To not want HRT

[Howszaboutthat]

Need some advice from ladies-in-the-know

I never got on well with contraceptives. They gave me perma-pmt and acne. So, for the last 15 years I’ve had a copper coil which is coming out soon. I was hoping to just ride it out sans synthetic hormones.

I’m 46.

However, Over the last year, the brain fog and poor sleep has set in. I’ve partically solved this by giving up alcohol, taking vitamins and magnesium. The brain fog is getting worse. I feel like such a dunderlinger and my role requires a lot of brainpower.

Other thing - dryness down there. My first UTI in 25 years.

What can I do that is not going to turn me into a fat, lifeless blimp? I was hoping to ride this out. But I think I need to re-think. Also I don’t have time to be endlessly up the doctors (we’re not allowed time off work for appointments in working hours)

Any advice? Am I doomed?

This is your original post @Willyoujustbequiet which you were quite rightly pulled up on.

It’s really very easy to avoid the old synthetic forms of HRT.

I don’t have any issues with the authors. I have an issue with the way you presented it as all HRT. When it’s the old version - so that’s confusing for people and needed clarification.

Which we have now.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with that and I stand by it.

If you have published your own research in the BMJ then I'll listen but otherwise this is getting silly. It starting to remind me of the breastfeeding bun fights.

It was the rages for me that finally made me see a doctor. The night sweats and insomnia were awful but then for 10 days a month I turned into the most angry agitated person, I don’t know how my DH put up with me.

I don’t have an issue with the research. I’ve said that quite a few times. I have an issue with you misrepresenting the research on here by missing out some crucial, relevant information.

I think it’s important that crucial information was pointed out. Thousands of women could have read your post and have thought you meant all HRT. Then that would have stopped them getting the help they need. Nothing like breastfeeding threads!!

There‘s no argument here. The old style may cause issues (and from what I understand it’s also in women over a certain age - 60 I think.) The new forms don’t have any risk in these areas and can even be protective of the heart. The BMJ would agree with that, all doctors would agree with that..

OK for the last time I havent misinterpreted anything. I wrote a sentence literally about what was in the BMJ then posted a link so people could read for themselves. I thought people might be interested. As a menopausal woman I was.

It's really not difficult and I really don't have the energy to do this silly dance with you. You disagree, fine. Enjoy the rest of your evening.

I couldn’t find a single hormonal contraceptive I could get on with.

Ended up using condoms in both marriages because I wasn’t prepared to give up my sanity or my waistline.

So assumed HRT would be a similar No Go.

But I did a “suck it and see” when peri-meno pushed me well beyond my limits of what I was prepared to live with.

I’m daily slathered in estrogen, progesterone gets shoved up the Lady Garden nightly. Vagefem joins it up there several days a week (but in the morning). Testosterone gel dabbed on most days.

If contraception had felt like this I’d have had a vastly more productive and less drama llama like 20s, 30s and early 40s. 😅 Honestly this is the best I’ve ever felt in my own skin and head.

I bloody love it, and I ran a mile from the pill because all types seemed to want to make me fat, unhappy and “not me”.

Maybe do a three month trial and see if it suits you ?

It's not that it's easy to avoid synthetic HRT - it's that you are vanishingly unlikely to be offered it. Any woman who goes to her GP to discuss HRT is going to be offered as a starting point gel, patches or spray. This is all transdermal. GPs are not offering tablets as a starting point. I daresay there are some women who for whatever reason can't have gel or patches or spray and decide that they want the tablet. Or women who have been on HRT for donkeys and are refusing attempts to switch them onto gel/patches. But they are few and far between.

It is VERY misleading to highlight a study into a form of HRT which so few women are using and use it as evidence why HRT in general is to be avoided. The very epitome of comparing apples and oranges.

You can’t really compare HRT to hormonal contraceptives - the dose is much much lower. And HRT hormones are usually body-identical, not synthetic.
Give HRT a try - like you, I really suffered with brain fog, it was debilitating. HRT has been brilliant for that.

