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[Hurdity]

Hi Jak03

 


If you have had a Mirena then you won;t know exactly where you are in menopause and you didn;t have long enough without it to see what your natural cycle was doing.

The Mirena should eventually stop your periods but in peri-menopause periods can get heavier so perhaps the bleeding comes back. Also if the Mirenas was running low on progestogen then your lining may have thickened - I presume that's what was meant by "oestrogen in the womb". The oestrogen is taken to alleviate symptoms of oestrogen deficiency - flushes, sweats, joint pains, tiredness etc but needs a progestogen ot protect t he lining from thickening.

The bleeding could be the rest of the lining coming away as the Mirena settles (the advice is that sporadic bleeding can occur for up to 6 months after Mirena - although you did have one previously so not sure if that still holds?). Alternatively it could be your own cycle coming into play?

If you have had a biopsy recently and all is well then you will just have to go with it - which I know is annoying. However ongoing bleeding problems after 6 months should be reported - although I think maybe if you are peri-menopausal you cold still get some bleeding ie slight periods?

Sorry this probably sounds confusing - I hope not - I was thinking aloud!

At your young age you do need to mantain oestrogen levels to protect heart and bones so finding a way to do this without too much bleeding is obviously important.

I hope it settles for you.

Hurdity x

[Jak03]

Thank you for the info Hurdity. Some makes sense I will take the estrogen for now but consultant reckons I don't need progesterone??

Before my 1st mirena I didn't know my cycle very well at all as I bled for most of the month with sometimes only a week/ few days off. Then for two years nothing. Now back not knowing when it will start/stop again. It stopped for the week b4 seeing my consultant again then started a week after think someone playing games. Really brings me down although I know this all needs time to settle. Just started dating again last year after Hubbie passed so it's no fun.

Thanks for your reply. I love reading everyone's views and stories on this site. Jackie. X

[Chocolatemilkshake]

Wow that took some reading...
I'm new to this forum and decided to read this whole thread.
Will pluck up the courage soon and introduce myself on new members  x

[MicheleMaBelle]

We look forward to meeting you cms x

[Cazikins]

  Chocolatemilkshake - don't be shy we don't bite.
 We are all here to help you through your menopause problems whatever they are.
Look forward to seeing more of you on the message boards.
Cazi x

[HelenM]

Hi all. I would be very grateful for your advice please. I am 54 and I started HRT  in the form of Estradot Patches in 2005 following a Hysterectomy. I had no problems with the patches but last year my Doctor told me that as i was 53 I should start coming off them as I had been on them for a long time. I stopped them early last year. I had flushes but they aren't too bad now. Since last December I have been suffering with recurrent UTI's and vaginal dryness. My sex drive is none existent! My mood is low and i am tired and suffering with joint aches. Since moving house and changing doctors i have been asked by several G.P's why i stopped HRT? I told them that I was advised to. I saw my doctor on Friday due to needing antibiotics for another UTI. He said that it would be advisable to think about replacing oestrogen again. I am so confused!! I have just watched Doctor Heather's Video's and am now thinking that I should restart HRT. Has anyone restarted it and is it O.K to do so? i know it's possible to have oestrogen in the form of a vaginal cream but given the other symptoms that I'm having I'm thinking of returning to the patches. Would be so grateful for your help please. 

[MicheleMaBelle]

Hi HelenM- sounds as if you're needing to go back on the patches- your old doctor was out of date. You can continue to take them. Read the NICE guidelines.

Also sounds as if you would benefit from topical estrogen cream - no reason why you can't take this either! Add in some lubricant like Sylk or Yes, and things should improve down there. Hopefully the HRT will help with your other symptoms x

[jeannie960]

Helen I had a total hysterectomy in 1998 and have been on Zumenon (first 2mg now 1mg) since.  Like you I experienced a lot of problems with UTI's, foul smelling and dryness down below.  Sexual intercourse was agony.  I sought help and was prescribed Ovestin 1mg cream and I use it twice a week since.  When I went to the HRT nurse every 3 months she kept making noises about taking a break from it.  I eventually had to go in to the doctor and request that I get 2 tubes every 6 months with my oral hrt and that I never ever come off the Ovestin.  I quoted Dr Heather's research and I even printed it all out for the doctor.  People who have had a total hysterectomy (with both ovaries removed) don't have any hormones to kick in and Ovestin can't just be a temporary fix.  We need it (or something like it) long term as when you stop taking it for this so called rest period the old problems surface with a vengeance. 

I'm a little more confused with the issue of taking my Zumenon 1mg long term and wonder if I should reduce it to one tablet every 2 days.  I'm going on 57 and have been on it since I was 38 so that's 19 years.  You get so fed up with the lack of clarity an the scare stories surrounding HRT and it's so difficult to make the right decisions. 
Anyway I hope you resolve your problems.

[Hurdity]

Hi jeannie960

I can't think why the nurse suggested you needed to take a break from local HRT - the only reason this is ever suggested (and is unnecessary) is because there are concerns about endometrial thickening and you've had a hysterectomy so it's not an issue - even if this were likely ( and it is very rare!).

