AIBU to think that any woman who can should take HRT?

[HRTevangelist]

It's fucking brilliant and has turned my life around. I have more energy, I can concentrate, I've lost a stone without trying, I've been promoted at work and my facial hair has completely gone. I am unstoppable!

This is truly amazing stuff. It should be considered for all peri women as routine before looking at alternatives as necessary.

On 4OD recently, Davina McCall: Sex, Myths and the Menopause had some good up to date info on hrt.

I was never offered it. Would it have helped? I wasn't ill.
My friend was on it a lifetime and struggled to come off it.
She now wishes she never took it in the first place given how she is.

Anyone here with a history of blood clots been put on HRT with no problems?

I was very ill with a post-operative pulmonary embolism a couple of years ago (nearly saw me off) and was advised at the time that I am a slightly increased risk of having another the future and not to use hormonal contraceptives, I assumed that meant I could probably not have HRT either?

I didn't need it, my mum died from breast cancer, the type that caused by HRT and was told to avoid it.

@inigomontoyahwillcox

Anyone here with a history of blood clots been put on HRT with no problems?

I was very ill with a post-operative pulmonary embolism a couple of years ago (nearly saw me off) and was advised at the time that I am a slightly increased risk of having another the future and not to use hormonal contraceptives, I assumed that meant I could probably not have HRT either?

Yes, I have / am.

Like you, I had one acute episode. I stick to patches / gel; and mitigate the minute risk by exercise etc.

I seem to have been fine without it and never really considered it. Not been near a doctor about Meno as it isn't an illness and the symptoms are manageable.i don't like taking any drugs if I can avoid it

I’m 45 and I’ve just started on HRT. I kept a diary over the last few months of all of my symptoms, emailed the GP with the details and requested a prescription for HRT. She rang me back that afternoon and after a quick discussion regarding the options we settled on HRT in tablet form.

It’s been life changing. I feel like a black curtain has been swept away and instead of observing life going on around me I’m actually part of it.

@speakout

osteoporosis, dementia, hypertension, heart disease, stroke.

All can be avoided to a large degree by lifestyle.

It’s really minimal the effect lifestyle choices have on dementia, I have seen too many slim, fit, non smokers who barely touch alcohol develop it. There is a proven link between loss of oestrogen and dementia, women develop it more often than men, even allowing for life expectancy. If you don’t want to taking it fine, but other women will need it and should be offered it.

It doesn’t work for everyone. I’ve just decided to come off it due to horrendously heavy periods lasting for 2 weeks, gaining 2 stone in 6 months, headaches and my ankles swelling up like balloons. I tried the patch and the gel with Utrogestan. Even tried taking that vaginally at night (12 days a month) to reduce side effects which was a faff and wasn’t good for my sex life!

My periods had gone down to to every 3/4 months before HRT and were getting light let so going back to a monthly bloodbath was pretty shit and definitely not worth it!

TBF I probably didn’t need it as wasn’t suffering from hot flushes but had a period of insomnia and was interested in the benefits (especially looking younger for which it didn’t work for me ) although I exercise regularly and my bone mass has increased through weight training,

I was very disappointed but feel better sticking with just Menopace, exercise, lots of water and a good diet. I’m hypothyroid and on thyroxine so not sure if that had any bearing on it.

Had cervical cancer twice so can't take it. My late mother in law had lumps in her breasts from when she was in her mid 20s, her stupid doctor (later struck off as he was generally useless) prescribed her HRT in the late 1980s, she developed breast cancer when she was 63 and died within 5 years. She should NEVER have been on it. She died before she could retire, decades of hard work and saving to a good pension and she never got to use any of it.

@Melroses

I personally don't want too because of the increased cancer risk

If you look at the figures, then the increased risk of breast cancer from being overweight and drinking more than the recommended amount is far more than hrt. Breast cancer risk increases with age. With HRT your breast cancer increases in line with the rate before menopause. When you stop taking it, the risk goes to the level it would have been if you were not taking HRT.

Endometrial cancer risk is reduced.

If I understand correctly though, even though I'm not overweight and rarely drink, HRT will still increase my chances of breast cancer. Don't get me wrong, I have taken it and it did help, but I've stopped now because I don't want the increased risk of BC from taking it over a very prolonged period and as I got older.

Reading with interest..I'm 38 and five weeks post complete hysterectomy. Hot flushes, sleep interrupted by night sweats, a constant feeling of panic /fear not to mention not wanting anyone remotely near or to touch me in anyway, shape or form. I'm seeing my consultant tomorrow for biopsy results and if all clear he said he can prescribe HRT. I've had so many people warn me off it, but I can not continue to feel the way I do. Reading others experiences and researching this has helped me consider options and make my decision. Thank you.

@Cherrysoup

Just to de-rail, please check that your treatment doesn’t contain ‘Premarin ’, derived from the urine of mares kept permanently pregnant and in horrific conditions. There are synthetic versions available.

You've dropped this titbit with zero information. Why do we need to be concerned about this ingredient? What is the impact of Premarin on the human body? Why is this needed what are the risks/ benefits of the synthetic alternatives?

My dr not convinced I need HRT as I don’t really get hot flushes ... I literally have every other symptom

@TheRosesOfSuccess it depends on your personal risk assessment really, the most recent studies showed the breast cancer risk being ;

" in recent estrogen only users, between three (in younger women) and eight (in older women) extra cases per 10,000 women years would be expected, and in estrogen-progestogen users between nine and 36 extra cases per 10,000 women years.

for me the chance of being in those 8 extra women per 10,000 compared to the benefits felt by the thousands was worth it.

