Hi all you lovely ladies
I haven't posted on here since mid last year but I have been reading avidly how you are all getting on. I am still battling the severe symptoms of progesterone intolerance which have dogged me for 30 years (I m now 52 and still having regular periods)in varying degrees but which are now unbearable and pretty much constant due to fluctuating peri menopausal hormones.I don't know how I ve actually made it this far and am still standing albeit very wobbly.
However I eventually made the pilgrimage to see the Prof in November and I must say I was very nervous that he would say I was a lost cause and beyond help. However he was truly lovely - very matter of fact and sympathetic and made me feel less of a freak than I have for years! He was very thorough with going through my entire history and it was wonderful to speak to someone who actually UNDERSTOOD what I was saying and didn't try to belittle the effects of PMS/hormone imbalance/progesterone intolerance.
The upshot was that he recommended a hysterectomy and oopherectomy be performed as soon as possible. That was when my next battle started - getting an NHS gynaecologist to agree to do it. This actually turned out to be surprisingly straight forward with the might of a strong recommendation from the Prof, and the NHS gynaecologist gave me a date in Jan for the surgery. HOWEVER it was then rejected by the Men In Suits at the NHS trust as being unnecessary and not worth spending NHS money on. So my battle is continuing. I am on unopposed oestrogel at the moment and have been since November but my progesterone is still breaking through and plunging me in to suicidal hell on a regular basis. I had to have a uterine biopsy last week due to extremely long, heavy and painful periods, presumably due to the unopposed oestrogen- waiting for the results. If I had the money to go private I would but unfortunately that is not an option.
There are MANY days when I feel I cannot go on another minute, that my life has been a constant struggle for so very long, battling monsters and demons which all the psych drugs had little effect on. I have been made to believe there was something abnormal in my brain and put in a box labelled "mentally unstable" for so long it has been incredibly hard for me to accept that it has all been down to my own hormones and to believe I can get better without strong mind altering drugs.
I am going to go on fighting for a hysterectomy- I would love to think there is a possibility that the last trimester of my life could be free of all the hell that unbalanced and intolerable hormones can bring. Maybe I can even come off the AD s which I have been on for over 30 years!
Sorry - this has turned into a bit of a rant! Please all keep your fingers crossed for me that I get my life-saving (that's what it feels like) surgery passed.
Panda xxx