A Celebration!

Hi All,
It's been so great to find a group of women who have shed a lot of light on
what I've been going through and what lays ahead, so I thought I'd share my
celebration with those who'll understand!

For the first time in my life, when I wasn't pregnant or nursing, I have
gone 4 weeks without a period! Yeah!! Makes me feel that after several
years of very heavy periods, there's actually an end in sight.

I may have to buckle my seatbelt for what's to come next... but I'm happy
not to have launched into another horrific period like my last one. (Of
course I pumped mega doses of vitamin A for a short time, increased my iron
to get rid of my pasty complexion and terrible fatigue, upped my vitamin C
and doubled my vitamin E for the restless legs.... lol... maybe that all
helped -- I do sound like I was desperate though, don't I! I'm all for
trying the natural route before delving into hormones from the doc...)

Thanks for listening...er, reading.
JC

"Julie C" <jewlyc@gra.midco.net> wrote in
news:tLWdnV9oW-A-ZQvbnZ2dnUVZ_r6vnZ2d@midco.net:

> For the first time in my life, when I wasn't pregnant or nursing, I
> have gone 4 weeks without a period! Yeah!! Makes me feel that after
> several years of very heavy periods, there's actually an end in sight.
>

Congratulations! I skipped one, too, last month. I *think* I might have
skipped one before, but this one is for sure. I believe I may have
skipped this month, too, but it might be too soon to tell.

> I may have to buckle my seatbelt for what's to come next... but I'm
> happy not to have launched into another horrific period like my last
> one. (Of course I pumped mega doses of vitamin A for a short time,
> increased my iron to get rid of my pasty complexion and terrible
> fatigue, upped my vitamin C and doubled my vitamin E for the restless
> legs.... lol... maybe that all helped -- I do sound like I was
> desperate though, don't I! I'm all for trying the natural route
> before delving into hormones from the doc...)

Brava!

Chak



--
How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young,
compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant
of the weak and strong, because someday in your life you will have been
all of these.
--George Washington Carver

Chakolate wrote the following on 7/13/2007 11:20 PM:

> Congratulations! I skipped one, too, last month. I *think* I might have
> skipped one before, but this one is for sure. I believe I may have
> skipped this month, too, but it might be too soon to tell.

Congratulations to you, also! Eleven weeks and counting here, but I seem
to be going every three months these days. Thyroid meds made a world of
difference.

Karen R.

"Karen R." <krez56@gmail.com> wrote in
news:Kk4mi.7033$rR.587@newsread2.news.pas.earthlin k.net:

> Chakolate wrote the following on 7/13/2007 11:20 PM:
>
>> Congratulations! I skipped one, too, last month. I *think* I might
>> have skipped one before, but this one is for sure. I believe I may
>> have skipped this month, too, but it might be too soon to tell.
>
> Congratulations to you, also! Eleven weeks and counting here, but I
> seem to be going every three months these days. Thyroid meds made a
> world of difference.

I wouldn't mind every three months.

Chak, a trifle envious


--
How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young,
compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant
of the weak and strong, because someday in your life you will have been
all of these.
--George Washington Carver

Chakolate wrote the following on 7/14/2007 2:17 PM:
> "Karen R." <krez56@gmail.com> wrote in
>> Chakolate wrote the following on 7/13/2007 11:20 PM:
>>
>>> Congratulations! I skipped one, too, last month. I *think* I might
>>> have skipped one before, but this one is for sure. I believe I may
>>> have skipped this month, too, but it might be too soon to tell.

>> Congratulations to you, also! Eleven weeks and counting here, but I
>> seem to be going every three months these days. Thyroid meds made a
>> world of difference.
>
> I wouldn't mind every three months.
>
> Chak, a trifle envious

That is after 10 years of very heavy bleeds lasting 8 days every 24 days.
I figure I've earned it. :-) They are still very heavy and long, but much
further apart. As long as one doesn't show up for my next camping trip at
the end of August I'm happy.

Karen R.

"Karen R. wrote:
> That is after 10 years of very heavy bleeds lasting 8 days every 24 days.
> I figure I've earned it. :-) They are still very heavy and long, but much
> further apart. As long as one doesn't show up for my next camping trip at
> the end of August I'm happy.

I don't know if you're still reading this thread (I see posting date is
7/14), but just in case...have you talked to your doctor about these heavy
bleeds? I ask because I was having heavy bleeds too when I menstruated...
which wasn't nearly as often as you. My periods have become quite erratic
the last few years. But I'd bleed heavy and the last few were like
yours...they might run two weeks or more. I mentioned it to my ob/gyn when I
went in for a check-up and she was concerned enough about it to do an
endometrial biopsy. She passed a little needle through the cervix and took a
sample of the tissue inside. It wasn't too bad...some cramping, that was it.
The test showed there was a big build-up of lining w/ an overly high
percentage of estrogen cells, which is not desirable...puts one at risk for
uterine cancer. Fibroids can also cause increased bleeding (and sometimes
bleeding and cramping between periods).

I guess there can be other causes too. I just wondered...might be worth
checking out.

