibroid size can be monitored by regular examinations and sometimes by ultrasound scans. There is some evidence that the use of the progestogen releasing intra-uterine system, Mirena may cause fibroids to reduce in size. Mirena is often used in the perimenopause by women who have heavy periods and/or require contraception and can provide the progestogen part of their HRT.


I hope this helps with your question. If your fibroid is causing pain while taking HRT I would suggest speaking to your doctor so that you could be referred for a scan if appropriate. Maybe they are keeping an eye on it anyway?

Hurdity  x

[Rowan]

From the Angeliq site

What are the most serious risks of taking ANGELIQ?
ANGELIQ may increase the risk of heart attack; stroke; blood clots; dementia; cancer of the breast, ovary, or lining of the uterus (womb); high blood pressure; high blood sugar; gallbladder disease; liver problems; or enlargement of benign tumors of the uterus (fibroids).

I would avoid Angeliq if I had fibroids.

postscript- I had a large fibroid removed it was made worse by hormones.

[Dancinggirl]

I tried angelic and I didn't like it - I got very sore breasts and didn't feel good.  I ended up with a Mirena and Oestrogel which - looking at the info Hurdity included in her post - may be a good way to go for you.  The Mirena may actually reduce the size of your fibroid!!!
I was fine with the Mirena and using Oestrogel is great because you can start with a small dose of one pump per day and gradually increase the dose over a few weeks until you find the amount that keeps your symptoms at bay.  I found just under 2 pumps per day worked for me but we're all different.
Good luck.  DG x

[Rowan]

We are all different but it was the local progesterone that boosted mine more then the estrogen.

[Rowan]

To my knowledge Lupron is the only way to shrink fibroids, I am not sure if it  still used, I left my fibroid for too long thinking I could shrink it naturally after getting two consultants confirming I should have a hysterectomy, I tried all the herbal stuff the castor oil packs ext.

At the time I was on estrogen patch and cyclogest pessaries thinking that the progesterone would shrink the fibroid, the fibroid grew until it was the size of a large grapefruit, too big at the time for anything but major surgery. I was 53.

All the time I was feeding the little ******

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8566261

That's why I am cautious about HRT and Fibroids.

They use to suggest using Lupron which stops the production of estrogen and progesterone and if menopausal then start HRT, that seemed pointless to me.

[Hurdity]

The phrasing on this site (the A-Z quoted below) does suggest that Mirena may shrink fibroids - but I can't find any information.

The reference you give silverlady also bears out what it says in the A-Z and which I quoted below ie there is some evidence that transdermal rather than tablet HRT may promote fibroid growth. Unfortunately the reference given in the A-Z (2002) is one of those that's not freely available and I'm not prepared to pay for it! In the particular study - the one you linked to - unfortunately as well as the mode of delivery and type of oestrogen, the amount of progestogen differed too - so the two groups were not strictly comparable - but I presume later studies (that I can't find!) do agree with that finding re tablet HRT and fibroids.

It is not possible to say from an individual case that an outcome had a particular cause - only trials using a good population size of women are able to ascertain this.

There do seem to be several different types of fibroid and I mentioned on another thread I think they are sturctured differently because are formed from different parts of the uterine lining - so will have presumably have different hormone receptors and may react differently to oestrogen and progesterone, not to mention the synthetic ones? There is also the difference in action of progesterone and synthetic progestogens - but it all seems somewhat technical and without knowing how it's all structured (the tissues and cell layers), difficult to follow!

I did find this interesting article which did seem to indicate a role of progesterone in increasing fibroids http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23303565 but there would need to be trials to show whether it actually happened in practice.

The UK site says use Angeliq with caution with history of fibroids in the womb - so I would tend to agree with silverlady on this one - although - it depends on the size of your fibroid. I presume it's big enough to cause worry and therefore you would be right to be cautious. I have one but it's tiny and the gynae said it was OK to carry on with HRT.

The best thing is I said before to discuss with your specialist and if it's just a GP ask to be referred if you can and especially if the fibroid is causing problems.

This is a bit of a thinking aloud ramble but hope some of it is helpful.

Hurdity x

[andius]

Do you know how big the fibroid is now?

Andius

[Cassie]

Interesting, that for once transdermal is the "baddy," as opposed to oral hrt, when it comes to fibroids. I also started growing one but at the time, was on the oral contraceptive pill, so stopped that, went onto Oestrogel and the fibroid shrunk.

[Rowan]

I have read that patches deliver a stronger dose then pills, will have to look for links.

[Dancinggirl]

Cassie - another example that we are not all the same. There doesn't seem to be any logic when it comes to reactions to various HRT treatments.
This is my issue with research trial results for, not just HRT, but many drugs and treatments. Unless a wide range of factors are included in a trial - and to be realistic that may be impossible - no trial can be truly conclusive. Lifestyle and genetics play such an important role in how we respond to drugs and treatment - what is good for one person may be disastrous for another.
I'm only hoping that there are ongoing trials and studies looking at longer term use of HRT treatment in the hope quality of life can be maintained and maybe prevention of age related problems.  DG x

[Rowan]

Agree Dancinggirl.