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[matildamouse]

Excellent point thanks Hurdity!

[matildamouse]

Excellent point thanks Hurdity!

[Dorothy]

Dorothy - you don't need to take any breaks on the pill, particularly when they allow your cycle to come back to bother you so much, plus you will now need another week or so to build the pill back up again to control your cycle.

There is no health reason to take any breaks (even though some websites suggest it) as the progesterone is high enough to keep the lining from building up, which means much less to shed when you do stop. I was on it for over 6 months without a break and had a tiny withdrawal bleed when stopped.

My previous GP prescribed it on that basis - they did keep a very close eye on when I came in for a repeat prescription to make sure I was taking the breaks.  My new GP (I have moved) says that I shouldn't be running packs together at all, so my chances of getting her to agree to me taking it continuously isn't great!  (The new one is one of those 'you can't have menopausal symptoms in your 40s' types  )

[dangermouse]

Gosh that is really old advice as it's well documented now that pill breaks aren't necessary and I've had several doctors (whilst I was on the pill) ordering me not to take the breaks to keep symptoms at bay - especially as mine were severe (couldn't eat at all). About 10 years ago it was a different story but things have moved on and it is a shame GPs are not up to date with their medical knowledge - as mine are also ignorant in other areas!

You could of course just not tell them you have the breaks but I understand you feel more comfortable following their advice.

Not sure if this is common but once I'd taken the pill for 6 months I started to feel different. I stopped it and I've never returned to those awful extreme symptoms and so I wonder if it interrupts our cycles enough to calm the surges? Just to give you some hope for the not too distant future!

[Dorothy]

When so many GPs still refuse to believe women under 50 can be menopausal (lost track of the number of 'early' ladies on this forum who have mentioned this problem with their GP), it's not surprising the GPs are equally fuzzy about current HRT advice!  Hopefully the next generation will see an improvement!

[dangermouse]

Yes let's hope!

I think for women generally they should have more monitoring of their hormones throughout their menstruating years too - which might then allow a smoother menopause.

I've felt something was 'off' from my 20s and this very gradually got worse and worse until it exploded in my late 40s and I'm not even technically perimenopausal (as FSH levels are normal). I tried every supplement in existence, presuming it was some nutritional imbalance, always hoping I'd found 'the one' but to no avail. Then being aware of feeling normal every now and again inspired me to try to get that feeling back and try another. Didn't have a clue it was hormonal (apparently hormonal gastric migraines) and would have had a very different life if I'd known how to rebalance. Fortunately I'm still young'ish but you do think about all those wasted years!