Cerelle

[Sophabulous]

Hi guys,

Is anyone on this pill? I've been changed to it after a previous unsuccessful attempt with the mini pill cerazette, although I'm informed they are the same thing but cerelle is cheaper.

I'm not having fun with it, I was fine at first but my period was early this month, very very heavy, and now appears to be starting again after only 2 days of not bleeding.

Last time I was on a mini pill I bled for 12 weeks non stop, I really can't have a repeat of that now. My iron is only just back to normal.

Does anyone now if this should settle down after a while? I was 21 when I first tried it but 25 now so I was hoping being a little older might help. Ever since I've been on it I've been completely wiped out, sleeping all the time and I've gone off food again.

I'm just so annoyed, I appreciate my risk of stroke is higher on the combined pill (migraine sufferer), but at the same time I'm taking azathioprine which increases my risk of cancer! Why is one ok and not the other, even if I signed a disclaimer or something? [emoji31]

 

[DustyKat]

I have just looked it up and yes, Cerelle and Cerazette are the same thing. I don’t really know if things will settle but being the same pill I don’t know that your experience will be different the second time around.

I hear what you are saying about the risks. I think the risks would be greater with the pill than with Azathioprine and cancer but that said, I will go out on a limb here and say that the problems some women face with menstruation/bleeding aren’t given the same degree of consideration by many doctors as they do to other disorders. There is little understanding of just how debilitating menstruation and bleeding can be and hence it tends to 'brushed off’ and something a little right of normal. :voodoo:

Is the doctor refusing to prescribe you the combined pill? Are you seeing a GP or a gynaecologist?

 

[Sophabulous]

I have just looked it up and yes, Cerelle and Cerazette are the same thing. I don’t really know if things will settle but being the same pill I don’t know that your experience will be different the second time around.



I hear what you are saying about the risks. I think the risks would be greater with the pill than with Azathioprine and cancer but that said, I will go out on a limb here and say that the problems some women face with menstruation/bleeding aren’t given the same degree of consideration by many doctors as they do to other disorders. There is little understanding of just how debilitating menstruation and bleeding can be and hence it tends to 'brushed off’ and something a little right of normal. :voodoo:



Is the doctor refusing to prescribe you the combined pill? Are you seeing a GP or a gynaecologist?

Hi DustyKat

This was prescribed by a nurse who I made aware of my previous issues with it, but apparently a combined pill is completely out of the question. I already knew I shouldn't be on it really but I kept my mouth shut to avoid all this upheaval! She also suggested the DEPO injections or implant, but my issue with those is once they're in you are stuck with it! At least with the pill I can can just stop taking it.

I have booked an appointment with my GP for the 4th of Jan anyway because I'm so wiped out, although my iron and B12 tested on the 14th November were within normal parameters so I was at a loss until I saw other people online having the same issues with cerelle. Add that to IBD and it's just a really yucky way to feel [emoji30]

I totally agree with you, I have friends with endometriosis and PCOS who were so dismissed before being diagnosed. At a certain point bleeding that much needs to be taken seriously if only for the knock on effect it has, never mind the inconvenience and expense of it all. My own GP has always been fantastic so I will wait to see what she says. I have a family history of uterine fibroids with both my mum and my aunt having hysterectomies through this, so maybe that should be checked.

The other thing is I had my first smear last Thursday which did cause some bleeding for 3 days, but then my period started as well. The results have already come back normal but could this be a factor?

It's all just so confusing!

 

[DustyKat]

Yeah, my daughter can’t trust taking the pill cause she had a small bowel resection. She has tried the implant a couple of times but she found it didn’t suit her that well, too many side effects. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. :voodoo:

It’s good to hear you have a fab GP. Certainly fibroids and/or endometriosis can cause frequent and prolonged uterine bleeding. With your own IBD and gynae history and your family history I reckon a referral to a gynaecologist would be a good idea.

Hmmm, I don’t know that the smear would cause your period to come on, is that what you mean, the smear activated the period?

 

[Sophabulous]

Yeah, my daughter can’t trust taking the pill cause she had a small bowel resection. She has tried the implant a couple of times but she found it didn’t suit her that well, too many side effects. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. :voodoo:



It’s good to hear you have a fab GP. Certainly fibroids and/or endometriosis can cause frequent and prolonged uterine bleeding. With your own IBD and gynae history and your family history I reckon a referral to a gynaecologist would be a good idea.



Hmmm, I don’t know that the smear would cause your period to come on, is that what you mean, the smear activated the period?

It's a difficult one to be honest, when I was on the combined pill (microgynon/Rigevidon) everything was like clockwork. I have never had any reason to think further investigation is needed until my pill has been changed. Now it's been meddled with I don't know if the combined pill was masking these symptoms, if the mini pill has caused them, or something in-between.

I don't think I've ever mentioned my family history to my GP, but if it's potentially relevant then I certainly will. I've never been asked before, or ever had an gynaecological issue that would warrant bringing it up.

