Anyone on HRT? What has it done for you? Has it given you back your life? I'm in a dilemma.

[BorntoDillyDally]

If you could score it 0-10 what would you give it?

I'm 52 in a few weeks and believe I have been in perimenopause for 5+ years.

I have been under a lot of stress during these last 5 years and put a lot of my symptoms down to that. I care for my elderly mum who has Alzheimer's and breast cancer (and heart disease, osteoporosis, cataracts and glaucoma..... 😞). Life with someone suffering with dementia is hell tbh so no wonder I am stressed.

I don't suffer from sweats much at all and (thankfully) atm, I sleep well but I am knackered all the time. I have anxiety so bad from the moment I wake until the evening when it settles (I can not emphasize just how bad my anxiety gets). I cry every day and over nothing and everything, I am super low too, no joy in my life at all, I have reached a point in my life where I would be happy staring at a wall all day until I can get to bed, what a bloody way to live!
Zero libido, itchy skin, thinning hair, very achy at times, dry skin etc. Alongside these emotional/physical symptoms I have dreadful digestive issues (nausea, acid and burping mid cycle with bloating, gas, diarrhoea and/or constipation all other times,). My digestive symptoms have definitely worsened during this time despite suffering with IBS half my life (I used to have it under control).

I live a healthy a lifestyle as I possibly can. I walk my dog every day, do yoga/stretching and weights during the week. I listen to a recording of hypnosis from a face to face hypnotherapy session, each night. I follow a healthy diet (under a dietitian's advice) for my gut issues. I don't drink any alcohol and in fact only drink water. I avoid foods I know exacerbate my issues (dairy, wheat etc). I am slim with a low BMI and always have been yet I still struggle every day.

I have tried antidepressants but they make my gut issues worse.

I think I have tried everything and do everything to help but I now feel feel HRT may be my only chance of feeling normal again but I have endometriosis and adenomyosis which was only picked up a year ago and I'm still on a waiting list for a laparoscopy. I worry HRT will worsen this.

I have spoken to 3 menopause specialists. One was a GP specialist and one a specialist from a gynae at a private hospital. Both suggested I should try bio identical HRT despite my mum having breast cancer and my fears over this, they said the risk is low but I'm still worried. Not helped by my last consultation a few weeks ago with a menopause gynae from my NHS hospital telling me that HRT should be a last resort for me and even suggested I take a braca test! She suggested venlafaxine but from everything I read about this antidepressant it says it only really helps sweats which I don't suffer from.

I know I need to protect my heart and bones and because of my poor mum's situation I very much fear dementia which hrt 'possibly' could protect against but this last consultation has put me off hrt as I already fear it for possible BC risk and worry what it could do to my endometriosis as well.

What is everyone's thoughts on hrt? Has it helped you?

This is where advice suffers so very much. The menopause gynae specialist at my hospital has advised that I don't take hrt due to my endometriosis and suggested venlafaxine instead yet a gp and private gynae both say yes to hrt. It's so confusing.

My initial consultation with a gynaecologist recommended venlefaxine to trial for 3 months and in the meantime referred me to the menopause / hrt specialist. I hadn’t even started the venlefaxine when my appt with the specialist came up & he said to start the hrt instead.

I was having two bleeds a month so was either pre menstrual or bleeding on any day of the month. When pre menstrual I was having severe mood swings, wanted a divorce , wanted to (and did a couple of times) hit my head against something as my head felt like it would explode. I also wasn’t that fussed about sex. Like you I didn’t have sweats .

I am now on hrt, all those symptoms have gone and libido is a lot better. I occasionally have the full head thing but very very occasionally and usually it coincides with me having seen my mother.

in terns of getting it, dr heard symptoms and said coil or hrt, I went away and thought about it, decided hrt rang the doctor and she prescribed it.

I'm nearly 45 and been on the duo tablets for 5 months.No anxiety,mood swings or feeling in flight or fight mode.Side effects of dizziness and nausea lasted a couple of months.

I’ve took it since, as a young woman, I had to have an early hysterectomy. I’ve been on it for 30 odd years and it’s great. When I’ve tried to come off of it I feel like shit.🤷‍♀️

Regarding getting the Braca gene test…it causes 5-10% of breast cancers. I’ve been warned off HRT as my mum had Her2 receptive cancer which is nothing to do with Braca. You can ask for a consultation with NHS breast cancer service. They will give you a risk analysis based on family history and personal circumstances.

If you have your full blood test results including lab ranges it might be worth dropping into the Thyroid UK forum on Health Unlocked just to check. I was recently diagnosed with thyroid issues and it sounds like some GPs won't diagnose it unless you're out of the lab range, even if that's a number that for you personally is affecting how well you feel. Might not be the case but best to be sure. I've had fatigue, anxiety, depression, stomach issues, hair loss, brittle nails and weight gain as the main symptoms. There are super helpful folk on there and some good advice on other supplements too. I hope you feel more yourself soon.

It’s a shame that doctors are so black and white. More women will die of complications from osteoporosis than breast cancer and heart disease combined. HRT has been shown to help reduce or prevent osteoporosis.

Yet women with a family history of breast cancer are just given a straight ‘no’ to HRT. It has to be more individualised than this.

Most women who have had breast cancer will die of something else….there are actually plenty of women who have had breast cancer who are happy to take HRT for quality of life reasons.

I’m also 52. I’ve been on HRT for about 18 months.

