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[Tarcy]

Hi Ladies, I'm brand new on here and am hoping for some help please....sorry this is a long story too.

I was diagnosed as per-menopausal at the beginning of this year after developing the usual night sweats, dizziness, mood swings, hot flushes etc. I'm 45 and have had lots of pelvic surgery - finally to remove a badly sewn in ventural mesh, my doctor believes this bought on the early changes.

Since May I have been on Femoston 1/10 and am also on Cerazette progesterone pill which I've been taking for 5 years. Since being on the Femoston my moods gradually became worse and have now become severe to the point of absolute depression, suicidal thoughts, daily anger, and I'm ashamed to admit I even deliberately cut myself last Friday - something I have never done, or thought I would even consider! I was prescribed Mirtazapine 3 weeks ago to try and alleviate the craziness. However after a desperate weekend I took my pills to the pharmacist, after failing to get a doctors appointment today (still waiting for a call back this evening!!). He straight away suggested I could be having issues with the progesterone levels I am taking and suggested that the HRT and Pill combined were making the situation worse.

So my long winded question is are any of you taking both Cerazette and Femoston and experienced the same side effects? I'm desperate for answers, suggestions, or even a new me because I certainly no longer like the person I am now.

[Hurdity]

Hi Tarcy

 

So sorry to hear about your problems with HRT. Before I got to the end of your post I was horrified that you have been given Femoston as well as the POP! Of course that is too much progestogen and no wonder you are feeling rough! You should never have been given the Mirtazapine either - which may well treat your symptoms but not the cause. But I can understand why you were desparate and had to take something!

You must now try to get your HRT right before deciding that anti-depressants are the right course of action - and how awful that the docs failed to think about this. Yet another example of incompetence!

That being said - you haven't said how old you are - and some women who are under 50 and peri-menopausal prefer to go onto the combined contraceptive pill - not the types with strong synthetic oestorgens - but there are two newer types which contain the same oestrogen as HRT. They are called ZOELY and QLAIRA. They do contain high progestogen doses though but obviously are designed this way. Here is what it says on this site about these:

http://www.menopausematters.co.uk/contra2.php ( scroll down):

HRT type estrogen containing pill

A new combined pill, Qlaira is now available which contains natural estradiol valerate as the estrogen component, rather than the synthetic estrogen ethinylestradiol. Ethinylestradiol is the usual component of the combined pill whereas estradiol valerate is an HRT type estrogen. This is a useful option for women in the perimenopause when it should control menopausal symptoms while providing contraception and good control of bleeding.

Do think about this - or if not - just take the Femoston and stop the Cezarette. The only thing is if you were given it for heavy bleeding you may experience a resumption of this - but the CCP types above will regulate this.

Another possibility is the Mirena coil ( which delivers progestogen locally to the uterus) and then you can take oestrogen separately at whatever dose yuo need - as a tablet, patch or gel.

Hope this helps and let us know what you decide

Hurdity x

[Tarcy]

Hi Hurdity

Thank you so much for your reply, just seeing your words made me feel like I wasn't going crazy!

I'm 45 now. I unexpectedly lost my father 18 months ago and initially put my mood changes down to grief but when the flushes started towards the end of last year, then the night sweats etc I realised it was something more. When I first went to my GP I was sent for my umpteenth transvaginal scan - I was told I had a lump in the lining of my womb. So I was told I couldn't go on HRT. So I was put on Fluoxetine, which gave me initial high's then quickly turned to low's. Six weeks later I had another scan only to be told there was no lump. Eventually I was put on Femoston 1/10, all the GP asked was if I was using contraceptive. She didn't say anything about stopping it, what one I was on, or even when to start taking the HRT. I had been put on Cerazette 5 yrs ago due to heavy bleeds. I remember that I started taking the Femoston mid-way through my contraceptive pill, I was told to start it immediately.

As the months have gone on I knew something wasn't right but I thought I was going through depression from grief, surgery and a few other factors, but I trusted that the HRT would start working at some point. So 4 weeks ago I suffered what I can only describe as a mental 'snap'. Resulting in seeing another different GP, being referred to the mental health team and then being prescribed Mirtazapine.

After yet another complete breakdown, resulting in the crazy self harm, I went to the Pharmacist armed with the tablets. It was such a relief when he immediately said I shouldn't be on the POP with Femoston, but I'm finding it hard to trust any medical professional now (the ventural mesh was stitched into me 10 years ago - resulting in 5 further ops to remove scar tissues and ongoing investigations - eventually having it removed as it was tearing through my bowel wall - the last op saved me from a perforated bowel, then being told it didn't appear I needed the mesh anyway as there was no evidence of a pelvic prolapsel!).

Today I phoned my surgery at 8am for an emergency appointment, was told I was put on a call back list, called 3 further times chasing them, by 6.30 I never received a call back - very frustrating.

So yes I will look at alternative treatments for my peri-menopause. The last scan showed one of my ovaries as still being active and the other not active. It's a minefield but this site is a life savour, and so are people like you who take the time to help out. Hopefully my experiences might help others in future. I'll keep you posted!!

Thank you again