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[Annalou77]

Hi new member here who is struggling with peri symptoms and feels very stupid and confused and also a bit wary when researching HRT. I would love some advice please . I am almost 53 years old and have periods every month still. Sometimes twice a month and as of the past 6 weeks I have bled continuously. I have brain fog , insomnia , heart palpations with a jittery , wobbly feeling inside at times ( sounds crazy and I hate telling anyone) my hair is literally falling out when i shampoo and brush , hot flushes but also , weirdly , times when I am just so cold and can not heat up ( not sure if that is related or not) , tired and no energy , joint pain and stiffness , and anxiety. I also have fibroids and polyps . The bleeding now just feels like it will never stop and messaged GP who said it is hormonal and she could give me drugs to stop it. I asked about HRT and she told me to come here to menopause matters to find out . I dont know where to start . What will help best ? , will it make bleeding worse ? , I have a mirena coil which will be 5 years old this year will that be no use as HRT ? Will HRT affect the fibroids and polyps ? I will be extremly grateful for any advice .

[Flossieteacake]

Hello Annalou and welcome to the forum. I can totally understand why you are feeling confused but you are not stupid. The whole menopause thing is very difficult to understand. Your periods being erratic is a classic symptom of perimenopause. The other symptoms you have are also perimenopausal symptoms and very unpleasant ones. I can understand how distressing it is to have hair loss and this again is a meno symptom. Although many people associate hot flushes with menopause, you can also get cold flushes. I too have times I feel I am cold to the bone and cannot get warm.

The mirena can act as the progesterone part of HRT but to treat heavy periods I have read it should be changed every 5 years so perhaps it would be worth getting a new one.

I am unsure about how HRT can affect fibroids and polyps but do not worry as somebody knowledgeable will answer that.

You have come to the right place and you will find a lot of support on here. You are not alone.

[sheila99]

 
A mirena should last for 5 years as the progesterone part of hrt and 4 years for contraception so if that's what you're using it for perhaps ask for a new one. I would ask for a scan too to see what your fibroids and polyps are doing and maybe get them removed. Hrt can make fibroids grow, not sure about polyps. Not a mirena expert but I would expect if it's less than 5 years old you shouldn't have any bleeding so perhaps the fibroids are causing it. Agree with the above, your symptoms are from oestrogen deficiency and you should benefit from hrt.

[Annalou77]

Thank you ….I’ve had previous mirena to this one to try and treat heavy bleeds that were making me severely anemic and none have ever stopped my bleeding and I did not know they only lasted 4 years as birth control!  although the zero libido that I have would have covered me I’m sure 😳😬🫣 I have had two resection of fibroids and they grew back also had polyps removed previously. I’ve been reading on here and it looks like I should be starting a small dose and building up if needed …. But  what one will be the best for me  … so I suppose it’s trial and error .  I bled horrendously while trying the mini pill a few years back , it’s was ridiculous the amount of blood i was losing and I got very scared so stopped taking them after 2 months. My male doctor at the time more or less was pissed that I hadn’t given them more time ( will always remember his attitude to me being as upset about it) so a bit worried I will have a repeat of that. Northisterone was terrible! The anxiety ! The bleeding ! Maybe I’m just sensitive to hormonal medication but then again I seem to be ok with mirena.  I so want to give hrt a chance to help . These peri symptoms are really affecting my life at this point . Thank you again

[Zoe]

Annalou77, what a horrid time! You must feel like you just can't get a grip on any of it, but hopefully that is going to change.

Re the cold that seems to come from inside and means you can never heat up, I got that a lot and it was just awful. For me, it came with what I now know were spikes in my oestrogen levels. These spikes threw hormones off balance, particularly in the second half of my cycle when progesterone was low due to peri. I began having hot flushes when oestrogen began to fall.

The doctor will probably give you norethisterone short term to stop the bleeding. It does tend to be effective, but for long term HRT you probably want to get a new Mirena (sounds like old one is on its last legs) if you did well with it before, or try utrogestan. I can't have the Mirena but think it really is the best option if possible mainly because, as you know, you can just forget about it. Hope you get solutions soon. Xx

[Taz2]

Hi Annalou77. Good advice from everyone. I'm just wondering whether you have had your thyroid checked recently? Muscle pains, feeling cold, heavy periods, hair falling out can all be symptoms of underactive thyroid. Also my hair was badly affected by low vitamin D together with painful joints, muscles and low mood/anxiety. It's easy to blame everything on menopause but often there is more than one thing going on.

Taz x 

[Annalou77]

Yes I had thyroid and other bloods done maybe 6 months ago as I mentioned to doctor that I wasn’t sure symptoms were menopause or thyroid related . They all came back normal. Getting so fed up with the continuous bleeding not to mention abit worried x