Hello everyone!
Well having floated around this forum like a sweaty, irritable (often tearful) ghost I've finally taken the plunge and am joining in. I have to say the wealth of information and support on here is astonishing and everyone is so polite - not something you often see on web forums!
So, at 52 I find myself on the good ship peri-menopause. I think I've been going through it for a while starting with sleepless sweaty nights, increasingly erratic periods (having been like clockwork all my life) and finally, the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back, the most spectacular mood swings. Who knew you could veer from tearful to elated via anxious and depressed in the space of an hour? Not my (very patient) hubby that's for sure
I honestly felt like my brain was short circuiting. So off to the docs I toddled.
My lovely male GP was incredibly supportive and quick to admit he was no expert but put me straight in touch with another female GP in the practice who has a special interest in menopause. I do feel very lucky with our local practice having read some of the stories on here. She suggested a mirena coil and oestrogen gel but wanted an ultrasound first to check for fibroids. I wasn't having particularly heavy periods so felt confident they wouldn't find anything. Ha, guess what - I have a large orange sized fibroid attached to the back of my uterus (probably outside) on a stalk! I think the technical term is 'pedunculated subserosal'. I prefer to call it Fred.
Anyhoo, having spent quite a bit of time reading up various HRT options on here I was pretty sure I wanted to try bio-identical hormones and my GP was more than happy to oblige. As Fred wasn't giving me any trouble she suggested no action was required there, but to report back any troublesome symptoms and that they'd scan again at some point to see if the oestrogen was having any effect on it. And the coil was out because of Fred. So, I left clutching a prescription for Estradiol gel (2 pumps a day) and Utrogestan 200mg to be taken days 11-26 of my cycle.
So I'm now 6 weeks on and found that the Estradiol worked pretty quickly on the sleep, sweats and screaming ab dabs, I certainly felt a bit more level/clear headed. The Utrogestan was fine until day 7 when nausea hit me and then all the Estrodiol goodness seemed to be cancelled out somehow. Then the promised 'withdrawal bleed' didn't come until a week later accompanied by some pretty painful cramps focussed around my back and left leg - I'm thinking Fred might be responsible for those?
I've seen my GP since then and she's suggested extending the cycle so that I have four weeks Utrogestan free. I then asked the other question that I think she was half expecting - what about Testosterone? I have noticed a dip in libido and 'response' and could still do with recovering some of my 'get up and go' and it seems that testosterone does bridge that gap for women? She was still pretty supportive (and I knew she wouldn't be able to prescribe it) so has now handed me over to the big guns at the Menopause Clinic at St James's in Leeds as she thinks they will prescribe testosterone. I'm hoping they'll also do some hormone blood tests - my GP was reluctant to as she didn't think it was worth it as I was already on the HRT. Not sure if that's right or not?
Sorry for the lengthy tome, it's all been bottling up in my head so it's high time I got it off my chest. If anyone has got to this point in my post without nodding off (congratulations), I do have a few questions I'm itching to ask you lovely lot:
1. Does anyone else have a Fred like mine - and how has it been on HRT?
2. Should I be on a lower dose of Utrogestan. And would it be better taken vaginally?
3. Should I be having a blood test now to check hormone levels?
4. Anyone else been to the Leeds menopause clinic at St James's?
5. Testosterone! Yes or no?
Thanks in advance everyone...
Ajay