I started with horrendous sweats and flushes almost exactly 2 years ago aged 50. Worst at night, I would pour sweat and drench the bed through to the mattress and it would wake me up at least 5 and often more times per night. As those of you who have been through this know, the lack of sleep turns you into a confused, exhausted, non-functioning wreck. Then day times, flushes throughout the day and occasional break-outs in big sweats. Whole face down to soles of feet up to 20 times a day. I saw a highly-qualified Traditional Chinese Medicine Doctor who prescribed herbs which worked perfectly for 2 months. Then the sweats started coming back and the TCM doctor said he needed to change the prescription but he had moved to the south coast so it wasn't realistic for me to be commuting down there every 2 - 3 months as my body continued to change.
Getting through each day was like a marathon with a body that was completely haywire, so I went to the GP who prescribed Oestrogel which wasn't effective for me at 1 pump. 2 pumps covered so much of my body to apply that it wasn't practical and I was having to put it on my arms as well as legs which concerned me because close to breasts. So I asked if there was an alternative. He put me on Evorel patches which are quite large and these both didn't stick well on me and didn't stop the sweats completely even at a high dose. I had been told that I needed Progesterone cover for cancer risk if going to continue with oestrogen and was told that I could get a Mirena coil which was low-dose, in the area needed and would bypass liver metabolism. This seemed a safer route than oral progesterone so I booked an appointment to get one inserted.
I had had a Mirena previously for contraception, with no problems, but this time the insertion was long, violent, painful and bloody. Apparently as we reach menopause, our cervix can harden making this process more difficult and he had a lot of difficulty getting it in and had to force a way through with instruments. I went back for a follow-up scan to make sure it was in the right place and at that time the doctor suggested I try Estradot 100 if I was not getting good results from the Evorel. The Estradot patches are smaller and stick well and gave me instant relief from the sweats and flushes. Since it was working well, I experimented with dosing, moving down from 100 to 50 over the next few months and even at 50 with the Estradot, did not have any sweats or flushes which meant I had about 15 months without the vasomotor symptoms, up until 3 months ago.
Other things I noticed about perimenopause/menopause was that even after sweats had stopped, I was having very broken and poor quality sleep. I also needed to get up to pee twice a night.
My thinking is and was confused and I was unable to remember things and cope with any conflict, normal sorts of things like work or builders that I would normally handle fine.
After over a year of feeling completely unable to cope and useless, I spoke with a friend who is slightly older and she said it sounded like I was depressed and that could also happen in menopause. I looked back and realised that I had had low mood and felt despondent and also inexplicably fearful for over a year. I was really shocked. I had no idea menopause could cause increased anxiety and depression. It was a huge relief in a way, as I thought there was something wrong with me and I was cracking up but had so many more pressing things to try to sort that hadn't focused on the effect this state of mind was having. I feel deeply sorry for the billions of women who have had similar experiences and had to go through this without information and support, who will have been labelled bonkers, bad-tempered, losing-it, etc. Even with the internet and today, there is just not enough solid, reliable and detailed information out there including through GPs.
I also had spotting after the Mirena was inserted, which stopped after about 5 months, but then about a year in, I started regular bleeding, sometimes light and sometimes heavy, but almost constant. I also had stomach pain. The stomach pains became extreme and the bleeding became constant and very heavy for about 4 months so I had an ultrasound which showed the Mirena to be in the correct place but they noticed that the removal cord which should be at least 2cm long exposed, had almost disappeared and they could just see about 1mm. So likelihood the Mirena had moved and would not be able to be removed normally.
I asked for it to be removed as I had been in such pain and was concerned it might be doing damage because of the bleeding, but the Family Planning and Sexual Health service who did the scan and follow-up said they didn't remove them and I would need to go back to the GP to arrange this. There was no urgency as they could not see it had perforated anything from the scan.
I booked to see the GP and the day I went to see her, I was in agony and bleeding heavily. She took some swabs and bloods and referred me for another scan which is finally happening next week - only 5 months wait. Personally I think the coil has moved and is doing damage because I now have achey pains in my lower back, dull pain down the back of one leg, during sex and twinges. I also get occasional lower abdominal cramps which are like seizures, not like menstrual cramps. I will update when I get results from my new scan next week, but I have been cleared for everything else so I can only think this is complications with the Mirena. Even after having had a very good experience with a Mirena for 6 years for contraception earlier in life, I would urge caution on anyone considering one after 50 and to do your research and ask questions, including who will take it out as the NHS does not seem to have sorted this. I was also not informed of the risk of it moving when it was inserted but once you start researching, it isn't that rare and the doctors are meant to tell you beforehand.
In the meantime, in January this year I started getting flushes and sweats again. Maybe 10 a day, 3-4 per night, so not quite as severe as originally. Still on Estradot 50 and with the Mirena which had both been working to prevent these symptoms previously. I don't know why they stopped working but I was sent to a menopause clinic where I was prescribed Northisterone which had the benefit of very quickly stopping the bleeding. I was prescribed 10mg per day and started on 5mg and then moved up to 10mg after about 10 days. At 5mg and 10mg, my sweats are no better. The only changes I have noticed are that I am able to fall asleep quicker most of the time, even though I wake up with a major sweat 1 -2 hours later and then again another 2 hours later. I feel marginally more positive about life in general and slightly better able to cope since starting the noresthisterone but my libido has completely disappeared and I get irritated when touched which is the first time in my life that I have experienced this. I don't know if this is the norethisterone or that the norestisterone has meant that the balance with my oestrogen is now off.
So now my plan is to experiment over the next month with adjusting the levels of my oestrogen and my progesterone which will take many months. For the next 2 weeks, I am going to raise my Estradot from 50 to 75 to see what this does. If that doesn't work, I will try reducing back to 50 for a week, and then try cutting in half and using 37.5 for 2 weeks. I don't know if this is advisable but have to try something. I have tried to research this on the web and asked the GP and menopause clinic nurse, but am not getting clear or consistent answers. Most people say increasing oestrogen will address the sweats, some people say progesterone alone or in combination with low-dose oestrogen should also do it and be safer with less risk of blood clots, etc. Most websites (including the NICE Guidelines) and articles are incredibly vague and unhelpful saying only that "HRT" can improve various symptoms, not what kinds for what. What would be most helpful is a clear explanation of what symptoms each hormone addresses, and what relative imbalances can cause.
I'm thrilled to find this website and plan to read as much as possible to find any more specific advice on how to balance your hormones based on symptoms. Right now, I have pouring sweats, hot flushes, poor sleep, low mood, mental fog, urinary frequency and scary active dislike of sex. Am so tired of all this and would be grateful for any advice and experiences from anyone who has had similar. If you have any links to really helpful info bookmarked, please pass those on. Thanks!
Otherwise, just wishing everyone else who has been having a bad menopause lot of luck and will post any specific and solid info I find helpful on here.
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Topic: Tell us how you have coped with FLUSHES (Read 726659 times)