Hep C Discussion Forum

I do not know your age, if you are youngish, middle aged, or how long you were "post"-menopausal prior to starting Harvoni. Nor how long you have had HCV, whether you have had any other long-standing ongoing health issues taking a toll on you (where you are at or have been with your "overall" health status). Wgt. gains/losses. If you have ever had any suspected thryoid troubles before, if you have ever had any thyroid checks done before, and for how long you had been "post"-menopausal before you noted spotting and then this "period". I don't know how bad the condition of your liver may be, nor exactly where you are at in your HCV treatment, so not knowing those things, it is harder to speculate but we could still generalize. But it is good they are following and checking you and you should continue to do this until things get more resolved for you.

http://www.nmihi.com/m/menstrual.htm (Just for terms)

There are many contributing factors that can be affecting you with "spotting" or "a period". You are looking to what appears to be a cause, thyroid, but there might not be a "direct" correlation that can be suspected at this early point, and, it may just have more to do with your overall health and HCV than perhaps you are thinking.

There is an association between the regulatory functions of your thyroid and amenorhhea, as outlined below: (But even poor health, severe wgt loss such as might be seen with any profound disease process, from starvation/anorexia can cause a cessation of periods.)

• Thyroid problems ... The thyroid produces hormones that control metabolism and play a role in puberty and menstruation.  A thyroid gland that is overactive (called hyperthyroidism) or underactive (hypothyroidism) can cause menstrual irregularities, including amenorrhea ... 

HYPOTHYROIDISM

... Other clinical signs of thyroid disease are usually noted before amenorrhea presents. Mild hypothyroidism is more often associated with hypermenorrhea (frequent) or oligomenorrhea (very infrequent) than with amenorrhea (absence of). Treatment of hypothyroidism should restore menses, but this may take several months ...

So, in general, one could say that a faltering, stuttering on again/off again thyroid could account for menstrual changes. But please keep in mind that many things can affect cycles, not just a sputtering thyroid. Systemic diseases, such as the infection you have been bearing (HCV), plays havoc with us and places a burden on all your systems, just the stress alone of harbouring HCV and then going through the throes of killing it, could account for enough physiological stressors to be affecting you, in surprizing ways, some of which you may be aware of, others you are not cognitive of, or considering, but can still be there, contributing to affecting you negatively.

Who knows, perhaps you could have gone into a bit of "early" menopause because of the HCV, and with HCV being annihilated, your own natural production of estrogen/progesterone are now trying to sputter about in an attempt to reach equilibrium again!

I would continue to have all your health issues, and any abnormalities/changes/concerns checked:  ie.- the continued following of your thyroid function for example, as you are doing.

Amenrorhea has been known to occur with poor health and wgt loss (and possibly with hypothyroidism). Your descriptions of recent flows do not sound like dire heavy menorrhagia (which possibly might be seen with hyperthryoidism).

I am hoping when you have cured your HCV, when gone through a recovery period from this infection, and with more of your overall return to improving health (over time) you may also see other improvements, perhaps in more consistent thyroid hormone production levels, and perhaps a return to what your normal menses cycles should be like, perhaps just returning to your prior state of "post" menopause.

Monitor, wait and see. Let your body resolve this HCV infection, allow time to recover from your HCV infection and the treatment, see what things, and how many things may resolve for you after your cure. Do continue the thyroid monitoring, keeps your doc(s) informed of your cycles and how you are doing in general. You might just be pleasantly suprized at what things get better all on their own.  

With a large physiological "upset", such as infections, such as HCV, or kidney or liver problems of many kinds, these interferences can have negative affects on all our systems, resolve one major contributing thing upsetting the applecart, many others soon behave better, the hindered/compensating/complaining systems fall back into a happier equilibrium again - homeostasis -  what our body constantly strives for all by itself, when offered enough rope.

I started into a long (quite early), and rather sudden onset uncomfortable/choppy menopause, and in retrospect, I wonder if my long-standing undiagnosed HCV had truly been a big culprit behind this amenorrhea and other symptoms, and thusly deemed "early" menopause a wee bit too early!

Just food for thought. Take my blabbing with a grain of salt. 

Glad to meet you here and glad you are getting cured! Keep us posted. C.  

Well, Tig, I am glad YOU said it - interferon - now that explains your man-o-pause! 

Wendy, you sound a bit like me, from 60 mph to 0! in one second flat, on birthcontrol one day, menopause the next! (I assume you were meaning birth-control pills? Maybe not.) While I was on birthcontrol pills, that was the only way I could keep any control of life-long dysmenorrhea, then when suddenly deemed "menopausal", getting on HRT was the only way to control spurts and ebbs of hormones plaguing me with both weird spotting and dysmenorrhea again (the spotting finally stopped and dysmenorrhea was controlled), later the HRT helped the other more run-of-the-mill menopausal "symptoms". On HRT, over the long term (at 7 days a week, not 5 out of 7,) I finally got myself on a more even keel, at NOT the lowest dose either/but still a low dose, it has kept me well controlled, and softened out the more regular menopause type symptoms, such as day/night sweats and mood swings. Before the HRT I felt like a 100 year old dry sponge in a desert, after the HRT kicked in, comparatively, the initial relief was like falling into an oasis.