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[Gem1986]

Hi all,

I am new to this forum so hello all! I was wondering if I could get a pearl or two of wisdom/ thoughts/ advice if possible. Apologies in advance if there is TMI, I just want to explain my situation as best as I can accurately.

I am 36 years old. I have no children and have never been pregnant. I am not pregnant now.

I had the Copper coil inserted in 2012 (a 10 year one). This meant that menstruation would happen due to the non hormonal contraception. My periods became more painful, very heavy and a little longer in length (roughly 7-8 days per cycle). This is expected with non hormonal contraception. There was slight variation in cycle length but nothing so concerning i.e any variance seemed temporary and my average cycle was about 32 days.

The only times I have noticed a noticeable difference was after the COVID Vaccines, with which they became a bit lighter in flow but longer in length. This again reverted back to normal after about 6 months (a side note but something I noticed at the time).

So fast forward to June 2022. My 10 year copper coil comes out as it's 10 years was up. I have not gone on to any other contraception (if a conception takes place, it would not be a bad thing if that makes sense).
Since having my copper coil removed, my periods have really changed. I am now at a place where I menstruate for 3 days, the flow is exceedingly light and I can only describe it as "old blood". It is brown/ dark brown in colour and alot thicker than previous. This is a monthly occurrence now it seems.

I have read articles about symptoms like insomnia, night sweats, and bladder weakness. I have all of those but have had these for a couple of years now and wonder if these can be related to this although I have never thought about it I just thought I needed to wee alot, couldn't switch off to sleep and need sleeping tablets and just got sweaty at night sometimes!

I have tried to do some reading about this and whether it could be perimenopause, but alot of online articles relate to women that have had children. I have not so feel a bit in the dark here.

Do you think this could be perimenopause?

many thanks in advance and apologies again if TMI.

 

[Flossieteacake]

Hello Gem. Welcome to the forum. You do not need to apologise for your post so do not worry about it.

It sounds to me like you have peri symptoms. Your periods changing is a classic sign along with bladder weakness, night sweats, insomnia. These are all very common symptoms.

I did not realise most information out there was related to women who have already had children. I have not had children myself and I feel your symptoms really describe peri.

You may like to talk to your GP about trying HRT but one thing I strongly recommend is you ask for localised oestrogen for the bladder weakness. This is available as a cream or pessary that is inserted into the vagina and will really help you.

Feel free to ask anything as there is always somebody helpful who will reply.

[Zoe]

Hi Gem1986,

It sounds like you have had a tough time. I agree with what Flossieteacake says and would add one other thing.

The old bleeding (brown blood and brown clotting) can SOMETIMES be an indication of mild endometriosis. Since you had a coil, this is highly unlikely but I would make sure you mention it to your GP.

[Gem1986]

Thank you both for your replies, very informative.

Is there some kind of test I can do on my hormones to see as well? Not necessarily via gp due to pressures on NHS, so likely private/at a cost to me.

Many thanks.

[Zoe]

Hi, yes there is but with the caveat that blood levels can be all over the place during perimenopause so it is recommended that doctors go by symptoms.

Having said that, it is not a bad thing to want to check levels. Personally  I found my blood levels to be fairly consistent when not on HRT (late perimenopause).

Your GP should be able to do these tests for free and would likely measure for oestrogen and FSH (raised FSH usually indicates menopause).

If you want to have them done privately, I have used Medichecks and they are good. They have various levels of female hormone tests.