HRT being denied to women over 60. What do you think?

I think you've articulated my thoughts on the matter precisely, Expat. Menopausal symptoms are caused by a drop off in the body's normal hormone balance. Surprise, surprise, the symptoms go away when you put the hormones back in. Of course, there are some risks - because these hormones are associated with increased risks of breast and ovarian cancer and strokes. But to say "hey, let's use ADs instead" when (as you point out, ADs act on neurotransmitters in the brain) smacks rather of that age-old tendency of the medical profession to assume that any physical issue women present with has in fact got some sort of psychological component.

I know that sometimes drugs turn out to have unexpected uses in other areas (and this can cause problems for medical practitioners because as soon as you're using a drug to treat a condition that the drug company didn't run clinical trials on, you're opening yourself to a whole heap of litigation possibilities - funny that you don't mention that in connection with using ADs to treat HRT, Owen, when you're so anxious to stress that doctors don't want to prescribe menopausal after 55 because of the threat of litigation - I'd have thought that if litigation was a genuine worry it would apply in both cases). So it's not beyond the bounds of possibility... but you do have to remember that the medical profession has a really, really bad history of dismissing women's concerns as psychological (from Hypocrates and his wandering wombs through 19th century diagnoses of hysteria to pushing valium as "mother's little helper" in the 60s and 70s). So I, like Expat, am deeply suspicious that there's a subtext of "menopausal symptoms - all in the mind, silly little women" - going on here.

yes chibi, you can have a mirena coil and stuff yourself with AD's when you reach the menopause. But make sure you stay away from Ibuprofen once you hit your 60th birthday.
But HRT and (Ibuprofen) is the work of the devil. It's D A N G E R O U S!

How about a Mirena coil, chibi, it really works for everyone ! And have some ADs, too. Now go away, it's all in your head.

I am 40, and HRT looms imminently for me

I have no idea what the nhs is like for men. I do know that nearly every interaction I have had with it has been patronising, belittling, dismissive- and where it has concerned anything involving any specifically female parts of me, all that with bells on

'I think it's a shame if it seen as a failure to choose this treatment rather than HRT on the part of the patient or doctor.'

That's right, ladies: you don't know what is best for you. It's AD's, not HRT.

'They appear at present to be very very safe medications for the majority.'
'I don't think we fully understand how they work.'

And you really believe it's wise to prescribe such drugs long-term for what they were not originally created?

Wow. Just wow.

'A prescription for an AD is not just to try and help someone cope with menopausal symptoms, it can actually improve them.'

So a woman who presents with menopausal symptoms can stand a little 'improvement' with these drugs that are designed for . . . depression and to act on . . . the neurotransmitters in her brain.

Hot flashes? Night sweats? Be improved, ladies! You are probably a crabbit old coo, too.

My experience so far is that HRT simply returns libido to its normal level (rather than being switched off totally - which was my experience with peri - not all women find this by any means, some women go through menopause with their libido unaffected, others find it actually increases, which may be partly psychological due to being liberated from the threat of unwanted pregnancy).

As for cost, I think my current prescription is something like £2.15 per month to the NHS (my GP looked it up last time I was in to get the dosage changed), i.e. I actually pay more in prescription charges than it actually costs (NB I have no objection to that - that's the whole point of the NHS, to spread the costs and risks).

I am lucky with my GP - he takes me seriously and listens to me. How he will feel about me continuing to use it past my mid 50s, though, I'm not sure. (He may well be retired by then )

I understand that Helena but it's one of the thing is does not the only thing. Same with TRT.

Whereas Viagra its sole purpose is sex related, same with a lube

I'm 46 and although I have no symptoms I know the menopause isn't far away. Thankfully I have a new female GP who is the same age as me and is pro-HRT (she even joked we could go through the menopause together and compare notes). As relieved as I am to now have her as my GP, it shouldn't be luck that decides my fate for the next 20-30 years. I know my own mind, I saw my mother suffer for 15 bloody years and I don't want to go through that if there's something that can help me. I will accept any risks HRT brings for my quality of life.

Mide one of the things HRT does is bring the female libido back to its normal level.

I think the comparison is completely fair as TRT is much more rarely used than Viagra is.

Myeyes IMO the Viagra comparison isn't right. Comparing something like KY jelly and Viagra is more accurate and then comparing TRT and HRT. if my understanding is correct, HRT does much more than just enable sex. Same with TRT, it will increase libido but it will help with a range of other things to.

Saying all that I'm not sure how readily prescribed it would be, especially to older men.

What, a tory government is cutting back on the NHS?

They'd have the pennies out of a dead man's eyes, as my gran used to say. I never voted for these bastards. I hope those that did are satisfied.

Gp not go obviously

When I still lived in my home country my go was reluctant to prescribe the pill for me once I was over 25 as I smoked.

At 26 I needed to find a different method of contraception as the risk was just too high

That country has an NHS type medical system

If women's needs or wants weren't being met by GPs simply because they are women, and therefore less important, would this apply across all long-term drugs? What about the pill - is that difficult to get as a long-term prescription? It's a woman-only drug, and it's a lifestyle choice.

Is this a cost issue?

Apparently Pfizer's patent on Viagra expired in 2013. Suddenly the cost of a packet of pills to the NHS dropped by 93 per cent from £21 to less than £2. Co-incidentally, strict restrictions on GP prescriptions were lifted. Is HRT an expensive treatment?