Hi, Anon, and welcome to EmpowHer! Thank you so much for your question.
Clearly, you are in perimenopause. Even though your cycles come at regular intervals, periods that last 3 weeks long are not normal. Sounds like you have a good doctor who is being responsive to you; do you feel that this is the case?
Have you been discovered to be anemic, with the constant blood loss? Is that why you're taking iron?
When you had your hormones tested, do you know which hormones were measured? (And by the way, the fact that they came out "normal" doesn't mean that there might not be a hormonal issue. Your personal normal might be different. I wish we all had our hormones tested at a baseline level in our 20s or 30s so that we'd know, later in life, what "normal" was for each individual person.)
Many doctors believe that the saliva test is more accurate for actually gauging proper hormonal levels, but there is some disagreement on that -- others swear by the blood tests. Hormone levels can change, though -- throughout the month even -- and so it's a good idea to have them retested anyway.
Aygestin is a progestin tablet. Because of the fact that your doctor prescribed it and the schedule on which you are taking it, I am wondering if she/he believes you are estrogen-dominant? Was that term ever mentioned?
Here's the explanation of when Aygestin is used from Rxlist.com:
Aygestin is indicated for the treatment of secondary amenorrhea, endometriosis, and abnormal uterine bleeding due to hormonal imbalance in the absence of organic pathology, such as submucous fibroids or uterine cancer.
Amenorrhea is actually the absence of a period, which you obviously don't have!
Have you ever had endometriosis? Do you have bad cramping with your periods?
Do you know how large your fibroids are?
Here are the dosing guidelines with Aygestin; they sound like what your doctor is doing:
http://www.rxlist.com/aygestin-drug.htm
You are certainly not alone. Here are two pages where women are dealing with the same problem:
If your hormone levels were indeed normal -- and if a second test shows them to be so -- I would think that the attention would be centered on your fibroids. Is that why your doctor has suggested that a hysterectomy might be beneficial? Were any other responses to the fibroids considered?
Here is the Mayo Clinic's page on treatment of fibroids:
Here are some of the other symptoms of fibroids; are you experiencing these as well?
heavy bleeding (which can be heavy enough to cause anemia) or painful periods
feeling of fullness in the pelvic area (lower stomach area)
enlargement of the lower abdomen
frequent urination
pain during sex
lower back pain
I realize I'm asking as many questions as you are, LOL, but I want to try to help hone in on what could actually be going on here and get you the best information possible. See if you can answer my questions, and let me know what, if any, of this information sounds most pertinent to you and we'll see what more we can find, OK?
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Hi, Anon, and welcome to EmpowHer! Thank you so much for your question.
Clearly, you are in perimenopause. Even though your cycles come at regular intervals, periods that last 3 weeks long are not normal. Sounds like you have a good doctor who is being responsive to you; do you feel that this is the case?
Have you been discovered to be anemic, with the constant blood loss? Is that why you're taking iron?
When you had your hormones tested, do you know which hormones were measured? (And by the way, the fact that they came out "normal" doesn't mean that there might not be a hormonal issue. Your personal normal might be different. I wish we all had our hormones tested at a baseline level in our 20s or 30s so that we'd know, later in life, what "normal" was for each individual person.)
Many doctors believe that the saliva test is more accurate for actually gauging proper hormonal levels, but there is some disagreement on that -- others swear by the blood tests. Hormone levels can change, though -- throughout the month even -- and so it's a good idea to have them retested anyway.
Aygestin is a progestin tablet. Because of the fact that your doctor prescribed it and the schedule on which you are taking it, I am wondering if she/he believes you are estrogen-dominant? Was that term ever mentioned?
Here's the explanation of when Aygestin is used from Rxlist.com:
Aygestin is indicated for the treatment of secondary amenorrhea, endometriosis, and abnormal uterine bleeding due to hormonal imbalance in the absence of organic pathology, such as submucous fibroids or uterine cancer.
Amenorrhea is actually the absence of a period, which you obviously don't have!
Have you ever had endometriosis? Do you have bad cramping with your periods?
Do you know how large your fibroids are?
Here are the dosing guidelines with Aygestin; they sound like what your doctor is doing:
http://www.rxlist.com/aygestin-drug.htm
You are certainly not alone. Here are two pages where women are dealing with the same problem:
http://www.menopauseinsight.com/blogs/menopause_questions__answers/archive/2006/06/01/95742.aspx
http://yourtotalhealth.ivillage.com/irregular-heavy-long-periods.html
If your hormone levels were indeed normal -- and if a second test shows them to be so -- I would think that the attention would be centered on your fibroids. Is that why your doctor has suggested that a hysterectomy might be beneficial? Were any other responses to the fibroids considered?
Here is the Mayo Clinic's page on treatment of fibroids:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/uterine-fibroids/DS00078/DSECTION=treatments-and-drugs
Here are some of the other symptoms of fibroids; are you experiencing these as well?
heavy bleeding (which can be heavy enough to cause anemia) or painful periods
feeling of fullness in the pelvic area (lower stomach area)
enlargement of the lower abdomen
frequent urination
pain during sex
lower back pain
I realize I'm asking as many questions as you are, LOL, but I want to try to help hone in on what could actually be going on here and get you the best information possible. See if you can answer my questions, and let me know what, if any, of this information sounds most pertinent to you and we'll see what more we can find, OK?
August 27, 2009 - 7:53amThis Comment
Reply