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Women's health

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to ask you to help me decide by sharing your experiences?

130 replies

Howaboutthisone · 03/05/2019 23:41

So, my periods have been getting gradually worse for the last year. I've been put on Tranexamic acid, Mefanemic acid, and told to combine the two. Over Easter weekend I was going into week 4 of my period (despite being on combined pill) and the flow got so bad I was (tmi) flooding and destroying two pairs of trousers in two hours. Needed iron tablets as reserves had gotten low. Was given magical norethisterone which stopped the flow and I've had a week's break. I've had a scan. I have fibroids and a possible polyp.
Seen private consultant today who can't speed things up unless I pay for private treatment but gave me the following options. Really interested to hear about people's experiences/opinions.
She's said that really what I need is a hysteroscopy which I can get on NHS by waiting for my appt which could take up to 9 months even with my urgent referral. Or I could pay private and have it for £2500, raising to £4000 if they remove anything as part of it.
Other options:
1)Try Mirena coil
2)endometrial ablation- can wait for my NHS gynae appt to come though and hope they offer it, or pay £4400 to have it done privately. We could scrape the money together, but it would be from savings we've managed to squirrel away rather than from surplus cash, and I'd feel like I'm stealing a holiday/experience from my kids even though DH has pointed out that nothing is really more important to them than their and our health. He's a good'un.
3) Hysterectomy-I think the consultant would do this privately but obviously wouldn't be first course she'd recommend.
4) Wait up to 9 months for my NHS appt with consultant and take the letter explaining today's findings in the hope I'd have some control!
5) Doing nothing and just riding it out -This isn't really an option as my periods (if you can call them just that when they're lasting all month) are controlling and limiting my life.
I could really do with hearing from others with similar situations or even just hearing another take on things.
Thanks!

OP posts:
Myotherhusbandisgaryoldman · 30/05/2019 08:09

I had an endometrial ablation (Novasure) dome around 3 years ago and it's changed my life - I used to be afraid to leave the house, soaked through pads and tampons in 30 mins, and I stood up most of the time to avoid getting blood on furniture! I had a GA, no pain afterwards, and now I have a slight spotting for maybe 2 days.
However, I would recommend making sure that they don't try and book you in for an ablation where they use saline and heat it inside the uterus while you are awake. It was like medieval torture and I had to tell them to stop half way through.

LilyMumsnet · 30/05/2019 09:02

We're just moving this over to women's health for the OP. Flowers

Howaboutthisone · 09/07/2019 07:00

@MountainDweller I've just started having issues with the norethisterone -headaches/raised bp. At my consultation the injections were suggested as an option but I went for the noresthisterone. I'm unlikely to get my hysteroscopy until October (after being urgently referred in May 🙄) and have been back in touch with consultant who is reviewing the case and coming up with a plan. I'm wondering if she'll suggest the injections again. Like you I don't plan anymore children. How were the side effects for you? Did you have all the horrible menopause symptoms?
Thanks!

OP posts:
MountainDweller · 09/07/2019 11:18

Hi again @Howaboutthisone. Sorry you are still having problems and face such a long wait for a hysteroscopy. I didn't suffer too much with side effects - I had the odd hot flush and often felt hotter than normal and a bit sweaty without a full on flush. I had no bleeding at all but it took a while for the pain to settle. I was very tired for the first two months, but I was also still on high levels of strong painkillers while I waited to be sure the Synarel kicked in, so I think the combination of medications made the fatigue much worse. If you get the option I would think about asking for the nasal spray rather than the injection - I did this because I wanted to feel I was in control and could stop at any point if the side effects were too much. With the injection you are stuck with it for a month/three months (depending which version they give you). I was actually on the point of giving up because of the fatigue but my gynae encouraged me to continue and luckily I really turned a corner after that. Having said all that, that's just my experience and people can react very differently - a friend used the same drug for IVF and said she felt worse on Synarel than she did on the cycles when she had injections. But for me I felt that overall the effects of the Synarel were better than the original symptoms, Good luck with your consultant, let us know how you get on,

Howaboutthisone · 30/07/2019 09:31

I'm so sorry-I've only just found your response. Thank you for taking the time to reply. The consultant felt it best to stay on the norethisterone for now as she was concerned that the side effects of what she could offer me would be worse than those I have on norethisterone. I'm still waiting for the attempt to expedite my treatment to have any effect so am still taking the tablets. Though my headaches have subsided thankfully.

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