Cyclists' cycles

[L CC]

I have a friend who has a supply of Norethisterone, tranexamic acid and mefanamic acid for non-period non stop bleeding, which, now's she's menopausal, is no longer required.
Obviously I'd never condone such behaviour and prescription only medicines are prescription only for a reason, but if you wanted it, I she could send it.

[rabbit]

Blimy Katie - sounds like you really have had a tough time of it!  Thanks for the feedback, good to know.  Hope they don't take yours away

Fboab - thanks for the kind offer, and if I could get some tonight I would have definitely taken you up on it!  Hopefully I'll get some on prescription myself tomorrow 

Getting pretty bad cramps now glad to hear this stuff can stop the bleeding. I just hope it doesn't leave me with a muzzy head

[Katie]

Good luck with your mission!

[Morrisette]

Norethisterone Saved My Honeymoon.

But yes I found out about it through, I think, a Facebook post. Be nice if it was generally known about, right??

I went to one of those nurse-led 'chat about women's things' appointments to get my script, so didn't actually see a doctor. I think the practice nurse had to get it signed off but this didn't seem to be an issue. Mind you this was ten years ago now.

I had no side effects

[Ruthie]

Got a Mirena coil put in today, hoping to stop all this nonsense.

Interesting conversation with the GP who put it in.  (A conversation punctuated by my yelps as my cervix spasmed).

She reckons women had such a low life expectancy in the olden days, at least partially due to bleeding in their 40s.  She was saying huge numbers of women walk a knife edge of taking in enough iron to keep their levels topped up.  Women of my own age, then. 

Hoping for a better time from now on, as soon as these horrendous cramps subside.

[hellymedic]

I suppose my paternal grandmother bled heavily and eventually had a radium menopause induced.
I don't think my maternal forebears had excessive losses.
All seems luck of the draw...

[Kim]

I just totally mis-parsed a friend's tweet...

Currently trialling 3 different cycle trackers. All 3 have same data on past cycles going back at least a year.
[Screenshots of wildly inconsistent estimates of when her next period is due]

So now I'm imagining some sort of menstrual version of Strava.  Pass the brain bleach.

[Eccentrica Gallumbits]

My mirena was due to be replaced this year so I asked them to give me a copper coil instead, partly to see if the change in hormones would help my depression, and partly to better enable me to track my peri-menopause. The changeover was made at the end of March and they said it might take my periods three months to come back.

It took five weeks, and two weeks after the first one went away, the second one has arrived.

[hellymedic]

Sounds miserable EG!
Mine seem to have finished, not before time but without significant trouble.

[Eccentrica Gallumbits]

I think it might take time for my body to adjust its iron levels after 5 years of no periods. I feel absolutely washed out and dizzy and am supposed to be working from home but am thinking about a nap.

[hellymedic]

Wishing you feel better soon!

Have to admit it's rather nice not to have this hassle any more but I'm only 55 weeks short of 60!

[fimm]

Good thread...
You ladies who have or have had a Mirena coil - when you talk of "spotting", what do you mean?
I had my third Mirena fitted several months ago and since then I've had random dollops of blood-coloured liquid appearing at odd intervals. Sometimes it is the darker red colour I associate with menstrual fluid but sometimes it is a brighter red. It is inconvenient (I'm not wearing pantie liners all the time on the off-chance) but I don't know if I should worry or go to my GP if this is normal. The previous two coils I've had nothing, which has been great!

(I have the coil for contraception, the lack of periods is a bonus. I'm one of those fortunate women who didn't have much of a problem with periods when I did have them.)

[Lady Cavendish]

Is this low iron thing a general 'thing' then with heavy/regular bleeding. I'm having a period 3 weeks after a miscarriage, and am fairly unusually knackered so having stumbled across this thread by accident, maybe thinking this might the reason so should probably get some extra iron supplements at lunch! Or does it just become an issue when it's every month?

[arabella]

Bad luck, that's no fun.
I think whether it becomes a 'thing' depends on your physiology.  I started feeling weak an weedy with far higher Hb levels than <random other person I happened to discuss it with>, and even then, only during pregnancy (little dears were presumably nicking it all).
You're probably better off consuming iron rich real food (dried apricots, some nuts, red meat if non-veggie). chocolate has iron in it and remember you need vitamin C to help it be absorbed.

[Auntie Helen]

Good thread...
You ladies who have or have had a Mirena coil - when you talk of "spotting", what do you mean?
I had my third Mirena fitted several months ago and since then I've had random dollops of blood-coloured liquid appearing at odd intervals. Sometimes it is the darker red colour I associate with menstrual fluid but sometimes it is a brighter red. It is inconvenient (I'm not wearing pantie liners all the time on the off-chance) but I don't know if I should worry or go to my GP if this is normal. The previous two coils I've had nothing, which has been great!

(I have the coil for contraception, the lack of periods is a bonus. I'm one of those fortunate women who didn't have much of a problem with periods when I did have them.)

my spotting varies a lot. Usually I have none, but sometimes I have a wee and find blood on the loo paper and think 'oh, it's my period' but then have nothing else. I have 1 day of light bleeding for my period (once every 2-3 months usually) and a panty liner is entirely sufficient for it. Other times this goes to a monthly cycle, sometimes I have nothing for six months. It's very variable, I think depending a little on my stress levels.

The spotting is usually a darker red for me.

[fimm]

Auntie Helen thank you, that's very helpful and sounds similar to what I was getting.
However as of yesterday I've started producing quantities of bright red blood which seems suspiciously like this:

fboab - that might be the mirena's fault.  Usually when you have a period your womb lining detaches and comes out in globbly bits.  The 'fresh' blood that comes with a period is where the process of the womb lining detaching has caused the blood vessels to become exposed and bleed out.  In a theoretical womb, those blood vessels very quickly seal back over, but if your womb contains any scar tissue then that prevents the blood vessels sealing back over and you will continue to bleed and bleed.  The Mirena apparently can cause scar tissue to form. ...

So I think I will go to the doctor tomorrow if I can get an appointment.
I felt a bit lousy yesterday but feel OK today. It's just very inconvenient!

[Eccentrica Gallumbits]

My mirena was due to be replaced this year so I asked them to give me a copper coil instead, partly to see if the change in hormones would help my depression, and partly to better enable me to track my peri-menopause. The changeover was made at the end of March and they said it might take my periods three months to come back.

It took five weeks, and two weeks after the first one went away, the second one has arrived.

Oh, ffs, here we go again.

[fimm]

That sounds grim, E.G.
I still haven't been to the doctor - I think I'll monitor things for a bit. That means I need to make actual notes of what is happening when, so I have actual data to take along!
(Apologies for posting what might be "WAY too much information" when I'm not a regular or well-known poster here - this thread just felt like a safe space. Other half is being as sympathetic as he can be, but it is nice to talk to a female audience.)

[Butterfly]

I don't think there is such a thing as too much information here. Anyone sensitive won't be hanging around here anyway, so go ahead and post. We're not snobby about post counts here, that's why we hide them.