I was 43 years old when I realised that I had well and truly entered the stage of my life known as perimenopause.
I’d been struggling for a few days with what I first thought was a UTI, but the test came back negative. I then put it down to MS bladder issues as I had a huge amount of pain in my bladder, lower back and abdomen. I also had a lot of urgency to go to the toilet.
I couldn’t sleep due to the pain and frequent toilet visits. I felt a dragging pain and was filled with a sadness that was hard to explain.
After talking to the MS nurse, they agreed I should get in touch with the bladder clinic, but she also recommended I spoke to the GP as it could be other things. Cue me googling all kinds of scary stuff.
I then realised that I had skipped a period. This hadn’t happened to me before. I was as regular as clockwork. I knew I wasn’t pregnant, so I started wondering if this was related to something other than MS.
I called the GP and told her about my symptoms, and she thought I better have a scan and some blood tests. I had to wait around six months for a scan appointment.
This waiting time was not the best. I felt really down and in pain during it. I started taking prescribed painkillers to cope.
The scan itself was not pleasant. I’ve had a few ultrasound scans before (pregnancy and gall bladder issues), but this one had to be done internally through the vagina. I was already in a whole bunch of pain in the first place, so the poking and prodding during the scan was pretty traumatic.
The technician was very kind. She explained to me during the scan that I had an egg on my ovary that had ruptured and become a cyst.
The GP said that these things do happen, and I had probably entered perimenopause. She suggested that HRT might not be a good idea.
She thought that might be enough of a hormone boost. Do you know what? It actually made the bladder pain and urgency go away.
A few doctors’ appointments came after this one. Other GPs would question why I had opted for the mini pill rather than HRT, and I had to explain that it was this GP’s opinion not mine.
I would still feel a bit odd and strange; I’d get anxious and often have lower back pains. I ended up having another scan a bit later on. This time they found another cyst on my other ovary.
At the start of this year, my body had had enough. The bladder pains returned. I just felt really worn out, sad and tired all the time. I would worry about absolutely everything.
A close friend of mine had started HRT, and she nudged me that I really ought to have the conversation with my GP again. So, I decided enough was enough.
I just wanted to feel like myself again. I made the call.
I got a different doctor this time who was my actual GP and she listened. I must stress here how extremely nice it was to be listened to.
I told her about my pains, my anxiety and how it was making my MS symptoms worse. She suggested I should try a combined HRT (oestrogen and progestogen) patch.
Even though I had mostly heard good things about HRT I was still quite nervous to try it. But within weeks, my pain was gone.
The patches are easy enough to use. I started off by having them on my thighs, but that wasn’t so great as they would fall off before they needed to get changed. I guess this was due to pulling up and down trousers when getting dressed or going to the toilet.
I then started to pop them on the lower part of my tummy. They need to be below the belly button. I never notice them when they are on, and they never fall off now.
I am due a review later in the year, but I will fight to keep myself on them. My pain is really reduced, and I feel calmer. I haven’t had any more cysts either.
I know HRT is not for everyone, and some health professionals still seem to be quite against it. Luckily, my GP thought it was worth trying and it really made a change for the better.
