To ask you to talk to me about HRT

[BlueSkyBlinking]

So, over on another thread, various wonderful women of about my age (47) have been sharing the chaos that is ageing and peri-menopause. Some people have sung the praises of HRT and I’m seriously considering it.
Poor sleep? YES
Bizarre, vengeful periods? Yes
Itching? Yes, there, no downabit
Mood swings? YES WHY?
Bloating and gut problem? yes
Mind fog? What, when?!
Hot flushes? YES
TMI vaginal issues? Okay yes.

Please talk to me if you take HRT.
How did you figure out which one suited you?
Did you go private or use NHS?
Did you have previous symptoms that disappeared?
Are there any downsides?
What do you wish you knew before?
And if you know where I’ve put my blasted cooling pad, will you let me know?

I’m 62; started HRT at about 50ish. Main symptoms were hot flushes and regular bouts of cystitis (exacerbated by lots of shagging as I was in a fairly new relationship).

Saw the GP first. Already had the Mirena, she recommended patches which definitely improved things a bit. I hadn’t taken the pill for 20 years so I thought patches would be easier to remember and they worked for me.

For me the cancer risks were minuscule and balanced out.

I was still getting cystitis thought + crap libido so GP recommended I see a specialist. I went private. Specialist said “we need to toughen you up a bit down there”; my, we laughed. Ended up with higher dose of patches + a vaginal cream. Things are very much better now. Libido is still poor sadly but I can get things going with a bit of effort and vag is much better.

No downsides other than the sticky patches which are the very devil to remove.

This is my last marina (sob, have had one since 1994) so my HRT will have to change in the next few years but my GP can’t see any reason for me to stop.

Your cooling pad is somewhere in the garden.

My fear with HRT is GP's encouraging you off it for other health reasons in your 60's.
It was horrendous for DM going through the menopause so late.
Some say you can take them for life though I've seen threads when women are being encouraged to give them up in their 60's.
I'll try homeopathy first when my time comes.

Your cooling pad is somewhere in the garden.

YES! With my diary!!

I started with perimenopause symptoms at 36/37 including continuous hot flushes that made me feel faint, door slamming and stomping about like a teenager (the rage I felt was indescribable) and insomnia, I was waking at 3-4 am every day. I have been on Femoston for 9.5 years. I tried something else first which made me worse but this is great. Once I get past my 50th birthday I am going to ask to swap to the Femoston where you don't have a bleed as the osteoporosis risk will have lessened. It has transformed my life without a doubt.

The link with breast cancer is not spurious it is real. What the PP was correctly saying is that it is lower than people think and so for many people the risks HRT protect you against are more significant than the risk of the HRT itself. I have chosen to avoid HRT as my DM had breast cancer before the age of 40. If I didn’t have that history I would be prepared to consider it.

My mother had breast cancer in her early 40's but died of a heart attack in her early 60's.

I'm really suffering with fog and low mood and anxiety as well as god awful periods.

I need to do some research but I'd love to be able to have HRT as it seems to be doing my friends the power of good.

The link with breast cancer is an increase of between 2 and 6%, according to a Lancet metareview. Perhaps spurious was the wrong term, but it is definitely overblown.

@Emeraldshamrock

My fear with HRT is GP's encouraging you off it for other health reasons in your 60's. It was horrendous for DM going through the menopause so late. Some say you can take them for life though I've seen threads when women are being encouraged to give them up in their 60's. I'll try homeopathy first when my time comes.

That's what mine did. I got dragged into the surgery for 'review' every 6 to 12 months for what was essentially a bullying session to get me to stop it. It was so refreshing when the new GP started. I believe the thinking nowadays is that if you start it before 50, you can stay on it forever. I have a friend who has just turned 80 and still has a small dose patch.

I started on HRT patches just before christmas. For nearly 5 years I have been perimenopausal, with bleeding on and off constantly throughout the month, including many flooding episodes, leading to me being anaemic. I have been overly emotional, with hot flushes, shortness of breath, and migraines 2-3 times a week (guaranteed before every bleed, however minor). It affected everything, and meant that even though I had always wanted to start working again, I just couldn't.

It wasn't instant, but I realised last month, that I haven't felt as good as this for years. I now have 1 period a month. My headaches are down to 1-2 a month (just before the period), I'm not having my dark, depressed days any more, and I have more energy. I actually feel capable of looking for work now. Whether it's entirely the patches, or whether the regulated bleeding has 'fixed' my anaemia, which possibly caused some of my symtoms, I don't know. But I wouldn't be without it now. I have it for a year at first, then they want me to come off it and reassess. Right now I don't want to do that!

I'm interested in all those of you who took a while to find the right one - how did you know it wasn't working properly? What changed by moving to a different one? I'm interested because I thought mine wasn't doing much at first - my feeling better crept up on me over the 3 months. It's not perfect, I don't think, but so much better than I was.

@Notonthestairs
I would push for a referral to a specialist clinic if you can so you can have a proper discussion of the risks with an expert. There may be options that are acceptable.

My GP also told me that there's a difference starting HRT in your 30's or 40's when you're still supposed to have the influence of the oestrogen in your body - you're replacing what should naturally be there - than in your 50's when the risks get a little higher.

