To tell you that HRT has saved me

[Lightsideofthemoon]

I was really scared to take HRT for loads of obvious reasons but things started to get really really bad. Loads of physical symptoms like brain fog, not sleeping at night, dry eyes, atrophy etc. But it was the effect on my mental health that was really awful- I felt empty, sad, low all the time, like I was dragging myself about, no motivation, no joy. My PMT became 5 days of paranoia, dark thoughts, a few times suicidal ideation. It’s hard to describe how awful things got.

One month, things were so bad that I rang the doc and he advised me to at least try HRT for 3 months. I started with the gel and couldn’t tolerate it so moved to Evorel sequi patches and honestly, it’s changed everything. I could feel a difference in a day. It was like everything lifted. And it’s just got better and better. Even my PMT now feels like ‘normal’ PMT and not a 5 day dark ordeal where I am so paranoid, I can barely get out of bed.

So I guess I am saying that HRT definitely isn’t for everyone and I still can’t quite believe the impact that it’s had on me- it might not last and I still worry. But If things get bad, it’s really worth trying it. I don’t think I could have continued without it- menopause can be devastating for some women, especially if you are very prone to hormone sensitivity like I am.

I feel like a completely different person and more importantly I feel like myself and normal again for the first time in about 5 years!

I started getting symptoms at 40 and seriously at 43. Luckily my GP was on the ball and didn’t tell me I was too young.

I have not stopped having regular periods, but at 40 they went from every 28-30 days to every 21 days, where they have stubbornly stayed ever since. And before the coil they were horrible, so as my GP pointed out, I was bleeding heavily for one week in every three, so no wonder I was anaemic. It’s a myth you can’t get really bad menopause symptoms with a regular cycle - I hear for many women the worst part of the menopause is the peri bit (before periods stop).

I too am on vagifem (or vagirux, whichever the pharmacy gives me) for life, I think. I do occasionally imagine myself at 90, if I’m spared, still inserting the little tablet twice a week. Or perhaps they’ll have come
up with a better solution by then!

Yeah, I was a little annoyed. To say the least.

So true. I've forgotten what normal is. Just sometimes I get a glimpse - like not caring at all about politics where I used to be passionate or hating the stress of Christmas when I used to love it. It's been a slow decline, at least 6 years but the last 2 were worse. I do feel a bit better, but I've forgotten what good is.