does 'the menopause' make you feel grotty?

[fishfacedcow]

i have decided to stop the HRT and just embrace the menopause. But since i stopped taking it i feel a low level grottiness.... you know like when you arent 100% and are coming down with something.

I just ache all over...sleeping at funny times...headachey.....get hot at bedtime but not sexy hot! pain like period pain/cramps

[PollyPerky]

No it doesn't because I use HRT! And intend to carry on unless there is a compelling reason to stop.

Why have you stopped? Sounds as if you need to continue.

[fishfacedcow]

well.. i think i have to stop taking it because i have a growth on my liver that is hormone fueled.

however i was sick with D&V last night so maybe that's why i feel so grotty.

[JapanNextYear]

If you've been told to stop then go back and say you are feeling grotty and are there any alternatives? It could be the d and v, but sounds like menopause to me, especially the hot flushes.

[PollyPerky]

You ' think' you have to stop taking it?
Who's said this? Have you seen a gynae consultant or a liver specialist?
'Active liver disease' according to my consultant is a reason for caution until it's sorted, but it doesn't sound as if you have had medical advice - yet?

[AlcoChocs]

HRT isn't a cure for menopause symptoms, it just postpones them and many women feel grotty when they stop taking it. It takes time for the body to adjust to lowered oestrogen levels
I think I'd rather go through that sooner rather than later and get it over with

[PollyPerky]

That's not actually true Alco. For a start, you don't have to ever stop- new NICE guidelines say you can stay on it as long as you need to (my consultant says forever, if no medical issues occur.) And the loss of oestrogen is lifelong. Hot flushes and sweats etc are short term symptoms for some women (anything from 2-10 years), lifelong for around 10 per cent. But other longer term symptoms like heart disease, bladder and vaginal atrophy and osteoporosis are all caused by loss of oestrogen. And if you do stop using it, the symptoms may come back (50% of women) or not come back (another 50%) and if they do come back they might not be so bad.
Many women work now well into their 60s, juggle teenagers and elderly parents, so don't have the option just to 'go through it' with a terrible quality of life for years and years.

[OneMoreForExtra]

Oh yes. Grotty. And stupid. And sapped of all energy. And murderous. And hopeless. And unable to sleep. And hot...then cold... then hot...

Really good to know new guidelines say we don't have to stop hrt.

I hope your liver is OK OP and you get some clarity.

[gobbin]

with a terrible quality of life for years and years
It's FABULOUS post-menopause. No periods, hot flushes gone, low mood gone, heart palpitations gone, bit of Ovestin cream to tide you over down below and soya isoflavones to help with the flushes and bobs yer uncle.

I was buggered if I was going to be taking hormones for the rest of my life when it's a natural process. Eat well, exercise, know it WILL stop eventually and come out the other side.

And believe me, they WILL stop your HRT, they stopped my mother's in her late 60s and she went through all the symptoms then.

[HyacinthBouquetNo1]

I read that you are not supposed to stop HRT suddenly but wean off it. That might be why you are feeling terrible.

I had a hysterectomy aged 39 and have been on oestrogen patch ever since. I am now 46 and will continue on it as long as i am allowed

[fishfacedcow]

thanks for all the responses.

I have an endocrinology specialist (hormones)
and a liver specialist

I say my endocrinologist who suggested coming off it sometime in the near future but did not tell me to stop straight away

then had my yearly appointment with my liver specialist who told me that the growth is , in fact still growing and i must take precautions against it rupturing.

I felt, after the appointment, that stopping it was sensible, since i was on the lowest dose possible to avoid the hormones passing through my liver.

[DigestiveBiscuit]

I feel fantastic post menopause! It's like being 15 again - no PMT, cyclical breast pain (excruciating for 10 days a month, until found starflower oil), periods, contraception or fear of getting pregnant.....Although tbh, menopause consisted of one hot flush for 30 seconds, periods stopped and that was it! Peri menopause on the other hand - 10 years of moodiness, breast pain with fibrous benign cysts as above....Horrid!

