Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Whitterz67]

Hi everyone

I'm new to this forum and am hoping to benefit from the experience of others 

I'm 49 and was told I was menopausal just over 2 years ago, just before my 47th birthday.  It was a shock and a relief at the same time as I finally realised I wasn't barking mad but that my hormones were responsible for my dreadful memory, highly emotional state, anxiety and lack of confidence, not to mention the hot flushes and night sweats.  My GP was very understanding, gave me lots of reading material and told me to go away and think about whether HRT was right for me.  I decided it was and have been on Premique 0.625/5mg since then.  I have also been on Citalopram since then (started at 10mg then dose increased to 20 and then 30mg this year).  All my symptoms showed some improvement for a while but earlier this year the anxiety and depression reared its ugly head again and I was off work for 6 weeks (this was when the GP increased my dose of citalopram).  I also had CBT which has gone some way to sorting my head out but I am still suffering again with hot flushes.  So, I have heard I am on the cheapest of medications and that I should be talking to my GP about changing them.  Would you say this is a good idea?

Next question!  I have also been suffering with pain in my lower back, pelvis and top of my legs for a number of months.  It is constant and gets worse if I walk for long periods of time or stand (for instance if I'm cooking or washing up).  It's not muscular or joint pain - more like a heavy dragging feeling/bad period pains. I also suffer with bloating, constipation and diarrhoea (which I had checked out last year by way of a colonoscopy which showed nothing abnormal so I was told it is probs IBS). Anyway, GP referred me for an ultrasound which I had yesterday. The radiologist said ovaries both fine but I have a small (1 inch) calcified fibroid.  She said she doesn't think it should be causing the symptoms that I've been getting but having read up on the interweb, it seems size is not always important.  As I am no longer getting periods and it's calcified so won't grow any bigger I don't really know what they can do for me.  Seems like a hysterectomy would be a bit OTT for such a small thing but the pain and other symptoms I get are sometimes too much to bear and I have had to give up training because the pain in my back is just too much.  So has anyone else suffered like this and if so, how did you get relief? Of course I take pain killers but I don't like the idea of having to rely on them every day for ever!

yours hopefully!
 

[Whitterz67]

Hi Sparkle!  Thanks for the reply.  Because it's calcified it won't get any bigger (basically degenerated) so I wondered if they would just tell me to get on with it.  If I can get it taken out that would be amazing.  I actually wonder if the symptoms I thought were IBS are actually related to this little fibroid as well.  The full report should be at my GP in a week or so and radiologist said she expected I'd get referred to a gynaecologist. Hopefully this site will help prepare me to ask all the right questions.  Hope you're feeling better now yours are degenerating.

Wz x

[Whitterz67]

Keeping everything crossed for your scan tomorrow. I'll defo keep peeps updated.

Wz x

[Whitterz67]

Hi there.  Yes, no periods since I've been on HRT.  Blood test showed I was menopausal.  Update on fibroid situation.  I checked my home phone VM today (don't do this V often) and there was a message from docs surgery asking me to ring and make an appt.  They had rung on the afternoon that I had my ultrasound.  Freaked me out slightly!   Rang them and I have a follow up appt with my GP on 5th October (she's on holiday til then and I don't want to see anyone else).  Will discuss options for medication and for getting rid of my little fibroid. 

[Dancinggirl]

Hi and welcome to MM Whitter67
You have had some good feed back so far but I shall offer my thoughts.

Re the lower abdominal discomfort - I believe this is more to do with the IBS than the fibroid.  I agree with the others that if there was any concern about this fibroid then you would have been referred or had further investigations done.
IBS and other gastric problems do seem to get worse when the meno hits - our whole body seems to struggle generally as it is all part of the ageing process.  I'm sure you have been given advice about diet and exercise to help with the IBS?? IBS is often linked to low mood and anxiety so tackling these things could be one strategy that could help?  SRRIs do sometimes give stomach issues and can result in weight gain which may also be giving you issues.

Re: your HRT and SRRI - it is well worth reassessing this.  Possibly consider having a Mirena fitted, which can often shrink fibroids I believe!!!  If you have the Mirena then you simply use oestrogen as gel or patch alongside and this combo is a good option for the long term. 
Do read up all the options under TREATMENTS at the top of this page to get clued up. 
It's not so much that Premique is cheap but taking hormones orally is not always as effective as transdermal HRT e.g. Mirena with separate oestrogen (as gel or patch) OR there are HRT combined patches that may work better for you.  The progesterone in Premique could be taken in pill form with transdermal oestrogen, so this is another option.
I have a feeling that you perhaps need a slightly higher dose of oestrogen and the transdermal route may help with this.
I hope this is helpful  Dg xxxx

[Whitterz67]

Hi there, thanks for the advice.  Not sure if you read my last post but GP had asked me to make an appt to see her and radiologist thought I'd likely be referred to gynaecologist.  As I'm no longer having periods I don't really want the coil fitted and this fibroid is already calcified so has shrunk.  What I think I need to understand is why I'm getting all the symptoms I'm getting now.  I will ask about other forms of HRT and a different anti depressant (which my CB therapist also suggested).  Hopeful that some changes to treatment and maybe getting rid of the fibroid might help. 

