Gp can’t help - what am I meant to do ?

[mustHaveA]

Thought I may be peri menopausal as cycles have shortened a lot and are incredibly heavy. Literally putting me out of action for a week each time
scan was fine and I asked can I have bloods to check hormone levels but told no.

they just want me to have a mirena or go on progesterone pill but hormones don’t suit me and they’ve said well that’s it there’s no more they can do then.

should I be pushing for bloods ?

And if so what bloods do I need ? I’m 41 if that’s relevant

I’d have said maybe FSH blood test but… 🤷🏼‍♀️

vm.tiktok.com/ZMLERQ9Tu/

My gp is saying no because they ‘know’ my levels are all ok as I have periods but they’ve changed totally to short cycles and v heavy and I’ve even had what I think might be flushes but they are saying no blood tests at all

They seem to just only want me to have a coil or go on the pill and that’s not an option.

I’m not sure what you want? Progesterone pills are a type of HRT. All HRT types are hormones and if “hormones don’t suit” you, there really is no other medical treatment for peri menopause or menopause.

I would like to know what’s going on with my body

A mirena or pop isn’t the treatment though is it doesn’t hrt involve other hormones ?

Google Miss Menopause. She has loads of useful advice on how to approach this with your gp.

A mirena stopped my periods.

Mirena is viewed as part of management of menopause I think.

Did you see a gynaecologist?

Thanks I’ll have a look. I’m really suffering and it’s debilitating as it is so heavy and I feel like I don’t know what’s going on with my body

No the gp won’t refer me I was only referred for a scan to check for fibroids etc in case that was the cause of heaviness and v short cycles

utrogestan (progesterone) is usually prescribed with oestrogen as well:
www.netdoctor.co.uk/medicines/a8720/utrogestan-capsules-progesterone/

But perhaps the GP didn’t get as far as mentioning the oestrogen if you’d said “hormones don’t suit” as that pretty much shuts down all HRT options.

No they only offered the mirena or pill
i was told it’s not the menopause/ peri menopause

Progesterone pill that is

There are other options that you could ask them for- including ablation if your periods are debilitating?

Not sure if there other options. In your position I would try this pill. There are all different ones they can try. If one particular one doesnt suit you.

I think you are looking for something g that isn't there. You have a problem with your periods and have been offered solutions.

If you are suffering from very heavy periods I would have thought that the least the GP could do is check your iron levels and prescribe tranexamic acid. I would speak to the practice manager and ask to see another doctor who might be a bit less dismissive.

Have you written off the mirena purely because it’s hormone based?
I was concerned because the POP gave me awful heart palpitations and constant bleeding, so really didn’t want to try progesterone again, but eventually went for mirena because they told me side effects are drastically less since it is targeted just at the uterus rather than being in your whole system when taken orally, and it’s been absolutely true for me. It has calmed my bleeding right down, and I now get a “normal” period, where I can use super tampons and leave them 4-5 hours, instead of getting the industrial size ultra ones and changing them more than hourly. I’ve had no side effects except for some back acne.
I don’t know what hormones usually do to you obviously, but it might be worth not writing it off instantly.
I understand your frustration at not being allowed to actually have tests to find the cause though.

I never got on with the pill of any description but have been fine with an ius.

Sexual health doc said its very individual. I thought it would be a disaster but it's great, on my 3rd combined with gel now for hrt.

I wish I'd had one earlier, might have had a proper career!

Go back and demand tranxeamic acid to reduce your flow. In the meantime ibuprofen can help with this too.

I recently had an uterine ablation to sort my heavy periods. AMAZING!! My periods are now 3 days and hardly anything. Hormones don't agree with me either so I won't use them.

Hormone blood tests are unlikely to tell you much as your hormones will be fluctuating a lot and you are almost certainly still ovulating. Peri menopause last 5-10 years and does make cycles more frequent or heavy for many women. Blood tests for hormone levels at this point are not likely to give your GP any useful information, so I can see why they have said it isn't necessary.

If it's only the period symptoms that are bothering you and you're not getting other menopause type issues (hot flushes, insomnia, anxiety, joint pains) I don't know if HRT would be particularly helpful yet, but progesterone like the pill or mirena coil would likely help a lot with the bleeding.

The mirena coil was amazing for my very heavy periods and flooding when I was in early peri menopause. At that stage I didn't need the oestrogen component of hrt, just the progesterone mirena. Many women have the same experience. Maybe try it and see if it helps?

I’ve had the same pill they are offering in the past and it made me really unwell (severe acne, weight gain and extreme mood swings).