Should women start HRT earlier in the UK?

[1ladybird]

I’d love to hear people’s experiences of HRT.

I’m 40. I have got a prescription for HRT soon to be ready to collect and try! What can I expect?!

Should HRT be something women are offered late 30s/ early 40s before menopause hits?

If you take it, how beneficial have you found it to be?

Main reasons for asking for it from my GP is huge dip in energy levels coupled with not sleeping well. Bloods all came back ok for other things.

Would love to hear other people’s experiences of pros, cons and if you wish you’d done it sooner!

I agree that some women have been badly treated but can't deny that 'peri' is the latest social media trend, like ND and narcissistic PD before it where totally normal experiences are inappropriately pathalogised.

I'm 48, no symptoms other than anxiety which I've always had and less energy than in my younger years and occasionally find it takes me a minute or two to 'find the word' I'm thinking of.

Pretty normal for someone approaching 50 but annoys me intensely when any vague symptoms reported on MN from someone 35 plus is suggested as 'peri'.

I was sweating buckets this summer in heatwaves in a flat that reached 35 degrees at times but because of my age and all the SM info, people in my life were suggesting peri!

Also annoys me when women at work who are not doing their job properly (and never did) say 'sorry, peri/menopause'.

The reason GPs are pissed off is because like with all social media trends, they're deluded with people wanting assessment or treatment for something that likely doesn't apply.

My biggest regret is not starting HRT as soon as my symptoms started. I could have saved myself a lot of heartache as well as a few teeth lost to gum disease and a frozen shoulder. I tried to muddle through with natural remedies. I was an idiot.

I took it for a few months at age 52 and then developed breast cancer, so had to stop immediately.

agree that it's annoying when people blame their own faults on it but the fact remains it is a big pain in the arse. Problem is, if every woman in the UK takes it what does that mean for NHS funding? (I'm still taking it, like)

Yes 75% of women do have symptoms if 25% don’t as previous poster said.

Yes people concerned/ women assume the men aren’t keen on trying HRT!

Ooh does it??? I didn't know that lol 😆

I’ve not researched the costs but a previous poster said even buying it privately it only cost her £1 a day. So £30 a month with profit built in no doubt. Prescription charges are £9.90 so still as shortfall potentially of £20 a month per women taking it.

If it prevents/ reduces severity/ chances of osteoporosis, heart disease and dementia as some studies as found then could likely be cost neutral? Less chance of broken bones/ ops etc. Dental costs etc (although appreciate alot of people pay private anyway). Care for less time for dementia patients?

Productivity as a tax payer if more energised and healthier (mentally and physically) from HRT potentially. So lots of arguments for it being cost neutral or a good investment even.

I don’t think everyone would want it so wouldn’t be all. Just hear so many stories of women finding it hard to access and stories of how good it is in lessening symptoms and enabling women to soldier on.

Shame some who would like to try it to see if it helps can’t access it within the same country.

Southern Europe tends to have a different attitude to HRT than northern Europe. Lots of Scandivian, German, Dutch, Irish, British women use it. Not so much Greek, Italian, Portuguese.

On the other hand though it is SO easy to actually obtain the medication in Spain. I can only have Estradot patches which have been sporadic in supply for 2 years. (I am allergic to the adhesives on the alternatives, and don't like gel). Last summer I was on holiday in the Costa del Sol, went into the nearest pharmacy with an empty Estradot box and asked whether I could buy more. The (very lovely) assistant initially did that sucky teeth thing and said it might be difficult but that she would place an order. Went back that evening and was handed 3 boxes, no questions asked. Repeated the process at another pharmacy using the box the first had given me which didn;t have name, pharmacy label or anything. Ridiculously easy. I think from memory it was about 55 euro for 3 boxes of 8 patches or 96 days supply which is pretty decent value.

I hadn't noticed it making me look younger but there is lots of anecdotal evidence that being on HRT can improve joint pain and give your oomph back which makes you more likely to be willing to get out there and do things rather than sitting on the sofa eating cake. I know it drastically improved my mental health and it turned me from an anxious, tearful mess who struggled to leave the house back into my old self. Albeit a self who isn't as people pleasing any more.

It makes me OUTRAGEOUSLY ANGRY that incompetent, ill-informed and downright fucking useless GPs are out there gatekeeping HRT and telling women that they "can't" have it because they are too young, too old, to medically complex, not ill enough. Who the actual fuck do they think they are.