@Wotsitsarecheesy I think it can take three months before you feel the effects. I knew certain ones didn't suit me as they increased my migraines which the GP linked to the progesterone tablets at the time. Trial and error, our bodies are all different but we know them best! (Well, how how we feel anyway!)

I'm now on the patches after many years on the oral HRT which was a lifesafer in that it did literally give me my life back. I'll take the monthly bleed and a monthly migraine. It was worth it.

I'm now under the care of the local specialist menopause clinic. They are trying to find an alternative to the oral which they don't seem to like. So far I've had gel ( annoying to apply every morning) with oral progesterone which made me feel dreadful. They tweaked that several times but still didn't work. I had horrible side effects and the hot flushes would sometimes break through. It didn't control the aches and pains completely either.

I'm now on patches which are much better in that they don't make me ill but I'm really not a fan. I'd be much happier back on my reliable old oral HRT. I feel another discussion coming up!

@Tankflybosswalkjam I have friends for whom the only symptom was their periods stopped.

I'm very aware of the disabling effects of osteoporosis due to my job (physio) and what's happened to my mum (broken legs from osteoporosis) so would have considered it for myself due to this regardless of symptoms.

I'm 39 and having what I think are peri symptoms - I have two weeks of the month where I feel 'normal' and the other two weeks, it's like someone has taken over my body and mind. I am angry, HATE my husband, no libido, dark thoughts, sweating at night, brain fog, forgetfulness. It's truly horrendous. Will any GP take me seriously or dismiss me due to my age?
My periods are still regular but have really changed in terms of the flow.

Veteran here.

Age 47 started really frequent hot flushes many times a day. I already had a Mirena so went to GO and asked for oestrogen replacement which I was given as tablets.

A few years ago there was a huge shortage of hrt and a different GP put me onto patches and said I should have had them all along. I found them a bit of a pain.

Another year or so passed and lack of libido was really troublesome so GP increased the dose which, it turned out, just meant a much bigger patch. They were unsightly and peeled off ( I’m a swimmer).

So back for more advice and I was finally prescribed gel which, who knew, is fantastic. Absolutely easy to apply, very low risk and works.

I’ve had the Mirena replaced, probably for the last time as the combination is the preferred method of getting both hormones delivered safely.

No need to suffer. 😊

Was she on oral HRT? It's not considered as safe as transdermal forms.
She took it during the 1990s so I presume it was pills. The blood clot was in her neck, when it moved towards the brain it caused a massive stroke. Caused by HRT. It makes me very wary of taking it myself.

@ChazsBrilliantAttitude - I'm so uneducated I didn't realise specialised clinics existed! Thank you. I'm going to speak to my GP and ask for a referral.
I'm so bloody tired for 3 weeks of every month.

@ClearMountain

I am 53. Periods normal until last 4 months when instead of 28 day cycles I've had one 32, one 39 and one 57. Now 9 days 'late'.

Beginning to get night sweats and the brain fog is horrible.
I am already on ferritin and B12 supplements but still anaemic and low B12. Also have sleep apnea. So I feel horrible.

I asked GP last month and she said; 'most women sail through, if you cant manage to then the chemist might help'. I was :0
I am in Scotland so not sure the rules there re NICE guidelines?

I asked GP last month and she said; 'most women sail through, if you cant manage to then the chemist might help'. I was :0

That’s awful, @52andblue. What a rubbish response!

Yes. I hope she was just 'having a bad day' and isn't normally like that.
I think because I have a number of minor things going on it is possibly difficult to work out what is menopausal and what isn't but 'bugger off to the chemist if you can't cope' was pretty poor!
I will try again soon if I still feel so rough.

Does anyone know if the NICE guidelines are UK wide or just English?

52andblue that's utter rubbish from your GP. I strongly recommend seeing someone else and keep going till you get someone who knows what they are talking about!! Hugs to you!
I've been on HRT for about five years. Had a few different ones but have settled on Tibolone daily tablet and oestrogen gel. Two pumps of gel at night. Had to add the gel as I was getting night sweats again. I will take it as long as I can. I didn't find that herbal remedies worked at all but if it works for someone else then more power to them!

The only thing is I have developed a moustache and sideburns so I will be visiting the laser hair removal clinic as soon as they reopen. Luckily I have very blonde facial hair so it's not too stubbly looking when I shave it. At the moment I am amusing myself by growing it and waiting to see when my DH notices 😂😂 his eyesight is getting rubbish though so I may be a Gandalf before he catches on 🙂

@Tankflybosswalkjam, I'm approaching 54yo & Peri has been a complete non event so far. I've known a lot of women who struggled around this age so just relieved I seem to be fine, too.

I puzzle on these threads how attentive women are about their periods. Their pattern seems to be very important, the first and most important information to share. I stopped tracking 20 yrs ago, so have no idea when my period is next due.

People who like HRT claim that it cures almost every health problem. Impressive.

@ragged when your period inexplicably and suddenly triples in size and picks random days to start, you have to learn to be more attentive. I wish I didn’t. I never used to care.