2 am awake and now petrified of Provera

[dancer67]

Geesh, first it was the endo biopsy. Now I have read HORROR stories of taking Provera, it I have to have my period jump started.

The side effects are terrible.

The three things it lists I have, and it says I should not take it. One being depression,(could make it worse), I smoke, and have borderline hypertension.


I don't think my Dr is going to be open to Natural Progesterone.

Now what do I do(besides pray I do not get Hyperplasia, and just get my darn period)

[sixpack]

My daughter has a severe seizure disorder.  She is on a few meds to combat it.  I have looked up infor on the meds AND there are horror stories.  However none have come true.

Are there horror stories with Provera?  Probably. Just like any and all meds there are people who have a tough time with some.  However, remember this, the stories you read on the 'net are going to be the bad ones in almost all cases.  Why?  Because people who are happy with the results of meds DON'T post on websites.  Bad reactions are always going to be the ones you see posted....  So it looks again that your googling did nothing but worry you and keep you up to all hours.  How has that helped you?

If or when your doctor thinks you need to take Provera, discuss your concerns with him.  Do you trust your doctor?  Or is he a some guy that walked out of the cornfield and decided to take up doctorin'?  I bet you trust your doctor.     And if that is the case, let him help you through this.

and the dysplasia----you have put the horse waaaaaaaay before the cart in this one.       

[CoolCalmAndCollected]

I took this med for a week and I looked up side effects on a board where people report.   Look at it this way:  I guarantee you that if WATER (as in H2O) were considered a prescription therapy, you could look it up on one of those boards and there would be people reporting everything negative from gas pains to tingling in their toes to a jumpy, nervous feeling to nausea etc. etc. etc.  You'd see people saying "NEVER take this med.  It should be illegal.  I don't know how doctors can prescribe it.  My friend took it and broke out in hives and her daughter had to be seen at the E.R."

Seriously!  You have to know that some of what you read about is... imagined side effects.  Or coincidental happenings that people wrongly attribute to a med they just happened to be taking at the time.


Did you know that your own body produces progesterone every month?  I don't think you should go making huge distinctions between Rx hormones and bio-identical (which might actually be a plant version, not a human version) when a molecule is a molecule is a molecule.

Anyway - personal experience:  When I took this there were some side effects that were benign.  In fact, they MAY have been perceived by me in response to reading about them ahead of time (meaning they may have been a product of my active imagination and I might not have noticed them otherwise.)  They were:

Sleepy, relaxed feeling (very mild, but like I might enjoy dozing off in the easy chair while watching Madeline with my daughter - but Madeline is boring when you've seen it 1,000 times)  More likely to turn off the TV early or put down the book early and go to sleep at night instead of staying up till 1AM like usual.

Irritability - like when my kids talk back about why they didn't clean up their room or finish homework, I'd be less likely to let them get off the hook with a flimsy excuse and might give them a grouchy lecture about it.

That's IT!

[dancer67]

Can someone explain Hyperplasia to me then? I am not getting it, so maybe this is why I am worked up over it. When do you actually get this? I talked to my psych Dr this morning and she does not think my missed period has anything to do with the med switch at all. I don't know. I figure, thickened uterine lining=not shedding=more buildup=hyperplasia.



And yes, I went to www.askapatient.com and there were people reporting on Provera. And they were horrible. But then I looked up the side effects on the website and it says that if you have certain conditions to discuss them with your Dr before taking it. Like Hyeprtension, Depression, and palpitations(all of which I have). So I guess I shoudn't of done that

Sorry, I know I keep bringing this up

 

[CoolCalmAndCollected]

I think you'd have to ask your doctor about hyperplasia.  Sit down in his/her office and ask him (I think you said "him") to explain it to you.  I was worried about this, too, because I look everything up like you do.  But  I think it is something that develops over time in some people, not over one missed period episode.

I've had many episodes of long cycles.  I think there has to be more going on to cause hyperplasia.  I don't think any of us can reassure you on that; your doctor would be able to, though.  I think you should stop being an amateur doctor (we all do that sometimes) and stop looking up all the information you can find.  You can't interpret it and apply it to your exact personal situation, but your doctor can.

