does 'the menopause' make you feel grotty?

[fishfacedcow]

i have decided to stop the HRT and just embrace the menopause. But since i stopped taking it i feel a low level grottiness.... you know like when you arent 100% and are coming down with something.

I just ache all over...sleeping at funny times...headachey.....get hot at bedtime but not sexy hot! pain like period pain/cramps

I'm not sure what medical advances will allow us to monitor our health in the future
Of course you're not, no one can know in advance what medical breakthroughs or paradigm shifts lie ahead

a nutshell, it helps with bones, hearts, bladder, brains (possible staving off dementia), joint problems due to loss of collagen and cartilage deterioration, bowel cancer

All these are multifactorial, I'm not on board with the idea that hrt is a panacea

kindDogsTailand cherylene I don't know if being a scientist makes me more aware of the whole research world, iykwim, and helps me to see things from all sides.
I don't work as a research scientist now, but I can still recognise a significant result, and I keep up to date with science and technology.

Maybe this helps me 'get my way' with my GP!! I don't know. And I don't know if that was luck per se. I think being prepared makes you luckier.

I certainly was able to find all the details I needed on the web, and I made some calls also to the medical drugs licensing board, and the gps council to see what they could prescribe. I called other GP practices as well, to see what the stumbling block in prescribing was if they had one.

I'm a kind of dogged person, and in not put off easily. I don't get phased by a "we don't do that", or "we do it differently", or even a blank all and all out "no". I'm all for the win win, and will try for a work around, so everyone's happy and gets what they want. Rather un mumsnetilly I suppose I think "no" is an opener to a conversation, not a complete sentence! I'm curious: I ask questions to find out what the real problem is; where the blocks are.

It's difficult when appointments are difficult to get and time is limited in the Drs office. I've always made lists of things I want to address, and for my menopause appointment I had reams of things printed off, and had filled out the menopause matters questionnaire as well.
I had a huge list of my symptoms listed from head to toe: metallic mouth taste, change of sense of smell, crawling skin feeling, jaw acne, to recurrent UTI, night sweats etc etc etc,....

I'd keep on at it till you get it sorted. Make an appointment again, specify what you want when calling and say you're willing to have a longer appointment for bloods etc. Do your research and be determined to get a result that suits you.

The bio identical oestrogen and progesterone I use are chemical grade, pharmaceutically made and listened products, and are the 'go to' HRT in France. They aren't 'natural' creams and unguents made in clinics / kitchens or sold over the web.
They are exactly what my body would make if I wasn't in menopause, just at a lower dose than when I was fertile. They suit me perfectly, I've had no negative side effects at all.

My dispensing pharmacy was Boots the chemist, and Oestrogel (17β estradiol) and utrogestan (progesterone 100mg) have a special dispensary license, as they aren't a patented pharmaceutical (because they are what the body makes naturally). The oestrogel evorel patches are bio identical oestrogen as well, but I decided to get the gel as I sometimes get dermatitis and didn't want the palaver of patches falling off or irritating my skin.

I hope all this information helps!

All these are multifactorial, I'm not on board with the idea that hrt is a panacea

I'm not sure that anyone has said HRT is a panacea here? Maybe read the IMS statement - they explain it all far better than a few posts on a forum.

The basis for prescribing HRT now is that it is on an individual basis. So each woman's medical history and personal risk factors are taken into account as well as her goal for a good quality of life.

The IMS says that HRT is one of a whole range of things that can improve quality of life in the short, medium and longer term.

There is nothing 'multifactorial' about the positive effect HRT has on heart, bones, bowel cancer, dementia, and collagen. The research over many decades across the world, on hundreds of 1000s of women, proves that. if people don't want to believe science, that's their choice.

Dorje I think the confusion over your researching the availability of certain types of HRT has come from you not being in the UK- you mentioned this on the meno forum, but not here so I think that's why some posters are a bit confused :)

That's true Polly, but the HRT I take is available in the UK as well.

We pay for our GPs appointments here in Ireland, and if our scripts are under a certain amount each month. That's the only difference as far as I can see with the NHS. Boots pharmacy is a uk high street brand, same as here.

I don't think the UK has different meno symptoms, or governing bodies and regulation to Ireland, as you're still in the EU!
Having said that, I don't know how your licencing and regulations will change if you all vote for Brexit.

I didn't mention I was in Ireland as its not relavent, it's worthwhile to be proactive and do the research, and be determined wherever you are, isn't it?

Thanks Polly, the quote was from a thread I posted at the start of my meno HRT journey, before I had done any research and before I contacted any professionals.

That quote is from an old thread in the meno section and if anyone wants to do an advanced search stalk me they can see it too.

The point about my meno journey is that I didn't know a lot about it at the beginning, and I posted on the meno board to see if anyone in Ireland would have information for me, as my GO wasn't aware of the HRT I wanted (like so many women in the UK also)

Happily my research and advice on the meno board and my own research pointed me in the right direction and I'm very happy now with the HRT I was prescribed.

To be honest digging up quotes from old and quite possibly irrelevant threads that are out of date is very off, and is a bit TAAT and a bit Stalkerish IMO, and does not add anything constructive or bear any relaventce to this thread at all.

I hope everyone is having a lovely day.

Just to get back to point and to say to the previous posters on this thread, who, like me, have been told at an appointment that their GP doesn't prescribe the bio identical HRT I take, whether they are dealing with GPs in the UK or anywhere in the EU, here's the information for the bio identical HRT that might make it easier for you:
Oestrogel transdermal oestrogen gel. And the progesterone as a capsule is Utrogestan

Polly, your help, and that of the other posters on the meno section, was of great benefit to me when I was starting out trying to get the HRT I wanted.
I hope the information I give can help someone also.

GPs in every country be ignorant unaware of, and rely on out of date information about the medicines available to prescribe.
It's good to have knowledge about what is available and to go to the meno appointment armed with as much as possible information wherever you are.

Peace and love!

Dorje I'm sorry if my reference to a previous post upset you. I'm going to ask MNHQ to take that post down.

Dorje
I hope all this information helps!

It does, thank you very much. I would not personally be taking it, as I seem fine and am well over anything difficult.

I am very interested by what you say, nevertheless; and it may well be helpful for others reading here. Apart from that it is also a good lesson in how to persevere!