AIBU to stop using HRT in these circumstances?

[FunnyFox]

NC and posting here for traffic. I’m feeling very confused and just wanted to do a sense check to see whether IABU ...I want to stop using the patches to see what happens. I do also have an appointment to see my GP for a full discussion of the whole scenario but have to wait a while for this so in the meantime I wanted to see what people on MN think. I am sure there are many women out there who have had various experiences around this and I'd like to get a sense of whether I'm possibly imagining my symptoms or in fact am on to something here.

I am in my late 50s, I’ve never had children, I've always been generally fit and healthy. About 5 years ago I started HRT - I used Evorel Conti patches for about 18 months (to summer 2019) then was switched to Femostan tabs until summer 2022 (because of supply issues with patches), then was switched back to EC patches (GP said this was to reduce possible risk of high blood pressure).

Prior to HRT for a year or two I had terrible night sweats and hot flushes plus various other symptoms that were worsening over time. All of this stopped almost instantaneously when I began HRT which was terrific. Also prior to HRT my weight had also been stable for many years and my bra size hadn’t changed. I was always large - 36E, but it was fine, it was proportional and I eat sensibly, do plenty of exercise, am very active.

However after going on HRT patches my bra size changed quite rapidly from 36E to 36FF. They then stayed that size for a couple of years but recently I noticed that bras I had bought last summer (around the time I changed back to patches) were feeling a bit tight, I went for a bra fitting and my breasts are now 36G!!…humungous!!

Throughout all this time my bottom half hasn’t changed, I’m still wearing the same size jeans etc as I was wearing 10, 15 years ago.

I find my chest size is now really starting to impact me, I hate the look of them and last week I found when I removed my (new, properly fitted) bra at the end of the day I was actually in moderate pain for a while. This can't be right surely.

I have been trying to work out why this has happened, why my weight gain is on top and not anywhere else. My diet hasn’t changed, if anything it’s better and I’m still very active, again if anything more so than in previous years. I probably drink more wine than I should, I will admit that. I definitely feel that the timing of the main “ballooning”, as it were, coincided with when I’ve been using HRT patches. But am I just imagining this?

Has anyone else had a similar experience? Could my HRT patches have caused my breasts to get bigger? If so, will stopping using them in turn lead to my breasts reducing in size or will I be lumbered with this size for ever more?

In addition I spoke to one of my friends yesterday who said “if you stop HRT you will definitely put on weight and you will start to age really quickly and become really creaky as your body needs the oestrogen….”

But reading around online I can see that it appears for some people HRT causes weight gain, for some it causes weight loss, for some it has no real impact on their size....and will I really wizen up and turn into an old prune if I stop using HRT altogether?

So I think my AIBU is, given my experience, AIBU to just stop using HRT patches and possibly HRT altogether to see what happens?

YABU - don’t stop using HRT patches, it’s not relevant to your breast size and you’ll regret it when your joints seize up!

YANBU - follow your intuition, it’s your body and if you think the HRT patches have affected you in this way then it’s worth seeing what happens if you stop HRT or switch to a different format.

Thanks for reading this far and if you respond thanks for responding...

I’m not a doctor so I can’t advise in detail on what you should do, ultimately, it’s your choice. Personally, I would stop because I have 32Js and they’re the worst thing in my life. I am absolutely desperate for a reduction.

Could my HRT patches have caused my breasts to get bigger?
Yes, they could have.

Will stopping using them in turn lead to my breasts reducing in size or will I be lumbered with this size for ever more?
No one can tell you this. They might reduce or they might not.

In addition I spoke to one of my friends yesterday who said “if you stop HRT you will definitely put on weight and you will start to age really quickly and become really creaky as your body needs the oestrogen….”
She’s a weirdo and a nutter. Ignore.

I've got an appointment this afternoon at the menopause clinic I'll ask for you. Or alternatively you could call your GP and ask, or email. Or go in. You don't need to wait till your appointment is due.

Thank you - that's helpfull.

That's kind of you. I've got an appointment t with my GP next Wed and will talk through everything then. You should probably use the time at the clinic to focus on your own questions - but if this subject does happen to come up then of course that would be very interesting if you had time to post any useful info

I think I may have to start thinking about a reduction...it really is very debilitating being this size and you have my full sympathy, I hadn't really appreciated the impact it can have.

What dose oestrogen are you on? May you could try a lower dose rather than quitting them completely. It is common for your breasts to get bigger in 40s/50s whether you are on HRT or not.
www.health.com/condition/sexual-health/breast-changes-after-40#:~:text=They%20Get%20Bigger,need%20to%20go%20bra%20shopping.

I've never been on HRT as my mum's oncologists told me it was contraindicated in her breast cancer. I've actually lost weight since the menopause without really trying , my appetite has reduced so much. I am creaky though but that's been for many years.

It’s something I’m actually very passionate about. Breast reduction should be funded on the NHS to the same extent as every other procedure that tackles a condition that is debilitating to the extent that gigantomastia is. Breasts are not cosmetic, they are a body part that can cause a whole multitude of symptoms that shouldn’t be completely dismissed just because “big breasts are sexy”.

Something I find ironic is that a major reason my GO refused to make an application for special funding for me is because a breast reduction can sometimes inhibit your ability to breast feed - the irony is that I couldn’t breast feed anyway and had to express everything because my DCs would be suffocated by the size of my breasts - each one of my breasts weighs more than my DD weighed when she was born.

