Switching from combined pill to mini pill at 40?

[C1239]

Am I right in thinking that around about 40 most doctors like you to come off from the combined pill as the risk increases around then? Has anyone done that and then switched to the mini pill? The combined pill I’m on seems to suit me so I’m a bit nervous about changing it!

I've always taken the mini pill and I love it because I don't have periods when I'm on it

Yes this happened to me, but just before I was 40. I was a little worried but have had no problems and like the previous poster love the mini pill as I don’t have periods on it. I get the occasional bit of spotting or bleeding but not enough to worry about!

My doctor let me stay on the combined pill until I was 50 so you might actually be ok for another 10 years.

If you don't have risk factors like high blood pressure, being overweight or smoking then you can stay on the combined pill until age 50

Nowadays they tend to let you stay on the combined pill till 50 as long as you have no risk factors for strokes or blood clots as these are the things that increase their risks with age.

I personally prefer the mini pill because like the post upthread I don’t have any bleeding on it and that suits me- but I do know other women have terrible problems with spotting whilst on it (like my dd) so you’d have to just try it for a few months and see if it settles down after that.

Keep in mind that the combined pill obviously contains oestrogen and as you approach menopausal age your natural oestrogen will be dropping. If you switch to the mini pill and your natural oestrogen is already in decline you might find you suddenly have symptoms of peri menopause. This happened to me and due to my autoimmune issues I was subsequently found to be in early menopause and I was able to start HRT alongside the mini pill (oestrogel and utrogestan - because the gel is absorbed through the skin there isn’t the increased risk of clots etc that is associated with the combined pill). Just something to keep in mind.

If you stay on the combined pill until 50, does the oestrogen in it have the same effect as HRT?

Yes, the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Health care say that unless you have other reasons that it isn't safe you can use combined hormonal contraception until the age of 50.
Age itself isn't a contraindication, although smokers shouldn't use it after the age of 35.

Arse, I think there is some benefit to some menopausal symptoms from using combined contraception but it's not licensed for HRT.

Thanks Gas, I'm mid 30s so a few years off peri, and often wonder if combined contraception would do a good job of helping with peri symptoms, if a woman is already on it.

It’s at a lower dose than systemic HRT. Initially they put me on the combined pill to help with my menopausal symptoms because I was only 37 and they said I still had some of my own oestrogen but this quickly proved to not be enough as I was still having symptoms so they switched me to the mini pill, oestrogel and utrogestan.

Thanks X-rays, that's interesting. So maybe for some it helps with peri but not everyone.

Arse, I've not been shortened to Gas on here before. It's very childish but I'm guffawing to myself that we are Arse and Gas, so very rude 🤣

This thread may be of interest -

www.mumsnet.com/talk/menopause/4542993-progesterone-only-pill-plus-hrt?page=2&reply=123032718

My doctor told me that the combined pill will mask symptoms of peri menopause. I’m not sure it 100% does, because I can’t find anything else to blame for my insomnia. But it obviously stops any changes in your periods. I have found that I can’t get away with running several packs together any more, though- I get constant spotting if I try. But I’m not sure whether that’s my age, how long I’ve been on the pill, or just coincidence.

I tried the mini pill for a short while and bled every day which can be quite common especially for the first few months. I am now back on combined and much happier

I’ve just had a google and each pump of oestrogel (most women use 2 per day, some up to 4) contains 750 micro grams of oestrogen. The combined pill has 10-35 micro grams per pill taken once per day. So you can see the combined pill has much less oestrogen than that taken for HRT reasons. So it wouldn’t completely replace oestrogen in someone who was / is menopausal.

I switched to the mini pill around your age, I wish I’d started it much younger given the lack of periods. Although fully aware it doesn’t work like that for everyone.

That was another question I had @LoobyDop , if you are on the combined pill and running packs back to back how can you tell when you start to become peri? Just based on other symptoms I guess?

Oh yeah 😂😂😂 I love this, you can tell I'm fond of a childish username!

Oh wow that's a big difference isn't it. HRT is fabulous stuff, I plan to go on it as soon as I can, if indeed I do need it.

I don’t think you can, whether you run packs together or not. You just stay on the pill happily having fake periods until you’re 50, then stop and let nature take its course, and then go on HRT a couple of years later. And you can stay on HRT for the rest of your life, if you want to, although I think you decrease the dose over time.

Yes this.

I’ve seen both private and nhs consultants and they’ve both said no one really needs to know whether they’ve gone through menopause now (unless it’s for birth control reasons I guess!) and they don’t recommend blood tests as they’re so unreliable as hormone tend to fluctuate so much over the month, so effectively you can just stay taking the combined pill to 50ish and then swap to the mini pill and if you develop menopausal symptoms you can go on to HRT and literally stay on that forever now. Women can take it literally till they die now if they wish. Like everything there’s risks and benefits and it’s up to the individual to decide what suits them.

Would I be a candidate for mini pill? Horrendously heavy periods. I'm 43 and a few peri type symptoms - night sweats and a bit of insomnia, increased PMDD. Love the idea of no periods

I switched to the mini pill because my doctor at the time didn't think I should be on the combined pill at 30! I tried a couple of different mini pills over a few years, non of which quite worked for me (the one with the least physical side effects also killed my libido so while it was an effective contraception it wasn't really what I wanted!)

After doing some research (superdrug online is great for finding out about all the different brands and which particular hormones they contain) I've switched to a low oestrogen combined pill. That might be an option if you want to compromise.

In my situation doctors get twitchy because my mum had a stroke in her late fifties. However I'm fairly sure that the 40 a day smoking habit she had since her teens may have contributed to that rather than just genetics.

@wannarunfromitall definitely worth looking into. I had noriday and cerazette, both stopped any bleeding after a few months, though would still get other period symptoms like pms/bloating
On the combined pill I take it 3 packs in a row then a 4 day break. Much shorter & obv less frequent 'period' (as really it's a withdrawal bleed) and it's just enough to prevent irregular bleeding that can happen if you run the packs continuously all the time.