Kimmy

HotFlashesColdTears wrote the following on 8/7/2007 4:43 PM:
> "Karen R. wrote:
>> That is after 10 years of very heavy bleeds lasting 8 days every 24 days.
>
> I don't know if you're still reading this thread (I see posting date is
> 7/14), but just in case...have you talked to your doctor about these heavy
> bleeds? I ask because I was having heavy bleeds too when I menstruated...
> which wasn't nearly as often as you. My periods have become quite erratic
> the last few years. But I'd bleed heavy and the last few were like
> yours...they might run two weeks or more. I mentioned it to my ob/gyn when I
> went in for a check-up and she was concerned enough about it to do an
> endometrial biopsy.

Thanks! I actually went through all the testing a few years ago, and
ended up having an ablation -- which lasted all of three months. What did
the job for me was being dxed with hypothyroidism, and taking thyroid
meds. I didn't have a period at all for 4 months after starting them,
then some light bleeds alternating with heavy ones. I recently had a very
light bleed -- pretty much just spotting -- after a 3 month gap, so the
trend is definitely up.

Karen R.

"HotFlashesColdTears" <kimstar2856@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:vX3ui.2697$IE5.1640@newssvr17.news.prodigy.ne t...
> "Karen R. wrote:
>> That is after 10 years of very heavy bleeds lasting 8 days every 24 days.
>> I figure I've earned it. :-) They are still very heavy and long, but much
>> further apart. As long as one doesn't show up for my next camping trip at
>> the end of August I'm happy.
>
> I don't know if you're still reading this thread (I see posting date is
> 7/14), but just in case...have you talked to your doctor about these heavy
> bleeds? I ask because I was having heavy bleeds too when I menstruated...
> which wasn't nearly as often as you. My periods have become quite erratic
> the last few years. But I'd bleed heavy and the last few were like
> yours...they might run two weeks or more. I mentioned it to my ob/gyn when
> I went in for a check-up and she was concerned enough about it to do an
> endometrial biopsy. She passed a little needle through the cervix and took
> a sample of the tissue inside. It wasn't too bad...some cramping, that was
> it.

Holy crap - I wish it was like that for every woman! You lucked out, IMO.
For some others, it's tortuous, or even impossible to do an in-office
endometrial biopsy, even with Novocain shot directly into the cervix. That
"little needle" is more like a straw, & some cervixes have absolutely no
desire to be dilated.

Long, heavy bleeds are common in peri, BTW. And if hers are getting farther
apart, sounds like she's getting closer to the end of the peri tunnel. :-)
I had medium bleeds until I hit mid-peri - then... wham. Mine weren't as
long, but they got very heavy for a while there. OTOH, the last several
months' periods were super-light.

Cathy


> The test showed there was a big build-up of lining w/ an overly high
> percentage of estrogen cells, which is not desirable...puts one at risk
> for uterine cancer. Fibroids can also cause increased bleeding (and
> sometimes bleeding and cramping between periods).
>
> I guess there can be other causes too. I just wondered...might be worth
> checking out.
>
> Kimmy
>

"Cathy F." wrote:

> "HotFlashesColdTears" wrote:
>> I don't know if you're still reading this thread (I see posting date is
>> 7/14), but just in case...have you talked to your doctor about these
>> heavy bleeds? I ask because I was having heavy bleeds too when I
>> menstruated... which wasn't nearly as often as you. My periods have
>> become quite erratic the last few years. But I'd bleed heavy and the last
>> few were like yours...they might run two weeks or more. I mentioned it to
>> my ob/gyn when I went in for a check-up and she was concerned enough
>> about it to do an endometrial biopsy. She passed a little needle through
>> the cervix and took a sample of the tissue inside. It wasn't too
>> bad...some cramping, that was it.

> Holy crap - I wish it was like that for every woman! You lucked out, IMO.
> For some others, it's tortuous, or even impossible to do an in-office
> endometrial biopsy, even with Novocain shot directly into the cervix.
> That "little needle" is more like a straw, & some cervixes have absolutely
> no desire to be dilated.

I know. I had one only once before, in my early 30s, after my husband and I
had been trying to conceive for a year w/ no luck and it was very painful.
So naturally I was alarmed when my doctor said she wanted to do one this
time. I tensed as it started, anticipating agony, but it wasn't too bad.
Just some cramping. I guess I did luck out. Don't know why the difference.
Maybe my cervix dialated better this time. Who knows?

> Long, heavy bleeds are common in peri, BTW. And if hers are getting
> farther apart, sounds like she's getting closer to the end of the peri
> tunnel. :-)

I'm sure I'm close to the end of the tunnel. I'm 51. Periods have been
slowing down and off schedule for about 3 years now. But about the long,
heavy bleeds...when I reported this to my doctor this exam, I asked her if
this is to be expected in peri and she said no. She said it shows something
going on. It could be the fibroids (and myabe it is) but she said the biopsy
is necessary because it could be sign of a cancer. Biopsy was negative for
cancer, but it showed excess build-up of estrogen in lining. I had a lot of
bleeding too when she removed the needle. There was a little pool of blood
on the floor when I got up from the table.

> I had medium bleeds until I hit mid-peri - then... wham. Mine weren't as
> long, but they got very heavy for a while there. OTOH, the last several
> months' periods were super-light.

I haven't had a spontaneous period in a few months, but the progesterone
(switched over to natural hormone one week and completed 12-day course two
days ago) did bring on some light to medium bleeding.

Kimmy