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[JKS]

Hello All, wondering if anyone else has had anything similar happen to them.

I'm 56 & my menstrual cycle has dominated my life since I was 12. I started at 11, & after 4 months my periods settled into a regular 29-day cycle. And I mean regular. I used to feel pain 14 days before the start of each period, but was told for years I was imagining it, that ovulation was painless, & that I could not be ovulating regularly at 12.

So I put up & shut up/ My periods were horrendously heavy when I was a child, I often missed school for the first 2 days as I'd soak through even heavy duty towels (who remembers Dr. White's with the loops & sanitary belt?) I had a few embarrassing incidents in class & on the bus travelling to/from school with leaking, so I stayed off to avoid it. I gave up athletics club training, & many social events so I could stay home & sit on a special chair with a pile of towels under me.

The heavy periods continued, & trips to GPs over the years didn't help. I was told I must be imagining the pain, that I was 'making a fuss'. They became even worse after I'd had a child. To be expected, apparently, according to my male GP. Got heavier again after my second child, & I sought treatment as we were all tied to the home & I felt so guilty that my kids were missing out. After each birth, my periods returned exactly 4 months later, despite breastfeeding regularly until each child was 11 months old.

Enter tranexamic acid - a life changer. For about 6 months until my GP took me off it because it was contr-indicated, & something I should never have been taking.

Heavy, regular periods continued until I was 51, when they got lighter & less frequent. I assumed I was peri-menopausal, & my new female GP prescribed HRT. This was at the beginning of the pandemic, so all appointments were over the phone, & I continued on 50mcg oestrogen & 200mg Utrogestan for 12 days/cycle.

The oestrogen product has changed depending on what I could get from a pharmacy, sometimes patches, sometimes gel. I went up to 75mcg about 7 months ago (again, sometimes patches, sometimes gel, sometimes a 50mcg patch + 1 squirt gel)

Periods became less frequent & less heavy. A few years ago, I got to 312 days with no period, then a full-on 5-day period reset that clock (guttted)

Last year (July 24) I got to 316 days with nothing, then a lighter 3-day period arrived (even more gutted)

This May 8th, I had the signs of ovulation - pain, increased clear discharge, feeling blah - 11 days later I had dark spotting, like the last day of a period but much lighter, with cramps. On May 29th, same signs of ovulation again, Jun 17, 3 days dark but minimal spotting, with cramps.

Jul 6th - I had my previously 'normal fo me' signs of ovulation - severe pain on one side, nausea in addition to clear discharge. Aug 7th, another 3 days of dark, but minimal spotting.

It feels like I'm slipping back into a more regular cycle of feeling like I'm ovulating & almost having a very light period. The familiar spots on my chin that always appeared 2 days before a period without fail for decades came back a few days before these ultra-light periods.

For years on HRT, I've felt emotionally stable, none of that up & down-ness that I used to feel during my regular cycles. I'm nowhere near as up & down as I used to be, but that mood stability has gone. My breasts also feel a little firmer over the past few months.

I'm very good at taking my HRT - reminders on my phone & I mark each of the 12 days of Utrogestan off on the box as soon as I've taken them. Same for the gel. I'm confident it's not user error on my part. I've been lucky & had very few menopausal symptoms while on HRT - never had a hot flash although I seem to feel permanently hot compared to everyone around me. My HRT dose went up because my vulva felt sore/dry, despite the GP saying no signs of atrophy. This soreness has come back recently, so I'n trying to get a GP appointment (not easy)

I have a history of fibroids - had 1 ablation which was a life changer for several months, then more fibroids appeared. I was scheduled for a second ablation, but the pandemic hit, so it was cancelled.

It feels like I'm getting further & further away from being postmenopausal. I don't know anyone else whose periods have kicked back in so regularly after such a long time.

[bombsh3ll]

I think I replied to you on another thread - what a horrendous way to spend 4+ decades of your life when we have had the tools to get rid of periods since the 1960s.

Have you never been offered an IUS? This may however be contraindicated following an ablation - specialist advice would need to be obtained.

At the very least you should be able to get a suppressive oral progestin at an appropriate dose to stop you bleeding. Options include provera, norethisterone, desogestrel 150mcg or slynd.

[CLKD]

U did reply bombsh3II - as part of another thread. 

I get GP appts. via an on-line triage system.  Do request a referral to a dedicated menopause clinic, if the appt eventually arrives that you don't need, it can be cancelled.  Also if U R able to take a sudden appt. 4 a no-show U may get seen quicker.

