To take HRT when my symptoms aren't that bad?

[GooseyLucy123]

I've got the appointment with the GP to decide tomorrow, she's sent me the RCOG guidance about how to manage the menopause to read beforehand, which talks about other options such as CBT and diet & exercise. My symptoms are: depression (I've had clinical depression before, but these mood swings (and the anger) are new), anxiety, night sweats, insomnia (I can't sleep in now which used to be my superpower!). I am tired and stressed (aren't we all). But I don't get hot flushes. GP did a blood test as I'm not quite 45 yet, and results were all normal (this included vit D, thyroid, iron as well as LH and FSH. The only thing slightly elevated was LH, but not by much, apparently).

I exercise regularly and eat healthily. I can't work out if HRT would be the amazing panacea some have found it, or the benefits might not be worth the risk. Am I being unreasonable to take HRT when things aren't that bad? Any advice welcomed. If it improved my sleep I think I would be very happy.

@oviraptor21

Menopause is a natural part of getting older in the same way that osteoporosis, high blood pressure, arthritis etc.etc. are. Good diet and tailored exercise don't even touch some of the symptoms of menopause. So yes, you would somewhat of a martyr to not consider HRT.

That's a very foolish comment. Choosing not to take artificial hormones does not make one a martyr . I believe it's still a minority of women who take it

By the way , HRT is not approved for disease prevention.

My menopause specialist said there isn’t any risk with HRT under 50 so I’d definitely give it a go.

It’s a deeply personal decision, all that’s important is that women make a decision based on actual facts and not twenty years of scaremongering.

Modern mainstream HRT is made from mainly yams—body identical.

I struck my first patch yesterday. And am incredibly lucky, had one phone appt with gp where she straight away prescribed me three months worth.

Main symptoms were atrophy, horrific rage/anxiety/PMT, sweats, insomnia, aches etc. I had been suffering for ages before putting all the symptoms together and transit was hormonal. Felt so stupid when I realised.

To each their own but I hate how the medical profession push HRT onto anyone post Menopause

Ha ha. This is so far from the truth. It took me 10 years to get HRT.

Many women don’t get symptoms and barely notice the change. Sounds like you’re one of them.

@Mojoj

It's artificial hormones. It comes with risks. Menopause is a natural part of life. Eating well and exercising goes a long way to alleviating symptoms. To each their own but I hate how the medical profession push HRT onto anyone post Menopause

I was offered vocative management (ie lifestyle, diet, exercise), anti depressants proven for menopausal mood and flushes. I had tried lifetime mods myself Surat, I don't think anti D's will sort my atrophy but it was made clear that HRT was the most 'nuclear' of the options. It wasn't issued, it was instigwted by me.

Add someone who had spent their entire reproductive years a martyr to their hormones (not able to tolerate hormonal contraception) I thought the menopause would bring relief. How wrong I was

I'm another one that decided to take the plunge after watching the Davina programme. I'm 46, turn 47 in a few weeks, eek My first symptoms were spotting and irregular periods, probably started a couple of years before but really ramped up around this time last year. I hadn't got checked out before cause of Covid. Had a blood test last March which showed I was going through the change. Have been on it for 6 months, although I changed the type after 3 months. Would love to say that I feel brilliant, I dont but think its cause I've had so much going on. Suspect though that I would feel worse if I wasn't on it. I would say that its worth a try.

[quote Mojoj]@shedmistress who said anything about being a martyr? Menopause IS a natural part of getting older. That's a fact. It's also a fact that a good diet and tailored exercise programme designed to strengthen bone density can help avoid a lot of the health issues associated with the Menopause. Or you could opt to ingest artificial hormones and accept the associated risks that go with it. Like I said, to each their own.[/quote]
I was a vegetarian head gardener, who did 10000 steps by 11am and then carried on working for the rest of the day. Good food and a massive exercise regime, nope. Didn't touch it.

The hormones are not articifial.

And it took me 7 years to get HRT, and the only way I could do that was using my watch to prove the huge amount of exercise versus the no sleep I was getting for months on end and by the time I got them to listen, I already had osteoporosis.

Honestly your views are outdated and incorrect and for alot of women, would make them push through when they shouldn't need to. Thus being a martyr and enduring great suffering when they absolutely do not have to. Because people like you warm them off for no reason.

@Mojoj

It's artificial hormones. It comes with risks. Menopause is a natural part of life. Eating well and exercising goes a long way to alleviating symptoms. To each their own but I hate how the medical profession push HRT onto anyone post Menopause

Your body loses oestrogen as you get older, you are replacing that oestrogen with hormones made from plants. Losing oestrogen causes anxiety, loss of bone density, hot flushes, night sweats, headaches, anxiety. Replacing it reduces all those things to a manageable level.

It’s a tiny dose, far less than the pill.

If you haven’t had any issues in peri menopause or menopause and ther is no history of osteoporosis in the family then I’m happy for you.

It was ruining my life and relationship.

My symptoms were fairly mild OP but I decided to go for it and I'm so pleased I did. I was very anti getting the mirena coil as I didn't get on with it at all previously, so she prescribed a patch instead. It's made a huge difference to my PMT and I hadn't realised how anxious I was getting until it stopped!