It’s stopped my periods, which had become debilitatingly heavy and I was dreadfully anaemic. The mirena coil sorted me right out. I rub in a bit of oestrogel every night. Not sure what it’s doing for me, but at my age I reckon I need the oestrogen. I never had hot flushes or any other symptoms relating to low oestrogen though. I’m also on testosterone, which might just be my favourite. Hello libido and huge orgasms.

I’ve noticed my friends that have eschewed HRT are looking wrinkly and their hair is thinning, so I’ll keep taking it as I’ve read lots of medical articles that say it helps with signs of skin aging, and promotes hair growth and density. Also, my mum, whilst she was never diagnosed with osteoporosis, had quite a dowager’s hump when she got old, so I’m mindful of minimising my risk.

I am 44 and stated HRT when I was 43. I started on the patches first but they kept falling off! So then onto the oestrogen gel and progesterone tablet 12 days a month.

I started on HRT as I was bleeding daily. My period have since gone heavier and I take iron pills. I had a scan which showed a fibroid and I was advised to try the Mirena coil.

I had it fitted last Tuesday and it was uncomfortable but fine. Had some brown spotting daily but only in the morning - it hasn't stopped me having sex!

I have a paternal and maternal aunts who had breast cancer under 50. No issues raised.

I've put weight on, but all on my stomach. Sadly, this means I now have a bloated gut and no waist, whilst my boobs remain the same miserable little beanbags they always were.

For that reason, I give HRT a mere 9/10.

Oh sorry - score would be 9.

It's stopped me loosing so much hair.

I only went on it to help joint pain and my gums.

It hasn't helped joint pain and I have a dentist appointment in April to see about gums.

I've been on it 4 months. I feel no better and no worse but I had no meno symptoms except painful joints.

Oestrogen made me feel absolutely incredible, better than I have in years, genuinely got my zest for life back. BUT, the progesterone phase of my patches made me suicidal.

It wasn’t a surprise as I have PMDD, so my GP was very careful to warn me and my partner about the risk of additional progesterone.

Off HRT again now, waiting for a plan. Possibly going to have full chemical menopause with HRT add back to suppress/steady the natural fluctuation/variance.

Starting on oestrogel a few years ago (I have a coil so only needed the oestrogen side ) and would have given it 20 out of 10 then. Changed my life
Unfortunately it seemed to only last a couple of years and everything came back, along with some new horrific symptoms. No luck with patches, now trying oral hrt and saying a daily prayer it works

I’ve often had a few naughty night sweets as well!

Calmed my rage and cleared my brain fog.

When they came back I upped my dose.

I am 45 and on it for peri. It has been about six weeks and I am not shutting myself in the bathroom and crying any more so it is a thumbs up from me!

I was very wary of HRT due to history of endometriosis. I had a Mirena coil fitted after DS was born and it was life changing. I was therefore reluctant to tempt fate with oestrogen. I was pretty much through menopause before I started HRT and it was really only the muscle pains that prompted me to start.
I worry that more and more women are taking HRT at a much earlier age. We know the effects in young women who have had a premature menopause but not in those who are going through perimenopause with functioning ovaries and uterus, often for years. Maybe my own experience has clouded my view. I think that the fibroids were just the icing on the cake.
I do miss being a fully functioning woman but post menopause is actually ok. Osteoporosis is a problem but we should be encouraging young women to increase bone density actively while they can, not shutting the door when the horse has bolted.
I did a lot of walking and exercise in my twenties, unaware of how beneficial it would be now. Also I was mid 50s before menopause hit, so bone density was protected for longer.
Maybe we should be monitoring bone density earlier so we can improve the rates of osteoporosis. Many women are osteopenic well before hitting menopause so other factors are involved.

Just give it a go. You don’t have to carry on if you don’t feel a benefit. Honestly - if it works it’s great - only one way to find out.

It has tempered my rage and I don’t get up for a wee at 2am any more, but I still have awful brain fog and no libido (not in a relationship though). And I just feel flat. There are things I get great pleasure from still, but I suspect much of my low mood is my job. I’ve never had hot flushes so don’t know if it’s made a difference on that front. Am 47.

It’s testosterone that can help with brain fog and libido in some women.

Doctors just aren’t fully on board with prescribing it due to the lack of a licensed product for women in this country. There is one in Australia called Androfeme. So you either go privately and pay a lot for that one or you can use the one that’s for men but you ration out the dose. No difference really just the issue around who the cream is licensed for in this country.

You can also get your testosterone levels checked. Mine were practically zero.

Hrt was great for me but I then developed breast cancer. No history in the family, mine is hormone led and I’ve had to have a mastectomy and chemo. My consultant said the hrt fed my tumour. Most breast cancer is hormone related. I have a risk of recurrence as its hormone led so will never be free of the worry that it will come back.

I don’t want to put you off hrt but people need to understand that breast cancer is not just linked to a family risk, it can come “out of the blue”.

It’s funny how there is so much opposition to HRT yet we happily put young girls of 16 plus on the pill for 30 years with synthetic hormones…to add to their already sky high hormones.

The risk of breast cancer shown in the flawed, outdated studies was with the old forms of HRT - synthetic HRT pills. With the newer forms of body identical the risk is very small. Alcohol is more of a risk, being overweight is more of a risk….not exercising is more of a risk.

The truth is 1 in 8 women will develop breast cancer and many of those will not be on HRT. It’s a shame doctors aren’t up to date with the latest research.