Whose decision that U are not suitable for tranexamic acid and what was suggested instead?  Oh I remember Dr Whites with the belt, who ever thought that was a good idea!  I too would flood ......... two pads were never enough in the day as clots would leave when I moved, excruciating pain: at night I had to lay on a thick bath towel plus pads ........... The Pill helped.

It is unlikely that the HRT alone will ease atrophy, do ask for appropriate treatments to get some relief.  Do U feel supported by your GP?

[Kathleen]

Hello JKS and welcome to the forum.

I had my last period in 2010 at age fifty four so I was fifty five before I became officially post menopausal, until then my periods were regular and heavy and I had not signs that things were changing.

Btw in the late 1980s I was off the bcp and tracking my ovulation in the hopes of getting pregnant. I recall some unusual abdominal sensations and my GP said that it was likely ovulation pain as sometimes there is some internal bleeding with ovulation.
It would appear that my GP was ahead of her time and even more knowledgeable than I realised!

I hope you get things sorted soon and please keep us updated.

Wishing you well.

K.

[JKS]

I think I replied to you on another thread - what a horrendous way to spend 4+ decades of your life when we have had the tools to get rid of periods since the 1960s.

Have you never been offered an IUS? This may however be contraindicated following an ablation - specialist advice would need to be obtained.

At the very least you should be able to get a suppressive oral progestin at an appropriate dose to stop you bleeding. Options include provera, norethisterone, desogestrel 150mcg or slynd.

Thanks Bombsh3ll - I was offered a Mirena coil some years before the ablation. Can't fault it for contraceptive purposes as I bled most days for 8 months (& never had sex) until my GP finally agreed to remove it!

By that stage, I'd already had 2 children - first pregnancy occurred when I was on the POP, even though I was fanatical about taking it correctly as I did not want children then. I'd already tried several brands of oral pill, but I often vomited for the first few days of each new 21-day cycle, so I was having to miss work for that (+ feeling continuously nauseous for the first 5 days of the OC wasn't fun) Unfortunately the OC didn't have much of a reduction in my periods either!

At least I didn't feel dreadful on the POP, but I did get pregnant. Not ideal...

(I'd had a second POP contraception failure after the Mirena was removed, but that pregnancy failed at around 15 weeks. I didn't miscarry naturally & had a D&C 10 days later. Regular periods started 2 months later.)

GP finally agreed I could be sterilised at 42.

I had hyperemesis in my first pregnancy which wasn't taken seriously until I was hospitalised after collapsing at work. Until then I'd been told all women feel 'a bit sick' during the first few months, & I needed to toughen up - at this point I was vomiting up to 30x/day, & had been stopped & breathalysed twice by the police on the M4 when I'd had to pull into the hard shoulder to vomit on the way to work. The 'morning sickness' carried on for the entire pregnancy & the first few days after birth.

Thankfully a different GP gave me medication during my second pregnancy, & the symptoms were vastly reduced.

I feel like I've been a captive to my hormones for most of my life, & just when I thought things would improve, my cycle seems to have decided it's back in charge again.

I have a GP appointment next week, so will update then.

[CLKD]

You've been through the Mill.  I read about a woman who had to terminate  due to intense sickness which wouldn't resolve  and this should be taken seriously.  After all Catherine was hospitalised!

If U vomited with The Pill then you werent' covered 4 contraception which many women weren't warned about!  Hence the 'failed' effects.  Initially the 1st one which my GP prescribed made me sick after 3 days, Mum of course thought that I was pregnant  .  The next type did me well for 12 years B4 I requested sterilisation.  [no children required]. 

Do let us know how you get on.  HORMONES   

[JKS]

U did reply bombsh3II - as part of another thread. 

I get GP appts. via an on-line triage system.  Do request a referral to a dedicated menopause clinic, if the appt eventually arrives that you don't need, it can be cancelled.  Also if U R able to take a sudden appt. 4 a no-show U may get seen quicker.

Whose decision that U are not suitable for tranexamic acid and what was suggested instead?  Oh I remember Dr Whites with the belt, who ever thought that was a good idea!  I too would flood ......... two pads were never enough in the day as clots would leave when I moved, excruciating pain: at night I had to lay on a thick bath towel plus pads ........... The Pill helped.

It is unlikely that the HRT alone will ease atrophy, do ask for appropriate treatments to get some relief.  Do U feel supported by your GP?

Hi CLKD - I have a rare retinal condition & one of the very few contr-indications (at the time) was retinal vein occlusion. My consultant suggested it would be wiser to stop taking it as I was already living with retinal damage & sight loss, although data was scarce. My GP made the final decision as he refused to prescribe it.