There is also increasing evidence that prescribing ALL older women vaginal estrogen cream could be cost-effective in reducing complex UTIs, prolapse, incontinence etc etc. Dr Nighat Arif (who is one of the good GPs) talks a lot about this.

I started at 44 when I had severe symptoms. I’m now 60 and still on it with great bone density and heart health. The only thing that it never helped is my sleep, and I’ve come to the conclusion my insomnia is an age thing and not hormonal.
I’ll be taking it for the rest of my life. Why wouldn’t I when it’s been proven to be so beneficial?

My mum loves to proudly tell me that she never had HRT, but she’s also lamenting her hair loss. Both of her sisters (one very active) have osteoporosis, neither had HRT. I’m currently perusing my GP for HRT. Was turned down at 43, I’m now 46.

@1ladybird There is an HRT annual prescription fee that is under £20.
HRT is very cheap. That covers all NHS HRTprescriptions for a year.

(I'm the poster who said what mine costs and yes, that' s retail price, including the dispensing fee, not what the NHS will pay wholesale.)

About a third of people don't pay any tax at all and a fair number of people cost the state six figures per annum. So every penny counts tbh and £365 per woman over 45 per annum adds up. I still think we should all have access to it obviously.

@CurdinHenry The NHS won't pay £365 per woman for HRT. The cost privately is more than the cost to the NHS because a private prescription incurs a dispensing fee and a slightly higher cost per item than to the NHS.

It's peanuts compared to other drugs that they prescribe.
And currently only around 15% of women use HRT.

However, the cost of osteoporosis is in the £millions every year - surgery, drugs, care homes, long stays in hospital, physio for rehab, etc.

80% of all prescriptions are not paid for anyway - free for many people on benefits, people over 60, etc.Only 20% of people with a prescribed med pay the fee.

No disrespect but I'm not into pumping my body with too many medications/similar. The menopause left me feeling with hot flushes and not sleeping so well. I'm now 59, don't sleep so well, but sleeping less and living more, I'm not tired.

I started HRT at 38 years old so far it’s helped I’m almost 40 but I’m on HRT and the coil as well.
I dread to think what I would have been like without it with my mood swings and night sweats.

I’ve been on HRT since I had my ovaries removed at 44. It’s helped with the hot flushes. It hasn’t given me more energy, or made me look younger, or improved my sleep or libido.

I believe HRT is beneficial for bone and heart health, but I also think that some women who expect to feel magically rejuvenated by taking it are going to be sorely disappointed.

I am 60 and one year from my last period. I don’t take anything.

I'm just about to start in my mid-40s. Fortunately the call I had with the (female) GP was really positive and it's one of the times that completing an online form to outline the issues you're having is quite useful for the discussion.

I've noticed changes since around turning 40. With that being around lockdown, that also had effects on my mood and energy, but there are clear ongoing monthly patterns carrying on long after that and I feel like I spend the month being two different ages and versions of myself. It then costs more energy keeping up to my young, energetic me lifestyle to live consistently. Niggles and aches are settling in, again within a monthly cycle. Why does my achilles ache? Oh yeah because it's the luteal phase. First half of the month, no bother.

People say this and I just think what if you had no choice. It always sounds really sanctimonious and a bit shitty to people who have to take medication. If I didn’t take medication I would be dead it’s not that I’m “into it”

Thanks guys for all views so far. Watching Davina McCall doc on 4OD and I have purchased the annual NHS HRT prescription repayment in advance of collecting my first prescription next week 😊

Good luck to everyone trying to get prescriptions to ease symptoms of perimenopause/ menopause x

HRT is replacement for loss of estrogen.
The medication is identical to your own hormones.

Poor sleep is a very high risk for overall health (it impacts on heart disease and metabolic health.)
If you are not tired, fine. No one had to use HRT if they feel ok.
BUT HRT prevents a lot of serious diseases like CVD and osteoporosis.

If I can dodge spending the last 25 years or so of my life being inhibited by osteoarthritis like older generations of my family, all the better.

At the moment, the silly niggly injuries are inhibiting me from consistently doing beneficial things like running and weight lifting to look after my bone density so I'm hoping that I can break that cycle.

I started it 6 months ago at 45. The main benefit for me is that it has taken away my rage and mood swings. It has also made my aches and pains vanish and I'm not hobbling about the place for an hour when I first get up in the morning. My blood test showed that my hormones were normal, but clearly not.

Agree. I have an under active thyroid so take medication for that- it’s not a case of being “into” it.

without HRT I wouldn’t be here as much mental health was so poor. Fine for people to say they managed without or their symptoms were tolerable but we can do without the sanctimony.