How Long Does It Take for Megace to Stop The Bleeding?

Megestrol

As I mentioned last week, I was prescribed Megace, commonly known as megestrol, to decrease the bleeding associated with my endometrial cancer. Megestrol is a steroid form of progesterone.  I scanned the web to try to find an answer to the "when does it stop the heavy bleeding? " question, but I couldn't find a clear-cut answer. So for any ladies who came here looking for the same answer, for me the answer was 6 days on a 160 milligram daily dose.

I noticed a significant improvement after 24 hours, and I could carry out most of my normal functions by Day 3 without fear of excessive bleeding. By Day 7, I was rearranging furniture in my living room to prepare for the delivery of my new surgery recovery couch (that's my excuse for buying a new couch, and I'm sticking with it) without bleeding at all. In fact, I feel better than I have in a few months. I had some mild side effects the first few days -- mostly sleepiness (lasted about an hour or so each day) and some mild brain fogginess, but they decreased as my body adjusted to the medication.  I haven't experienced the extreme hunger associated with this medication  (megestrol is also used as an appetite stimulant for people with cancer, AIDS, and other chronic conditions), but I occasionally feel hungrier than normal before meal times. I hear that symptoms can intensify with chronic use (using it for months), so it's very possible that I have not been using it long enough to experience any major symptoms yet.