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[Lou02]

Hi Ladies,

I haven't posted in quite a while as felt that things had settled down for me.....little did I know 😢

I started in peri probably as far back as 2011/12. The last few years I've had large gaps in my cycle with the longest about 140 days.

I've had odd bits of spotting which I suppose could be classed as a light period and then in November the flood gates opened! I had three episodes of bad flooding with clots. After the second episode I went to my GP who prescribed tranexamic acid and told me it was quite normal in peri. The TA calmed it down so after four days I stopped taking it but after a few days the flood gates opened again and I really thought I was haemorrhaging! I went to the Out of hours GP who gave me norethisterone to take alongside the TA. It stopped the bleeding apart from the odd bit of spotting. I had blood tests last week and when I rang for the results the receptionist told me my GP didn't need to see me but to go back in a month for a retest. I asked to speak to the duty GP as wanted to check about the TA as knew it was only meant to be taken for a short amount of time. I explained that as soon as I reduced the TA the spotting was worse. He said I shouldn't be spotting and it was very unusual whilst taking norethisterone.

Today I've taken less TA and this evening I've started bleeding quite moderately again. I'm beginning to panic about this as understood the  norethisterone alone should control the bleeding. I feel completely alone in this as none of my friends have experienced prolonged bleeding and keep saying it's not normal. I'm extremely bad tempered and cannot see an end to it. The last few days I've felt really low which isn't like me at all. My husband is meant to be going away for two nights this week and I'm so worried my symptoms will get worse whilst he's away. I just don't know what to do and spent the last hour in tears. Can anyone offer any advice or share their experience.

[yellowflower]

I went through this. You need a transvaginal ultrasound. I had bleeding that lasted 6 weeks and was found to have a 16mm uterine lining. Fortunately for me it was not hyperplasia or uterine cancer, but you need to be checked.

[CLKD]

Have a 

Menopause is normal.  But it can throw up huge unexpectations!  Jot down what has been suggested here and ring the surgery, see if you can speak to the GP or Practice Nurse about arranging the appropriate scan.

[CLKD]

If it was serious then your GP would have sent you to A&E ;-).  Some ladies get a build up in the womb which can be days B4 the bleeding stops.  The drug works but if there is any lining left when the effects wear off, it is likely to begin .......... it surprises me how much lining can be shed and it looks a huge amount.  Years ago someone told me that my period would fill a table spoon - well the clots were bigger than a table spoon  .  Two pads in the day and 2 and a thick towel in the night  .

Note the word 'should' from the duty GP ;-)

Drink plenty of fluids.  Eat little and often. 

[Kathleen]

Hello Lou02

I agree that a scan would be the best thing to do but I thought I would mention my experience.

Early in my meno journey I had heavy periods but that was pretty normal for me. I started to pass clots and when I had two heavy periods in one month I saw my GP. He prescribed Noresthisterone for two weeks of the month but it made very little difference so he said increase the dosage to three weeks but although the clots stopped, my periods remained heavy. A scan showed I had one very small fibroid and was told this wasn't a problem in itself and would likely disappear when I was post meno. My heavy  periods continued for a few more years then suddenly stopped altogether and never returned.

A few years later when a had started on HRT and had some spotting my lining was found to be slightly thickened, my ovaries atrophied and my fibroid had gone. No further action was needed.

I mention all this to reassures you that despite alarming symptoms and poor response to drugs your problems can be very minor and even self correcting as mine were.

Wishing you well and take care.

K.

[Foxylady]

Best wishes Lou02, sorry you are feeling so scared about what you are going through. I hope you have good support from family/friends even though they are unable to fully empathise with you. Sometimes just having someone there to listen can make all the difference. I think the advice given from the other ladies is quite right and let us know how you get on. x

[purpleflower78]

Oh Lou02 I'm sorry to hear this, I am going through something similar (4 months of continuous bleeding).  Sometimes I am flooding at other days I am not really bleeding too much at all.  I have had an ultra sound (my endometrial thickness was approximately 24 mm) and because of this a biopsy.  Fortunately there is nothing sinister although I was so worried I paid for a private biopsy.  I haven't been given any medication and currently waiting to see if I can have a coil fitted in surgery (private treatment was costed at over £3600).

