Hello! I have been post menopause for about 5 years, I'm know 54, turning 55 in May. I'm strongly considering taking HRT for the secondary purpose of preventing diseases associated with menopause. My questions is, has anyone here in this forum started HRT when you whr post menopause and used and IUD for progesterone in conjuction with HRT? If so, how was your experience with the insertion of the IUD, was it painful, did experience any bleeding? I'm hearing mix thoughts about the IUD. Some say it was the most painful experience and some say it was just like a bad menstrual cramps... Thank you!
HRT
- Thread starter aycaramba
- Start date
ashaw
Cathlete
Hi there!
I can't answer your question directly because I've never had an IUD, nor have I taken true HRT, but I can tell you what I'm doing personally. When I was around 40, my periods started getting slightly irregular and at my well woman exam, I gave my Gyn a copy of my period journal and he did some bloodwork. I was expecting him to say, its your thyroid or you're drinking too much, working out too hard or under too much stress at work (all 3 of those were true at the time), but I get a call in a few days saying that my FSH was consistent with menopause and if I needed HRT to call my neurologist due to the fact that I take epilepsy meds. I was shocked and plunged into a deep depression because I thought I was too young for menopause already. I was still having cycles although they weren't a regular 28 day cycle.
I've had a few ovarian cysts under observation since 2019 and I was told that they would go away after a few menstrual cycles, but I finally realized that I wasn't having true menstrual cycles although there would be a period every now and then. I stumbled across the book "What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Premenopause/Menopause" and in April 2021, I began using natural progesterone cream. I now use 1/4 tsp in the morning and at night. Despite being in perimenopause since 2016 or 2017, I have no menopausal symptoms, other than mostly absent, and very irregular periods. I know that the progesterone cream will help keep my uterine lining thinner (thickened endometrium was one of my problems). I've also had two normal mammograms and ultrasounds when typically they would always find something to call me back in 6 months to check.
The biggest myth of menopause is that estrogen production stops. It doesn't, its just below the level to support monthly menses. Progesterone production pretty much does stop, because progesterone is produced following ovulation and at high levels during pregnancy. Unopposed estrogen is the biggest danger and we have to take into consideration fake estrogens in our food, water, air pollution, etc.
Natural progesterone cream is sold OTC, I use Emerita because its fragrance and paraben free. Synthetic Progestins which I think are in IUD's aren't the same as natural progesterone.
I hope I didn't ramble on and I hope this helped!
I can't answer your question directly because I've never had an IUD, nor have I taken true HRT, but I can tell you what I'm doing personally. When I was around 40, my periods started getting slightly irregular and at my well woman exam, I gave my Gyn a copy of my period journal and he did some bloodwork. I was expecting him to say, its your thyroid or you're drinking too much, working out too hard or under too much stress at work (all 3 of those were true at the time), but I get a call in a few days saying that my FSH was consistent with menopause and if I needed HRT to call my neurologist due to the fact that I take epilepsy meds. I was shocked and plunged into a deep depression because I thought I was too young for menopause already. I was still having cycles although they weren't a regular 28 day cycle.
I've had a few ovarian cysts under observation since 2019 and I was told that they would go away after a few menstrual cycles, but I finally realized that I wasn't having true menstrual cycles although there would be a period every now and then. I stumbled across the book "What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Premenopause/Menopause" and in April 2021, I began using natural progesterone cream. I now use 1/4 tsp in the morning and at night. Despite being in perimenopause since 2016 or 2017, I have no menopausal symptoms, other than mostly absent, and very irregular periods. I know that the progesterone cream will help keep my uterine lining thinner (thickened endometrium was one of my problems). I've also had two normal mammograms and ultrasounds when typically they would always find something to call me back in 6 months to check.
The biggest myth of menopause is that estrogen production stops. It doesn't, its just below the level to support monthly menses. Progesterone production pretty much does stop, because progesterone is produced following ovulation and at high levels during pregnancy. Unopposed estrogen is the biggest danger and we have to take into consideration fake estrogens in our food, water, air pollution, etc.
Natural progesterone cream is sold OTC, I use Emerita because its fragrance and paraben free. Synthetic Progestins which I think are in IUD's aren't the same as natural progesterone.
I hope I didn't ramble on and I hope this helped!