I just checked the prescriber's information (from the BNF & eMC websites) & neither mentions any retinal condition, so perhaps I could have stayed on it & left the house more. Hindsight, eh?

I've switched to a new GP surgery, so not yet seen any GP there, but have an appointment next week.

[JKS]

You've been through the Mill.  I read about a woman who had to terminate  due to intense sickness which wouldn't resolve  and this should be taken seriously.  After all Catherine was hospitalised!

If U vomited with The Pill then you werent' covered 4 contraception which many women weren't warned about!  Hence the 'failed' effects.  Initially the 1st one which my GP prescribed made me sick after 3 days, Mum of course thought that I was pregnant  .  The next type did me well for 12 years B4 I requested sterilisation.  [no children required]. 

Do let us know how you get on.  HORMONES   

Not sure if I've explained things badly - I wasn't sick on the POP (mini-pill), just the COC (oestrogen containing 'normal' pill) so I should have been covered by the POP. At the time there were questions about whether women over a certain weight should take 2 pills daily instead of 1. I was under that weight then, so that wasn't an issue.

Like the Mirena coil, the COC was an effective contraceptive for me, despite the vomiting - I felt so dreadful I rarely had sex! Not to be recommended as reliable, though.

Hormones are powerful things!

[CLKD]

Interesting that weight might/not have been an issue, I always said that I didn't require 'as much' of anything because I was 6st2lb for over 15 years 

Do U get regular screening for the condition, what does the optician suggest?  It's the yes/no attitude because these days there doesn't appear 2 B any joined-up thinking   

[bombsh3ll]

Taking a double daily dose of desogestrel POP (cerazette) can be used to achieve menstrual suppression irrespective of contraception.

Oral provera at a dose of 5-15mg a day is also a reasonable option.

[JKS]

Interesting that weight might/not have been an issue, I always said that I didn't require 'as much' of anything because I was 6st2lb for over 15 years 

Do U get regular screening for the condition, what does the optician suggest?  It's the yes/no attitude because these days there doesn't appear 2 B any joined-up thinking   

I can't remember at what weight women were being advised to take 2 POPs - if memory serves (hello, brain fog!) it was either 8 or 10 stone. This was around 1997-8. I was under 8 stone then. TBH, I was amazed to get pregnant, as I don't remember the pain of ovulation while taking it (I only had to take time off work for day 1-2 of each period & not also for ovulation) Vaginal fluid was also substantially thicker, so I felt I was protected.

I used to feel similar to you - I wondered if all the brands of COC were providing too high an oestrogen dose for me, although I wasn't as light as you were. I don't remember being considered a different size/weight from most of my female friends at that time, who could all tolerate the COC. They all had easier pregnancies, with minimal nausea. Flaming hormones.

I don't get regular screening for my eye condition now - I'm registered blind. I have some useful sight left, but that is deteriorating (alongside normal age deterioration), so I'm considered beyond help.

You're right about joined up thinking not happening these days!

[JKS]

Taking a double daily dose of desogestrel POP (cerazette) can be used to achieve menstrual suppression irrespective of contraception.

Oral provera at a dose of 5-15mg a day is also a reasonable option.

That's useful to know, thank you - really hope my periods don't resume to what they were like before, but I'll bear that in mind if that nightmare scenario happens.

The light spotting is manageable - I just want to be done with all of this!

[JKS]

Today I had my HRT review with the GP who is the menopause specialist at my new surgery.

We had a chat about Estradot availability (this is the only patch that stays attached or doesn't bring me out in a rash) & how it's unlikely to be back in stock until next year. So I was given a prescription of Oestrogel - also out of stock. Given the stock issues have been going on for years, I was disappointed she wouldn't give me separate prescriptions for both Estradot & Oestrogel, so I could trawl round pharmacies & maybe get one of them.

I said I was getting very uncomfortable & dry around the vulva, & would it be worth trying topical oestrogen - she didn't have time to examine me & I need to go back for a second appointment tomorrow. Remember the days when you'd report symptoms & be examined at the same appointment 

I asked about my cycle seeming to kick back in regularly - she didn't know what was going on but said I should take Utrogesttan 100mg daily rather than 200mg for 12 days. I'd give that a try - but none of the pharmacies had that either...

[Dotty]

Hi if you take Utrogestan for two weeks and then stop for two weeks, then it’s likely that the bleeding is caused by a a withdrawal of the progesterone. If you are post menopause then daily Utrogestan is the advised way to take it,

[joziel]

Estradot is back in stock with Pharmacy2U, at least it has been for me the last 2 months.