Prometrium as alternative for adenomyosis perimenopause menorrhagia - UPDATED

I just want to put my experience out here in case it is helpful to someone.

The problem that had me consider a hysterectomy is extreme hemorrhaging (severe anemia and so many palm size clots and gushing blood that even adult diapers WITH several pads added inside could not hold it for even a hour, which made working difficult (never took a day off for it, though)). The hemorrhaging appears to be due to adenomyosis, though that cannot be diagnosed with 100% certainty without removing the uterus and analyzing it. I had no pain and I want no pain (hence wanting to avoid the risk of adhesions from a hysterectomy which sometimes cause permanent pelvic pain and/or bowel obstructions). I also do not want the risk of a surgeon removing one or both ovaries and could not get them to agree to not take them out even if they looked suspicious. Also, even if the ovaries are left in, the blood supply is partially cut off to them and they no longer work as they would have. Ovaries are important after menopause for the rest of one's life as they do continue to produce some small amounts of hormones and a little means a lot in old age.

About 2 years into this problem and half a dozen doctors later, I am now on prometrium 200mg daily with the intent to stay on it until after natural menopause. The big wig doctor at a teaching hospital who specializes in these issues said there is no risk to doing this and, in fact, it will protect against endometrial cancer.

I have been on the daily 200mg prometrium for about 6 months and prior to that I was on cyclical prometrium (200mg/day 12 days on then 12 days off) for about 1 year. The cyclical did nothing to reduce the hemorrhaging during the periods.

After starting the prometrium non-cyclically, I went about 6 months with no period, as intended. The purpose of it is to stop me from bleeding at all. The doctor did caution that it can thin the lining so much that you can bleed for that reason and in that case the solution is to just go off it for one or two days to let the lining thicken a tiny bit.

I asked them if the prometrium will thin a thick lining without the need for bleeding to shed it or if it simply prevents the lining from getting thickened once it has been shed. They said both. Prometrium will actually reduce the lining with no bleeding necessary. (I assume that's within reasonable limitations - maybe an extremely thick lining can't be reduced without being shed)

After eating an extreme amount of sugar daily for about 5 weeks starting at Christmas, I did have a period despite using the prometrium. I believe the excessive sugar and weight gain of about 8lbs lead to the bleeding by increasing estrogen and possibly decreasing progesterone.

I went back to this doctor, asking for 400mg of prometrium per day. She said she would but cautioned that they do not know how progesterone affects incidence of breast cancer and also that progesterone somehow affects how the body handles sugar.
She suggested a hysteroscopy if I bleed again, to see if there is anything in there such as cancer. I have no family history of cancer but I may eventually get the test just to get more information about what is really going on in there.

The latest transvaginal ultrasound indicated my uterus is now 185cc (or whatever unit they used) versus 450cc as it was a year and a half ago. Interesting. The big wig doctor brushed that off and said it was due to aging? LOL I believe it is due to the prometrium correcting the prior long-term estrogen dominance I had from various poor health habits as well as the perimenopausal anovulation etc. But the allopathic doctors refuse to admit estrogen dominance is a thing. "There are no studies that say that" is their excuse - and when they say that you ought to counter, "Are there studies that say it isn't the case?" I forgot to say that to her yesterday, though.

Also, the small fibroid as seen on a prior ultrasound was also gone. Poof!

In addition, I have lost 30lbs easily in the past year by simply eating very healthy and avoiding sugar. I believe the prometrium helps as well by preventing the estrogen dominance.

I feel much better and look healthy.

The bleeding after my Christmas sugar binge and weight gain really made me stressed due to fear that the hemorrhaging would go out of control as it had in the past. I used lysine (an amino acid from which the synthetic drug tranexamic acid is derived) to control the bleeding each time it became heavy. 1gram lysine every 4-5 hours to a maximum of about 3gram is what I used. Tranexamic acid works by preventing clots from breaking up - and should NOT be used prior to surgery due to risk of blood clots forming in your circulatory system! So I would assume lysine has the same risk. But I am not planning on surgery anymore.

