Apo-Medroxy - confused about when to take it!

[StormPie]

Hello

I hope someone can help me. I have been prescribed Apo-Medroxy which I am supposed to take 3 times a day for 5 days, it will then induce a period and I will be able to have a series of blood tests around day 3-5 of my cycle.

I am holiday at the moment and I can't remember if I was told...

(a) Take it for 5 days and then within ANOTHER 5 days my period will start...

or

(b) Take it for 5 days and DURING that time my period will start...

I know its a fine line and most people are told to take it from day 28, but my cycle normally lasts 42 days or more, so I have been told to try and wait a bit and time it so that I will be back from holiday to have the blood tests between day 3-5.

Any help much appreciated, I'm in Canada, so apologies if it has a different name in the UK, I guess it does the same thing!

[AttilaTheMeerkat]

stormpie

Even though you are on holiday I would telephone the person who prescribed this to you and seek their further advice. Is there a leaflet within the box?. Is there a pharmacy/chemist you can visit nearby with the box?. Have never heard of apo-medroxy here in the UK (although I have heard of similarly named medications to bring on a bleed. They seem to operate on the principle that you take these for five days and then some days after stopping the medication a bleed will commence).

I would think that if your cycles are more than 42 days they should be looking at hormonal imbalances like polycystic ovaries or PCOS (a common culprit for irregular periods) or thyroid imbalance. Has anyone mentioned the possibility of either the above to you?.

A cycle length of more than 35 days is more often than not anovulatory particularly if they are consistently this long.

The blood test between day 3 and 5 (usually here its done on day 3) is often to measure LH and FSH levels. Both of these MUST be COMPARED against one another as these can look okay if looked at separately. Do bear that in mind if both levels are tested, make sure they compare both levels!. If LH is higher than FSH this is one possible indicator of PCO and that should be further investigated.

BTW if your periods are irregular as well blood tests can be done according to calendar days.

If you are not under the care of a gynae specialising in subfertility issues as yet you should be asap. You should also be seeking a diagnosis as a priority, I think the blood tests will give more clues anyway.

Good luck, keep us posted.

Attila

[AttilaTheMeerkat]

stormpie

Even though you are on holiday I would telephone the person who prescribed this to you and seek their further advice. Is there a leaflet within the box?. Is there a pharmacy/chemist you can visit nearby with the box?. Have never heard of apo-medroxy here in the UK (although I have heard of similarly named medications to bring on a bleed. They seem to operate on the principle that you take these for five days and then some days after stopping the medication a bleed will commence).

I would think that if your cycles are more than 42 days they should be looking at hormonal imbalances like polycystic ovaries or PCOS (a common culprit for irregular periods) or thyroid imbalance. Has anyone mentioned the possibility of either the above to you?.

A cycle length of more than 35 days is more often than not anovulatory particularly if they are consistently this long.

The blood test between day 3 and 5 (usually here its done on day 3) is often to measure LH and FSH levels. Both of these MUST be COMPARED against one another as these can look okay if looked at separately. Do bear that in mind if both levels are tested, make sure they compare both levels!. If LH is higher than FSH this is one possible indicator of PCO and that should be further investigated.

BTW if your periods are irregular as well blood tests can be done according to calendar days.

If you are not under the care of a gynae specialising in subfertility issues as yet you should be asap. You should also be seeking a diagnosis as a priority, I think the blood tests will give more clues anyway.

Good luck, keep us posted.

Attila