Women who have been through meno without HRT

[Sarcelle]

I am on my "journey" without HRT. Symptoms fairly mild/manageable.

I was surprised to read somewhere that only 20% of women take HRT. So lots who don't. My question is about the effects of getting through it without HRT - what happens to you after meno?

I have read loads about the meno (it's confusing!) but there seems to be a suggestion that you should be on HRT, not necessarily to ease horrendous symptoms, but to maintain good health afterwards - because of hardening of the arteries, osteoporosis etc.

So are lots of women post meno who did not/are not on HRT ill and feeling crap all the time with a myriad of complaints?

I think I am looking for evidence that you can thrive, age well, feel great after meno without having taken HRT.

@Itshouldbebetter, did your GP refer you for the DEXA scan or did you go private? My gran on father’s side had osteoporosis, my mum has osteopenia and my brother was recently diagnosed with osteopenia as well, but my GP didn’t think I had enough risk factors to warrant a referral. I’m in early 50s and in peri.

Ps @QueenoftheNights I’ve found your posts very informative.

Queen, you know I do think you also come across as to pro hrt. Totally agree that your knowledge is a massive support to all readers here, knowledge that they can't get elsewhere and that's invaluable.

What can become frustrating is your insistence that hrt is the answer for all and that even when people give a reason for not using it by choice you come up with justification as to how they can still go on hrt even if they are happy with their decision.

I think it stems from the fact that it's been such a life saver for you and therefore an assumption that by finding the right treatment with the right dose, every menopausal woman will return to feeling great about themselves.

We are all different though. I am a control freak and much prefer to try to get my mind to control my body. I see the menopause as a natural stage of my life that is key to me growing as a woman and entering another stage of my life with serenity. Through it, I am learning about myself as a person. It's not the physical impact of the menopause that is the issue, it's the way I've build myself to be that makes it difficult for me to manage it.

I need to learn to slow down, to live in the present rather than worrying about the future. I need to learn to let go and accept aspect of my life. I need to stop catastrophing everything and accept my body functioning differently. It's a taugh journey but I feel one that will make me stronger as a result and ready to face my 50s and the start of a slow decline with peace of mind.

This mind seem mad for some people, why suffer when you don't have to. For one, hrt didn't appease me like it does for other people, but secondly, I do believe that facing difficult time and learning from them to make you a stronger person is what life is about. At least for me.

What is so right for one person isn't always what is for others, so information that allows someone to make unbiased decision is great, but to make them feel that they are missing out for not trying or worse insisting on a treatment that they are not keen on for whatever reason can be frustrating.

AwkwardSquad i asked my GP to refer me for a dexa scan in my late 40s as I wanted to be informed while i was able to do something about it.

Thanks, Itshouldbebetter. I think I’ll give it another go with the GP.

I'm 54 and have gone through the menopause medication free. It's not a big deal for me and it's really just the way I've tried to live my life ie:I'm vegan and have very rarely taken any medication. I think my diet may have helped, one of the really noticeable issues for me has been that I've a lower tolerance of fruit and will have nausea and faintness if I eat fruit as my first food in the morning. I'd love an explanation about why hot flushes occur around 6.00am . Things are starting to improve for me, I 've about 1 stone to lose but do feel I've turned a corner.

Talking of dexa scan, saw my GP last week and asked to be referred as menopause started at 43. He looked at me as if I was mad and said 'why would you want a dexa scan, you're young, active and has had no fracture. I explained and he said he didn't think I fitted within the referral criteria. I said I think I do so got it up on the screen, and sure enough it was there. His response was' well if that's whs you want I'll do it'! Wanted to say that he should have been the one pointing out to me that I needed it. He is a good GP though and I like just clearly another one totally clueless when it comes to the menopause.

Streamside, my hot flushes also occur at that time, actually I could set my alarm on it, 6am and 6pm., but luckily for me, not every day.

When I was having severe hot flushes at 6.00am I considered getting up around that time to see if it would help. It's a matter of navigating issues constantly and low blood sugar seems to create some issues for me.

@Streamside It might be worth seeing your GP over the faintness. Fruit is high in fructose and if you can't process this properly and feel faint, you need to be checked for diabetes and see if your are not suffering from insulin resistance - a precursor to diabetes.

I didn’t use HRT - my GP talked it through with me and offered it if I wanted. I didn’t have hot flushes ( one, mild) nor night sweats - some insomnia but that hasn’t been great since having babies. Sleep has settled back down now. My skin is still good ( good genetics also help there ) and I don’t have a weight problem. I was thrilled to have the end of heavy periods so had no negative feels about menopause.

But in retrospect I may have made another choice if I had known about the thinning of the vaginal walls and atrophy that take place with the diminution of hormones - prolapse surgery may well have been averted or at least more successful. I now use a topical cream inserted to help and make everything a lot more comfortable but the greater damage has been done.

I don't have any vag atrophy issues but I have read about it and sea buckthorn oil is supposed to keep everything as it should do. I wonder if anybody has used this supplement to good effect?

Nope. Why would you even want to go there :)? Vaginal estrogen is extremely safe and works. A whole year of it is the same as one HRT 1mg pill.

Another one here who went through peri and meno without HRT. I had some nasty symptoms and was tempted to go to the doctor a few times ... but they seemed to resolve on their own after a few months, like my body was sorting itself out as I went through the transition so I decided just to ride it out.

I tried various 'home remedies' and the only one that seemed to have any effect was flaxseed oil for hot flushes, although it could well have been placebo effect. Don't care what it was to be honest, it worked for me.

I got through and out the other side, and I'm doing ok - in many ways I'm better than I was pre menopause - certainly slimmer and fitter and just have a better attitude to life generally, now I am no longer governed by my hormones.

I am on my way through the menopause and haven't used HRT yet.

My periods stopped and I started getting hot flushes last May and they increased in intensity over the summer, to the point where they were ruining my sleep and my day! I'm not sweaty but it felt like I was on fire from the inside out. I was getting palpitations with them and sometimes would feel dizzy too.

I decided to try some of the herbal remedies, as for various reasons I was reluctant to use HRT.

I investigated using examine.com, which pulls together scientific studies on herbal supplements and I tried various options - one at a time to see what impact they had.

By October I found the one that worked for me: Agnus Castus. I initially used the tincture but have moved on to tablets and they seem to be just as effective. I've had no hot flushes since October at all - not one.

I also take various other supplements to protect bone density, do regular exercise and have cut down on the carbs and processed foods.

I've had one period since May, so am clearly not fully menopausal yet.

Thank you for starting this thread Sarcelle, it is good to read of other people's experiences and get some tips.

That's encouraging. I have had great success with sage tablets (Menoforce). Flushes started to get worse mid Nov, started taking them. Took a week but I haven't had one since. Early days (about 2 months) and the situation may change but I was not expecting them to help and I have been pleasantly surprised.

I also had plantar facilitis in my foot which can become a problem in the meno years. I was taking ibuprofen but it didn't help. I started taking tumeric a few weeks ago and the pain has gone.

I found sage helped a little for me and did take some of the heat out of the flushes, but it didn't wipe them out completely.

It definitely isn't a one size fits all job though, so different herbs will help different women. Great news that Menoforce has helped you.

I will log that your suggestion worked in case the sage ones give up the ghost!