The idea in my case is to stop menstruating entirely, and so I am still on the 200mg prometrium to see if it continues to prevent periods as long as I stay off the sugar and keep eating healthy and keep my weight down. I plan to add regular exercise now that I am not sitting on a toilet and/or dropping massive clots and gushing blood into an adult diaper 2 weeks out of every 4.

I may ask them for the 400mg prescription after all. They called in a 200mg prescription. I think I prefer to be on 200mg and just keep a low sugar healthy diet and weight to reduce the estrogen relative to progesterone. I could tolerate bleeding once or twice a year if the lysine continues to keep the hemorrhaging in check.

I also use DIM to reduce estrogen if I have been doing something that seems to increase it. I would say not to meddle with hormones any more than necessary to get the job done, though. It's a complicated intricate system that "modern medicine" hasn't bothered to figure out yet.

A naturopathic doctor had recommended I eat more protein and I have been doing that for about a year as well. That and eating coconut oil, fish oil, and lots of greens and other veggies may have played some role in the improvements.

I believe treating my problem holistically like this is the way to go. Doing so has many other health benefits, now and long term, for me. After quitting sugar, it took a few months to stop craving it, so it becomes easier than you'd think to eat almost no sugar. I had about 6 desserts, total, in the year starting January 2016. I decided to "reward" myself with 5 weeks of sugar binging and started bleeding again. Coincidence? I think not.

Great story - thanks for sharing! Its is great that you've had such success in reducing your heavy periods.

Would you mind mentioning your age? It's hard to understand where you are at approaching menopause (e.g., how many more years you might have to stay on this therapeutic track).

Also, in your profile it says you had a DaVinci Hysterectomy, which I think isn't the case (obviously!)

I am also trying to avoid a hysterectomy for fibroids and formerly heavy bleeding (the last UAE I had in July 2015 did the trick - at least so far, so good and my periods are normal/light and no more anemia). So many people go straight to hysterectomy for various uterus issues without knowing about alternative treatments that for many are quite successful. Thanks for sharing your adenomyosis story!!

Hi Playacalor,

I'm 51 and likely to go through menopause very late, possibly age 57 or so, given my family history. So I am intending to be on this for another 6 years or more.

They told me UAE would not work for my adenomyosis. They also wouldn't have offered natural progesterone (prometrium) had I not come in already taking it from a naturopathic-minded gynecologist (who had me on the cyclic as if I had to keep bleeding or something bad would happen).

I had to research online and waste a lot of money, time, energy and blood to finally come up with a prescription for daily 200mg prometrium. So far I have not found a single gynecologist who isn't patronizing and rigid in their insistence upon offering the same unwanted "solutions" such as surgery, mirena, luprodlide or synthetic "hormones."

I'm probably going to find an endocrinologist to talk to just to see if they are more intelligent and helpful in their consideration of how to manage this with hormones. I'd like to know if 400mg is safe long term, for instance. I'd also like to know if taking natural progesterone alters my body's ability to produce it on its own. (eg the way melatonin may) The reason that matters, long term, is that I may decide to take vitex, which may cause the pituitary to produce progesterone, once these doctors cut off the prometrium supply. My dentist said she took vitex for years both before and after natural menopause and that it worked well for her. She emphasized the importance of not going off it right away after menopause.

I tried to change my profile but there's no way to delete the surgery information.

I'm glad you found a less invasive solution for your fibroids that works, too.

I think it's great that you are taking control of your health and being your own best advocate! I can relate to the struggle to find a gynecologist open to alternative treatments. I went through 5 gyns to find one who was terrific and supportive and up to date on the latest treatments.

I hope you find the relief you need long term - it is a struggle to deal with any adverse uterus condition, but at least there are great resources like this web site to help guide us!

I am so happy to find this thread. I am 57 and will be starting Prometrium next month. I have been to 7 gyn in the past 5 years. Still bleeding, and not a candidate for a safe hysterectomy due to severe adhesions from previous c-sections. I am happy to hear that the Prometrium has worked for you. I also have adenomyosis and estrogen dominance. Thank you for posting your story.