[FiveShelties]

What is your liver specialist advising you to do?

I have been taking HRT for 10 years and have no plans to stop - my quality of life before was awful, dreadful night sweats, sleeping on towels and changing those 3 or 4 times a night. The day I seriously considered driving my car into a wall was the day I started HRT and it changed my life.

I never thought I would take HRT but am so very grateful to my GP for advising me to try it.

[glassgarden]

Obviously some women are unlucky with their health and do need hrt because thier quality of life takes a nose dive after the menopause but the majority of women find that their bodies adjust to the change in hormone levels

[lljkk]

I believe is important to listen to the person with 10+ yrs of medical training rather than armchair researchers online.

I hope you feel better soon, Fishface. I wonder if any of the estrogen herbal mix mimickers you can buy might be safe enough (I'm think of the menopace type stuff). You could ask your doctor about them. You could google for "tiredness in middle age" and work thru which actions you think are worth trying for you. Good luck!

[PollyPerky]

I was buggered if I was going to be taking hormones for the rest of my life when it's a natural process. Gobbin

Being oestrogen-deprived might be 'natural' but so is getting cancer, diabetes, heart disease- they are all 'natural' too.

It's only around 100 years since the average life expectancy of women was around 50 so many hadn't even had a menopause.

Women who manage without HRT are very, very fortunate or often too scared to try it. For 10 % of women the flushes and other horrible symptoms continue forever, and of course osteoporosis which affects between 1:2 and 1:3 women is caused by loss of oestrogen. Not many women know this but complications from fractures ( osteo) kill more women than breast cancer.

We ought to be bloody grateful for HRT and using it when needed.

[PollyPerky]

OP did any of the medics suggest you change from HRT in pill form to patches or gel because they don't pass through the digestive system?

[PollyPerky]

Gobbin sorry I missed this part of your post...you're not up to date on HRT. The latest NICE guidelines say very clearly that there is to be no time limit / cut off point for HRT. The advice is that women are told of the small risks and it's their choice to continue or not. I have been told by my gynae consultant that I can carry on with it forever.

[FiveShelties]

Me too PollyPerky - the risks for me are of minor interest compared to the difference in my quality of life.

[PollyPerky]

The medical advice from consultants (see Menopause Matters website) is that from 50-60 benefits outweigh risks ( oestrogen affects so many things, positively) 60-70 the risk /benefit profile is equal and 70+ some risks increase but will depend on a woman's personal risk factors.

Women who escape peri meno symptoms and get away with a single hot flush are rare; the stats say that 80% of women suffer for 2- 10 years and 10% forever. My mum had flushes at 80 and night sweats. She's now an active almost 90 yr old, without HRT but my goodness, she's suffered with insomnia very since she hit meno as well as the other symptoms.

[glassgarden]

Infant mortality was higher 100 years ago, that's why average lifespans were lower
Not because most women died at 50

Ime women who use hrt are especially evangelistic about it, probably because of needing to validate thier own choices, I guess that is understandable

[glassgarden]

buggered if I was going to be taking hormones for the rest of my life when it's a natural process
yes, obviously the point about menopause being natural is that it's not a disease/pathology rather it's part of the female life cycle...we are designed to carry on functioning past the age of menopause (humans are one of the few species which outlives it's fertility) and lower hormone levels are beneficial in evolutionary terms as we age

[ThroughThickAndThin01]

I'm so pleased I haven't had to take HRT. Very very happy about that.

The risks seem enormous.

[glassgarden]

I agree ThroughThick the best position to be in is not to need it, but it's a good thing that it's available for those who dont fare well through menopause!

[ThroughThickAndThin01]

Yes, I'm not saying I wouldn't have used it if I felt I needed to. Just pleased I haven't had to really think about it. I'm sure some people swear by it, and the risks (probably) outweigh the benefit.