Menopause or not

[annew272]

Hello,

I'm new here and am desperate for some answers. My periods stopped for 25 months, no changes to my cycle leading up to this. After 4 or 5 months I saw my GP who said that I was going through the menopause and continue to use contraception for 2 years. early September this year I came off Tamoxifen. 19th Oct I thought I was having a period, it looked like and felt like a period and lasted for 8 days when my periods were happening they only lasted 3 or occasionally 4 days. Went to the GP who referred me to a gynaecologist, saw them on 8th November, had a physical exam they took a biopsy, she could only get a small sample which she said was positive. I bled slightly after this and the following day had a transvaginal ultrasound, Friday 11th November I started bleeding again and today is day 19 bleeding, not heavy this time but pretty consistent although has been lighter for the past 3 days. I also had a colposcopy as there was inflamation on my cervix which has now been ruled as normal although I did have HPV, but nothing to worry about. I also had a blood test for cancer markers which was negative. The biopsy was negative and the ultrasound showed that my endometrium was 8mm, apparantly normal for being on tamoxifen and I have a small complex cyst on my left ovary. I have a repeat ultrasound on 16th December and today I had a hysteroscopy, which looked normal and she took another biopsy to be sure.

Its great that they seem to be ruling out cancer but I am now getting really frustrated as they dont seem to be interested in why I am bleeding, could it be I just didnt go through the menopause before. I cant go on HRT because of previous breast cancer and have now gone on anti - depressants to try and help with the mood swings, swinging continually from angry to crying - I know it has only been 6 weeks but at the moment I cant see any light at the end of the tunnel and am beginning to really feel not listened too.

[Rachh8]

First of all it's great that the cancer is negative. Hallelujah. Reading your post I would say it could be menopausal based on what I've read here since I've been on the forum but also my own experience with heavy periods for some years but with bigger breaks in between.

Even with that I became anemic so that is my concern for you reading that post because it affected my whole health including immune system and neurological system. So please do keep an eye on that with your doctor is my advice.

I think a lot of ladies who are going through menopause may be suffering from iron problems as a result of the blood loss and this can cause a number of health problems. Even BEFORE we hit clinical anemia eg my lowest mark 20 out of 100 but I think anaemia is 15 or below. Low iron before it gets to that stage can cause problems but it's dangerous to have too much as well as too little so recommend going via gp which is what I did.

Beyond that I don't have anything else to add I'm afraid but do keep us posted. Love and prayers x ♡

[annew272 in reply to Rachh8]

thank you

[Hidden]

Hope you're doing ok, I think that doctors don't give enough info about how much contraception will mess up your cycle and how long it will take to get back to normal when you stop. Add into that the unpredictability of the menopause and you've got a lot of uncertainty. Sorry there are no clear answers, maybe try b12 for moods and go easy on yourself.