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[Goosieloosie]

I've now been on Evorel conti patches for 6 weeks and seem to be doing really well on them, things have settled down and I seem generally well, still a little tearful but nothing I can't cope with.....except for bleeding  i seem to have developed a pattern of bleeding for a week on and then a week off and it's crampy and moderate to heavy flow not light or spotting which I would probably tolerate for a while longer if it was. I know it is expected with conti regimes to have bleeding but I'm getting really fed up with this and it's costing a fortune in sanitary protection!! I am trying my best to hang on until the 3 months are up in January but if I carry on like this what can I do next?? The only alternative in patches would be Femseven conti? Is this correct that that is the only other choice? I have even considered maybe cutting a little off the patch, would this help with the bleeding do you think? I am reluctant to do this though as the Evorel suits me in every other way & my menopause symptoms might return. I can't honestly see this bleeding stopping altogether, it's not getting lighter  each time or anything  Thank you for any advice on what to do next and if any of you have had heavy regular bleeding on Evorel did you persevere and did it finally stop completely?

[Dancinggirl]

Goosieloosie - I'm afraid this type of erratic bleeding takes up to 6 months to settle on any conti HRT.  I even had bleeding and spotting when I had the Mirena. You will probably find that it will reduce to just spotting in a few weeks. 6 weeks is really not a long time so I would try to persevere to a few weeks more you have to remember that your body is adjusting.  I started my conti regime about 3 months ago and still get a bit of spotting on and off. DG x

[Hurdity]

I agree with Dancinggirl - you need to give it a while longer yet!

Re other patches - as you say Femseven conti is the only other combi patch but you could also try oestrogen only patches together with a progestogen - either Provera ( a synthetic one), or progesterone (Utrogestan). The advantage is if you tolerate progestogens well you could take a slightly higher dose of the prog initially which might help with the bleeding. The different preparations for oestrogen and progesterone are listed here:
http://www.menopausematters.co.uk/treatafter.php
http://www.menopausematters.co.uk/to_progestogens.php

Hurdity x

[Goosieloosie]

Thank you both for your replies. It is very frustrating this waiting game! The bleeding really gets me down mostly because it's painful and quite clotty, is this normal? I will try to give it a bit longer and hope it does settle as I seem to be so well otherwise.

Hurdity...if I was to use an oestrogen only patch and take a progestogen separately I notice Provera is a tablet to be taken orally? And so is Utrogestan but I thought a lot of ladies here take that vaginally??

[jazzcj]

I too have been on a roller coaster in the last month with bleeding.  I started Estelle Conti tablets about a month or so ago.  I decided they weren't doing too well, and wanted to change to Fevseven Conti patches.  Well they wouldn't stick at all and apparently this is very common.  It left me one day without anything for several hours and the following day I started a period from hell.  Such flooding, just awful.  I also felt exhausted.  So I wouldn't recommend Femseven, not least because they don't stick at all well.

I've asked to be referred to a menopause clinic, I think it could be a bit of a long journey of trying out different hrt until I find one that works.

I hope you too find something that works for you xxx   

[Hurdity]

Yes Goosieloosie. You will read that a lot of us use it vaginally- lots of posts and threads about this.  It is licensed in UK for oral use but elsewhere in Europe for either oral or vaginal if side effects from oral use. Many gynaes recommend vaginal use for progesterone intolerant women, and usually on a cycle ( because such women need to keep progesterone to a minimum) but those who don't want a bleed and take progesterone continuously might not want to do it this way (vaginally) for obvious reasons 

Hurdity x

[Mary G]

Goosieloosie, I have just been writing about vaginal Utrogestan on another thread!  It certainly seems to be the topic of the moment.  As you will have gathered, it is better used vaginally because it has fewer side effects and works better because nearly all of it reaches the womb.

If you get really fed up with your current regime and decide to change to Utrogestan, as Hurdity says, it might be difficult to take it vaginally every day for various reasons.  I tried taking it every day along with the Oestrogel (by way of a continuous combined method) but I still had periods so basically, it didn't work and the gynaecologist told me to ditch it and go back to taking it monthly.  Periods are a pest and I don't like them but I think they are the lesser of two evils and when taking the Utrogestan monthly, at least you will get a controlled bleed unlike the erratic bleeding you have now.

It's an ongoing debate on here but Professor Studd prescribed 100mg Utrogestan for 7 days per month for me and this is the minimum.  You might also want to consider switching to the oestrogen gel which is more flexible because you can adjust the dose to suit your needs. 

[Goosieloosie]

Well today I'm really fed up as the bleeding has been so heavy & crampy and I even leaked while out today even though I was using both a tampon and large night time pad  I was never even that bad when I used to have a heavy periods! Anyway I've been reading and old thread on here from 2012 where someone was having very similar problems and someone suggested cutting a quarter off the patch as this worked for her,  all the problems disappeared. I'm due to change my patch tonight so do you think I should cut a piece off it & see how I go or really carry on persevering until the 3 months at least are up?? I do feel so well apart from the bleeding but it's getting heavier not lighter  .

[Annika]

So sorry to hear what you are going through Goosie but at least you are not alone in this so many of us have had the same thing too. I did not go on HRT so can't speak about how it should or shouldn't work but I did have the erratic bleeding for the last two years. My period went from pretty regular to longer and longer episodes until I was going weeks and weeks bleeding light to heavy and back again. Finally the last period lasted 7 months straight until I asked my doctor for a Hysterectomy. I can tell you that bleeding endlessly takes its toll on your health and I was extremely anemic and run down. I do hope you can get things sorted soon and your doctor can help. Big hugs 

[Hurdity]

Re your Q about cutting a bit off - I wouldn't do this personally! I agree with Mary G if you are fed up with the erratic bleeding you either need to use separate oestrogen and progestogen of some sort and if you can tolerate it it, increase the progestogen to control the bleeding, OR go back to a cycle where you should have a regular and predictable bleed.

Hurdity x

[Goosieloosie]

Thank you for your replies, I'm really going to have to decide what I want to do as this current bleeding is not getting any lighter. I was hoping to hang on until mid January then it would be 3 months but I'm due to re new my prescription next week and I'm very tempted to see Dr and ask for a change