Ashaw, thanks for posting about natural progesterone cream. My doctor can't give me HRT, because of my drug allergies. I asked her about natural HRT and she just said I'd be allergic to those too. She didn't even mention that anything was available over the counter. I think I'm going to do some research. I have problems with fragrances in products causing rashes, so the brand (Emerita) sounds like it might work for me. I'll research the rest of the ingredients to see if something that might work for me. I made a lot of changes in my diet over the years and went to cotton clothes and bedding, so those things got rid of most of my symptoms (hot flashes, mood swings, night sweats, etc.). Recently, though, I started bleeding a lot - 2 months with a 3 day break before it started back up type of thing. Yeah, my iron level ended up at 19. Good thing I eat a lot of greens and put myself on iron supplements (taken with a glass of orange juice) or I don't know what would have happened. Turns out I have uterine fibroids. Most of the time, they go away after menopause. I'm not quite there yet. So, my doctor said that normally they'd try HRT to stop the bleeding, but they can't do that with me. If that doesn't work, removal of the fibroids... but, I don't properly metabolize anesthesia, so I'm not a candidate for surgery. So, after thousands of dollars of medical tests, seeing specialists, etc., I have been told to keep doing what I'm doing. For crying out loud, what I was doing wasn't enough! I got so weak that I could barely get out of bed. I finally resorted to Google searches and have been playing around with natural remedies, vitamins, and supplements. Some made things worse - others made things better. Now, I'm on the road to recovery (I hope). No bleeding for 3 whole weeks, so hopefully I can get my iron levels up. Even before the fibroids, though, I just didn't have much energy. I'm wondering if natural progesterone would help with that. Definitely going to do some research.
ashaw
Cathlete
You’re welcome! The book I was referring to is by Dr John Lee. I’ve had fibroids too and thankfully never had a problem at all but the heavy bleeding and anemia is exactly what my mom went through when she had fibroids. Estrogen dominance from anovulation = zero progesterone to offset the estrogen! And I forgot to add that giving estrogen to someone who is still bleeding is the worst thing a doctor can do. Doctors want to promote HRT because now you’re on the hook to keep seeing them and then things will usually end up with a hysterectomy (more money). Natural progesterone is OTC, made by the body and can be used safely without prescriptions! Doctors can be a money making racket!
I can relate to the heavy non-stop bleeding. I've been badly affected by my periods my whole life; they've always been heavy and would last 7-9 days and didn't always follow a regular cycle so would often catch me unprepared. But in my early 40s they started getting progressively longer and longer with each cycle, first 12 days, then 2 weeks, then 2.5 weeks and so on, with less time in between each cycle, and they were getting heavier at the start. Eventually I had one that didn't stop and rolled into the next. It wasn't heavy all the time, got lighter in between but then got really heavy when the next cycle started. I was spending a fortune on sanitary products. After 42 days of non-stop bleeding my doctor put me on the mini-pill (progesterone only) and the bleeding finally stopped. I kept taking the mini-pill and avoided having a period. Having periods has always made me anxious but after the non-stop bleeding I really didn't want another period.
About 3 years later, after continuously taking the pill, I had a really bad pain in my abdomen with vomiting. I thought it was food poisoning and went to the doctor who immediately sent me to hospital. Turned out I had developed liver tumours, a very rare side effect from the mini-pill. So rare that I had lots of visits from the medical students who were studying my case. My liver was enlarged and covered in benign tumours, most 2cm or less but the one that caused my symptoms was 9cm and had bled. I ended up having half my liver removed along with the 9cm tumour and microwave ablation on 2 other tumours that were 4.5cm and 3cm. As it was the mini-pill that caused the tumours I had to stop taking it but was afraid of having periods again. An IUD was too risky due to the progesterone. My options were endometrial ablation or a hysterectomy. On doing my own research I found that endometrial ablation wasn't always effective, and I didn't want to take that risk. I was 45 years old at this stage and opted for a hysterectomy. When they removed my uterus, they found fibroids growing on the outside of it. Anyway, it is now 6 years later, my liver has grown back, the tumours have disappeared, and no more period worries which is a huge relief. I have now entered menopause but will not be able to take HRT as it may cause the liver tumours to come back. Fortunately, my symptoms aren't too bad yet. I have episodes of irritability and some brain fog and I'm finding it more difficult to control my weight but haven't really had night sweats or hot flashes yet.
I guess the takeaway from my experience is that medical hormonal treatment isn't always the best option and in rare cases like mine, can have major side effects.
About 3 years later, after continuously taking the pill, I had a really bad pain in my abdomen with vomiting. I thought it was food poisoning and went to the doctor who immediately sent me to hospital. Turned out I had developed liver tumours, a very rare side effect from the mini-pill. So rare that I had lots of visits from the medical students who were studying my case. My liver was enlarged and covered in benign tumours, most 2cm or less but the one that caused my symptoms was 9cm and had bled. I ended up having half my liver removed along with the 9cm tumour and microwave ablation on 2 other tumours that were 4.5cm and 3cm. As it was the mini-pill that caused the tumours I had to stop taking it but was afraid of having periods again. An IUD was too risky due to the progesterone. My options were endometrial ablation or a hysterectomy. On doing my own research I found that endometrial ablation wasn't always effective, and I didn't want to take that risk. I was 45 years old at this stage and opted for a hysterectomy. When they removed my uterus, they found fibroids growing on the outside of it. Anyway, it is now 6 years later, my liver has grown back, the tumours have disappeared, and no more period worries which is a huge relief. I have now entered menopause but will not be able to take HRT as it may cause the liver tumours to come back. Fortunately, my symptoms aren't too bad yet. I have episodes of irritability and some brain fog and I'm finding it more difficult to control my weight but haven't really had night sweats or hot flashes yet.
