I'll apologise in advance for possibly asking some very stupid questions! I'm amazed at myself for not fully understanding my own body!
My periods stopped in 2020 at the age of 42, and I started the conti combined patches in summer 2022. The first few months were great. I had little symptoms and felt overall well.
After that first 3 months I started getting some spotting, nothing major and all seemed fairly normal but it didn't stop and it wasn't to any pattern. My gp suggested I give it a further 3 months so I did, I actually left it around 4 months and by that time The spotting turned into a variety of small spotting, lots, clots, bits that were flesh like and a variety of colours from bright red, dark red, brown and black. It varied in quantity and length.
I was sent for an internal scan of my womb and ovaries in March and they also done a biopsy. At the time they said the lining was good, thin. And the biopsy results are clear. At the appointment the Dr suggested a change in hrt and would write to my gp. The suggestion was estrogen gel with a progesterone tablet. The mirena was suggested first instead of the tablet but I really don't want that.
Since the March though, I've had 7-10 days worth of bleeds containing the full range of colours and consistencies. I then have a few days, around 5, of nothing for it all to start again. It's great the biopsy was clear and showed nothing, but it doesn't help explain why this is happening.
I've been chasing the results and my gp for a while now, and the clinic while they have notes in the global system, haven't formally written to my gp. I'm about to run out of evorel conti and feel it's a waste to order more when it's going to change. Anyway, a different gp from my surgery called yesterday and I explained everything. He's going to chase the clinic as he can't read the handwriting on the system (no idea how it all works, assuming it a scan of handwritten notes). and he will prescribe a couple of weeks worth of the patches to get me by.
What he did say that confused me was that there is no licence in the UK for the tablet form of progesterone. But, the clinic suggested it to me! Is this true? Can I get body identical tablet form progesterone? Is that utrogestan? And is that regularly taken (I was told at night) with gel for of estrogen (assuming skin, not any internal gel?)?
If you've got this far, thank you! Can anyone help educate me, I'm finding all the online information quite overwhelming and a little contradicting.