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[Toomuchstress]

Hi All ,

I'm New and in need of some advice I'm hoping someone might have had a similar experiance to me ,

I was 44 when I heard of perimenopause and its symptoms,  id been experiencing awful anxiety (health) and horrific panic attacks , my face every day at around 5pm to 6pm would go bright red hot and it would last 2 or so hours, etc etc,

My doctor wasn't having any of it , I kept getting told "your too young to start HRT etc etc"
I managed last year to convince them to let me try it , I was prescribed "utrogestan 100mg 2 tablets each night for 12 days a month" and "one spray of lenzetto"
I found that within 3 days of stopping them I would get my period , and also I was even worse on it !! ,
My temper would go from 0 to 100 in seconds and my anxiety was worse than ever ,
So I heard a few people say to me that they used evorel sequi patch and they felt great some after a few hours of using a patch ,

For me nothing changed , in fact I had an extra added symptom (i felt nervous on edge like something terrible was going to happen) ,

So after being on it for a month had my period on the 16th for a week (usually only have it for 4 days)
 had hormones checked (blood test) everything normal , testosterone was slightly low and my prolactin was raised (has been raised since 2016 I found out recently) ,
But I couldn't cope one night I was at my Wits end , i was ill with a lung infection and after having a bad panic attack I ripped the patch off on the 23rd ,
The nervous on edge feeling has gone and I feel less anxious , but I'm worried as the the last 5 or maybe 6 days I've been bleeding , with slight stomach period pain cramps , I was fine for 5 days after taking the patch off ,

I've still lost my libido totally gone , husband isn't happy , and my body is like im run down , cold sores on my lips ,
And I'm worried now that what if my body needs those hormones and I'm not taking anything , I really don't want to go back on them ,
I'm 45 , I'll be 46 in July and worst part of all is I've never been able to conceive and doctors have never given me any reason how i haven't been able to , I REALLY want a child and I'm mostly convinced it won't happen , but then I read somewhere that someone aged 48 gets pregnant and I get hopeful,

I'm in the UK and I cannot afford to pay privately for fertility treatment ,
I'm so depressed as I know I'd make a great mother , but with my body been messed up cos of the "taking HRT and then stopping a few times" ,
I'm never going to find out if I'm ovulating or even try for a baby because I've been bleeding for nearly a week ,

Is it normal to bleed this long ?
When I haven't been on HRT patch long (just a month) ?
Any advice I'd greatly appreciate as I suffer health anxiety this is making me think I got something bad wrong with me

[Flossieteacake]

Hello Toomuchstress and welcome to the forum. You have such a lot going on and it is no wonder you are feeling low. First I just want to say, your husband needs to be patient and understanding. This thread is very important and hopefully will help him to understand how you are feeling. I hope he will read it.
https://www.menopausematters.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,2458.0.html

I can understand how frustrating to be told you are too young to have peri symptoms as this happened to me too. You know your own body and you were right. With HRT it is very individual and it can take time to find the right one. I know we hear stories of women feeling full of energy and wonderful but many of us do not respond like this. Please know you are not alone with that.

They say to give HRT three months before you know if it is helping. If symptoms are too bad then I understand if you cannot wait that long. When you had your hormones tested, I believe the NHS compare them to those of a post meno woman so the results may not be accurate. It can also be difficult to test during peri as they fluctuate so much.

It could be you are finding the progesterone difficult to tolerate. Sadly, many women struggle with progesterone. I do not know what you think of this idea but it may help to try the lowest dose of oestrogen such as a 25 patch for a few weeks. If you can tolerate it then you will know if you are okay with oestrogen and then you can try to find a suitable progesterone. There are still other kinds of progesterone such as the mini pill desogestrel were two pills daily can be used as the progesterone part of HRT. Do not worry, it is very common to find progesterone difficult.

It sounds like you have not had support from Drs and I am so sorry to hear that. Your body will get back to how it was before you took HRT. You do not have to worry about that.

In peri bleeding can be very erratic and can go on for a while. I have read many posts on here were women report they have been bleeding for weeks due to peri. This can happen without taking HRT too.

I think it may help to ask your Dr to refer you to an NHS menopause clinic. They will be the best people to help you with this as your Dr does not sound educated in peri.

Health anxiety is so distressing. Have you ever had any therapy for it? It can be helpful. You are not alone Toomuchstress. You will find much support on here.

[Hurdity]

Hello toomuchstress

 

So sorry to hear about  all of your health issues and in particular that you have been and are still hoping to conceive.

The first thing I would say in terms of menopause - is that it is important to know what your cycle is doing. If you are (have been) having regular periods and haven't skipped any nor have variable cycle length between one month and the next then you are not yet peri-menopausal. Nothing to do with age - your doc is wrong there but should ask about your cycle as well as symptoms. What happens with many women is that before they start skipping periods or the cycle goes haywire, periods in fact get closer together - and this is usually termed the Late Reproductive Stage - ie ovaries are not working so well, but ovulation still occurs.

Even so, during this stage hormonal changes do begin to occur - it (menopause) is not a sudden, or all or nothing event after all, but a gradual change. It is these hormonal upheavals that can cause unwelcome symptoms which may be similar to those that occur in peri-menopause.

I'm not going to advise you about HRT at the moment because to me and from what you are saying, the fertility issue is more important to you at the moment.

Having got that out of the way - if you are trying to conceive I'm not sure that you want to be taking HRT anyway. Have you been to an NHS fertility clinic? You should be  able to get a referral especially given your age and the urgency for this. Has your husband been tested? I'm so sorry that you cannot afford private fertility treatment but maybe this can be offered on NHS initially, or is there a cut off age?

In terms of bleeding - it's likely that taking the HRT and the different hormones, is causing this. If it is very heavy or you are concerned then do ask your doctor but as you've been taking extra oestrogen this could cause a build up of womb lining along with your natural cycle, and stopping the HRT could well be the reason for the heavy withdrawal bleed.

It sounds to me like you need to focus on being relaxed, as stress is definitely a factor in both conception and how we experience menopause, and especially to try to enjoy intimacy with your husband though if your libido has declined this is difficult!

Are you taking any other medications that may affect libido eg anti-depressants etc?

In addition - it is the end of winter - maybe you need a vitamin boost? Do you have a healthy diet and plenty of fresh air and exercise, no smoking and low alcohol - all of these are important for general health and including skin.

Finally have you had other general health blood tests - thyroid, blood count, blood sugar, iron  etc etc which csn cause all sorts of symptoms. If you are run down and not yourself, then the doc should call for these to ensure there is nothing else going on.

Hope this helps

Hurdity x

[CLKD]

I thought that I had replied to this a couple of days ago 

It seems that you have repeated your thread  ..... which may be confusing [espeically to me, who has a meno-brain  ] as well as you will get responses everywhere which you may miss reading!  mayB get Emma to amalgamate them so that everyone knows what others have suggested?