I guess the takeaway from my experience is that medical hormonal treatment isn't always the best option and in rare cases like mine, can have major side effects.
Yeah, I hadn't been to a doctor for a couple of decades. Mostly because they can never help me (due to the med allergies). I was desperate, so I went. Boy was it an eye opener. Things have sure changed. It's all about paperwork (not even on paper-it's a tablet) and money. It was a bit dehumanizing.
Wow. I thought bleeding for so long that one became anemic was bad, but to end up with tumors caused by the treatment!? That's just scary. I'm sorry that happened to you, and I'm so glad that you're okay now. I was having issues with irritability, but I finally got that under control (well, except when my hubby interrupts my workouts - then, I snap his bloody head off
I wish I knew specifically helped with my moods, but I don't. I made a LOT of changes to my exercise and diet as well as added some supplements all around the same time. I take care of my adult son (who's disabled), so I had to get moods under control quickly, so I made a bunch of drastic changes all at once instead of changing one thing at a time (which is what I would have done if the moods were just affecting me). The brain fog... I am still looking for a solution. I've also always suffered from insomnia, but it's much worse now. I started researching the natural progesterone cream Hazlady mentioned, and my brain wasn't working. I couldn't concentrate. So, I'm going to give it another shot when I feel more focused. I'm hoping it might be the missing link and help with the brain fog and insomnia. If I'm really lucky, maybe I can cut out some of my supplements. They're costing me a fortune!Just to clarify, it was ashaw who mentioned natural progesterone cream, not me.
I have insomnia too. Have had it for years but it definitely has gotten worse with menopause. Lack of sleep is contributing to the brain fog and irritability. A lot of the over-the-counter menopause treatments I've seen are more about combatting hot flashes which I don't really have yet. I have been using a natural sleeping tablet, Clinicians REM Sleep which is available locally here in New Zealand, it contains passionflower 540mg, scullcap 80mg and 5-Hydroxytryptophan 25mg. It helps at first but then stops working after several days and I have to take a break before taking it again. I have also tried Tart Cherry Juice which sometimes helps. The one I use is Dynamic Health Tart Cherry Ultra 5x Concentrate which I get from iherb.com. Even though they aren't perfect these two products have worked better for me than any others I've tried.
I've been doing some research into nootropics which are meant to help with mental clarity and focus. I've just purchased a formula containing Lion's Mane Mushroom Extract. I haven't tried it yet, but I'm hoping it will help with the brain fog.
I have insomnia too. Have had it for years but it definitely has gotten worse with menopause. Lack of sleep is contributing to the brain fog and irritability. A lot of the over-the-counter menopause treatments I've seen are more about combatting hot flashes which I don't really have yet. I have been using a natural sleeping tablet, Clinicians REM Sleep which is available locally here in New Zealand, it contains passionflower 540mg, scullcap 80mg and 5-Hydroxytryptophan 25mg. It helps at first but then stops working after several days and I have to take a break before taking it again. I have also tried Tart Cherry Juice which sometimes helps. The one I use is Dynamic Health Tart Cherry Ultra 5x Concentrate which I get from iherb.com. Even though they aren't perfect these two products have worked better for me than any others I've tried.
I've been doing some research into nootropics which are meant to help with mental clarity and focus. I've just purchased a formula containing Lion's Mane Mushroom Extract. I haven't tried it yet, but I'm hoping it will help with the brain fog.
Whoops! See, that's what my brain fog is doing to me. And I'm sure my thinking is soooo much clearer at this time of night or morning or whatever it is, because I can't sleep. Sorry Hazlady and Ashaw.
I tried melatonin and it worked for awhile, but even after taking a break, it never worked again. I tried a product with passionflower in it, but it didn't help. I haven't heard of the others, so I'll have to look them up. I have tried the tart cherry juice, with no luck for sleep, but it did help with some of my aches and pains. I started researching some of the nootropics awhile back, but I didn't get very far before my mind kind of stopped functioning well enough to understand anything I was reading. I do remember reading a bit about Lion's Mane though. I'm making a list of things suggested on this thread to look up and learn more about.