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Heavy periods with clotting

by Maddi
(Pa. USA)

Wray, I am 42 years old. In 2004, I had a tubal ligation after my son was born. Shortly afterward, my periods started getting very heavy with clotting.

I had a balloon ablation done in 2006 which relieved symptoms for about a year. Then the clotting came back with a vengeance accompanied by intense pain during my period. I was living on Vicodin one week out of the month!

My ob/gyn diagnosed me with Adenomyosis and recommended partial hysterectomy, leaving the ovaries, which I had done in September of 2008. The first few months postop I had mild hot flashes but then everything seemed to settle down for a while. By about 8 or 9 months postop, I was experiencing PMS like nothing before, mood swings, crying, rage and irrational thoughts.

I went back to the ob/gyn who said I should be "fine" because we left my ovaries intact. He tried me on Yaz which made it worse. I continued to suffer complete personality change 2 weeks out of every month. My family doctor switched me from Wellbutrin to Celexa. Slight improvement but not enough. I went to a reproductive endocrinologist who prescribed estradiol. My bloodwork suggested that I was currently not in menopause but he wanted to treat my symptoms. The reaction I had to that was frightening, crazy night sweats, extreme panic, heart palpitations. I stopped immediately.

Finally, I spoke to my midwife and she prescribed progesterone capsules from a compounding pharmacy and I take those (100mg) in morning and evening. I think it helped somewhat but it's hard to judge around the stressful Christmas season. At least I didn't have an extremely bad reaction! I'm wondering if I should be using the cream as well as capsules? Let me know your thoughts! Thank you.

Comments for Heavy periods with clotting

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Jan 02, 2010
 Heavy periods with clotting
by: Wray

Hi Maddi. You're suffering from post tubal ligation syndrome, including the adenomyosis which can occur after the ligation. Pity about the hyst, as tubal ligation can sometimes be reversed. Please see this.

Oral contraceptives would not have helped at all, only made matters worse which you found, the estradiol too, not what you need! I'm pleased your midwife recommended progesterone, at least you had no bad symptoms from it, which only proves a point. Unfortunately oral progesterone is mostly destroyed as it passes through the gut and liver, leaving very little to have any effect. This is the reason you found it hard to judge if it had worked or not.
Please see this.
And this.
Stress does drop progesterone levels sharply, so the Christmas festivities would not have helped! The best delivery systems are injections, suppositories or creams. You would need about 200mg per day initially to overcome the symptoms you have, reducing as they reduce. Seems your doctor found it difficult to make up his mind which AD you should be on. Wellbutrin raises levels of dopamine and noradrenaline, whereas the Celexa raises serotonin levels! As you had more relief from the Celexa, it seems your serotonin levels are low. Progesterone does raise levels of both dopamine and serotonin and reacts with no drug, but if you find you need more help, please take the amino acid tryptophan, very low dose to begin with, as you're taking the Celexa, about 250mg/night. Always take it about half an hour before sleep, with something sweet like half a glass of fruit juice (it then gets into the brain more effectively). You should also take the co-factor vitamins with it... B6 and folic acid. You should be able to very slowly come off the AD's. Take care, Wray
Jan 08, 2010
 Hormonal Testing
by: Maddi

Wray, thanks for all the wonderful information! The good news: my family doctor will run blood tests for me twice in this cycle, testing my estradiol, progesterone and testosterone so we can get an idea of my levels around ovulation and luteal phases.
The bad news: I asked for copies of my blood work results from the endocrinologist that I saw; no testing for progesterone levels at all or testosterone. He tested Thyroid panel, Insulin, Glucose, Estradiol, FSH. Can you give me any guidance on a website that could help me interpret my results? The testing was done towards the very end of my luteal phase (PMS time) and my estradiol was 468. From what I've seen so far, that number seems very high to me for that phase of the cycle but I'm not positive. If you could point me in the right direction for interpretation of results, I'd appreciate it! Thank you!
Jan 30, 2010
 Hormonal Testing
by: Wray

Hi Maddi. Pleased it was of help! That does seem par for the course re no progesterone results! It really amazes me that so little is known about progesterone, how important it is to us, men too. It will be interesting to see what your level is, low probably, as your oestrogen is very high. Please see this. Please remember that a test will only tell you the level in your blood or saliva, it won't tell you or anyone else how you're feeling! Take care, Wray
Oct 03, 2010
 Thank you
by: Anonymous

Thank you so much for this information. I would've never done the procedure if I had known all of this information. It really opened my eyes to what I have done to my body. Thanks again for your helpful information. I will be taking a trip to see my doctor and ask for the test.
Oct 09, 2010
 Thank you
by: Wray

Hi there Glad it was of help, I wish more women knew this before having the procedure. At least they will be better informed about it, as it seems no one is told the repercussions. If you want help with the test results, please contact me. Take care Wray

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