To not start taking HRT?

[OldSkoolLikeHappyShopper]

My doctor has mentioned that HRT would be an option for me. She said patches because of a family history of breast cancer. I’m 42, no not flushes or night sweats. But my symptoms are:

low mood/irritability
loss of sex drive
find it hard to orgasm when I do have sex (never been a problem before)
bad skin
forgetfulness/brain fog
achy all over
crazy menstrual cycle (anywhere between 18-38 days)

I guess I’m a bit scared because of my family breast cancer risk, and also because I’ve never got on with any kind of hormonal contraception, I always had hideous side effects with it. I know HRT isn’t contraception, but would it have a similar effect in terms of not agreeing with me?

Really don’t know what to do…I wouldn’t say my symptoms are unmanageable or massively affecting my life (the sex drive/orgasms one is probably the most annoying), and I don’t know whether to go for the HRT or play or by ear and see if things get worse.

Others experiences and opinions would be appreciated, I feel completely clueless, this whole peri menopause thing has crept up on me and I feel woefully unprepared!

I agree with this. Most HRT is body identical now (made from yams), so not at all the same as the contraceptive pill. I didn't get on with the pill, but HRT is good for me. I have a family history of osteoporosis, so despite being a healthy, slim person who eats well and exercises, HRT is a no-brainer for me. My mother was also 'healthy' until her bones started crumbling.

You can always stop it if you don't like it 🤷‍♀️

@Lastnamedidntstick 🙄 In response to your post, this is exactly my point that too many people are still thinking back to things they heard years ago and scaremongering by stating it as truth, when you can easily - within a few minutes - google up to date information based on real fact.

The clue is in "years ago" you heard they use mares urine in HRT. Certain old fashioned forms use it, these are known as conjugated equine estrogens (CEEs).

Whilst it's still available it's not prescribed much. I'm an animal lover and the idea makes me sick.

I never leave anything to chance with GPS these days though, so just in case, make sure you ask for body identical HRT which is made from the yam plant and mixed with soya in Utrogestan.

I didn’t “state it as truth” 🙄. I asked the question if it was still done.

your answer tells me it is still available, so probably a good thing I asked so people can make the choice to avoid it.

If you start, you’ll have a review after 3 months and if it’s not working out for you for whatever reason then you can stop or try alternatives - which is where I am. I wish I had been able to start it earlier in my 40’s to see if it had been able to help through the worse symptoms of perimenopause.

@Lastnamedidntstick Jjst checked and Premarin (the horse urine HRT) was discontinued in the UK in 2010.

There is no increased risk of breast cancer with transdermal HRT. shall I say that for those in the back. THERE IS NO INCREASED RISK OF BREAST CANCER WITH TRANSDERMAL HRT.

Can you provide a link to the evidence for this?
As a quick google would suggest otherwise. That's why I wouldn't take what people say on MN as gospel- do the research for yourself. It's a very personal decision and you have to weigh up your own personal circumstances.

I’m 49 and about two years ago had sudden anxiety and a frozen shoulder. I treated it all with acupuncture and herbal medicine. So far it’s worked really well for me but if it hadn’t then I would look into HRT.

I guess I’m a bit of a hippy at heart and also studied the medicalisation of every day life as part of my degree - modern society seeing that natural processes need to have medical intervention, and questioning this, which has just made me stop and think as to whether I should let nature do its thing

Just because it's natural doesn't mean it's good for us. You don't get any medals for suffering. Childbirth is medicalised too - is it intrinsically 'better' to do it without pain relief and let nature do her thing? Try the hormones. From what ALL my friends who are on HRT say it will make your life much much better. Why wouldn't you try it?

@salutsandy agree. The little leaflet that comes in the box says different.

Lots of information on the Newson health clinic website. I can’t be bothered to fish out the links but if you google the site and have a look in the resources section they’re a lot of information and links to the studies that have debunked this. It’s common knowledge now.

I never took HRT because I thought I could manage any symptoms myself.

If you decide to not take it then I'd suggest speaking to your GP about any other vitamins and supplements you should take to protect your body as I now find myself at 59 with awful osteoarthritis in my knees which is extremely painful and seriously affects my sleep and mobility.

*there is

Aside from other concerns soy can be an issue for those with thyroid disorders just to make people aware.

Slightly different for me as I have had an oestrogen-fed breast cancer but I have been told by my GP, my consultant and breast cancer support charity not to take HRT. The advice on here is always to take it but that's not the medical guidelines for some people. Strangers on the Internet always say medics don't know what they're talking about but I find it hard to believe.