I’m sorry that you’re experiencing it too, it’s awful. Personally, I wouldn’t risk anything that made my breasts larger but I am a way off menopause now and I don’t know what your symptoms would be like without it or what alternatives options there are so it’s much easier for me to say that when I don’t have to factor in the other side.

Good luck with it all.

Do discuss with your GP, obviously breast changes are very much hormone linked. One possibility might be to use the gel and then you can vary the dose more easily. I currently use 3 pumps a day but a friend only needs one. The gel was unavailable for a while but that seems to be resolved now.

Thank you for all the responses - it's really helpful to hear from other people about this. Large breasts really are a serious problem for many different reasons.

So I asked the doctor as I paid for 30 mins and I only needed 20 and she said it would depend on many factors but could indicate the dosage of estrogen is too high and to maybe halve it and see how that goes for three months then halve it again etc until no longer taking it. Or if you are post menopausal ( I'm peri) to move onto the permanent HRT. No idea if that helps but I hope so.

Thank you for this, I will definitely speak to my GP about this next week. Perhaps there is a way of rebalancing things so I can continue to get the benefits of HRT but avoid or lessen the not so positive side effects...

Quick update - saw my GP today, and I told her my theory that HRT may have caused my boobs to expand. I thought she'd scoff at me but instead she said "yes absolutely, it could well be causing that..." then she went on to describe "mono-boob", and also how some women develop a roll of fat, but dense, firm fat around their midriff and this can all be triggered or exacerbated by HRT. So we discussed me coming off HRT and I said well actually in a fit of pique and disgruntlement 3 weeks ago and because my intuition told me HRT must be connected to this phenomenon I have already stopped using my patches but I've had no side effects. My GP said fine, I'm probably post menopausal now. She said that I should see the positive effect in terms of fat redistribution in 4 to 6 months so we shall see. I'm a bit worried that now I've got it, I'll be stuck with it but at least if it doesn't get any worse that's something. I'll review my situation in 6 months time and decide what else I may need to do then.

I'm in the same position with HRT.
My enormous boobs are now gigantic! Still in peri though I think.
I have benefited from the reduction in aches and pains though. Also feel much less angry.

I can't decide what to do.
Might stop and try some alternatives?

I went on patches a year ago for a variety of peri menopause symptoms. Within weeks I felt generally wobbly and fat, mainly round the middle, although my weight gain was minimal I was constantly feeling massively bloated. I ended up having to come off the patches for other reasons and within a week or 2 I felt my normal slim, firm self. So yes, the patches are likely to cause that. For me, the benefits did not outweigh the affects but I suppose if you need the patches medically then you may have to put up with some extra wobble!

*Breast reduction should be funded on the NHS"

I agree. It is very different to having an augmentation (other than if you've had breast cancer and had to have a mastectomy). Reducing your breast size makes a massive difference to your overall health, reduces back pain, allows you to exercise more easily.

I didn't know that your breasts got bigger in middle age. I hope mine don't ;)

I can't help OP but good luck, I hope that they do gradually reduce again now that you've stopped HRT.

I had no idea this was a possibility. Mine are 34Ks already so definitely don't want them to grow.

Hope yours start to shrink OP!

I went up a cup size within a couple of weeks of starting HRT but several months later they seem to have come back down by half a cup. Bit of a nuisance as I needed new bras but overall not enough of a reason to stop the HR. For me the benefits still massively outweigh this side effect.

The thing I've found is that you don't really know what stage of menopause you are at without a bit of trial and error. In the past when I missed an HRT tablet when I was on those or forgot to change a patch over, my symptoms of night sweats, vivid nightmares/dreams and hot flushes would return almost immediately so I assumed I was still perimenopausal. Thankfully this time those symptoms have not come back and thus my doctor said she thinks I'm through to the other side. But if I hadn't just stopped using the patches I wouldn't necessarily have known, I could have been merrily taking HRT for a good few more years...

I agree that it's all about balancing the pros and cons, and it's very tricky as every woman is different and thus the pros and cons are different. Some women probably have such bad menopausal symptoms that they will be willing to accept any weight gain, others won't get the weight gain, still others will consider any such weight gain as just not acceptable to them despite whatever benefits they might get from HRT.

It's not a certainty that your breasts will get bigger - as with everything some women's do and some don't. Hopefully you'll be fine as it's a real pita if you do experience this phenomenon.

I shall report back in 4-6 months 😊 I'm not holding my breath - at the moment I'll just be happy if they don't continue inflating at the current rate!!

That's good to hear. My size increase came over a 2-3 year period rather than over months and it has all been one way - breast size just steadily increasing. If they had got larger and then gone down a bit, I probably would still be on HRT as i definitely experienced some great benefits especially in the early days - night sweats and hot flushes which had had a very detrimental effect on my sleep, mood and general well being stopped within just a few days of starting on HRT. It was miraculous or felt it because I'd been suffering these symptoms for what seemed like years.

Thanks to everyone for your responses, much appreciated and I wish each of you all the best with your own experience of menopause, and that as few of you as possible are troubled by this particular phenomenon.

@FunnyFox how are you getting on? Considering stopping as well due to same reasons