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[RebJT]

Hi

I'm 46 and in early peri.  Major issues heavy bleeding.  My first period now after D&C for polyps is bloody horrific.  I'm now back on a 28 day cycle (and was last month) after two irregular cycles which may or may not have been caused by a) change of thyroid meds b) polyps c) peri or d) a combo of all of the above. So it's hard to say if I'm in that phase of things where periods are starting to change, or whether it was just one of those things and I'll stick to a 28 day cycle again.

can someone give me the layman's rundown on  treatment for heavy periods.  Was reading this: https://www.menopausematters.co.uk/periodtreatments.php

Given my health nightmare (understatement of the century) Mirena does not appeal to me for many reasons, not least my GP is utterly rubbish and I want to be in control and able to adjust, stop or change what I'm doing on my own say so.  I appreciate many women love Mirena, I doubt I would be one of them, so for a long list of reasons I ruled it out.

However, in the above link, I read this:  Cyclical progestogen hormones. These are progestogen containing tablets which are taken for part of the month. They are particularly useful when you have occasionally missed periods and then go on to have a very heavy period. It means you will have periods regularly, once a month making life much less socially inconvenient. The progestogen can also help with flushing and sweating.

Can someone just explain what that means please?  Would it also make them lighter?  I appreciate blood tests are not always useful in peri, but from symptoms and bloods I've had drawn (both on day 12) it seems I still have plenty of E (or at least at certain points in my cycle, prof Studd's test put my estrogen on day 12 at 1,600).

From my own research (I appreciate the internet is a bottomless pit of opinion and quackery) it seems that women in early peri often start on prog only for a bit, then add in the E as they start getting low E symptoms?  have I understood that correctly?

Ta

[CLKD]

There is a drug for heavy bleeding.  Ask the Pharmacist [see other thread] ;-)

[RebJT]

Yes you mean tranexamic acid, am already on it, it's the prog only regime I'm trying to understand.

[Bobidy]

Hi, I suffered with heavy bleeding for 8ish years from age of 36ish. It crept up on me and never occurred to me to go to docs about it for ages.

In the end I was so anemic it made me really poorly. Look out for signs of breathlessness, dizziness, palpitations, tiredness, pale skin and lips etc.

Mine was a fibroid and polyps and I suspect general peri. I was on and off iron tablets for years (horrible). Tried transexamic acid mefalonic acid (great for period pains), but they caused me stomach discomfort and reflux problems, I didn't want the coil, ablation etc

The bleeding continued and periods got longer and closer together so I felt rubbish constantly and it was ruining my life with flooding, trying to find loos all the time, not being able to make plans or enjoy holidays etc

In the end I had a hysterectomy this year (keeping ovaries). This I realise is a drastic action, but I can honestly say it's the best decision I ever made. I've recovered really well, started oestrogen only hrt (still tweaking gel dose), and I have started to get my life back. I'm actually looking forward to my holiday and not dreading my period!

I'm know this is not the right option for everyone and should not be taken lightly as it is major surgery. When it was first mentioned to me I was totally horrified and put it off for years but when I started to get lots of peri symptoms a couple of years ago I wanted to think about hrt but the oestrogen can grow the fibroid. I didn't want to end up in my 50/60's having a more complicated abdominal hysterectomy. So after lots of consideration I decided to go ahead with a laparoscopic hysterectomy and here I am.

[RebJT]

Thanks.  That sounds awful.  It was the particular prog only regime I'm trying to understand as I'm currently getting whopping histamine responses to my own estrogen and estrogel (had to discontinue), in ways I don't really understand, histamine and estrogen go around in a bit of a loop, so high estrogen releases histamine, which in turns creates more estrogen (if all the scientific papers I'm wading through I'm understanding correctly).  I have another thread going about Tina Peers, as she's a gynae in Nick Panay's clinic with a side interest in histamine intolerance (which often shows up at peri).  I'm scared of hysterectomy for this reason, as until I can figure out / sort out the estrogen conundrum I can't tolerate E.  I was just trying to figure out my options, hence that article I posted catching my eye.

My sis in law has done what you've done (botched caesarian and then botched ablation) but she's having an awful time of post op on HRT, so that scares me too!

Glad you are doing better.

[Bobidy]

Aha, I see, sorry I misunderstood. No idea about progesterone I'm afraid.

I'm feeling your pain re histermine, I've started with that nonsense too but only made the association a couple of weeks ago after I had an allergic reaction to some meds and got the same itchy/****ly/vasodilated hand vein thing I sometimes get with peri.

My understanding is that inflammation causes histermine release which in turn causes the vasodilation (itchy/****ly/numbness sensation).

The oestrogen bit is a mystery as low oestrogen causes inflammation around the body which would explain the histermine response. I'm not sure why high oestrogen does the same. It's very confusing. I'd love to know what Tina Peers thinks.

I wish your SIL well. That was the reason I didn't want an ablation etc as I understand that they can be unsuccessful and cause more problems. The hystroscopy exam was bad enough for me! If she had her ovaries removed she may have horrible immediate symptoms due to no oestrogen / testosterone. That's why I kept mine (tubes removed). I hope she gets her hrt sorted soon. I'm still in the process of tweaking mine. xx

[Bobidy]

I forgot to say, on a practical level for heavy bleeds I got to the point where I used incontinence pads and even incontinence pants in bed on my heaviest days. I know that sound awful and extreme but it was the only way I could relax. Also a waterproof mattress protector. I got all of these much cheaper from Aldi.

[CLKD]

I laid on a thick towel at nights when I bled  had no idea that there was medication.  It was 'normal' for me.

[RebJT]

Oh God that sounds awful, trouble is I can't afford to get anaemic as I then I end up in hospital with heart issues, as I'm on T3 containing thyroid meds that I can't tolerate when my iron drops (and seriously, if you think the meno is bad I would not wish THAT on my worst enemy).  So I'm really worried about the iron loss, hence asking about hte prog only regime I linked at the top, does anyone know what it is?

[Bobidy]

Just thought of something else... re bleeding, you really do not want the anemia. The iron tablets are a necessary evil but there is Spatone iron which is supposed to be good and Floradix iron too, both available over the counter at the chemist x

[RebJT]

Spatone iron isn't strong enough, it's only 5mg, I take over 200mg a day, I'm on top of the iron going in, it's the iron going out that's the problem hence asking about the prog only treatment for heavy periods.

[RebJT]

Floradix I can't take as it's full of herbs that set off my histamine reactions, alas. 

[RebJT]

Just bumping, can someone explain number four to me please?

4. Cyclical progestogen hormones. These are progestogen containing tablets which are taken for part of the month. They are particularly useful when you have occasionally missed periods and then go on to have a very heavy period. It means you will have periods regularly, once a month making life much less socially inconvenient. The progestogen can also help with flushing and sweating.

From here: https://www.menopausematters.co.uk/periodtreatments.php

Thanks
x

[CLKD]

Would it be worth while you sending a PM to Dr Currie to ask?  You may get a clearer answer, it costs - details above I think.

[RebJT]

Yes possibly, was just trying to avoid spending thirty quid, there seems to be some knowledgeable women around here (the reason I'm asking, I'm now in a histamine intolerance and MCAS support group, and ALL the women there do way better on prog only and often were first diagnosed with all this, during the estrogen storms of early perimeno, so it turns out my hunch was right it seems!).