Print

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

[Aroundincircles]

Hi all, looking for a bit of advice, sorry if I'm in the wrong place!

Firstly,  a bit of history:  I am 55 years old and began taking HRT at 47 due to night sweats, mood swings, poor sleep.  I tried different types including patches and tablets until all seemed to be working well. At 51 I asked to try Tibolone in an effort to retrieve my long lost libido! I was warned that some spotting may occur which it did, in fact it occurred every day for 6 months.  GP then said I had to come off of the Tibolone to prove that this was the problem and not something more sinister.  As soon as I stopped taking it the bleeding stopped and I decided that, as I was now 52 and the recommended 5 years was up, I would try to live without HRT altogether.  Over the next year my menopause symptoms slowly returned, again hot flushes, night sweats, shocking sleep (or lack of) and anxiety problems so I went back to GP and went back on HRT but the bleeding started immediately as well. Again, had to stop of 6 weeks to prove it was the HRT and so the vicious circle continued until I went to see a private doctor.  She ordered me a scan to check my womb etc and everything was proven to be normal.  I was recommended then to have a Mirena coil fitted to deal with the bleeding and use Estrogel for oestrogen.

I had the Mirena coil fitted 7 months ago and I use the Estrogel pump - 2 pumps daily.  Some things have improved but some things haven't and I'm not sure what I should realistically expect.

So, currently I still bleed almost daily.  When I say bleed it's more like a dark brown discharge all of the time so I have to use pads and just an occasional day of proper bleeding. I also seem to suffer from occasional days of period like pains and bloating.  These aren't regular in that they aren't monthly, I have them today and yesterday and prior to that about two weeks ago.  I should add that during the year plus that I didn't take HRT I had no bleeding at all.

My libido is next to nil and has been for a long time, HRT of any type has made no difference to that. 

I still have occasional anxiety attacks for no apparent reason and some black days when I can't seem to function properly but maybe that's just how life is sometimes.

I sleep well most nights - yay! but still need a cat nap in the afternoon sometimes!

I no longer have hot flushes and only occasionally suffer with night sweats.

Almost forgot to mention.... bladder isn't holding up so well these days either despite using hormone vaginal cream (I forget the name of it).

So, as I said above, I suppose what I'm asking is are these things treatable or are they just the natural aging process and maybe just life getting in the way?  Is this as good as I can and should hope for?

I'm interested to hear other peoples opinions and/or experiences.  Thanks.

[Tinkerbell]

I am same age as you, also using Estrogel and the Mirena, i use 3 pumps of the Estrogel, maybe up your dose and see if it helps. What topical estrogen cream are you using and how often?

[Marionjayne]

I had my mirena removed as the doc said it was that causing the persistent spotting post menopause. It was ok while I was still having periods.
No spotting now.