How do you know when you need HRT?

[religiousquestions]

I’m 43, hair has been falling out a lot, I’m exhausted all the time . Heavy periods. I’ve had bloods done a couple of times now and all ‘normal’ had scans and because my cycle is very regular and i ovulate and family history of menopause around 55 my gp said not needed yet.

How will I know when I do need HRT though ?

For me it was feeling horrible low in mood, and also wanting to suffocate my (very nice) husband just for breathing.
I'm normally pretty easy going and have never suffered from depression but I just felt SO miserable and exhausted all the time, I was a few years older though.. nearly 50, so the GP was pretty sure I was in menopause. I didn't have any scans or tests.

Peri can last quite a while I think, but it's worth seeing a different GP and asking for a trial to see if it helps.

So sometimes they send you for scans and sometimes they don’t? I’ve just made an appointment myself for this, same age as you OP. In my case I’m consistently waking early (around 4am), fatigue, memory fog, very occasional hot flush, periods have become irregular. No idea when my mother went into peri though so I wouldn’t be able to answer family history.

Are you anaemic? As your main symptoms are heavy periods, exhaustion and hair falling out.

You need a lot of iron stored to stop hair falling out (Ferritin>100).

I asked For it for a variety of symptoms- anxiety when driving, health anxiety, heavy periods, hair falling out, complete lack of any interest in any aspect of life, terrible sleep, heart flutters and this weird 'electric' buzzing/trembling at night- all classic symptoms of perimenopause. But it was the hot flushes and night sweats that was the deciding factor, they wouldn't have given it to me if I hadn't had those because everything else they said was anxiety and stress related. I was 40 when I eventually got put on it and within 3 months most symptoms had gone.

Good question.

I didn’t know I needed HRT, I just knew that i wanted to leave my (lovely) husband and I would loose my job because of the insomnia, brain fog, inability to make decisions, anxiety (which I have NEVER suffered from in my life) itchy ears… yes, itchy ears, awful awful dry and irritated eyes.
Hot flushes were very evident too.
Also very heavy debilitating periods, flooding, pain and unpredictable. These were monthly, but not predictably dated.

I knew that there must be something systemic going on rather than an issue related to each individual symptom.

I knew I must be anaemic, definitely iron deficient, and probably entering perimenopause.
So I started HRT…. because I was desperate and fucking suffering.

I was exhausted all the time sleepwas not refreshing me at all, I was very teary all the time. I would use wrong words or forget the name of things such as calling the cooker the fridge, when I forgot the name I would describe what I meant like the thing that makes food hot. I wasn't nice to live with very snappy and normally am very easy going. The first Dr I saw (female) told me to just get on with it, I waited a couple of months and saw another Dr, (male) who said you sound just like my wife you need HRT we had a good chat etc about it and why he thought it was good for me as well as any risks as my family has history of breast cancer, I started taking it and within a few days felt so much better.

43 is on the young side and there are other things which could be going on - my immediate thought (and I'm not a GP) is that heavy periods, exhaustion and hair falling out all happened to me when my thyroid stopped working properly.

I am a massive advocate of HRT as it has worked wonders for me, but I'm almost 10 years older than you and have had a hysterectomy. Ask your GP about blood tests, including thyroid function.

Extreme sudden insomnia. I literally went from 8 hours of sleep to 3 hour per night and it was killing me.

BTW I was 41, Dr did a blood test which showed I had menopause, it was unusual as it normally starts in 50s within my family

I went to the dr when I started having mega hot flushes at 47. The other symptoms had been slowly creeping up since about your age (thinning hair, dry eyes, dry vagina, more irritable, night sweats, missing periods) and I already have strategies for managing insomnia and forgetfulness as I have a long history of depression and anxiety (although I consider myself recovered from anxiety and it hasn’t been a feature of menopause for me).

Anyway, the GP was incredibly helpful, and HRT has helped so much. I really had no way of managing the hot flushes as my whole face and head would be pouring with sweat! Before HRT I took Menopace and if you are at an earlier stage you might find it helpful. I would defo recommend taking a good vitamin and mineral supplement designed for women. Also adjusting your skin and hair care and things like that.