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So I went to my yearly check up. I have not been having periods like normal. I've only had maybe 4 in the last year. I never had abnormal periods ever until the last year and a half. I just assumed I was in pre-menopausal stages. My mom started going through it around 42 and I'm about to turn 45. Well my Dr wanted to take blood work to confirm. She just called me and said I'm not in menopause, and my hormone levels and thyroid are normal. I just recently started my period after the Dr visit. She told me if I don't stop bleeding after 10 days to call her. She will give me something to stop the bleeding. Also, if I haven't had a period again in 45 days to call her so she can prescribe progesterone. I explained how medicine messes with my colitis and she said oh this won't. Really?
Do you all have any recommendations. I really don't want to be on any hormones ever! Why should I if my hormone levels are within normal range? Can I go without having a period? I feel like I do not need to force my body into periods by taking medication. I have thought about finding a new Dr in the past, maybe this is what I needed to move on
I so appreciate you all and thanks in advance for your opinions.
Martha E.
Philippians 4:13
Jul 2008 took Clindamycin for a Sinus infection that forever changed my life
Dec 2014 MC Dx
Jul 15, 2015 Elimination Diet
Aug 17, 2015 Enterolab Test
Dec 2015 Reflux
Sept 2016 IC
First be sure what your VitD levels are....if they are satisfactory then it wouldn't hurt to supplement with Progesterone to 'level' things out to see if you feel better, flip side is it might upset MC.
My 7 years of Peri-menopause drove me crazy, I could never get enough progesterone in my system, but then my VitD levels were in the toilet for years during that time. My DNA says that I'm an early menopause person and rightly it was so. At age 40 I started having swings in my hormones, probably more crazy than they needed to be not knowing about the VitD/Magnesium and by age 47 I had went thru menopause and I have not had another cycle ever since and I'm almost 52 now.
Had I had less inflammation to deal with and better D/Mag lvels during those years I might not have felt so crappy each month....but now that I have addressed my diet and my levels of D/Mag are up I feel much better. I did take progesterone during those peri years and then stopped it when my body finally reached menopause....but I'm sure it helped level some of my symptoms during that time before my MC really blew up on me.
Be sure to see where you are with D/Mag and then decide if you need to bring those up before moving forward with Progesterone. Obviously more synthetic hormones mean more disruption with our MC....you be the judge ;-)
Take care,
Erica
To Succeed you have to Believe in something with such a passion that it becomes a Reality - Anita Roddick
Dx LC April 2012 had symptoms since Aug 2007
Thank you Erica for you response. I really don't feel bad at all, hormone wise. They are in normal range. A couple of months ago my vitamin d3 was around 86, so I lowered my dosage. I actually love not having a period, its that my dr is concerned. It showed in my blood work that I'm not in the pre-menopause stage. I wonder how accurate that test is?? My periods were like clockwork until about 6 months ago, so I just assumed I was starting the change. I typically don't have any mood swings other than tiredness and cramping during my cycles. I have noticed some weight gain, few hot flashes, and lack of periods in the last 6 months. I'm just not sure why my test doesn't indicate going thru the change. My mom and aunts went through it early. I really don't want to disrupt my normal hormone levels by adding progesterone.
Wonder why my dr thinks I need to? In my younger years before colitis, I was on birth control and I gained 30 pounds. It was awful, plus they made me hormonal. I just wasn't myself. I finally quit and it took years to get that weight off. Do you think it would be ok to not use the hormone? Is it okay to not have periods?
My only problem right now is trying to get my histamines under control without medicating. I so appreciate your insight! thanks again!
Martha E.
Philippians 4:13
Jul 2008 took Clindamycin for a Sinus infection that forever changed my life
Dec 2014 MC Dx
Jul 15, 2015 Elimination Diet
Aug 17, 2015 Enterolab Test
Dec 2015 Reflux
Sept 2016 IC
Hi Martha,
Honestly if you feel ok, you are probably just fine. I think drs tend to put women in a general bubble and if we exhibit signs outside a certain time frame without numbers telling them that something is changing they become overly concerned.
My dr got so pushy he said if you don’t take this hormone support do you want to age faster an die! That was the last time I saw him ever again.....I hope he retired after that, it was the most rude thing to tell me.
So with that said, I’d let my body do what is natural until my intuition told me otherwise. Everyone is different, support yourself and live life.
Hugs
Erica
To Succeed you have to Believe in something with such a passion that it becomes a Reality - Anita Roddick
Dx LC April 2012 had symptoms since Aug 2007
Pardon me for buttin' in, but that's a fair question to ask your doctor. There might be a good reason. Or maybe not.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
I so wished I had asked her that Tex, when she called. I was a little speechless.
Gosh that's awful about your Dr Erica! I can believe it though.
I'm going to get my test results sent to me. I've never had anyone prescribe me something when I actually don't feel that I have a problem.
Martha E.
Philippians 4:13
Jul 2008 took Clindamycin for a Sinus infection that forever changed my life
Dec 2014 MC Dx
Jul 15, 2015 Elimination Diet
Aug 17, 2015 Enterolab Test
Dec 2015 Reflux
Sept 2016 IC
I have no real insight other than I wanted to offer support.
Given that you feel good and given that Mom and Aunts went through early menopause and most likely were not
given supplemental hormones and made it through okay perhaps ask the Doctor is it okay if you do nothing? Or what
the Doctor thinks you should do?
My experience (not early) with perimenopause was that I had about 5-6 years of irregular periods and sometimes just spotting.
How are Mom and Aunts bones? Younger menopause (frequently surgically induced) can mean bone issues later.
Thank you so Brandy for your support! My aunts and mom don't have any bone issues. I will ask the Dr those questions. I might get them to order an ultra sound too. Just to make sure there is no other issues.
It really bothers me that physicians automatically want to prescribe something.
Martha E.
Philippians 4:13
Jul 2008 took Clindamycin for a Sinus infection that forever changed my life
Dec 2014 MC Dx
Jul 15, 2015 Elimination Diet
Aug 17, 2015 Enterolab Test
Dec 2015 Reflux
Sept 2016 IC
For some reason, they seem to really push meds. Every time I have my yearly check-up, my gyno asks if I want to go on birth control. She's always shocked when I tell her, no thanks condoms are just fine. Yet she continues to ask me every year.
Hi Martha,
When I was perimenopausal it’s like my hormone levels were ‘sputtering” like a car running out of gas. Sometimes I was fine, then I’d have signs of being low on hormones, and some times I had signs of having a high hormone level. I was all over the place. I missed a period here and there (and panicked at least once and took an at home pregnancy test - whew! It was negative!!) and what periods I had were much lighter. Menopause is not a disease and doesn’t require treatment. I did not do hormone replacement therapy until I developed a feeling like my skin was ‘crawling’ and it was interfering with my sleep... that was a problem. So I took hormone replacement for two years then titrated myself off and have been fine ever since.
I agree with the others- trust your judgement based on how you feel. Once I started being uncomfortable and missing sleep, then I knew I needed to act. But not everyone develops the same symptoms and hormone supplementation is optional. You’ll know what’s best for you.
Best wishes,
Carol
“.... people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Maya Angelou
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whew! It was negative!!) and what periods I had were much lighter. Menopause is not a disease and doesn’t require treatment. I did not do hormone replacement therapy until I developed a feeling like my skin was ‘crawling’ and it was interfering with my sleep... that was a problem. So I took hormone replacement for two years then titrated myself off and have been fine ever since.