@KnackeredHag

Reading with interest..I'm 38 and five weeks post complete hysterectomy. Hot flushes, sleep interrupted by night sweats, a constant feeling of panic /fear not to mention not wanting anyone remotely near or to touch me in anyway, shape or form. I'm seeing my consultant tomorrow for biopsy results and if all clear he said he can prescribe HRT. I've had so many people warn me off it, but I can not continue to feel the way I do. Reading others experiences and researching this has helped me consider options and make my decision. Thank you.

I had a hysterectomy at your age and my consultant warned me off HRT. Fast forward ten years and I've finally discovered HRT and I've been taking it 7months. I finally feel like me, I literally feel like I've lost 8-9 years of my life because I've felt awful since I had the hysterectomy.

I'm on the patches and I'm never ever going to stop using them.

[quote Bigwave]@TheRosesOfSuccess it depends on your personal risk assessment really, the most recent studies showed the breast cancer risk being ;

" in recent estrogen only users, between three (in younger women) and eight (in older women) extra cases per 10,000 women years would be expected, and in estrogen-progestogen users between nine and 36 extra cases per 10,000 women years.

for me the chance of being in those 8 extra women per 10,000 compared to the benefits felt by the thousands was worth it.[/quote]
I need both, and am at the older end of the age spectrum, so it would be the highest risk for me. My best friend and lovely SiL have both died from BC. For me I don't think it's a risk I want to take any more, although I understand why people do of course.

I think its a tough decision if you don't drink or are overweight, saying it's less risk than those feels irrelevant. It's more risk than not taking it. Like pp I'd need combined version, so higher risk levels.

What I don't understand is how long you can take it for or are meant to- I thought you had to take it for a few years only? surely the risk increases with age.
Also what happens when you stop & do the symptoms come back
Are people saying that HRT stops you getting dementia?

I'm glad its working for people but for me these questions are not clear enough. The Davina programme was good but is that what we should be relying on to make health decisions? I still feel like not enough information is out there.

@SecretDoor

Also with any other organ failure we don't put up with low hormones causing us to be hypothyroid , diabetic - we take replacement hormones- thyroxine, insulin etc. So why should we put up with failing ovaries and the consequences of no oestrogen?

Hypothyroidism and diabetes are illnesses, but menopause is a natural occurrence. Also, in the UK it’s very difficult to get a diagnosis and the correct dose of thyroxine, no doubt because it’s not “cost-effective” to identify and treat it, (a very short sighted view given all the problems it can cause when not treated correctly).

@ghostyslovesheets

I agree - and god I wish GP's would stop gatekeeping it from us - it's harder to get than rocking horse shit - seriously

I bloody love mine

I'd been going to my GP surgery with symptoms of the menopause for 4 years before I got put on HRT. I had to raise the issue myself after being repeatedly fobbed off and/or shrugged at. You would think I had requested a prescription for strychnine.

The nurses in the practice had been doing various blood tests intermittently at the GP's request. It was dawning on me that most blood tests for menopause are pointless because the hormone levels fluctuate so much. I also noticed that these nurses tiptoed round the words "menopause" and "perimenopause", wouldn't say them at all, and in the end i asked them why. They said "Well, some of the ladies who come to see us are very embarrassed about it and we don't want to make the situation even worse." Talk about reinforcing stigma! They were absurdly coy about the whole thing, would exchange glances with each other while I was speaking as if my queries were unreasonable.

When I brought this up with the practice manager, she said "Well, it's a work in progress." She said that the nurses had been on menopause awareness courses. I did wonder who was running the courses. Maybe they were brilliant and these particular nurses were just too set in their ways? I avoid these nurses now if at all possible.

HRT itself has helped. At least I know now that I will bleed regularly once a month for a few days. At least now I can walk down the street without feeling exhausted. My legs and arms still ache though, all the time.

Alongside the breast cancer risk (which is only very slightly higher than it is for an average woman with no indicators who is NOT on HRT) I think doctors and nurses need to tell more women of the long-term advantages. There's evidence that women on HRT are less likely to develop osteoarthritis. And they are less likely to develop dementia too.

It's been very depressing, tbh. Apparently menopause isn't really taught at medical school. This explains a lot.

@Katekarate

I think its a tough decision if you don't drink or are overweight, saying it's less risk than those feels irrelevant. It's more risk than not taking it. Like pp I'd need combined version, so higher risk levels.

What I don't understand is how long you can take it for or are meant to- I thought you had to take it for a few years only? surely the risk increases with age.
Also what happens when you stop & do the symptoms come back
Are people saying that HRT stops you getting dementia?

I'm glad its working for people but for me these questions are not clear enough. The Davina programme was good but is that what we should be relying on to make health decisions? I still feel like not enough information is out there.

Have just read this.

This is my main query too: if someone stops taking it, do the symptoms come back? Or will the body somehow have moved on naturally during the time the HRT was being taken?

I don't have the confidence that my GPs or the practice nurses (see above) would know the answer to this.

This dr/author is a brilliant source of information about women's health

drjengunter.com/

@speakout

No because many women don't need it. I sailed through peri menopause and full menopause with no symptoms at all apart from menstuation stopping.

Me too.

My Mum got breast cancer & it was the oestrogen positive type known to be caused by HRT. She is convinced the cancer was caused by HRT. Her boobs increased 2 sizes when she started the treatment. I am 45 and will try more natural remedies if I need them.

My sister and cousin both got breast cancer after HRT. Bo prior family history or risk factors. Wouldn't touch it with a 10-foot pole.