WHEN will my bastarding periods stop?! (And if I'm on HRT how will I know?)

[crackofdoom]

I'm 50 and I'm SO FUCKING OVER periods. However, I'm on HRT (Evorel 100 patches and Utrogestan), and people on here say a lot that this means that you could bleed, effectively, forever. My GP says different, and that they will eventually dry up.

However, it seems to me that I can tell the difference between a progesterone withdrawal bleed and a "proper" period. This month, I feel terrible. Days 7-14 of the cycle I had bloating, horniness and ovulation pains. I 'm on about day 19 now, and from the moment I started taking progesterone on day 15, I have felt awful. I always did have bad PMT, but I feel near incapacitated now. Dizziness, nausea, extreme fatigue, slight headache, more bloating and needing to wee all the time, and an overarching feeling of doom and malaise. I strongly suspect that I will have a heavy period this cycle.

In contrast, some months I have no symptoms and a very light "period", and I suspect that I have not released an egg and this is a withdrawal bleed. Last year I went 4 months with either a very light bleed or just spotting each month, and I was starting to feel really good! Now I feel shit again, and I am SO jealous of friends the same age or even younger whose periods have already stopped!

I guess I'm looking for the experiences of fellow sufferers, especially those on HRT who have noticed marked differences in the kind of bleeds they are having.

I'm 55 and after almost a year of not bleeding they're not back every 28 days like clockwise, complete with all the normal PMS symptoms. FML.

Watching with interest...I went to the GP recently to ask if there was anything she could do and although she was very sympathetic she said the mirena coil was my best bet. I don't fancy that at all and can't take HRT so I'm on tranexamic acid which helps with the bleeding and hopefully the bastard things will stop before I'm claiming my pension.

How long have you been on HRT op? I didn't start on it until I'd not had a period for 12 months so I went straight onto continuous. My understanding is after 12 months of sequential then you move to continuous which should stop the bleeding 🤞

Bastarding hell Sir Chenjin ☹️
I don't know if you're like me where the worst part of periods is not the actual bleeding, but all the symptoms around it??

(Actually, sorry, re reading your post I can see that that's not the case. Hoping you're keeping your iron levels up!)

Begone bastard red tide, begone!!

I'm on the gel and the same tablets as you and I can definitely tell the difference between withdrawal bleeds and periods. I'm still having regular(ish) periods which are worse than ever since starting hrt and then withdrawal bleeds which are fine. I guess I'd know once I stop getting the awful period symptoms. I think if you go private you can be prescribed more progesterone to stop your own periods (but I may have got that all wrong)

Mine took until 57 to stop (heavy, flooding periods) and that is the reason I absolutely WILL NOT take any form of HRT. I've read that most forms can bring them back in some form or another. Not having it at all, not even if it is classed as a withdrawal bleed.

Mirena coil works for some people but not others. It made things much worse for me and my fibroids grew while it was in (over a year) instead of shrinking as they were supposed to. It seems to be the main thing that GPs and gynaecologists always push though.

Periods can get to buggery. I don't miss them and am just hoping they have now finally stopped for good.

About 4 years, but I've been on Evorel/ Utrogestan for maybe....2 years?! I started while my periods were still regular though, so trying to work out what's going on.

Another weird thing about the progesterone is that your regular bleeds are always described as progesterone withdrawal bleeds. However, sometimes they start several days before I finish the course of progesterone....what's that all about?! 🤷‍♀️

56 here, long history of fibroids, adenomyosis, ablation, Zoladex for 18 months (to induce a chemical menopause). I am unusual apparently in that my periods returned afterwards.

220 days without a period, had lots of pre menstrual symptoms in the last couple of weeks and it’s back, with a bloody vengeance.

I’m taking progesterone and transexamic acid this week. I’ve been declining a hysterectomy for at least two years. Not sure the benefit outweighs the risk at my time of life, but severely questioning my decision atm.

57 in three weeks and still going 😩.