Re the smear I'm a bit stumped to be honest. With it being my first one I have nothing to compare it to, but I asked a friend who has had cervical cancer and she said she never experienced any bleeding at all after tests, even knowing there was a problem!

The nurse told me on the day that she had caused a little bleeding. This continued on lightly for the rest of the day. The following day I actually experienced quite a severe pain in my lower abdomen and immediately went to the toilet where I discovered I'd again passed some blood in one 'event' after nothing overnight.

I continued to pass 'old' blood/tissue/clots for a couple of days, and then my period started. I can't describe it and I don't know if my experiences of menstrual bleeding are different to others, but I can distinctly separate the two. A period is a period where you bleed consistently for a few days. This was more like passing a 'rush' of tissue all at once, with nothing in between.

As I said, the results came back normal so I'm a bit stumped, and have nothing to compare it too!

It's probably nothing but I just wonder if there's a connection to be made [emoji53]

 

[DustyKat]

Ah okay, I see. If the combined pill worked like it does for the majority and then you changed to the mini pill and all hell broke loose, well then it would hard not to connect two. I still think it would be worth talking to your GP about your family history even it is just to have it noted. Maybe if the symptoms persist you could have something simple like a ultrasound done to see if fibroids are present.

Now that is certainly the thing, what do you compare periods and bleeding with when you have nothing to compare it too. It certainly isn’t something we tend to talk about, yeah we all know we have periods but we never really get down to the nitty gritty of how long do they last, how much do you bleed, how many tampons do you use and so on. I well remember a couple of friends I have and on speaking with them one day I was shocked by how heavily they bled and for one of them how long her period lasted, hers were 3 weeks long with only one week out every four being bleeding free. It turned out she had fibroids.

Although this is a generalisation, and as you well know everyone is different, but for most women, me included, they will bleed for about 5-7 days, the first three days would be the heaviest and then tapering off from there. During the time of heavy bleeding it is not uncommon to pass the odd clot. What you are experiencing is certainly a deviation from what is ‘normal’.

I don’t recall ever bleeding following a smear but it is not uncommon to experience a slight amount of bleeding, more in the realm of spotting. What you experienced is not what would be expected and is something that you would certainly go to the GP about to have followed up.

 

[Sophabulous]

Ah okay, I see. If the combined pill worked like it does for the majority and then you changed to the mini pill and all hell broke loose, well then it would hard not to connect two. I still think it would be worth talking to your GP about your family history even it is just to have it noted. Maybe if the symptoms persist you could have something simple like a ultrasound done to see if fibroids are present.



Now that is certainly the thing, what do you compare periods and bleeding with when you have nothing to compare it too. It certainly isn’t something we tend to talk about, yeah we all know we have periods but we never really get down to the nitty gritty of how long do they last, how much do you bleed, how many tampons do you use and so on. I well remember a couple of friends I have and on speaking with them one day I was shocked by how heavily they bled and for one of them how long her period lasted, hers were 3 weeks long with only one week out every four being bleeding free. It turned out she had fibroids.



Although this is a generalisation, and as you well know everyone is different, but for most women, me included, they will bleed for about 5-7 days, the first three days would be the heaviest and then tapering off from there. During the time of heavy bleeding it is not uncommon to pass the odd clot. What you are experiencing is certainly a deviation from what is ‘normal’.



I don’t recall ever bleeding following a smear but it is not uncommon to experience a slight amount of bleeding, more in the realm of spotting. What you experienced is not what would be expected and is something that you would certainly go to the GP about to have followed up.

Thank you, my mum being the stubborn lady that she is, bled non stop for 9 months before she finally went to get checked. She knew about the fibroids and knew she was going to need surgery and just couldn't face it until it got so bad she was struggling to work.

My aunt had hers at 30 something, my mum held out til 46 but things were really bad by then. The NHS put her through privately to skip the waiting lists. I'll certainly mention it, I'm not concerned at the moment and I do think that what's happening is the result of the pill change. On the combined I was probably moderately bleeding for 6-7 days every month, tapering off as you said. This is more like bleeding heavily for 5 days, then just passing blood lightly but completely at random the rest of the time! I might get a day or two with nothing but it's not completely stopping. Smear itself wasn't painful so I've got no reason to think that it caused injury or anything like that.

Problem is you can either put up and shut up, or go down the rabbit hole and try increasingly inconvenient methods with more and more chance of problems! No fun being a woman is it?

I'll keep an eye on it for the next couple of weeks and see what happens [emoji1303]

 

[Sophabulous]

Eugh...so I'm an idiot! Doubled over in pain on Monday, bleeding, constipation one minute, the other extreme the next. Went to GP who just wanted me to speak to the IBD nurse and offered me a sick note.

Saw the IBD nurse yesterday who's ordered some stool sample tests and put me back on pred [emoji31]

I asked her about the pill potentially causing this, she said all she could advise was that hormones themselves don't usually cause an increase in symptoms but menstrual bleeding can. I never used to suffer like this! I'm not convinced it's a coincidence as I was actually doing well for once until this was bloody meddled with!

Not a happy bunny right now [emoji37]