Wz x

[Whitterz67]

Morning everyone.  Though I would update on my situation.  I went back to my GP who told me that the lining of my womb was thicker than expected (6cm instead of the 2-3cm she would expect) and so was referred to gynae.  I used my PMI and so saw her quickly.  She did an internal and thought my symptoms probs not caused by the gynae issues but she suggested a hysteroscopy to check for polyps, decide if the fibroid needed removing and to do a biopsy.  She also suggested a mirena coil and oestrogen patch to replace my oral
HRT as it's more efficient and will better protect my womb going forward.  She did give me some good news which was my pelvic floor got top marks!  👏👏👏👏 all those planks and TRX did good!  She then referred me to a colorectal surgeon who I saw the next day and suggested further investigation for diverticular disease.  So this week I had a flexible sigmoidoscopy on Monday and the hysteroscopy yesterday.  Cameras everywhere 😳😳😳.  She fitted the coil while she was in there.  Bowel all clear with no follow up needed - his diagnosis IBS which confirms what I'd been told before.  Womb looked clear of polyps and results of biopsy should be through soon.  Got a follow up with her in 3 months.  Have had a broken night's sleep even with the GA, morphine and codeine but so far this morning so good!  Maybe this will stop all the pain maybe it won't and I'll have to keep working with GP to sort it out.  But, I have defo decided that the stress of hating my current job is aggravating the IBS and so that has to change. 

Happy Saturday!

[Dancinggirl]

Whitterz67
All sounds very proactive and positive - good to have everything checked for peace of mind if nothing else.  The Mirena should be a good way forward - you may well get some bleeding for a few weeks on and off but most gynaes are very pro the Mirena because it can sort out so many issues and will often result (after a few weeks) in no bleeds at all. As part of HRT, the Mirena is also a good option as you don't have to worry about the progesterone and it will protect the womb lining better.

Do give yourself time to recover from all this - so take it easy - this is a good time to reassess things generally and look at other job options.  I'm sure in a few weeks you'll much better. DG x

[Whitterz67]

Thanks sparkle and dancing girl.  Have taken a couple more days off work as I was suddenly hit with total exhaustion yesterday and felt a bit sick and light headed!  Felt like I'd been knocked out again!  Pain under control so far which is good.  I'm definitely going to sort the job out. Enough is enough! 

[Hurdity]

Hi Whitterz67

 

Phew - you've been through a lot.

If you had not been period free for 12 months before starting HRT then you were not yet at menopause - well you might have been - but you don't know this until 12 months period free so if you start HRT you never know and just assume at age 54 or before if you started peri-menopause very early, that you are post. Usually women who start HRT before the 12 months period free has elapsed, are put on cyclical HRT which gives a regular bleed. Because you were not put on this but on continuous combined HRT, it could explain why your womb lining has thickened although puzzling you have not experienced any breakthrough bleeding.

If you were given anti-depressants at the same time as starting HRT ie for hormonal depression that is new to you and not due to life events - this is no longer advised as per the NICE Guidelines. A hormonal solution only is recommended - and sometimes a few attempts at different types are needed before settling on the right one. Only after all these have been tried and at different doses should ADs be considered - really as a last resort. Also continuous progestogens can lead to depressive side effects in some women so it may well have been a change in progestogen you needed rather than increased ADs - ie medication to alleviate the wrong medication (the progestogens in Premique). Just a thought.

It may well be that your oestrogen levels are too low as has been suggested, and I agree a different type of oestrogen may well be beneficial and make you feel better. Some women do not respond well to the equine (horse) oestrogens you are taking.

I agree a Mirena with oestrogen patch or gel may well be the way to go - you are still young to be on a low-ish oestrogen dose.

By the way I'm not up with these abbreviations - PMI? TRX? I do know HRT, SSRI, CBT, IBS, OTT, GA,and GP though 

Hurdity x

[Whitterz67]

Hi Hurdity!  It's been a while since I checked in so sorry for the late reply.   I was suffering night sweats, bad memory, low self esteem and high anxiety when I went to see my GP 2 and a bit years ago.  The blood test came back saying I was going through the menopause and it definitely made sense when I read up on the symptoms.  Anyway I'm now just over 3 weeks into having the mirena coil and estraderm patches to replace the premique.  I had quite a lot of post procedure pain which has now settled and although I'm getting a bit of breakthrough bleeding it's not troublesome and is in line with what I was told to expect.  Also the hot flushes I'd started getting again have gone. However, I have become extremely moody and tearful (crying at stuff as banal as the mentos advert!!!) and have had a number of nightmares.  Then last night I had terrible night sweats - I was drenched.  It feels like a step backwards.  I've got an appointment with my GP on Wednesday to discuss and a follow up with gynaecologist at the end of January. 

Ps PMI = private medical insurance and TRX = total body resistance exercise.  It's awesome for fitness, core strength and balance/agility.

[Whitterz67]

Should also have said biopsy was clear do good news.

[Dancinggirl]

Whitterz67 - There can be an initial hit pf progesterone after the Mirena is fitte that can give more side effects but this should settle.  You don't say what dosage of oestrogen you are using and maybe you need a higher dose??? DG x