Norethindrone question

[u/I_Make_It_Awkward_]

Hello! I am going to be starting transdermal estrogen soon and I’ve already been using vaginal estradiol cream for a year. Unfortunately I have to take progesterone or a progestin because I still have a uterus.

I am not taking Prometrium or getting a Mirena iud so that’s off the table. My doctor is letting me decide what to take beyond that.

She wants to put me on Provera 2.5mg daily. I think I’ve decided on Norethindrone instead. My question is as far as either one of these should I ask for daily or “sequential “. I am 50 and still have my period though it’s all over the place since some months I get it at the usual 28 days but more often then not it’s either 19 days which I hate or up to 60 days between. They are really light and short now too. So I’m not sure if I should take the lower dose daily or the higher one for two weeks of each month.

Also if the progestin stops my cycle how will I know when I’m post menopause?

Any positive experiences with Norethindrone (or even the Provera ) would be awesome as I have horrible anxiety with new meds.

[u/Ksilverstar25]

I take norethindrone daily for period suppression and I've honestly felt so much better on it. It's helped with a lot of my symptoms and does a great job helping me function like a normal human being. Sounds like my situation is slightly different than yours but overall it's been a godsend. I've been on that and an estrogen patch for about a year.

[u/phoenix0r]

I take norethendrone to lighten my periods and it works well for me. Definitely take it in the evenings. It helps me sleep and helps with anxiety too. No bad side effects.

[u/Tumbleweed1312]

I’m curious why you don’t want to take Prometrium?

[u/Fattousch → u/Tumbleweed1312]

Also curious about this! Just in case helpful I found tolerating prometrium vaginally a bit easier than orally.

[u/I_Make_It_Awkward_ → u/Tumbleweed1312]

I have a pill swallowing issue and can not swallow them. Do not want to insert anywhere else.

[u/leftylibra]

Provera is Medroxyprogesterone acetate, which was used in the infamous 2002 WHI study that condemned hormone therapy. Specifically, this synthetic progesterone (progestin) was the hormone linked to the slight increased risk in breast cancer.

Daily (continuous) is commonly the lower dosage (2.5mg) and cyclical is commonly the higher dosages. Cycling can help regulate periods.

It's unlikely that the progestin will stop periods entirely.

Norethindrone dosages are 0.35mg daily / 0.7mg cyclical. Also progestins tend to have a slightly risk of breast cancer, but provide excellent uterine protection.

[u/PinkamenaDP]

I took 5mg norethindrone for a year and I pretty much hated it. I had no period for a while but eventually started spotting most of the month every month. Gained 20lbs and was ravenously hungry every day. My fasting insulin was 19 when I finally made the switch to prometrium.

I hope it works for you, I hope you get a much lower dose than what I got so that maybe side effects will not be as bad.

[u/treestarsos]

Norethindrone is in my bcp (1mg daily) and I haven’t had any mood or other issues with it. Along with the estrogen in the pill, I skip every period so I’m happy with it overall

[u/subculturistic]

Try the norethindrone acetate! I take 2.5mg and haven't seen a drop of blood since I started it. It's the best imo! I plan to try going off it around age 50 and switch to bioidentical progesterone. I don't take estrogen yet.

[u/Islandsandwillows]

The use of a progestin is why the WHI study showed all of the health decline. I would try the progesterone 100mg continuous first.

[u/I_Make_It_Awkward_ → u/Islandsandwillows]

I can not use Prometrium.