I completely sympathise with you, although my friends and family are supportive they all seem to thing that there is something wrong that hasn't been diagnosed because they don't know of anyone who has been through the same thing.

Like others I recommend asking for an ultra sound and you can go from there really.  One thing I would say that in my area I was told by the GP that the NHS wait for an ultra sound was 4 weeks. After 4 weeks I hadn't heard anything so I rang the department and was told that the wait was 5-6 weeks, however, they had several cancellations the following day one of which I took.  It seemed that they did not routinely offer cancellation appointments which seems a little strange when the wait is so long but this may depend on the particular hospital.

Let us know how you get on - take care x

[CLKD]

Do look at 'mirena coil' - put it into the search box and see what pops up?


Some Hospitals ask if a patient will take a cancellation.  However, if it's simply that people fail to show it isn't possible but does enable Staff to catch up on paper work etc..  I always ask about the cancellation option if I'm worried.

[Hurdity]

Hi Lou02

So sorry to hear about your ongoing bleeding - the absolute pits and no wonder you feel as you do especially with seemingly inadequate diagnosis and treatment from your doctor.

I don't know why blood tests have been carried out and maybe you know which blood tests were ordered. If for menopause (ie FSH and estradiol) - these are inaccurate and have no bearing on whether or not there is something untoward causing the excessive bleeding.

Yes it is normal in peri-menopause - and anovulatory cycles leading to build up of your uterine lining is the most likely explanation, BUT I agree with the others - I would insist on a scan - abdominal followed by TVS ( trans-vaginal) and then if necessary they can refer you for hysteroscopy and potentially biopsy. This is the only way to determine whether anything is amiss and given your treatement with the TA and norethisterone and you still have bleeding I would ask for this sooner rather than later. It could be fibroids or a polpy, it could just be an overthickened lining due to peri - but you want to rule out anything worrying.

I'm thinking you're not in the UK unless you hadn't gone to bed by the time you posted ( referring to "this evening" - meaning last night now?). In your position I would phone for an on-the-day appointment and don't be fobbed off, and when you see the doc -w hether por not it is your own doc, I would insist on a referral for a scan in view of your ongoing bleeding that is not fully responding to treatment.

There is an article about peri-menopause and what happens to your cycles here:
https://www.menopausematters.co.uk/magazine/pdf/Article%20-%20Perils%20of%20the%20Perimenopause.pdf

Also info about heavy bleeding and treatments here :
https://www.menopausematters.co.uk/heavyperiods.php
https://www.menopausematters.co.uk/periodtreatments.php

Try not to worry - but do make sure you don't get anaemic by taking suitable iron tonic perhpas eg Floradix liquid or Spatone?


Hudity x

[CLKD]

Change your GP ;-)

[yellowflower]

Your GP is wrong. Flooding periods are not normal. That doesn't mean you are dealing with anything sinister, but it needs to be checked. I had no period for 6 months back in 2017 and then got an absolute shocker that flooded at first and then would not stop. I had a transvaginal ultrasound that showed a 16mm thick uterine line that was removed with day surgery. I was told that there is a chance it may be uterine cancer or hyperplasia. It turned out to be neither, but I did not want an IUD put in and I did not want to take progesterone tablets every day either. In the end, I decided on hysterectomy with multiple repairs. BEST DECISION EVER!

Now for some reassurance. Most bleeding is caused by benign conditions and even the more serious conditions are usually able to be treated effectively. Unfortunately there is a lot of misinformation out there that lead people to believe that any strange bleeding in perimenopause is "normal". It's not and should be checked out.

[CLKD]

Sometimes enzymes are raised.  Without a problem. She seems on the ball, hang onto her  . Get it done - will you have to wait very long for the appt.?

[yellowflower]

My creatinine is sometimes slightly over the upper limit on blood tests. I drink lots of water before retesting and it's normal again. Do you know how high your result is?

[CLKD]

You could ring the appropriate dept and ask, would you be able to take a cancellation?

[dangermouse]

This sounds like high oestrogen surges in peri which can cause the heavy periods and an overworked liver. I had liver cysts from the high oestrogen and the consultant said this was also common in pregnancy when oestrogen is very high.

It will calm down and hopefully will be soon for you.