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[anna123]

Hello
I've been on Femoston 2/10 for about 2 years now after trying patches and the Femoston 1/10. It sorted out my physical and emotional symptoms so well and  I've been very happy on it, back to my old self. I saw Dr Currie who put me on it and it suits, or rather suited, me well.

About 3 months ago I bled half way through the month at an unexpected time. I thought this was a one off or perhaps a natural ovulation cycle. Since then I have been bleeding excessively, at least twice a month for a week at a time, accompanied by terrible pain. I  have been to my GP who is excellent. She is to examine me and possibly send me for a scan though cannot do this till I stop bleeding.

I am worried. Surely I cannot be ovulating naturally every month now after 3 years of nothing. I feel weak with all the blood loss some of the time and just fed up of it.

I just wondered if anyone else had experienced anything like this. I know when you start a new HRT it can take a while to settle down but I've been on this for 2 years with no problems.

I'm 41. I'm so despairing thinking I'll have to come off HRT just to stop this bleeding. 

[Dancinggirl]

Hi and welcome to MM anna123
I doubt very much you are ovulating on HRT. You are far to young to come off HRT if you have had a premature meno - you need HRt to protect your heart and bones for the long term.  Problematic bleeding like this is not uncommon and a scan will be a good idea.  I had a scan done when I was bleeding, so the bleed doesn't have to have stopped to get a scan done.
The progesterone in Femoston is a gentler kind and maybe not shedding the womb lining properly so this can result in a thickened womb lining or you may have developed some fibroids which would explain this bleeding.  It may be suggested that you have a Mirena fitted as this would reduce fibroids (if you have them) and should actually stop all bleeds eventually.  If you have a Mirena then you can use as much oestrogen as you need in pill, patch or gel form to control the meno symptoms.
I would simply ask for a scan and some specialist advice.  DG x

[anna123]

Hi DG,
Thank you for your response.

I don't want to stop HRT because of the benefits you mention and also because of how much better I have felt emotionally since starting it. The bleeding is just awful though and  pretty intolerable. It is frustrating because if I wasn't taking it I wouldn't have any bleeding.

My GP wants to examine me before referring for a scan so think that's why she suggested waiting till it had stopped. Problem is every time I book an appointment  I seem to start bleeding again 

It's amazing how much I don't know about menopause and the physical effect of HRT on the womb  etc. This site is wonderful on what so many still (crazily!)see as a taboo subject.

I have an appointment for next week which I will keep anyway. I just need to know what it wrong and how to stop it.

[anna123]

I don't know of this is at all related but over the last month have also been suffering from dryness and reduced libido too. Surely the oestrogen is supposed to help this.

Wondering if my own levels are reducing further. my mind is in overdrive thinking of all possible scenarios. the thought of having to start yet another HRT and go through all the trying of what suits etc fills me with fear and anxiety again

[Dancinggirl]

anna123 - it seems crazy to try and get your GP to examine you when clearly you will never know whether you will bleeding or not.  I do think you need to be referred - so make an appointment and explain that the bleeding is getting worse and say you need reassurance from a specialist.  There is a good chance your own hormones have dropped - I had an early meno like you and still developed vaginal atrophy despite using systemic HRT - you will need a local oestrogen like Vagifem to help with this. Maintaining libido is a difficult one, if you are constantly bleeding then this doesn't help -  testosterone is supposed to help with libido in post meno but again you would need to ask a specialist about this I think. Do try some vaginal lubricant like Sylk or 'YES' - extra lubricant for sex is essential.  DG x

[Milamam]

Hi Anna,
I don't know whether my experience will be helpful to you but let me share:
I have been on Femoston 2/10 for 18 months now. Like you, it helped tremendously in alleviation of most of my symptoms ( both physical and emotional, anxiety and panic attacks being the worse). I started it when I was 43, now 45.
From October until December 2015 I began to bleed more frequently than usual, every 20 days, then 14, then 12. My gynae did an ultrasound twice in that period and found nothing wrong. In December, he prescribed additional 10mg of Dydrogesterone (I live in Bulgaria, here Dydrogesterone is available separately in 10mg dose, on prescription)., to take days 11-25. This resolved the extra bleeding and put my cycle in synch.

Although he disagreed, my explanation is that close to October Or earlier I might have begun to produce more of my own estrogen ( estrogen peaks), thus causing more build up and frequent bleeding, since there wasn't enough Dydrogesterone to balance that. Some evidence is that I had ( and continue to have) white or clear mucus throughout the cycle, like at ovulation, also breasts enlarged and became fuller, water retention and slight weight gain although didn't change diet, frequently waking up at night, fatigue early afternoon, no sweats before the bleeds, cravings for carbohydrates, etc.

This month I kinda feel better. I have even started to split the Femoston tablets and taking only half, then adding Dydro 10mg at night days 11-25. Have already noticed decrease in water retention and bloating . I don't know whether my gynae will approve of this experiment though )) Plan to visit him in a week and discuss. The problem is I don't want to change to a different preparation as Femoston is really good for me but in Bulgaria Femoston 1/10 is not available. So will see!

