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[ThisIsAwful]

Hello! I am 44 and have been going through Peri for about two years. I have hypothyroidism and I had a heart attack at 29 caused by a genetic lipo protein defect.[First my GP put me on birth control to get my cycles regulated. They were coming every 21 days with break through bleeding. Then my OBGYN gave me the "Peri Starter pack" Vivelle Dot and cyclic Prometrium, I was still having anxiety so they stopped the Estrogen. Nothing changed. Last December I started having anxiety and stomach problems again and the OBGYN raised the Prometrium to 200 constantly. I felt better mentally but my cycles are longer and I'm pretty much crippled by the stomach problems right now.  I have an appointment with the OBGYN again next week.
If anyone has any advice for this madness I would truly appreciate it.

[AgathaC]

Can I ask what kind of stomach problems please? X
Sorry to hear all is so awful for you X

[ThisIsAwful]

Thanks for the reply. I have what can only be described as a "shaking" sensation ib my stomach coupled with nausea and bloating. Bentyl (a smooth muscle relaxer) usually helps, but the past couple of days it barely touches it.
The mind fog is pretty bad too.

[Kathleen]

Hello ThisIsAwful and welcome to the forum.


I have the stomach shaking and many other ladies on MM have mentioned it. My trusty meno book also refers to it, the author describes the sensations as subtle but that has not been my experience! I also have nausea but so far  I've managed to escape the bloating ( goodness knows how ). All of this feeds my anxiety of course which probably makes it all worse. I actually googled ‘ internal shaking‘ a while ago and there were lots of posts from menopausal women complaining about it. One said that her doctor reassured her that it was hormonal and would pass and it did so there is hope!

I am seeing my GP tomorrow so if he has any suggestions for coping with this symptom I will pass it on. I note that you find  a muscle relaxant helps sometimes which is good to know but ideally we would just like the damn shaking to stop.

Be assured that you are not alone with this distressing feeling and I wish you well.

K.

[ThisIsAwful]

Thank you for your kind words. Try pro biotics for the bloating. The bloating I have now is nothing compared to what is was before when buttons would literally unfasten themselves under the strain.

[Hurdity]

Hi ThisIsAwful

 

Sorry to hear about your menopausal woes. I presume you are in US - the equivalent HRT here in UK would be Estradot and Utrogestan which many members take ( myself included!)?

Your nausea and stomach problems/bloating could well be due to taking the Prometrium 200 mg every day.  Also the brain fog - very common!! There is no way that I would want to take this stuff at that dose orally every day (and many on here would agree). This is not prescribed like this in UK. For medium doses of oestrogen ( 50 -75 mcg patch) it would be 100 mg for 25 days out of 28 or 200 mg cyclically for 12 days per 28 which would give a withdrawal bleed like a period. Vaginal use is recommended for anyone who suffers side effects from oral use but this is not ideal for daily use especially if in a relationship. For higher doses of oestrogen a higher dose of progesterone might be needed but vaginal use ensures more gets to the uterus lining.

Maybe you have (had?) endometriosis - hence the high dose of prog?

This is the first change I would make - switch to vaginal use and if you don't mind a withdrawal bleed take it cyclically and see what happens.

I've never had shaking (except sometimes something that feels like a nerve twitching internally from time to time) but the others have helped with that one!

Hope this helps

Hurdity x

[ThisIsAwful]

Thanks Hurdity.
Yes, I'm in the USA. Oddly enough, I tolerate Prometrium well. It was mostly great when we were doing the 200 MG bi-weekly and then the 100 for the next two weeks.   The Doctor upped the dose because I was having anxiety and stomach issues again. No endometriosis. The anxiety isn't back, but the stomach issues are coming and going with each shift in hormones. Maybe I should ask for estrogen and a stronger dose of Prometrium for two weeks and then back down to 200?  I see the Doctor next Tuesday. Today he called in Provera to take for five days instead of Prometrium to cause a bleed and hopefully get some relief.