Meno Pause?

Icegoddess · ‎03-19-2010

So, when the gyno took me off of the pill my periods immediately stopped, never had another. A couple of years ago I changed gynos and when I went in she was horrified at how long he let me stay on the pill. I can't remember how old I was, but I'm 60 now. I was having the hot flashes, but my main complaint was sleep, or the lack thereof. She put me on an Estradiol patch and progesterone combo. It worked great!!!

Fast forward to 1 1/2 years later, and apparently the generic patch I was on was discontinued and they replaced it with another generic patch. Apparently, Mylan must be the only generic manufacturer of my dosage since the pharmacists at two different pharmacies tell me it's the only option.

The old patch was kinda translucent and not overly large. This new one is like 3" diameter and thick. It's a weekly patch, as was the other one, but it starts to come unstuck after 2 days, and it ITCHES! Can't scratch it because I can't feel it due to the thickness of the patch. Some weeks I would even have to use an extra large bandage over it or waterproof tape to keep it on. And when I would take it off it was always wet underneath, but at least I got to scratch.

Now, after being on this new patch for about 4 months I started getting some cramping. I wasn't sure that it was the patch as I thought maybe it was a bladder infection or something else. And then, last week I started SPOTTING.

So, now I have an appointment in a few weeks to see what my options are. The person I spoke with said they would probably give me an ultrasound to see if my uterine wall was thick enough, and then they may put me on the pills instead of the patch. She said "You shouldn't be having a period." No joke. Oh, and now I'm getting bad headaches again. I always get a lot of headaches, but this is more like the menstrual migraines I used to get. They have a pre-tell. A few hours before I'll start having trouble keeping my eyes open even though I've had plenty of sleep.

I guess there's no question here, just kinda venting, and a long one too.

Thrive · ‎08-03-2011

Hi,

I thought I would respond to this because I went to a new gyn for a second opinion today. I had some light spotting and ended up with a biopsy and then a hysteroscopy The same gyn suggested a hysterectomy. The new gyn was not in agreement with this recommendation. Since the initial gyn did not do an ultrasound, I will have one done for reference. I found it amazing and refreshing that this doctor who is from a renowned hospital did not agree with the initial gyn. The initial gyn was beyond eager to perform a hysterectomy. I was able to feel some sense of peace after several months.

itsmagic · ‎08-08-2011

I feel your pain (well, maybe not quite as bad as you). I had a hysterectomy many years ago and I was on an estrogen patch for about 20 years. I remember using that thick generic patch many years ago and I made sure they didn’t give me that again because it just doesn’t stick well and it does itch. At that time I had good prescription coverage and did not have to go with generic but towards the end of using the patch the prescription got more and more expensive. I finally quit the estrogen patch a couple years ago and now deal with lots of hot flashes. Ugh!

Icegoddess · ‎03-19-2010

@itsmagic wrote:
I feel your pain (well, maybe not quite as bad as you). I had a hysterectomy many years ago and I was on an estrogen patch for about 20 years. I remember using that thick generic patch many years ago and I made sure they didn’t give me that again because it just doesn’t stick well and it does itch. At that time I had good prescription coverage and did not have to go with generic but towards the end of using the patch the prescription got more and more expensive. I finally quit the estrogen patch a couple years ago and now deal with lots of hot flashes. Ugh!

@itsmagic, I have a friend who is going to the same doctor as I am and she's also on a patch, but a different dosage that she puts on twice a week. She says it's tiny. She's mainly concerned with hot flashes. I could deal with those, it was the lack of sleep for me. I'm not sure what the dosage is on hers, but I think it may be lower, so I don't know what they base the dosage on.

Skyegirl21 · ‎03-20-2010

I’m on Minivelle patch for debilitating night sweats, the lowest dose that I cut in1/2 (which is doctor-advisable for a patch drug). It is great, and tiny, not inexpensive but I cut them in1/2 so that’s 1/2 the price- It works! Keep trying different things until you find something that works for you. Don’t give up- 💝

NicksmomESQ · ‎08-19-2014

Several years ago I started having terrible night sweats & hot flashes.Doc wanted to prescribe the patch.I was reluctant to start hormone replacement therapy. I went for a second opinion.The second Doc told me to buy standardized Black Cohosh over the counter.I bought it in GNC.I took it for 3 months .My symptoms went away.

My girlfriend had the same problem.I told her about the Black Cohosh.It helped her too.Although she took it a little longer than I did.

Icegoddess · ‎03-19-2010

I tried several OTC remedies before asking the doctor about it. Saw no change whatsover with any of them.

Icegoddess · ‎03-19-2010

I should also say that I don't really trust the natural remedies. They are still messing with your hormones. And knowing that when you use Estradiol you need to pair it with Progesterone for it to be safe, you're not getting that kind of information when you buy OTC stuff.

RealtyGal2 · ‎01-05-2017

@itsmagic wrote:
I feel your pain (well, maybe not quite as bad as you). I had a hysterectomy many years ago and I was on an estrogen patch for about 20 years. I remember using that thick generic patch many years ago and I made sure they didn’t give me that again because it just doesn’t stick well and it does itch. At that time I had good prescription coverage and did not have to go with generic but towards the end of using the patch the prescription got more and more expensive. I finally quit the estrogen patch a couple years ago and now deal with lots of hot flashes. Ugh!

I went through Menopause cold turkey and never went on HRT of any kind. I was unable to take the pill when I was younger because it gave me headaches and I chose not to go on HRT because it seemed that everyone I knew had breast cancer and they had all been on HRT. A friend of mine gave me a book on natural cures for a number of things including Menopause. I took lvitamin B12 and vitamin E and C and made it through with only about 6 months of frequest hot flashes, then they became manageable. The vitamins really work. Andrew Lessman on HSN also has a mixture of ingrediants that balance out female hormones. I also noticed that certain foods would bring on hot flashes such at chocolate, sugary deserts, and meats like beef and chicken (anything that had animal estrogen). I was lucky to share an office with a male co-worker who liked it cold so I was able to position my desk in front of the cold air vent. That got me through the worst of it. Other employees would come back to our office and claim the we could hang meat there it was so cold, but my office mate would just tell them that if they didn't like it, they did not have to stay. I was lucky. I wish I could find the name of the book so I could share because it had a lot of great cures for ordinary things.

Ainhisg · ‎03-09-2010

@Icegoddess, I wish you much luck in finding something that works well for you. I tried all sorts of natural products when my symptoms began in 2012. I think they "might" work if symptoms are mild, but nothing about my experience has ever been mild. From horrific night sweats, chills, lack of sleep, hair loss, and vag atrophy (have to use a cream for that), not only have my symptoms been on the extreme scale, but they are still occuring 7 years later. How do I know? After changing doctors in 2017 because of a similar situation to yours, my new doctor wanted me to go off the pill (was still on it at 54 after misguided HRT) for 6 weeks and then wanted to do a blood test to check my FSH levels.

As soon as the pill was out of my body, all my symptoms returned with a vengeance and were worse than they had ever been! I couldn't wait to go back on "something," because my life was miserable. We talked about the patch, because it is better for your body, but it was just too cost prohibitive for me. And since I am low-risk for breast cancer, he put me on HRT again, but this time...with the new doctor...he got the amounts exactly right the first time, and slowly...my life returned to normal with a bonus that my blood pressure went down. Thank goodness I switched doctors!