GP appointment tomorrow for HRT...

[Winniethepooer]

I am 42. I found out last week that I'm perimenopausal. GP suggested I start HRT.

How will i know, she knows her stuff?

I've not taken the news well. I have cried every day. I can't sleep. I've no-one to talk to. I feel totally mental & need to do somrthing to help myself.
I need to make sure I get good treatment. I will probably get upset at the appointment

Sadly i haven't previously at this practice but this is a new GP so hopefully it will go well.

What can i expect?
Do they check BP, weight anything?

TIA

Maybe have a read of the website menopause matters? Can be quite dense to navigate but lots of good info there written by a consultant gynae.

Your GP should check your BP but not weight- not relevant. HRT is not like the Pill- the risks are lower and the dose smaller.

I was told I was perimenopausal at 36 - and it took about 5 years to get any treatment. HRT really helped me get my head straight and stop feeling so worried (anxiety and depression are one of the symptoms of perm and your oestrogen levels drop.)

I had to try a couple of different HRT till I found one that helped. Having a google around perimenopause helped me (as did the website Polly recommended). It's a lot more talked about now than it used to be.

I'm not quite sure which bit of it you are worried about - but it might help if you wrote down what you want to say to the doctor in advance and tick it off as you get answers. I find that often helps.

Early menopause means you have an extra 10years of losing bone-density. HRT will protect your bones. Very important.

Meno can totally mess with your head and your emotions. HRT can help with that. It can also help with your sleep and your bladder, not to mention your skin and appearance. For the vast majority of women HRT is a good thing.

Please relax about it. Don't be afraid.

(Which reminds me, I've recently changed my dosage and my brand, so must make an appt at GP for a review. It'll go like this: check blood pressure, excellent, "How are you getting on with? Side-effects? Anything else? Excellent - see you again in a year or so." I have a lovely GP)

Thankyou so much.

Im not afraid. Im so so sad which turns to anger, exhaustion, sad...

I don't know why I've reacted so badly. I'm normally very matter of fact.

It took 4 visits to get to a GP to listen as i have Hypothyroidism & they sayitetally everything is down to my thyroid.

I have looked at Menopause Matters & will read it again.

I hate this, utterly frustrated with myself & my body that I thought i knew...

Sorry for moaning!

Hi Winnie - I understand how devastating this can be; I'm 37, about to get married, and would have loved to have children. Now we need to find an egg donor and although that's the most difficult, scary and upsetting part of it all, there are small fears and sadnesses too. I feel like a little old lady sometimes and I've absolutely hated my body at times.

I highly recommend HRT though - it has helped me a lot. Ask if you can be referred to a menopause clinic, and make sure they refer you for a DEXA scan to check your bone density.

utterly frustrated with myself & my body that I thought i knew...

Think of it as puberty all over again. But, with HRT, not as much of an upheaval.

I look at the white hairs appearing, and feel that I should be bothered and hiding them, but in fact I couldn't care less. I quite like them TBH. OTOH I struggle with the fact that my body doesn't have the resilience I expect of it.

We admire youthful beauty, which implies fertility. Then we find ourselves at the other end, turning into something we've never really considered. Something that we've always pigeonholed as 'not me'. Something, someone, we've got to learn to get along with, to appreciate, respect and love.

For some of us it's a very tough transition. HRT slows it down and helps us come to terms with it. Or not. At any rate, it helps us live with the transition.

Hi Winnie! I can feel the way you feel, you are not alone! Your body will just adjust and can go on your life as before. Just it takes a little time! A mistake I made is that in my mind menopause means end, aging, death. My gyn told me yesterday that because the ovaries don't function properly that doesn't mean that you are old aged or you age faster. He said that hrt just replace the hormones we don't have and that s all, as a diabetic needs insulin. He said that our bodies know better, hrt help us to function without symptoms and to forget all about aging and diseases. Menopause can make us feel old and doesn't make us old! Just a hi from me! :)

Thankyou for such kind & positive responses.

I have massive self esteem issues. Ageing is something I'm deeply struggling with.

I feel like this has all happened too quickly. I haven't had symptons for long, only a few months. Literally menopause never entered my head!

I'm scared of getting ill. I associate getting old with getting ill.

I feel like my best years have passed. I need to think positively.

I'm in a strange place. I hope so much the HRT helps me feel better.

Winnie I felt the same exactly, I haven't think menopause at such a young age but we are still young. Our biological age is the same, menopause doesn't change that! I have a friend who is in her early fifties, she has period and she said to me a few days ago, do you want to change? To change our ages? You with a period at 50 and me without a period at 40? I fight against the belief that menopause age us! Stress and fear age us! As my lovely gyn said to me age ages us! And something else! I have better skin with hrt than before! 😘

Emerald Thankyou.