Also, these meds always come with warnings like that.  I think your doctor would not have prescribed it to you if he thought there was any danger.    These warnings, again, are for doctors to interpret.  Does your doctor know you have been diagnosed with depression?  I bet if you told him, he'd still say it's OK to take this med but check with him to be sure.  For the person in the hospital ICU with crazy out-of-control blood pressure problems, they have to weigh the options and be aware of certain risks before prescribing this med, I guess.  For the person in the psychiatric hospital who is barely getting their depression under control, they have to monitor closely.  For the person in the cardiac ward who has been having certain arrhythmias, they need to take that under consideration.  Everyday variants of these conditions are probably not cause for concern but just call your doctor and check.  A nice doctor will not mind spending 2 minutes of his time to put your mind at ease.

Go back and remember that progesterone is something naturally produced by your body.  I guess you've heard that women are prone to depression, palpitations (more than men, I think) and maybe blood pressure changes at certain times in the month.  This is a natural hormone that women live with every day.  He is just manipulating your hormone cycle with a pill to nudge your cycle along.

[sixpack]

dancer

this is what I posted about what I know about hyperplasia

The main symptom of hyperplasia is irregular bleeding.  And women who get it most often are women (and that isn't even that common) who are going through menopause--and that is due, they believe, from the imbalance of the two hormones---estrogen and progesterone.  I also read that women who go for many months, for whatever reason, without periods are at increased risk.  You are not in either of these groups. In any case most often it is a benign condition, often treated with progesterone only BCP.

Women's endo's, who are not menopausal, change throughout the cycle--it is thinnest just after the period and thickest just prior. Since you haven't had your period yet, it stands to reason that is why yours is a bit thicker.  I presume, that is the reason the doctor is expecting you to have your period rather shortly.   If you don't, then he'll give the Provera to get you to shed the lining.   It sounds like your doctor is on top of things.  And, you, my dear, have just read too much stuff and gotten upset.  Remember me telling you about my oddball cycles in my previous post?  My cycles were like that until I had my son in 1995.  Well I didn't develop hyperplasia as a result.  It's been about 15 yrs since all of that and I have 6 kids and an apparently normal uterus.

You don't seem to be in either group.  I have actually gone through 120days without a real period--I would get some brown dripping spotting for a few days.  Then I would have two ovulatory cycles---being about 40 days a piece.  Then I would do the 120 day thing again. I did this through my 20's until my son was born when I was 31.  I never had hyperplasia.  

[dancer67]

I need to keep coming back here and reading that sixpack.  :yes:I have got myself so worked up in a frenzy. I feel like my period is NEVER going to come and it's gone forever!

I did call the Dr's today and made my appt. Glad I called now, as his first available is November 10th(how lovely, my 42nd birthday). If I get my period by then I will cancel. It is actually a good date, since by then it will be 60 days.

I do trust him. He is a partner in one of the top rated Ob/GYN offices around. 

When I am there(if I have to go), I am going to ask all those questions about Hyperplasia, and the need for Provera. I am the one who asked HIM about it the last time I went(before I knew all the side effects) because I wanted him to do something right then and there. He said no, that if every woman camen in there only a month late, he would be handing out Provera left and right. That is when he said to call back in a few weeks, and we would discuss it then, and maybe put me on it to try and get my cycle moving again.

I am also going to bring up natural progesterone. Not sure how open he is going to be to that.

I have been asking myself, that what if I couldn't take Provera because of underlying health reasons, other then BC pills(which I cannot take either, to old, and I smoke) what are my options? Another question to ask.

Saw my Psych Dr today and she told me to take one .05 of Klonopin before bed so I can sleep. This is getting crazy, no sleep, and that in itself will throw my body out of whack.

Geesh, what did we all do in the days before Google??? We were probably sane.

[sixpack]

Geesh, what did we all do in the days before Google??? We were probably sane. 

Ummm I had an Anatomy book, that I eventually gave to my mom cuz it stirred me up so much.  At other times I went to the bookstores and read books there......   Back then I had to make a conscious effort to do it too---Get my oldest off to school, pack up my 2yr old and newborn, get in the car and drive 10 miles or so....