It is not the length of time you have been on HRT that is an issue anyway (or that used to be) - it is the time since natural average age of menopause of 51/52. The years before this do not count in terms of risk because it is what your body would have been producing anyway had you not had the hysterectomy.

There is no need to reduce your Zumenon - 1 mg is a low dose. As you approach 60 you might want to think about replacing tablet hRT with transdermal ( eg patch or gel) but as you started HRT years ago this is less of an issue I understand ( than those who start HRT over 60 for the first time).

The scare stories have now been discredited and most gynaes accept that provided women understand and accept the risks (from the major studies which were carried out on a very specific type of HRT and in older women) - it is possible to stay on HRT for ever provided you are not contra-indicated medically.

Do not fret if you are otherwise well and looking after yourself - re diet, weight, and exercise especially.

Hurdity x

[MissD67]

Tried Evorel Sequi Conti and 50 and felt great on the oestrogen only patches but just awful on the oestrogen/progesterone ones. I was taken off them a couple of weeks ago and put on Femoston. I feel horrendous. My mood is so low, I can't sleep and feel unable to cope with anything. :-( Beginning to think HRT doesn't agree with me.

[jacquilaura]

Hi, I have just joined this site and wondered if hrt is still working for you? I have just started taking it 3weeks ago, with no change at first, now I have raging pmt. Since this is the main reason I started taking it I am really upset. Has it helped your mood yet?

[Dancinggirl]

Hi jacquilaura and welcome to MM

Low mood is very difficult to control when it is menopause related and usually requires a range of strategies. HRT is just one strategy but CBT and sometimes an AD is needed alongside HRT to really control low mood etc - so basically it's trial and error.
Do start a fresh thread under All Things Menopause and tell us your age, where you are in your menopause and what HRT you have been given - we can then advice and help you better.
3 weeks is still too early to tell if HRT will help and you may need to try different types HRT to find something that suits you. I'm afraid the progesterone of any HRT can cause pmt and sometimes it's about finding the right type of progesterone for you. What you mustn't do is chop and change HRT types without trying each one for at least 3 months to allow your body to adjust and welcome the hormones.
A good diet and plenty of exercise like brisk walking is essential when meno hits - HRT can't solve everything.
Keep posting - we are here to help. DG x

[liauq]

Hi:
5 years into the menopause now .
I always said that if I needed it I would take hrt, after all, I'd been on the pill for most of my life.
About two years ago, with the insomnia, night flushes,depression, urinary problems and inability to want or have sex making me feel at my wits end, my GP put me on tibolone.
My menopause symptoms got better very quickly but then I had an "episode" which is difficult to explain but I couldn't walk properly and my balance went, my memory went really bad, forgetting the end of a sentence and slurring words.I became absolutely exhausted and the smallest chore left me catching my breath.
I became pretty much housebound and my husband had to hold my arm into the doctors surgery.
Blood tests and hospital appointments ruled out an thing wrong, but I had two more episodes and came to the conclusion that it was the tibolone, the timing was too coincidental.....no indication from GP,or manufacturers info warned that this could happen.
GP put me on ostrogel/utrogestan: no attacks but similar, milder symptoms.Eventually stopped when got spotting between increasingly heavy periods.
Now feel much better, can walk properly, fewer headaches etcetera but the menopause symptoms have come back.
Feel I'm in a complete catch22 situation.
Was referred to gynocologist 're interim bleeds and she didn't seem surprised at my bad reaction to hrt, she suggested that changing to another form might have similar effects and suggested using oestrogen pessaries instead.
I am going back to my GP to get vaginal pessaries and try citalapram for the night sweats :ironically the treatment he first suggested but I was scared of taking antidepressants.
I don't want to put anyone off hrt and if I could, I would:just be aware of what your body tells you.
It may be that hrt depletes your supply of vitamin b12 and that could explain a lot of my symptoms.
Good luck to all my sister's in menopause

[Katia]

Liauq, what a terrible experience.  the oestrogel was the first hrt for me after being on the pill for years with no problems.  I had a terrible experience with it too.  It was so frightening as I didn't know what was happening to my body and all everyone kept saying, including my consultant, was how great this gel was and how lucky we were to have it!!!!  I have changed to premarin.  I know it's an older one, but it's realeased into the body as it needs it and it's a totally different experience.  On the flip side, I'm struggling to find a pregestin to go with it.  There are so many more choices of progestin with the pill.  It's so tempting to go back to the pill, or to take one every other day, which is about the same dose as hrt. 

[liauq]

Cheers, Katia.
I think that the really frustrating thing is the medical professionals urge to write everything off to depression and that they can give you so little time to get to the bottom of your problems.
A few years ago I went to my GP with exhaustion,insomnia,sweats and racing heart and the "d" word came straight out of his mouth! I said not and when he checked further, I had an overactive thyroid:six months of the right medicine verses a lifetime on antidepressants getting worse and worse?
 Basically fear that the autoimmune systems in my family are messed up....and it's a nightmare to diagnose.Horrible history of strokes, diabetes,thyroid and my niece has so many autoimmune problems! I also have skin allergies,Reynolds,vitality,haha.