[Dancinggirl]

Milamam - If you are splitting the Femoston pills you will be reducing the amount of oestrogen you get and might find your meno symptoms return.  If you are still peri meno then you will still be producing some oestrogen of your own (it will be fluctuating) so this would explain things. However, if you were put on HRT because you were showing clear signs of early meno then reducing your oestrogen is not the best idea.  You might do better to ask for Oestrogel or an oestrogen patch and then use the Dydrogesterone for the 10-12 days each month? This would allow you to use a lower dose of everything which could be better for you - at your age I used one pump of Oestrogel daily with Dydro for 10 days each month.  Dg x

[Milamam]

DG, that's what I thought I would ask for next week when I finish the current pack, lets see whether the doctor will approve ( don't see why not). Yes, I am decreasing E because I feel I have too much right now. On the other hand I don't want to ditch Femoston alltogether as it is working so well for me. And also so easy. The other option is to get back to a full Femoston dose and just wait out this E peaks to subside on their own ? Hopefully soon.

[anna123]

Thank you for your help Milamam. I was wondering if I was also producing my own oestrogen too given that I'm only 41 but it seems odd that it should re-start now after 2 years.

Like you, I really like Femoston and feel like my old self. It has helped me more than many anti-depressants over the years and I finally feel 'normal'  I do not want to start trying different ones and going through all that again - it's just this bleeding is crazy. I'v been given tablets to stop it which work after a day but once I stop taking them it starts again. I don't want to just stop it with meds but find out what is causing it and stop it happening.

I started on 1/10 (in Scotland) and it did nothing for me at all. only when I went to 2/10 did it help  at all.

I have an appointment for next week so hopefully will get some progress.

[anna123]

Hello again

Just an update really and hoping for some advice on what might happen next from people who have been through similar. I bled most of last week until Saturday.

I saw my GP today who examined me and said she can see/feel nothing wrong -abrasions etc. She has referred me for a scan and is also referring me to see Dr Currie again. In the meantime she has suggested I stop the HRT just to see what my hormones are doing on their own. Tbh if it stops me bleeding I don't mind although understand this isn't a long term solution as I do need to go back on something. I know I will bleed in the next few days having stopped today but it will be interesting to see if and when I do again.

When I was first tested 2 1/2 years ago my fsh levels were over 50 ( I was 38) and my periods were happening only every 3 months. I assume that I will be further in peri now.

If I don't have a period at all how long do I have to wait before I can just have oestrogen only HRT? Any advice would be most welcome, thank you. 

[Dancinggirl]

anna123 - if you haven't had a hysterectomy then you will always need to have progesterone - you can't have oestrogen alone without progesterone because the progesterone protects the womb lining from building up.  Have you been offered a Mirena?  This could be a good option for you as you are less likely to get any bleeding at all and can then you use as little or as much oestrogen as you like. DG x

[anna123]

Hi DG, thanks for your response. No I've not had a hysterectomy. Ah I misunderstood - I thought if after 1 year or 2 of no periods you could just take oestrogen and then not have bleeds at all. I must be thinking of something else.

No, she didn't mention the mirena and tbh I forgot to mention it although I am wary as heard some women suffer with headaches which I'm very prone to. I also don't really want to use contraception as a tiny part of me always hopes by some miracle I might have another baby I know the chances are remote to zero really but you never know.

My GP is happy to refer me back to a specialist and see what she recommends. I'm lucky I have a good GP, after reading some of the stories on here.

[Kline64]

Hi just wondering I've started taking femoston 2/10 for 2 weeks I haven't had a period in about 4 yrs  and I'm reading about people bleeding while taking this I really don't want to go back down that road again , any advice would be grateful thanks

[Dancinggirl]

Hi Kline64 and welcome to MM
Do start your own thread so more women can respond and advice.
Femoston 2/10 is a very good HRt to try first - it has a kinder progesterone which suits many women very well.
You don't say how old you are? You are likely to be post meno as you haven't had a period for 4 years, however when starting HRT for the first time, a sequential type of HRT is a good idea so you can gage whether this type of HRT, and particularly the progesterone, suits you to not. A sequential HRT will usually result in a withdrawal bleed each month but this will often be quite light and not a problem. One of the problematic issues around having a continuous HRT preparation (a non bleed HRT) can be intolerance to having progesterone every day.  Oestrogen tends to be the 'feel good' hormone but progesterone can bring some side effects like PMT for some women  - so by using it for only 12-14 days each month this lessens any negative side effects. Many of us, even well into post meno, prefer to put up with a monthly bleed rather than take progesterone every day.  Having said this, many women have no side effects with progesterone so do really well with conti HRT.
My advice would be to try this HRt for 3-6 months - see how you get on and if you feel OK on the progesterone in this HRT you can then switch to the conti version.  The only problem is the conti version of Femoston is a lower dose so might not be as effective, however, you do have a variety of options to try.
I must also tell you that even the conti HRTs will bring some bleeding and spotting for the first few weeks and months during the settling in time and ongoing problems with bleeding can occur.
If you really want to have the simplest way to go without a bleed then having a Mirena fitted and using oestrogen separately as gel or patch is a good option  - worth thinking about for the future.
Do look under TREATMENTS at the top of the page to get clued up about your options.
If I were you I'd relax and enjoy getting your life back on track with this excellent HRT and just put up with the small inconvenience of 3-4 days of bleeding - then reassess after that.
Keep us posted.  DG x

[MIS71MUM]

Hi
I just wanted to say that this happened to me on Femoston 1/10
And 2/10 and in the end I ended up coming off it because of this.

I've now started evorel sequi and am having the exact same problems. Can't offer a cure but am seeing my gyny on Monday and expecting that she will mention extra progesterone.

Please make sure you get your iron levels tested as this can lead to all sorts of problems. My ferritin was 6 at the time of the Femoston and it took 6 months to get it back to normal.