Medroxyprogesterone for Endometriosis: Effectiveness & Side Effects - Expert Opinion

Question
Hi Antonia
I am 44 years of age and was doagnosed with endo in 1992.  AT the time I had a laparotomy and was put on danazol for 9 months to clear any patches not removed during the operation.

I have now been prescribed medroxyprogesterone tabs 20mg daily which I have been taking for 6 weeks now but I do not think they are helping I have been lightly bleeding for the last three weeks now - have you any opinions on this therapy I am going to return to my GP next week but I just wonder how effective this therapy is?

Many thanks, I look forward to hearing from you
Debbie

Answer
Hi Debbie

I used to bleed when I was taking provera tablets (medroxyprogesterone) - and it's a well known fact that this drug and bleeding go hand in hand.  In the UK the usual dose is 30mg daily - but sometimes they do increase it to 50mg daily.

Sometimes when you've been on a progesterone like drug for a long time, your womb lining becomes so thin, from the lack of oestrogen, it actually starts to break up, hence the bleeding.

This happened to me and I was put on a low dose HRT which immediately stopped the breakthrough bleeding.

It might be worth having an ultrasound scan to see if this is the problem - and if it isn't, then obviously this drug doesn't suit you.  This is really common...as you know, we're all different and sometimes we have to play around with drug therapies until we find the right one.

I'm sorry you're having such a horrid time.  There are other drugs you can try for endo, such as the GnRH analogues.  These include drugs such as Zoladex, Synarel and Lupron.  They make your body go through a pseudo-menopause, and are usually prescribed with HRT, so the side effects aren't quite so horrific.  Again, this might be something to consider.

I hope that I've helped a little?  If you don't get on with western medicine, then there are alternatives, such as homeopathy, reflexology, diet etc. etc.  Don't feel that you have to stick to "drug therapy", in order to get some relief from your endo symptoms.

Please do let me know if there is anything else that I can do to help?

Good luck :)

All the best

Antonia