I don’t think anyone says never listen to medics or that they don’t know what they’re talking about but I think it’s more that people tend to view medical people as Gods and don’t do their own research or challenge things, when they should. If I hadn’t challenged my GP when they misdiagnosed me with panic disorder in 2017 I’d be dead - they failed to recognise I had Addisons disease which is fatal if left untreated. (I made a formal complaint which was upheld). Too many people trust doctors and consultants too easily .

As someone who went through perimenopause in her early 40s and is now three years post-menopause at 47, I would urge you to reconsider as HRT is vital for protecting your brain (from dementia), bones (from osteoporosis) and heart (from cardiovascular disease), all things things that effect women more than men, due to by falling oestrogen levels. If nothing else, don't you want to free yourself from the brain fog? It might well get worse. I know for me, it started off lightly, but at one point, it was so bad I thought I had early onset dementia.

On a sexually level, HRT will restore your libido. As for your inability to orgasm, this might be to do with vaginal atrophy. This can be 'cured' by a v. low level oestrogen pessary that is available from your GP as Vagifem or over the counter at the pharmacy as Gina. Even if you choose to not take HRT proper, please consider this.

You write I wouldn’t say my symptoms are unmanageable or massively affecting my life (the sex drive/orgasms one is probably the most annoying), and I don’t know whether to go for the HRT or play or by ear and see if things get worse.

Things might well get worse. They might not. However, I strongly believe that if you're asking strangers on an online forum about HRT and if you should take it, that your issues are troubling enough that you want to do something about them.

HRT can be a magic bullet for some. I know it was for me. FWIW, I never took hormonal contraception on the advice of a specialist I saw as a teen - I had an issue with breast fibroadenomas. Initially this made me vary of HRT but I saw a specialist and we found the right dosage levels - I take the lowest possible amount of oestrogen (in addition to progesterone and testosterone). I know for me, this was absolutely the right decision. By the time I decided to take HRT, my symptoms were debilitating, and within days of starting HRT, my symptoms vanished, my sex drive came back. I know my quality of life would be very different had I not have taken it.

One last thing, patches are not the best way to go - you want the creams and gels (and the pessary for the good of your vagina).

The hormones in hrt are at much lower levels than in the pill. The pill is four to ten times stronger.

Also, I forgot to mention that despite menopause being something all biological women will go through at some point in their lives, either medically or naturally, there is shameful little research into it. Indeed, much of the research is not even current, yet the findings are still used.

I listened to this a few weeks ago, it's well worth the time to do so - Have Women Been Misled about Menopause

Synthesised yams, mainly. For most forms of transdermal hrt.

That’s not true. Many doctors fob women off with the combined pill as an alternative to HRT saying that it has oestrogen in it - it does but nowhere near as high as the levels in HRT. A quick google will tell you the amounts. I have had this very same discussion with several consultants and menopause consultants at both Newson health and in the nhs. The mini pill which is progesterone only can be used as part of the progesterone in HRT but you still need additional progesterone (although this is currently in discussion) - I take the mini pill, oestrogel and 100mg utrogestan every night for my HRT.

The breast cancer link is still something worrying a lot of people. Several friends will not consider taking HRT because they are so concerned about it. And of course that is their choice.

I have been on HRT for 15 months - patches only. I recently went for my first mammogram and was asked by the nurse specifically about whether I was on HRT or had ever been on HRT which is worrying. I'm now waiting to return to the clinic for a recall as my initial mammogram was "unclear" and that HRT question is gnawing away at my brain and I'm terrified.

On the other hand, I was in a very dark place without it.

I haven't read the thread. But there's a new organisation called Menoclarity. It looks at all the menopause info from different angles. Worth a look if you're questioning

https://menoclarity.com/

The CRUK website says HRT does increase the risk of breast cancer, although it depends on the type of HRT and how long you take it for:

*"Most types of HRT increase the risk of breast cancer. But the risk is higher for those using combined HRT, which uses both oestrogen and progestogen.

Taking HRT for 1 year or less only slightly increases breast cancer risk. However, the longer you take HRT the greater the risks are, and the longer they last.

People who begin HRT before or soon after the menopause may have a bigger risk than those who start HRT later."*

(www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/causes-of-cancer/hormones-and-cancer/does-hormone-replacement-therapy-increase-cancer-risk)

The thing is, and this may be controversial for me to say, but even if - and it is an if, as the research is being debated and debunked all over the place - HRT does increase the risk of breast cancer it’s worth remembering that breast cancer if caught early is one of the most treatable forms of cancer. Dementia, heart issues and bone issues (which can all kill older women, in fact hip fracture from osteoporosis is one of the leading causes of death in older women) are reduced by taking HRT. That’s worth remembering. Risks vs benefits and all that….

MN is pro hrt and I don't trust it. My menopause symptoms were diabetes