News on HRT

[Anyoldusername1]

It's the DM but still worth reading.Not all of it is new- more a compilation of what some drs have been saying for some time.

New study finds HRT safe.

Yes it was on TV too and yes it echoes what the private doc I saw says - unfortunately don't think my GP has read it yet ...

The advice still remains to take for as short a time as possible. Perhaps GP's often have a different view because they don't enjoy the same financial incentives as the private consultants.

A steady stream of menopausal women demanding hrt may not be quite so enticing to the overworked NHS GP.

This is the point where someone comes along and says ' ooh, pop along to this menopause site which just happens to be sponsored by hrt companies, but gives totally independent advice' lol.

That's not the case any more.
The new NICE guidelines - draft form published June this year- and the consensus statements from the BMS - say that there should be no 'arbitrary time limits' on HRT usage.

GPs are duty-bound to treat women at whatever stage of life they are. They can't pick and choose not to treat menopausal women any more than they can refuse to treat women with infertility issues or people demanding gastric bands. It's a backwards step to suggest that women ought not to 'bother' their GPs for treatment for menopause when the NICE guidelines are aiming to raise the profile of women's needs.

As for the comment about MM site, there is a huge amount of advertising by companies who sell complementary products too.

The advice of the consultant who owns the site is not actually 'advice' it's an objective discussion of menopause and she has a section on alternatives to HRT.

Most private consultants probably earn very little from women asking for HRT. There are only 15% of women in the UK of menopausal age on HRT.

there are only 15% of women in the UK of menopausal age on HRT

interesting, I thought it'd be a bit higher tbh

Lorraine - I just checked, and the cost of prempak 1.25, the drug I'm on, is £2.47. That's right, you read that correctly, less than the prescription charge. Hardly one of Evil-Incarnare-Big-Pharma's major money spinners. Oh, and I suppose on top of that I have to have a fifteen minute checkup with my GP every eighteen months or so. Major drain on o NHS resources there. But hey ho, gets rid of the crippling insomnia which otherwise renders me useless at my job and looking after my DS.

Some women are lucky enough to gotthrough the menopause largely symptom free, others find it really crap - and for those of us who find it crap it's important to get the message out that HRT can be an effective treatment and is safe.

Some women are lucky enough to gotthrough the menopause largely symptom free, others find it really crap
Does anyone one know the stats on this, and on how different countries compare...is it a myth that Japanese women don't have symptoms? ?

There are plenty of studies on how menopause is experienced in different countries and cultures - and there are differences. I looked some of these up a few weeks ago - easy to google. This is a different but interesting issue.

The here and now is though - in our culture women are longer lived than they used to be (eg 40 years post-menopause) and may have to work for 15-20 years of this time. The reason for symptoms may well yield some interesting information but for the time being, given what women have to manage in their lives (work, children, ageing parents etc etc) oestrogen replacement enables them (us) to cope rather than lying on a sofa mopping their brow - of course in addition to important lifestyle changes that might need to be made re diet, weight, exercise, alcohol etc.

By the way just to emphasise - as this point is often forgotten in these discussions - there are the well known symptoms of peri-menopause - of flushes, sweats, mood swings, insomnia, palpitations, anxiety etc - some of which are temporary or they may go on for up to 14 years, and there are the long term physiological effects of oestrogen deficiency beyond the peri-menopausal years - which can be measured independently of perception ie objectively rather than subjectively.

As for Menopause Matters website - why would one not want to point women towards a very informative site that tells you about the menopause as well as HRT and other measures that can relieve symptoms? Where else can you find this information in such a user friendly format? The British Menopause Society and other national and international similar academic institutions/societies are also helpful. Certainly one does not want to rely on the press that's for sure!

Looking forward to seeing the final published NICE Guidelines and hopefully the surrounding publicity will ensure more GPS are up to date.