HRT at 42, too early?

[datcherygrateful]

Hi everyone,

I’m 42 and wondering if anyone else around my age has started experiencing perimenopause symptoms and gone on HRT.

Over the past year or so my cycles have become much shorter and heavier, my sleep is really disrupted (I’m often waking between 2–4am), and I’ve noticed low mood, brain fog and weight gain despite not changing much in terms of diet or lifestyle.

I always thought HRT was something women started in their 50s, but I’m starting to question whether I’m already in perimenopause and whether I should be looking into it now rather than just trying to push through.

Has anyone in their early 40s started body-identical HRT?

If so, what were your symptoms beforehand, and did it actually make a noticeable difference (sleep, mood, weight, etc.)?

Would really appreciate hearing real experiences before I go down the GP route.

Thank you x

I started at 41 and it was life changing for me. Unfortunately, I had a major flare of my autoimmune condition 8 weeks after starting so had to stop 😞

My female GP was incredible. I wrote down all my symptoms, what I had tried already etc and she happily prescribed it for me. It was such a relief and worked so well for me.

Please see your GP. You don’t have to suffer.

52 is the average age for women’s periods to completely stop but oestrogen levels start dropping around ten years before that - so actually 42ish is exactly the right age for most women to be starting HRT, not 50s when they’ve had ten years of declining oestrogen.

So many women are on hormonal birth control that I think it can mask some peri symptoms, giving the impression that it doesn’t often begin at early 40s. I think taking hormonal birth control out of the picture, we’d see that it can’t indeed be common to start this ‘early’.

I started menopause at 42 and the doctor would not even test me for FSH as I was 'too young'. By 49 I could not walk up the stairs at the end of the day and I was having so little sleep I could barely function. I took my fitbit sleep stats to a different doctor, he prescribed HRT and I had a patch on my arm within 5 mins of leaving the doctors office. He sent me for FSH which were 97, it is 20 or above that indicate menopause, and when he got those results, for a dexa scan which showed I had osteoporosis.

So yes, do try your best to get some analysis and try and prevent it regressing to that, it is not nice!

I started HRT at 43. My peri symptoms came on thick and fast within months. Started with heavy and unpredictable periods then brain fog, insomnia, hot flushes, night sweats, rage, low mood and anxiety. My GP insisted on a blood test to rule out thyroid issues, thankfully they showed my hormone levels were in flux. I got the implant fitted to ease my periods then HRT which was a god send. I started on patches, moved to tablets but went back to patches as the tablets were not as effective.

I started at 43 - main symptoms were night sweats and waking at 2am. I now have the mirena and use the gel. Symptoms have pretty much gone, in particular sleep is way better.

I was amongst the first in my group of friends, I was 48 and had been having peri symptoms for about a year then.
The thing is the whole process is so long that any age between 40’s and 50’s is ‘normal’. I’m now 57 and my periods have finally stopped.

42 - I take estriol when my oestrogen is low before my period to stop urine infections and night sweats (dry vagina/urethra can be very itchy and unpleasant). It’s a lifesaver.

I started at 41, anxiety about everything but mostly driving. Random panic attacks

Oh and I have a mirena, oral progesterone and oestrogen gel

Thanks everyone, did you gain weight on HRT?

I haven't.

No