I think there is some confusion about the word 'artificial' . Yes I know most HRT is now body identical and yams sound lovely and all that but it is still a serious medication a decision to weigh carefully. You aren't throwing back a few multi vits.
You don't often hear this but someone below on the thread mentioned it - it doesn't always solve all your problems. Sometimes it creates new symptoms of its own - esp if you need to take progesterone.

Also about the selling point that HRT is made from plants - isn't most medication derived from plants ? Painkillers? Heart medication ? Doesn't mean it's without risks

You don't often hear this but someone below on the thread mentioned it - it doesn't always solve all your problems. Sometimes it creates new symptoms of its own - esp if you need to take progesterone

Oh yes, problems of its own.

But if you can't walk, or sleep, or have osteoporosis you think these aren't problems worth dealing with?

You'd literally become housebound scared of yams?

As I regularly say 'fuck that shit'. There is no need for women to become crippled and shells of themselves these days.

But you do you. Scaring women for no good reason. Well done. Have a

In my opinion HRT is necessary even if you're not suffering. All it does is replace the hormones your body used to create, essential hormones. Sadly doctors are very uneducated in the menopause and don't know though about it. A PP made a comment that her doctor said no point starting as one day you'll have to stop. Not true, HRT is for life.

I had a private consultation with a menopause specialist and then went to my doctor with the report and he prescribed exactly what I wanted. Sometimes it's trial and error to find a refund to suit you but it's definitely worth starting, your bones and brain will thank you!!

Find a regime that suits you... blooming autocorrect

The menopause is actually female hormone deficiency disorder. For any other disorder, you would take medication. So why not this one? Just because it's "wimmin" and we should get on with it?

I think it's probably true for some women that if you take it and then stop, the symptoms come back. My mother found that, which is why she has kept taking it.

I am uneasy about taking hormones when you don't need them, and at the moment I don't feel that I need them. But if that changes, I will definitely go to the doctors. In fact my employer actually funds a session with the BUPA menopause service but I would say it's a worthwhile investment for those who can afford it. Of course it should be a standard service on the NHS, but the more of us who can afford it, take it up, the more we share our knowledge, the better equipped other women are to take on the ignorance of their GPs.

@Shedmistress
'Scaring women for no reason'
How am I scaring women? Is anything I've said exaggerated ?

' afraid of yams' - that's your response to a woman who prefers not to medicate a natural phenomenon. Well argued .

menopause before 45 is associated with increased risk of heart disease, dementia, and osteoperosis. my consultant gynaecologist recommended taking it until 51. I had similar symptoms to you and a low dose transdermal patch has massively reduced them. I could in theory increase the dose to see if I can eliminate them completely but I'm pretty satisfied with how things are.

@SisterJude

Cancer is a natural phenomenon, should we not bother medicating that? I just don't understand women like you, so desperate to be seen as the "right" kind of woman, no complaining, that might upset the men!

Lol. You have no idea !

I didn’t have horrendous symptoms, a few sweats and sleep disturbances, but have had my patches for about 8 months and I feel so well now. I think some symptoms come on so gradually you don’t really notice them, until they’ve gone!
I’m on them for life and they’ll be pulled out of my cold dead hands!

I also have hypothyroidism and take artificial hormones for that, otherwise I’d have other health complications, so why wouldn’t I treat menopause in exactly the same way?

I didn't have much in the way of classic menopause symptoms - I am in my early 50s - but I am taking it as a protective against osteoporosis as I have a degenerative spinal condition and I want to give my bones every assistance I can!

But I have noticed a lifting in mood and greater energy and 'get up and go' since taking it, which is wonderful! Also the brain fog has lifted, which I think was my worst symptom.

I have the Mirena + Oestrogel, and it's working great for me so far.

I’m on oestrogel and mirena too. Works well and I agree about lifting brain fog. I sometimes wonder what more I might have done in my early fifties with more zest. I’m 57 now.

Looking back through my family tree, until the last 100 years, almost all of my female ancestors who've been traced died in their 50s or earlier. Most of them had large families. Nature doesn't give a stuff what happens after you've been reproductively successful.
Left to nature, I would be in constant pain from my joints and varicose veins after childbearing - despite an extremely active lifestyle and healthy diet, no smoking, very little alcohol. I'd barely be able to see, as my eyesight was awful. I'd have skin like an old handbag from working outdoors without sunscreen, as most of my farm labourer ancestors did. I have not let nature have its way. My eyesight was fixed with laser surgery years ago. The varicose veins were fixed and my legs no longer ache all the bloody time. The joint pain is kept at bay with a targeted pilates and physio programme which comes from science working with nature. Sunscreen is an artificial substance put on my skin to protect it. It works when it's absorbed into my skin. And oestrogen gel is another substance put on my skin to protect me, because I have much higher expectations of the life to come than what nature would afford me.
Also... When you get older women talking about their "waterworks problems", it turns out so many are living with really horrible conditions that they feel they mustn't grumble about. Many of these are entirely avoidable with HRT.
Fuck that shit.