[wowthisismetoaT]

Haha...my dad was a hypochondriac back in the day and he had a medical book he would read from.  My mom was standing in the kitchen with him one day and he was reading his little book and asking her about symptoms of a heart attack.  As he read, he would touch wherever it was describing and say, "OMG...I have that."  After about 10 minutes of this, my mom had to catch him.  He fainted and fell in the floor!  He had convinced himself he was having a heart attack!!!  For the record, my dad has NEVER had a health issue.  EVER.  He actually overcame his HA as he got older.  He is 61 now and honestly has a "you live till you die" attitude about life.  I hope I can one day feel that way too.

Now, in answer to you question about the Provera - if you aren't comfortable taking it, don't.  I had genetic testing done because my g'ma and great g'pa both had strokes.  He was 29 when he had his!  I had the testing done because I was not comfortable taking BCPs.  Come to find out, I have 2 genetic mutations that make me more likely to have blood clots, strokes, etc.  So...it was a good thing I didn't just take the BCPs.  If you are concerned about your risk factors, then ask the doctor what your alternatives are.

[dancer67]

Now, in answer to you question about the Provera - if you aren't comfortable taking it, don't.  I had genetic testing done because my g'ma and great g'pa both had strokes.  He was 29 when he had his!  I had the testing done because I was not comfortable taking BCPs.  Come to find out, I have 2 genetic mutations that make me more likely to have blood clots, strokes, etc.  So...it was a good thing I didn't just take the BCPs.  If you are concerned about your risk factors, then ask the doctor what your alternatives are.

That is going to be one of my first questions. What are my alternatives? I have a jar of natural progesterone cream that I just purchased, and I am bringing it with me. Going to show it to him. He will probably "poo poo" it, but it doesn't hurt. Since I know have high BP, a family history of stokes(like yourself), depression(which Provera can make worse), I need to find my other alternatives. I am afraid I may not like his answer though. Like as in a D+C. I am deathly afraid of anethesia to. If I have to, I will have to find a second opinion if I do not like what he wants me to do. But somehow, he has always been good to me, so we'll see. Just praying Auntie Flo comes prior to 11/10.  

[CoolCalmAndCollected]

If he wants you to take it, it would be for only a week, most likely.   Would you consider that you might be making a mountain out of a molehill?  Sorry if this sounds harsh, but you are putting a huge amount of mental energy into something that might be completely like your own natural female hormones.  And is only for a few days.  Some medicines given in hospitals are analogs of substances already in our bodies, but you probably wouldn't be questioning them if they had to use those to regulate, say, your blood pressure or other vital body functions.  You might not even get a choice about it.

What makes you think that progesterone cream will be absorbed at a therapeutic (useful to you) but not too-high, dose?  Do you think it's easy to regulate the dosage of progesterone entering your body, and do you think it will go through the proper pathways (metabolized by the liver, for example, or broken down into components or metabolites that are not useful for your clinical situation) by way of a cream vs. the pills your doctor may prescribe?

Just some things to think about.  The doctor has had experience prescribing medication but you probably don't have experience or knowledge of dosage levels, absorption, or exact chemical composition levels of hormones contained within a jar of cream.

[dancer67]

You know what? I never though of it that way. This med would only be for a week, and maybe a week of period Hell, but it would not be a long term medication. So I never thought of it that way.

And this is why I was hesitant about the natural creams. But I do have a jar of it, and will be bringing it with me to the Dr's anyways. You never know.

Not sounding harsh at all. Thanks for the eye openor!

[shrublet]

Do you trust your doctor?  Or is he a some guy that walked out of the cornfield and decided to take up doctorin'?

Oh Sixpack!

CCC, Six and Wow are full of much wisdom. I hope you will take what they say to heart.

[dancer67]

If or when your doctor thinks you need to take Provera, discuss your concerns with him.  Do you trust your doctor?  Or is he a some guy that walked out of the cornfield and decided to take up doctorin'?  I bet you trust your doctor.     And if that is the case, let him help you through this.

  :laugh3:I think I will ask him this when I see him. I can bet he will get a kick out of this statement knowing about about my health anxiety!!!