Hi there LW44
This sounds totally crazy to me.
Dangermouse is right - hormonal mood swings are hormonal mood swings. Some women get very severe pms - which is due 1) to the plunging oestrogen just after ovulation and then again just before the period and/or 2) the rapid reduction in progesterone just before the period and/or 3) progesterone intolerance itself - in which case for the whole of the 2nd half of the cycle. Some women are sensitive to all of these!!
In the late reproductive stage when periods are still more or less regular many women find pms worsens because hormones tend to fluctuate a bit more extremely. As you progress into peri-menopause and periods become more irregular the hormonal fluctuations can become huge - and all of these whether as pms or in peri-menopause have the same cause. I have read that some women also get problems from very high oestrogen levels during peri-menopause but I don't really understand this fully.
Have you seen this article about peri-menopause?
https://www.menopausematters.co.uk/magazine/pdf/Article%20-%20Perils%20of%20the%20Perimenopause.pdfAs the others have said - if you have the injection - then no cycle, no oestrogen, no pms, and you are in chemical menopause. Some women do get hot flushes during late reproductive stage due to the rapid reduction in oestrogen from high to low at the end of the cycle (just before periods) which may be different from the hot flushes due to low oestrogen.
It sounds like your consultant is trying to conduct an academic exercise rather than treat a menopausal woman!!!
What dose of oestrogen have you been taking for 3 years?
I presume you are familiar with Studd regime and reproductive depression?
http://www.studd.co.uk/reproductivedepression.phphttp://www.studd.co.uk/postnataldepression.php Women who are still having pretty regular periods can be given very high doses of oestrogen to try to suppress the cycle, but are also given 7 days of extra progestogen to help shed the uterus lining. Once you get nearer to menopause this is probably insufficient progestogen for most women although can be done for progesterone intolerant women under medical supervision.
In your position I wouldn't have the injection - but depends whether you are coping or not. Livial (Tibolone) is a very low dose HRT so although you wouldn't have mood swings, you may well have side effects. Also it does contain a progestogen type element so maybe not a good idea if you are progesterone intolerant.
Another alternative is the new product Duavive - from horse oestrogens but the womb is protected through a spcial compound that only acts on the uterus so no progestogenic side effects so this is another possibility after the injection if you decided to go down this route. However the oestrogen dose is not very high so you still might suffer from low mood/hot flushes, and it doesn't contain testosterone which would be cut off sharply if your ovaries were shut down I think ( not sure about this....might be wrong about that).
Sorry I have ended up rambling out loud but hope some of it is helpful!
Hurdity x
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Topic: Just had appointment with Consultant.. (Read 2938 times)