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Menopause

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Will HRT stop my natural periods?

34 replies

NickyNora · 25/03/2018 11:04

Been on a couple of different HRTs for just over 6 months.

I've only ever bleed after finishing the progesterone part of the HRT. About to start Utrogestan? & dreading itSad).

I was still having periods when i started HRT just wondered if HRT stops them.
Google was of no help!

How will I know when I'm post menopausal? I had my last period last August. I was 43.

OP posts:
ParisUSM · 25/03/2018 19:34

Emerald, sorry but none of that is accurate and I didn't say that HRT functions as the pill. HRT doesn't help the ovaries to function - it gives the body additional oestrogen. It doesn't help your body 'not struggle for a period' and doesn't induce a normal period, the progesterone sheds the lining which has been built up with the oestrogen. It overrides your own hormones. Your period being light or heavy is nothing to do with your own ovaries.

Maybe worth talking over all this with your GP as it's pretty poor they didn't explain the medication you're taking to you. Alternatively there's loads of websites out there that explain how HRT works. Menopause matters is good as more women over there take hrt than mumnet.

Emerald13 · 25/03/2018 20:03

Paris hrt DOESN’T supress the production of our own hormones, it adds hormones to our body. Hrt doesn’t stop the periods. Thanks for advices but I trust my gyn and my own knowledge and not the forums. Maybe my English is not so good and you cannot understand what I exactly mean.

NickyNora · 25/03/2018 20:11

Emerald 13. No under lying health issues. I take medication for hypothyroidism. Vitamins D/iron etc are all good.

The Dr will not change the current HRT until May as i need to be on it 3 months so it can work/side effects etc.

Thanks again for all the replies.

OP posts:
Bellaciao · 25/03/2018 20:14

It's not that complicated really!

Just to be clear - most HRT does not suppress ovulation which is why it can't be used as a contraceptive. This is different from the issue of periods. Bleeding can happen for all sorts of reasons.

If you are post-menopause and have cyclical HRT, as some women choose to do then you will (usually) continue to have withdrawal bleeds ("periods") - depending on the dosages and type of HRT.

If you are peri-menopausal then as has been stated on this thread, because ovulation is not suppressed, your own cycle can break through and indeed may do so a lot, if you are early in peri-menopause.

Normally it is the reduction in progesterone which triggers a bleed in an endometrium (womb lining) that has been thickened by oestrogen, and then modified by progesterone - although there are other reasons for bleeding too.

If you take continuous combined HRT (oestrogen and progesterone every day) and are peri-menopausal then your own cycle will probably lead to a bleed at some point. In any case even if post-menopausal, bleeding is common on a continuous combined HRT for the first 6 months.

Once you start HRT you will not know when you become post-menopause - does it matter?

I am still unclear as to why you started HRT if you had no cyclical changes but I presume you had symptoms of hot flushes and the doc therefore did blood tests to determine FSH? This often starts to becone erratic even while periods are regular but it can be tricky finding the right HRT sometimes at this stage. Some women find the contraceptive pill does the job because it suppress ovulation - and there are a couple of types that contain the same oestrogen as HRT although they do contains synthetic progrestogens so I can understand your wanting to use progesterone itself.

Some gynaes ( John Studd notably) prescirbe high doses of oestrogen also , to suppress the cycle - especially when women are suffering from reproductive depression.

NickyNora · 25/03/2018 20:18

Bellaciao I meant complicated im the respect of finding HRT that works for me Hmm

Read the thread. I've stated 3 times,why I started HRT

OP posts:
Bellaciao · 25/03/2018 20:27

Peri-menopausal symptoms eg flushes and sweats and cyclical changes, combined with FSH levels?

I hope my reply did provide some helpful information in answer to your questions about hormones and overriding your cycle?!

NickyNora · 25/03/2018 20:55

You covered what others had posted.
But thanks

OP posts:
Onlyoldontheoutside · 06/04/2018 15:56

It took me 4changes of her to get there but it is worth it.I had patches first which were perfect but would not stay on but I knew that it was doable I just had to find the right one.I am now on gel sachets and utrogestan.
Now have few flushes,sleep at night(this took longer as I had got used to waking regularly),the brain fog is completely gone and the anxiety.
I tried diet and other expensive supplements before I went down the HRT route.
I found with the patches I tried they worked quickly the gel took a while but the dose needed tweaking.
Your increasing symptoms is probably your menopause setting in ,you may need a n increased oestrgen dose.
Good luck,I found wet wipes kept in the fridge a godsend during hot flushes.

Onlyoldontheoutside · 06/04/2018 16:01

You can have merina coil instead of the progesterone,this suits some women better.

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