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[JoannFran]

Hi ladies

I wondered if anyone has any success with birth control pills for perimenopause symptoms?  I'm 46 and definitely peri.  My main symptom is debilitating anxiety.  I also get lots of joint pain and insomnia and awful head/ear pressure.  I'm not really having night sweats (maybe one per month during period) and no hot flushes.  I think I must be estrogen dominant (or have massive spikes) as when I tried HRT (estrogen (gel and spray)) the anxiety symptoms were much worse so I stopped.   I emailed Dr Curry who was really helpful and said that sometimes HRT can make symptoms worse in peri and birth control pills can sometimes help as it suppresses your natural cycle. 

Would love to hear if anyone had any success with this in peri?  Either the combined pill or progesterone only.  I'm desperate to get out of this hell.

Thank you very much x

[CLKD]

Some do find The Pill helps symptoms.  Hopefully a member with more knowledge will be along ............

[HelloSam666]

Hi Joannfran,

i'm not sure whether i'm pre-menopausal or menopausal as i'm on the mini pill so don't have periods. I've been taking this pill for many years without any problems. In terms of menopause symptoms, i've had some insomnia & hormonal migraines in the last year so now taking progesterone cream i buy myself online. This has sorted those problems out.

In comparison to friends of the same age (54), I believe the mini pill has masked a lot of symptoms and i'm grateful for that. And this is the reason i'm more than happy to stay on it for a while yet. I know that may not work for everyone though.

[JoannFran]

Thanks CLKD 

Thanks HelloSam66.  Do you mind telling me which mini pill you're on?  Also where do you buy the progesterone cream?  That's reassuring to hear that you've not had many menopause symptoms.  I'm hopeful that it might work for me.

Thanks for your reply xx

[sheila99]

There are two that seem to be recommended as they provide oestrogen too, zoely and qlaira. I would put them in the search box, there are threads on them.

[HelloSam666]

Hi JoannFran,

i take Cerelle mini pill (progesterone mini pill. I used to have Cerazette before my practice switched suppliers a year or so ago. And I buy the progesterone cream from Biovea. Hope that helps!

[Hurdity]

Hi JoanneFRan

Personally I would not consider the mini pill if you are peri-menopausal because it only provides a progestogen. If your cycles have begun to go awry then your oestrogen levels may well be dropping and the pills suggested by sheila99 contain oestrogen. The problem with the mini pill especially cerazette, is that it suppresses oestrogen production and therefore you could be taking it beyond menopause when you really need to replace oestrogen especially at your age.

Although I regularly recommend these pills (Qlaira and Zoely), I suspect that most women who decide to go down this route and are successful, are too busy getting on with their lives to report back! I would suggest tht msy be a good sign. There was someone a few years ago who took it but I'm not sure if the posts have been archived?

Why not try one of these for a few months and see if things improve?

Hurdity x

[HelloSam666]

Interesting Hurdity. As i mentioned, i've been on the mini pill for many, many years and it's only in the last yearor so (now aged 54) that i started having some symptoms which i presumed were related to the menopause. As i stated, i'm sure some of the menopausal symptoms i would have had, have been masked by the mini pill - thank god! My GP, private menopause doctor and my female next door neighbour who is also a GP  has said it's more than likely the case.

It's only in the last year since starting with hormonal migraines and insomnia starting to disrupt my day to day life whereby i made appts with a private menopause GP. And then found out these symptoms were part and parcel of the menopause.  And without repeating myself, after a disasterous trial of HRT, i finally found a solution with progesterone cream bought online.

[JoannFran]

Thanks so much for the replies. I’ve got an appointment with my Dr this week to discuss and hopefully find something (anything) that will help!

Really appreciate the help ladies x

[Sharon 50]

Hi, my doctor put me on the mini pill, been taking for just over 3 months to help with my perimenopause, most of my symptoms have gone which is amazing, the downfall is I've basically bled every day since I finished my first packet , spotted for 18 days had about a week without any spotting then started again on about day 25 now and the last few days have been more than spotting but not quite a full period, I've read it can take months to get into your system properly, I'm thinking is it time to head back to the doctor or keep going as it's certainly helping with all my symptoms ( anxiety,  panic attacks vaginal dryness, sore tender breasts , night sweats etc) 💗