Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[emmab1973]

Good morning
I am on here looking for some much needed advise please, I am becoming more desperate for help.
I was diagnosed being Peri menopause last August and since then my menopause journey has been horrendous!
Firstly, my doctor put me on Evorel Conti for a few months which was awful. It made me feel like I was about a pass out continuously and felt sick all the time. I am actually still on cerazette for contreception.
After this my doctor put me on Tibolone, another disaster! On tibolone I had my two month check up but my regular doctor was off, so the temp doctor gave me a check up and my blood pressure on this was sky high and I had to come off the pill until I saw my regular doctor. So I had two weeks with nothing right over the Christmas period. It was awful!
After seeing my normal doctor, she told me the other doctor was wrong to take me off the medication, so put me back on Tibolone and monitored me for one month, again my blood pressure went sky high so she swopped me to Tridestra.
So since early Feb of this year I've been on Tridestra and I have bled every day since, sometimes it's just on tissue when having a wee, sometimes it's so heavy and very clotty or it's brown discharge ( sorry for the info!)
I am so down with this whole situation, I went to the doctors again last week and she told me now I have to come off Tridestra and have nothing for 6 weeks.
I have always still been on cerazette the whole time, I'm getting period pains I've never had and recently been told I have a fibroid.
I just have no idea what to do with myself, I bought some 1000g primrose oil and some St. John's warts and a herbal vitamin supplement but I don't know if this is going to work or not.
Has anyone else had such a crappy time with this? I am desperate for some advise. Many thanks x

[emmab1973]

I forgot to add, I'm 45

[aspie65]

I knew within days that 2 types of HRT I tried weren't for me.  I happily was not encouraged to keep going but swapped again and third time lucky that HRT (now sadly discontinued) suited me perfectly.  It helped with no side effects at all.  My point is I wouldn't keep suffering, go back and ask for another type.

[Dancinggirl]

Hi and welcome to MM emmab1973

OMG - another set of GPs who don't know how to treat menopause!!!!!! You need to be referred to menopause clinic or a specialist gynaecologist. It is not unusual to be peri meno at 45 but you may be in the early stage or peri so hormones could be fluctuating greatly  - what symptoms were you getting and how were you diagnosed as menopausal?

IF you are peri menopause they should not have prescribed conti HRT or the Tibolone as these are for post menopausal women!!!!  Tridestra is also not really suitable for peri menopause as it is likely to cause problematic bleeding.
If you are still taking Cerazette alongside HRT you are getting a big hit of progesterone which will cause side effects like low mood and PMT. The Tridestra will also be building you womb lining if you are in early peri meno which will cause the heavy and erratic bleeding.

If I were you I would stop everything for now and let things settle.  Pop back to the GP and ask for another set of blood tests to be done 3-4 weeks apart to really assess what's going on.  If you still need contraception, then having a Mirena fitted would be advisable as you could then simply add the oestrogen you need as pills, gel or patch  - the Mirena could shrink the fibroid and solve the problematic bleeding.
Don't take St John's wort alongside HRT as it can interfere with absorption of hormones.
Read up all the factual info on this site to get clued up - this article can really help you understand what is going on:
https://www.menopausematters.co.uk/magazine/pdf/Article%20-%20Perils%20of%20the%20Perimenopause.pdf


Do keep us posted - we are here to help.  DG x

[emmab1973]

DG thank you so much for your reply! I could cry, it's so frustrating with my GP. She literally just sits in front of me with her book and picks something out for me to try.
I had been having hot sweats for a long time and been feeling tearful, I happened to mention it to my nurse with my pill check up and she said I might be Peri. I really had to insist on a blood test and was told after that I'm Peri.
I'm going to call today and ask to see a different doctor who will refer me to our local menopause clinic.
My current doctor is so harsh, I'm not the most assertive person so I'll rather ask for a different doctor to refer me. She's actually a little bit scary 😳 ( says the 45 yr old woman 😆)
I feel like I'm going around in circles and nothing is helping. I'll come back soon and hopefully will have a referral!! Thank you so much xx

[Dancinggirl]

Write everything down e.g.your symptoms, what the various GPs have prescribed and why what they have given you is wrong and print off stuff from this site as this will help your confidence when discussing with the doctors. Good Luck. Keep us posted. DG x

[Mary G]

I wouldn't waste any more of your valuable time with that lot, you are far too young to be suffering like this and I think you need to take some urgent action.  You are being messed about by people who don't know what they are doing.

I would strongly recommend you take the fast track, seek help privately and consult a menopause specialist like Professor Studd who will put you on an effective HRT regime.   Have a look at his website.   

There are other menopause specialists listed on here.  Good luck!

[emmab1973]

Thank you all so very much for your replies, I went to see a different doctor today who wanted to put me on anti depressants. I'm a single mum who has to work so I decided against this option.
I've managed to get a referral to a private hospital in Fawkham on the 24th of this month.
So hopefully I'll see a consultant who knows what they are doing. Fingers crossed for me and again, thank you for the replies. I was feeling awful yesterday and your comments helped me out

Xxx

[Dancinggirl]

Well done for refusing ADs - this is not the right treatment for meno symptoms. Let us know how you get on with the specialist. I'd still go well prepared with everything written down though.  DG x

[Mary G]

That's good news and well done, you made the right decision!  Please let us know how it goes.

[emmab1973]

A long time since I contacted this site! But I thought I would check in, incase other ladies are having the same problems. After being referred to a specialist doctor I now have the mirena coil and one pump of Estrogel? So far not much has happened to change, but I am only 2 and a bit weeks in. Fingers crossed! and good luck to everyone else xx
This site kept me sane and offered me lots of advice. Thank you very much!!

[alibeau]

Well done for getting that referral.

I am 46 and have been peri for over a year.  I put up with symptoms for quite some time as they were intermittent, however they were becoming more permanent and life was miserable.

I found a female GP who I was happy with.  She firstly tried me on Clonidine which is actually a blood pressure medication but can also be use to relieve hot flushes.  This did not work for me and had lots of horrible side effects.  GP also offered me AD's which I politely declined!

I am now on Femoston 1/10 - low dose oral HRT, I read up on this under the treatments section on this website and my GP also felt this would be a good starting point.  I am only 2 weeks in so can't really say if it is working or not as my symptoms had been intermittent but fingers crossed as no hot flushes at the moment.

Good luck and hope you find something that works for you very soon!

Ali x

[emmab1973]

Good morning Ladies,
Another question!! I have been given the mirena coil and the estrogel and been in since August, I am STILL bleeding and cannot think of a whole week that I haven't. It's either fairly heavy and bright red or brown. But always seems to be there, has anyone else bled for so long? It's so depressing

[Dancinggirl]

Emma - I'd get this checked out - maybe the Mirena has fallen out or displaced??  Perhaps get your oestrogen levels checked - in peri meno your own oestrogen levels can fluctuate and this might cause bleeding.  I'm afraid it can take time for the bleeding to stop altogether and only around 60% of women with a Mirena are bleed free. Once you get deeper into the meno then I think bleeding is less likely.

Your alternative would be to use a sequential HRT regime as pills or patch and this would involve a monthly bleed anyway. DG x

[emmab1973]

Many thanks Dancing girl, I have had the patch previously and it was awful for me. It is odd but before the HRT I had no bleeds for over a year, now on HRT whatever given, I just seem to bleed. My hot sweats etc are so much better, it's just the bleeding