I find the connection to sugar and excessive bleeding interesting. Before my fibroid was diagnosed I had ridiculous sugar cravings. I craved sugar or things sugar like - alcohol, bread and strangely white rice. I had been very conscious to avoid sugar and had none in the house but after my tumor began to grow I found myself eating, drinking and craving sugar more. These were intense cravings too and a consequence of having a problematic tumor. After my UFE my cravings stopped and now I rarely eat it and never crave it. I was offered Provera but stopped taking it after being warned by women on another board it could make my tumor grow. I sure didn't want that and was very confused by the fibroid maze I found myself thrust into. I'm so glad this mess is over. One of the most miserable times in my life! I too went to multiple doctors who planned to strip me of all my organs strictly based on my age. Yikes!!

One thing I recently discovered is that some makers of "prometrium" are really producing progestins, not bioidentical progesterone! The one I use, since I have researched it online to find it is "chemically identical to what the ovaries make" is Akorn. If you are trying to use bioidentical progesterone, make sure it is chemically identical to what your body produces! I had to return a different brand (I will try to find the maker's name of that one) because I discovered it was actually "functionally equivalent to progesterone" and was a progestin.

	Quote:
Originally Posted by dmc0202 I am so happy to find this thread. I am 57 and will be starting Prometrium next month. I have been to 7 gyn in the past 5 years. Still bleeding, and not a candidate for a safe hysterectomy due to severe adhesions from previous c-sections. I am happy to hear that the Prometrium has worked for you. I also have adenomyosis and estrogen dominance. Thank you for posting your story.

One thing I recently discovered is that some makers of "prometrium" are really producing progestins, not bioidentical progesterone! The one I use, since I have researched it online to find it is "chemically identical to what the ovaries make" is Akorn. If you are trying to use bioidentical progesterone, make sure it is chemically identical to what your body produces! I had to return a different brand (I will try to find the maker's name of that one) because I discovered it was actually "functionally equivalent to progesterone" and was a progestin.

Note: Asking the pharmacists isn't the way to find out! They seem to confuse progestins with progesterone. Look up the brand online until you see (in their official documents) that it is chemically identical to what your body produces.

Here is the info I found to verify for myself that the Akorn brand is chemically identical to the progesterone your body makes:
www dot akorn dot com/documents/catalog/package_inserts/17478-767-10.pdf

Here is the info I found on the Teva brand, which is NOT bioidentical and is, instead, a different chemical than what your body produces and is a progestin, not progesterone at all.
www dot tevagenerics dot com/assets/base/products/fda/Prog_202121.pdf

This is a different topic, but I want to save others from the potential trouble caused by fluoroquinolone antibiotics. PLEASE research any antibiotic before taking even the first pill. Fluoroquinolones are apparently given very often for routine urinary tract infections. Mine was prescribed for a minor lung infection. I only took two of the seven pills prescribed but had some disturbing side effects. There is a book "The Fluoroquinolone Solution" that has some advice on how to help your body heal after using these dangerous drugs. The problem is, they alter the DNA of your mitochondria, and perhaps even your own DNA and none of that can ever be fixed. Many are crippled for life after taking these drugs. There is no cure for the damage done.

If you google the term "fluoroquinolone" "flox" or "Floxacin" or "Cipro" "levaquin" "avelox" etc, you will see how dangerous this class of antibiotic is.

Wow! Thank you!

	Quote:
Originally Posted by Hopeful333 This is a different topic, but I want to save others from the potential trouble caused by fluoroquinolone antibiotics. PLEASE research any antibiotic before taking even the first pill. Fluoroquinolones are apparently given very often for routine urinary tract infections. Mine was prescribed for a minor lung infection. I only took two of the seven pills prescribed but had some disturbing side effects. There is a book "The Fluoroquinolone Solution" that has some advice on how to help your body heal after using these dangerous drugs. The problem is, they alter the DNA of your mitochondria, and perhaps even your own DNA and none of that can ever be fixed. Many are crippled for life after taking these drugs. There is no cure for the damage done. If you google the term "fluoroquinolone" "flox" or "Floxacin" or "Cipro" "levaquin" "avelox" etc, you will see how dangerous this class of antibiotic is.