Thank you Hurdity.
I got the Norethisterone from being referred to a hospital one night by NHS 24.
My timeline/medication was a bit messed up over the past few months, because I thought (and the GP hadn't told me) that any contraceptive pill I was going to be taking might take 3/4 months to settle into a routine.
I haven't taken any contraception from the ages of 44. So I had a really, really good idea of my cycle and PMS type symptoms. My fiancé had a vasectomy years ago, so there is no need.
My GP had given me I Tranexamic Acid from October time for the increasingly heavy bleeds and huge clots. That made me feel nauseous and very dizzy. So she put me on Cerelle at the start of November.
I had thought it would have been like my previous pill (that I took for about 15 years from 29 odd, until I was about 44. I took Microgynon pretty much all the way through), which worked perfectly from day one.
So I thought the Cerelle would act the same way. 1 After almost one packet it wasn't working, still the same heavy bleeds and clotting. I was hysterical by then. I stopped taking it and that's when I went to hospital and got the Norethisterone.
Then I went back to my GP and begged her for a combined type pill, as it had always worked for me in the past. She didn't want to give it to me but did - Loestrin 20. I now know the reason is because they stop giving you that sort of pill when you're 50, so I might only have been on it for a year and a bit.
Half way through the first strip, I called her up again, as I was still getting the irregular, prolonged, clotty bleeds and explained about having been referred by NHS24. She sounded really horrified that I might have been taking the Loestrin 20, the Tranexamic Acid and the Norethisterone all at the same time. I absolutely wasn't. But her reaction was pretty full on - almost accusatory. I decided to cut her out of all of this. Too stressful for me. Not helping.
I had two strips of Loestrin 20. And this is where we are now.
I had an excellent appointment with the Boots Contraceptive Service last night. I was there one whole hour and the doctor took time to explain a lot of stuff to me.
So, she put me back on Cerelle, as I can take that until I'm 55 apparently. She explained about taking about 4 strips to settle into a pattern.
And also then, about the 4 month mark, I'd know if I was:
one of 40% of women who just have regular contraceptive 'withdrawal' bleeds from it
One of 40% of women that continue to have the crazy periods
One of 20% of women who had no period at all
She explained I would have another 2 POP choices open to me to try after that, if I felt it wasn't working.
She also explained I could take the Cerelle and the TA together. That was OK. I also asked about taking the Cerelle plus the Norethisterone. She explained that it wasn't the best idea, as the more stuff I put into my system, the less of a clear idea we would have as to how things were working. That's not the impression I got for either of those things from my GP. I felt like I was doing something incredibly dangerous. from her reaction.
I have another appointment with a sexual health service next week. They have a menopause clinic they'e referring me to as well. And I discovered from my appointment last might that they also have a wing of the service that deals with survivors of sexual violence. So they sound like they might be a good fit for me from this point on.
So I guess it's a waiting game at the moment. I'm starting my new batch of Cerelle on Monday morning.
I cope best with finding out information and being given choices (even if those are actually a little illusory). I deal with extreme stress (like this) by intellectualising everything and finding some sort of framework to hang my experiences round and feelings from. If people don't explain things and give me that, I tend not to deal with it well. It turns into a fight or flight type thing. And that doesn't help anyone. Me, as I don't find out the information I am looking for, and the other person, as they end up getting caught up in, and distracted by, dealing with my PTSD over reaction.
So, I've decided that I'm taking the Cerelle to see what happens. The clots I in these 3 or 4 months, I will deal with by taking the TA for the four days I can (or less than 4 days), so that I can at least live my life a little and do some of my more regular work.
If I have some very serious/important work that I need to be (and feel) on top form for (which happens a handful of times a year), and can't be clotting/feeling nauseous from taking the TA, I will take some of the Norethisterone instead of the TA.
