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[LoriPA]

Hello everyone!

My name is Lori (age 55) and officially went through "the change" after having an absent period for little over 15 months. Aside from the occasional hot flush, things were going well...until mid August of this year.

I developed postmenopausal bleeding out of the blue, something that made me very uneasy considering there are family histories of ovarian and cervical cancer. A transvaginal ultrasound revealed my endometrial lining measured 7.2mm (anything above 4.0mm is cause for concern). Two endometrial biopsies were then done; something was apparently missed in the first reading, but the second showed no signs of cancer! Long story short, all tests resulted in finding tubal metaplasia and endometrial hyperplasia.

I'm now on Sharobel 0.35 and feel okay so far (no side effects aside from a little spotting). I found many benefits while researching this type of treatment; preventing osteoporosis, lowering risk of endometrial cancer, controls hot flushes, increases deep sleep (I can attest to sleeping a full night since starting Sharobel), decreases blood pressure...I could go on!

The only thing I need to watch is increased risk of breast cancer, something self-exams and mammograms will help me keep on top of the aforementioned.

Be warned: I may be picking a lot of brains on this site since almost everything is still relatively new to me. In any case, I look forward to conversing with all of you!

[Dancinggirl]

Hi and welcome to MM

Your story is not unusual and it's great you have been given treatment that is helping.  You have essentially been given progesterone which will help stop the womb lining from building up while you are still in peri menopause - essentially, though you had stopped having periods, your body was still producing oestrogen and this is why the womb lining had built up and this is common in the peri meno stage.  Many women have erratic, heavy or problematic spotting and bleeding through peri meno and this can be alarming as we are not educated about what to expect when menopause starts.

Once your oestrogen levels do drop, then the progesterone you have been given, will not be appropriate on it's own, as it will over thin the womb lining which could cause other problems, so I hope the doctors will monitor this and you should query this in a few months time. Many women with problematic bleeding are given a Mirena at this stage and then oestrogen can be added in as the oestrogen drops or when flushes etc start - you might want to consider this. I'm sure they have done blood tests to see what your FSH and oestrogen levels are?
You may be lucky and not get too many flushes as your oestrogen drops - not everyone gets extreme meno symptoms - so don't look for problems.

Do read up all the info on this site to get clued up and hopefully you will stick with what you are doing for the next few months and then, when you stop this progesterone, you will be fine. 
BTW - breast cancer risk before 60 is very, very low on any hormone treatment -the leaflets just have to include this.  Alcohol, smoking and being overweight are far more dangerous  Dg x

[LoriPA]

Hi and welcome to MM

Your story is not unusual and it's great you have been given treatment that is helping.  You have essentially been given progesterone which will help stop the womb lining from building up while you are still in peri menopause - essentially, though you had stopped having periods, your body was still producing oestrogen and this is why the womb lining had built up and this is common in the peri meno stage.  Many women have erratic, heavy or problematic spotting and bleeding through peri meno and this can be alarming as we are not educated about what to expect when menopause starts.

Once your oestrogen levels do drop, then the progesterone you have been given, will not be appropriate on it's own, as it will over thin the womb lining which could cause other problems, so I hope the doctors will monitor this and you should query this in a few months time. Many women with problematic bleeding are given a Mirena at this stage and then oestrogen can be added in as the oestrogen drops or when flushes etc start - you might want to consider this. I'm sure they have done blood tests to see what your FSH and oestrogen levels are?
You may be lucky and not get too many flushes as your oestrogen drops - not everyone gets extreme meno symptoms - so don't look for problems.

Do read up all the info on this site to get clued up and hopefully you will stick with what you are doing for the next few months and then, when you stop this progesterone, you will be fine. 
BTW - breast cancer risk before 60 is very, very low on any hormone treatment -the leaflets just have to include this.  Alcohol, smoking and being overweight are far more dangerous  Dg x

Thanks for your input!

Interesting that you mentioned Mirena; it was one of the treatment options available to me. Gyno wanted to start out with Sharobel and then do another ultrasound in six months, along with any other tests that may be needed. I've read up much as I could on Mirena. I am not a smoker and may have a glass of wine every 3-6 months far as drinking is concerned. I am currently working on managing my weight issue.

As with any new medication, I do much research as possible, especially for side effects and drug interactions. So far all my prescribed meds are safe with Sharobel, and since I take my supplements later in the day (pharmacist suggested taking them separately from my meds), I don't have to worry about interactions (St. John's Wort - which I never took -  is the only supplement I've seen thus far that is not advised to take while on Sharobel).