Cerelle and the menopause

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ClareAll
Posts: 6
Joined: Tue Jun 07, 2016 12:10 pm
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by ClareAll on Wed Mar 06, 2019 1:14 pm

Cerelle and the menopause

Hello
I have been using Cerelle as a contraceptive since I suffered high blood pressure during my first pregnancy due to a previously undiagnosed kidney condition. I am now 48 and wondered whether there is advice about coming off this type of pill as you approach menopause, or in the absence of having periods how you tell when menopause kicks in?
Many thanks for your advice.

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Mr Peter Greenhouse
Posts: 37
Joined: Fri Mar 16, 2012 12:51 pm
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by Mr Peter Greenhouse on Thu Mar 07, 2019 9:18 pm

Re: Cerelle and the menopause

If you're taking the progesterone only pill "Cerelle" [which contains Desogestrel & is also known as Cerazette/Desorex/Feanolla] and you're happy & feeling well on it, there's no reason to stop until one year after you've started developing obvious menopausal or perimenopausal symptoms. You don't need any blood tests, nor do you need to stop the pill to see whether or not your bleeding returns.
Most women who go through the menopausal transition will experience several symptoms - see: https://www.menopausematters.co.uk/symptoms.php - the most obvious of which is insomnia/poor sleep linked to night sweats with or without daytime hot flushes. Others experience what they describe as 'brain fog' - difficulty concentration or multitasking or processing information - making them feel as if their mental processes have gradually (or sometimes suddenly) slowed down. Others suffer joint pains & muscle cramps, directly due to oestrogen loss, which most perimenopausal women who are menstruating also regularly suffer in the last week or so of the cycle and may be misdiagnosed with arthritis or even labelled as fibromyalgia. If & when you start experiencing these symptoms, this is the time to seek advice on starting HRT, the benefits of which are many and the risks very few.
Your past history of hypertension in no way prevents you from taking HRT - which is natural human oestrogen [17-beta estradiol], compared to the artificial oestrogen found in combined contraceptive pills [Ethinylestradiol] which must not be taken if you have high blood pressure as it increases your isk of stroke. HRT greatly reduces your (or any other woman's) risk of heart attack - which is the main reason why women who take HRT or ERT (Estrogen-only Replacement Therapy for women who've had a hysterectomy) have a much lower all-cause mortality than women who've never taken or have stopped taking HRT. This will be picked up in other parts of this online clinic.
Mr Peter Greenhouse
Consultant in Sexual Health

http://www.talkhealthpartnership.com/on ... nhouse.php

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