Age 50, heavy bleeding

Hi everyone,
I am new here. I'm not scheduled for and haven't had a hysterectomy but I'm at that stage in life where things are getting out of wack and I could use some advise from some ladies who have been there. I am 50 and have been in perimenopause for a while. I have been seeing a PA and have been on bhrt cream for 2 to 3 years. Now all of sudden everything is changing. Periods come more often and last longer ( could be 2 or 3 weeks, with large clots ). Dr gave me meds I took for 20 days to stop bleeding. Side effects were horrible, but bleeding stopped. So now Dr has changed bhrt to progesterone only caps and no estrogen. Says estrogen is what is causing the bleeding. Has also suggested ablation.( I have read some pretty bad things about this). I can really really tell the no estrogen part. Now have typical losey mood, kinda down, real snappy, and dryness real real bad, have to sit at a desk all day is almost unbearable. Several people have suggested seeing someone else. Please Please does anyone have any advice or suggestions or maybe been through this. Sorry this is so long just looking for some help and hope. Thank you and I hope to hear.

Dear selfmy:

Perhaps a 2nd (or 3rd) opinion would help you to figure out a course of treatment. Lots of women have good results from ablation, and it could be enough to get you through this stage of your life.

I hope you are able to find the right answers soon. I am sending huge cyberhugs

I agree with the need to get back on estrogen with perhaps a stronger progesterone.

Whatever happened to the old fashioned D&C?

My younger sister started having your problem. My mom advised her to ask the dr for this. She did...they did it and she's not had another problem. (she's 47). That's not to say this will work for you, but it is another possible option they can usually do in the drs office, depending on the cause of your bleeding.

I started having the symptoms you describe 6 years ago when I was 50. I dealt with the heavier periods, because they were still coming once a month regularly and were predictable, though sometimes the cramping was pretty bad. I was also experiencing occasional night sweats - a sure sign I was going through menopause. I had an internal ultrasound done at age 51 and the doctor said I had a small fibroid that would not cause me big problems.

In 2011 I had an attack of vertigo that put me in the hospital for 2 days. At that point I wanted to see if the vertigo was caused by low hormone levels. I made an appointment with a doctor who specializes in menopause. She tested my estrogen levels (very low) and evaluated my symptoms. She put me on the Vivelle .025 patch to see if that would resolve the night sweats and the vertigo. That turned out to be all I needed to get the night sweats under control, and my vertigo also resolved (not sure if it was the hormones or what). More recently, this same doc, who I'd been seeing for 3 years increased me to the Minivelle patch, which is a bit higher dose of estrogen. She also added progesterone caps that I took before bedtime. She said the progesterone would help protect my uterus from cancer. So, things were rocking along pretty well, but I was still having periods. At age 56! The bleeding was becoming more random and heavier than it had in the past. My menopause doc told me to see a gynecologist to discuss the bleeding.

Fast forward to my appointment with the gynecologist. He did an internal sonogram and found multiple large fibroids and a uterus the size of a 12-week pregnancy. He did not recommend anything, he offered me options: 1. do nothing and hope menopause kicks in; 2. try an ablation, but given the way the fibroids were growing into the muscle of the uterus he said that would possibly be only a temporary solution; 3. hysterectomy. He did say that as long as I was on HRT, it "feeds" the fibroids and they would continue to bleed. And the bleeding became more frequently and was totally unpredictable.

I wasn't sure I wanted this type of surgery as a "quality of life" choice. Bleeding was a major inconvenience on all the trips my husband and I took over the past couple of years. Seemed like the bleeding would start every time we traveled. I thought women who have hysterectomies had bigger problems than I had. I thought about it for 3 months, made an appointment with my menopause doc to get her thoughts, and her words to me were, "if I was 56 and still having periods, I'd do it in a heartbeat." And at that point I gave myself permission to do it. I mean seriously, 56 and still buying tampons and pads! I wanted to stay on HRT because it has kept me sane, so I scheduled the surgery. I am 3 weeks post-op now and have no regrets at all. I had an excellent surgeon and have experienced no bladder problems, and having been cleared for outercourse at 2 weeks post op I discovered I have no problems with orgasm.Those were my two biggest worries before surgery.

Having the surgery was a difficult decision, but I felt like I had given Mother Nature enough time to get me to the other side. Good luck to you as you explore your options.

This is a great story @PR417... thank you for sharing! I don't know if I have great advice for selfmy - but I'm in a similar situation... I actually never 'thought' i went through menopause since i had regular periods up until June . As of 2 years ago at 52 i wasn't in menopause based on blood tests but somewhere between then and now I am in menopause with bleeding that became progressively worse over the past year (which is now non stop without progestin). Have fibroids that are growing and I'm very uncomfortable. I am worried about all the things that PR417 was worried about but have an appt for end of Oct for hysterectomy. However i am going to try to get several 2nd opinions beforehand.