@crackofdoom as long as you are taking sequential HRT you will have a bleed. If you go in continuous HRT before your natural periods have finished you could have irregular bleeding as your own periods can breakthrough. I think it’s about 55 they recommend moving from seqinal to continuous as you won’t know when natural periods have stopped

Not necessarily. I didn't bleed with any regularity on sequential hrt. Maybe 2 or 3 times a year, randomly.

I am on 75 oestrogel and sequential progesterone. I definitely have a different experience each month.
Some months I have a withdrawal bleed alone (light bleeding for 2-3 days, often quite watery, not many pms symptoms ).

Other months I have what I’m certain is a proper period with bloating, cramps, digestive upset, headaches, moodiness and general malaise in the run up, them much heavier bleeding during it. I’m currently under gynae investigation as I had dreadful symptoms (mainly backpain) connected to it last year, but nothing conclusive found yet.

I hope yours dies down soon OP!

I've never been on HRT so I know the bleeding wasn't breakthrough bleeds. I was 56 when they finally stopped. They were irregular and getting lighter but the very last one was a fucker and lasted about 10 days.

I would just go continuous HRT and take Utrogestan every night. I didn't get another period after I started this and it was bliss. If you've been on sequential for 4 years you could switch to continuous now.

Thanks everyone. It seems that some women are definitely observing 2 different kinds of bleed while on HRT: withdrawal bleeds and "real" periods. It would be useful if this could be properly researched and flagged up, because no one reporting their experiences here finds the withdrawal bleeds much of a hassle- as opposed to full dress peri periods, which are often awful.

For example, Topseyt123 might be able to benefit from HRT if she knew it wouldn't restart her horrible periods, just give her a bit of polite spotting every month.

Also nearly 5bastarding7 and still fucking going. 100mg patches and nightly utrogestan, plus vaginal oestrogen and testosterone. Flood like crazy. Hate it and just want it to stop.

Bumming hell. I'm sure I read somewhere that if you got to 54 and were still going then they gave you an injection or something to stop it?! Clearly that was a fever dream 🤦‍♀️

Ooh, here's something else I heard that I'd love to be true: finishing your periods later keeps you looking and feeling younger because of all the extra hormones. Any truth in this?

<weeps>
I’m 50. Still as regular as clockwork. Not sure I can tolerate potentially 7 more years. I’m ready for Aunt Flo to do one.

Also 56 still having erratic periods but have now started HRT (for dreadful sweats and anxiety/sleep issues) It had been my plan to wait until menopause ie one year after last period but began to think they would never stop. First month had what felt like a proper period that started two days before i finished the urtorgestan, this month who knows 🤷‍♀️

I'm 48.5 (or 582 months in toddler age 😅) and I can abso-bloody-lutely relate to the withdrawal bleed vs actual period bleed. I'm on Oestrogel and Utrogestan (though I've adopted the insertion-into-my-snatch method as opposed to orally to try and mitigate the progesterone doom and bloating)
There is a clear difference between the 2 types of period imo. I've only had a few of the purely withdrawal-bleeds but the difference is marked. I fucking hate and am done with the mood swings, bloating, ovulation pain blah blah blah of the "real" periods and I. Just. Want. Them. To. Stop.

I’ve been treated to both real and withdrawal bleeds in the same month this time around. Hoping I don’t get another withdrawal bleed next weekend when I’ve stopped progesterone again. 🙄

I wish! As I said, I had just about turned 57 when mine stopped (I'm soon to be 58).

Various things were tried to stop them including mirena coil, zoladex injections and fibroid removal. Nothing worked and they always restarted. I was very much considering a hysterectomy but they seem to have stopped now (fingers crossed). Any sign of them returning yet again and I will seriously start pushing for that option.

I'm too cynical and think this is just something to sweeten the pill. Luckily I don't really give a shit about "looks" as such, or at least not as much as I used to. Perhaps the singular benefit to my depleting oestrogen.

Possibly - I do look and feel younger than 55. On the flip side, I’m bitter and miserable at still having bastarding periods - so horses for courses really

😆

My periods are definitely disappearing early on the PMT would be utterly hideous and extended, now even on the progesterone they symptoms don't really appear and can't remember when I last bled.

I still expect to have an evil PMT fortnight/month at some point as I'm only 52.