Post #19

Spotting or flooding?

From Hormone Country · Filed Under: Unstable Atmospheric Conditions · Proceed with caution

You know what I’m sick to the back teeth of? Apart from absolutely EVERYTHING? My schizo cycle and the way my uterus can’t make up its mind what it wants to do. One of the things that took me to my sweet but quite frankly BALL-LESS family doctor all those moons ago was the constant spotting. When I think back I was even having a mini-period every two weeks. I would joke that my ovaries were in competition and popping out eggs to outdo each other. LIKELY? Not very. But it was just an observation, because my ovaries would actually hurt when they popped an egg. Like some human chicken I would squawk without knowing why, as my abdomen twanged like a busted bed spring (I’m old those used to be a thing now it’s all memory foam crap). Course I got used to this and forgot all about it.

So now here I am on the road to menopause, my backpack covered with stickers from ‘Perimenopause City- Where Women Never Sleep,’ or ‘Hormone Canyon - Somewhere to Scream and No One Will Hear You,’ (not least any men who’ve suddenly gone deaf). Needless to FUCKING SAY, I have MANY MORE badges of ‘places’ I’ve been. Nowadays I spot less but bleed more. Or not depending on the mood my uterus is in. It’s up and down more times than a tart’s bloomers.

I’ve had month-long periods, then droughts of a few months, then back to the parting of the Red Sea, to a trickle. I’ve ranged from chopped liver to chocolate spread. Deep maroon to crimson red. But why oh why? WELL YOU FUCKING GUESSED IT. I’m starting to sound like a broken record at this point, but when estrogen and progesterone start to decline and then fluctuate, the shit hits the fan. The ovaries pop out our eggs (yours might not make you cluck like a randy hen) and they’ve been used to doing that for years (depending on when you started your periods) they DON’T want to stop. Like some kind of Norma Desmond unable to let go of the spotlight – in this case making babies and exerting femininity. But the body puts its foot down and slaps some sense into the ovarian Norma and slows egg release. Eggs don’t drop every month (periods can still happen though). Because of this sporadic behavior the uterus is still doing its thing getting all glammed up for the main event, a thickening uterus meant to make a comfy baby hammock. Your ovaries are still pumping out estrogen (well dribbling it out when they can) and this unpredictability leads to an uneven uterine lining, spotting or heavy flows.

Progesterone keeps the uterine lining in balance and when that drops it’s like the kids being left alone when parents go out for the weekend. PARTY TIME, MAYHEM and just downright FUCKING havoc. So the fluctuations in hormones just make things worse, no wonder the uterus is utterly confused. So these dips and spikes can alter cycle length, making it longer or shorter. ALL leading to ‘don’t bother wearing fancy undies for a while,’ status.

I’m on continuous HRT which means I take progesterone every night without a break, (some people do it for only 10-14 days aka cycle it) also I have my daily estrogen dose and still have a period. Progesterone can start or stop or regulate bleeding and in the first few weeks of starting HRT periods or spotting can happen until things stabilize. Your pattern is unique to you and if you keep having strange bleeding then see the doctor because it could be something else.

Like uterine polyps/fibroids, endometrial cancer, endometrial hyperplasia (thickening uterine walls – but progesterone sees this doesn’t happen usually), uterine infections. NOT a nice list is it? But DON’T PANIC, all of this stuff can be remedied, just listen to your body (even if your uterus is a needy, whiny bitch most of the time, she’s right).

Crone Life