Except you were very selective. You only said this "There is some new research that shows an increased risk of heart disease, heart attack, stroke and blood clots apparently." Not "except for transdermal which does not have the risk" and insist on the research being important despite being told over and over that people don't even get prescribed that oral stuff anymore.
It's like reading a study on 'approaches to reducing fever' and the authors concluded leeches as a fever reducing method are likely to induce death in the participants but panadol is fine, and share the study saying "I prefer to let fever run its course, methods to reduce fever have been found to cause death in this big important study".
Some women struggle greatly and HRT makes a big difference. Sharing misinformation and insisting on its relevance is not sharing proper information for people to make up their minds, it's positively harmful. I'm all for a real, well informed, risk and reward discussion, but this topic gets so much opinions based on nonsense presented as fact.

Along with you rposts others have pointed out, you also said, "Personally I think it's unhelpful to disregard such research given its such a huge number of women."

But it's NOT unhelpful to disregard research about a medication that is not being offered to women routinely.

You keep banging on about how you "stand by" your decision to provide a link to research and that it's in tne BMA and so you think its relevant. The BMA must publish hundreds (thousands?) of research articles eery year. I'm sure all are very legitimate. But I don't make decisions on what medicine to take for my gall bladder based on articles in the BMA about medication for heart disease. It's not relevant.

And frankly, people like you you pick out one sentence or headline, completely ignoring the detail or the context, are the reason that other people get terrified of medicine, vaccines, normal food and a million other things. It's not helpful. It's not responsible. It's not in the slightest bit a sign of a good quality research or cleverness.

You need to learn more about HRT. It’s the dwindling estrogen that will cause you to gain weight, particularly around the middle. Highly recommend you watch some Dr Mary Haver.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DOqpua9DX5K/?igsh=MmszenM4YTZvb3M=

It was literally one sentence fgs. A statement of fact. No misinformation whatsoever.

Im flabbergasted some people appear unable to grasp clicking on a link to see further details.

I'm flabbergasted at how little critical thinking you've applied to this and how difficult you find it to understand you HAVE been posting misinformation. But it's okay, I'm sure most people reading this thread, and the article, will understand better.

It was literally one sentence fgs. A statement of fact. No misinformation whatsoever.

Rubbish. It is total misinformation to say "HRT is dangerous and here's a study which points out that fact" without going on to add the caveat that the study only discusses 1 type of HRT which is barely ever used currently.

Yes that was the whole point of posting the link. That people would have more understanding of the research.
Seeing that I've already explained that several times I'm afraid its your critical thinking that appears lacking.

The irrelevant research.....

Nothing wrong with my critical thinking. You know that people aren't going to click through and read the full thing, or even the abstract. You clearly have an axe to grind.

I didn't get on with the pill but have been ok with the Mirena coil which doubles up as HRT.

I haven't found it helps much with brain fog but the raging PMT and anxiety is less.

Stress is key - or reduction of - if you plan to go hormone free.

The British Medical Journal clearly disagrees with you. Take it up with them.

But it's a bit like, if someone asked if it's safe to fly internationally and you produced a study saying that propliners are dangerous. The person is unlikely to be getting on a plane with piston driven propellers, they're getting on a more modern incarnation. Prop plane statistics might be correct, but they're not particularly relevant.

what's made me laugh now is that you can't seem to make up your mind whether you're saying a) that we should all stop taking HRT because the BMA says its risky (it doesn't), or b) that you never said the research is valid.

But just to be 100% clear. The BMA does NOT say that the HRT most women are using has risks about heart disease etc. The article you posted is as helpful for me to make a decision on HRT as an article on the risks of aspirin.

Thanks for the 'ill informed opinions' comment but I was responding directly to a poster who literally said she was only on patches, and I referred to a study not my own opinion.

The pro-HRT brigade here are so incredibly defensive.

op I’m in exactly the same situation , the pill gave me severe anxiety and nausea and I’m not great on a lot of meds tbh.

My main perimenopause symptoms are brain fog, food cravings, hot flushes and poor sleep.

I think I’ll try and ride it out but never say never re hrt.

This is interesting. My main menopause symptom was anger, but I struggle with HRT due to endometriosis. Oestrogen seems to exacerbate it.

When I started using Mounjaro 18 months ago, my anger just lifted. I was positively zen. I am on a maintenance dose now and still feeling that effect. It has had a big impact on my mental health and my relationships.

I do however use intrarosa which is brilliant and has sorted my nethers right out.