I am seeing the Dr tomorrow to ask for HRT

[edgewater]

HRT has been offered to me over the last couple of years but this last week or so, everything has come to ahead.

I am 49 and I had a hysterectomy at 42 leaving just my ovaries.

I have been prescribed anti depressants for hot flushed before but I didn't take them. The Dr didn't listen to me at the time. I had just lost 4 stone and the main side effect of the prescribed tablets is weight gain. The packet is in my drawer unopened. It is fenaflexine or similar - sorry they are at home and I was just too frightened to take them. I was very upset she didn't listen to me. It was pretty much and in and out appointment and I was gutted after.

Over the last couple of years I have just not been ready to take HRT but I don't think I have a choice now. As I said above, it has been offered but turned down.

My sleep has never been great, my hot and cold flushes are brutal. I am teary and I have completely lost all confidence in myself and at work. I have spent many a night in my kitchen tearing myself apart, just in case I have made a mistake at work. I can't concentrate and my memory is shocking and my heart frequently races.

I called my GP this morning and I have an appointment at 8.40 tomorrow. I am looking for help though. I can do some research tonight on types of HRT. I know I have spoken with my GP about patches and tablets before but is one brand better than another or is it just similar to different brands of paracetamol? I am sorry to ask basic questions. I just didn't look into HRT properly although I will be reading tonight. I saw on the TV the other day that there is a shortage of supplies so could it just be take what's available?

I have tried herbal stuff etc and that didn't help. I can't go on like this. Thank you very much for your help.

My advice is stick to the physical issues and do not mention the emotional ones- tears, no confidence, high anxiety over work mistakes- don’t talk about them.

So present your request for HRT logically and unemotionally-tell GP about your
Hot/cold flushes happening frequently
Night sweats so you are sleep deprived which in turn has caused
Brain fog and being less productive at work.

If you were to go in with the same as you wrote here, you are bound to be told you are depressed and do not need HRT but antidepressants. Late 40s is the peak age for women to get depression so doctors are biased towards seeing that before anything else.

Of course, you may be fighting off depression but if the cause of it is struggling with the debilitating physical impact of menopause plus sleep deprivation, getting the HRT and fixing the physical symptoms will lift your mood and prevent the depression from taking hold.

Your Gp needs to follow the NICE menopause guidelines. If I had £1 for every time I'd mentioned these here I'd be super rich.

ADs are NOT to be given to women for menopausal symptoms. This is NICE guidance.

Read them, print them off and show your GP- don't be scared, you have been given incorrect treatment.

www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng23

Vasomotor symptoms
1.4.2Offer women HRT for vasomotor symptoms after discussing with them the short-term (up to 5 years) and longer-term benefits and risks. Offer a choice of preparations as follows:

oestrogen and progestogen to women with a uterus

oestrogen alone to women without a uterus.

1.4.3Do not routinely offer selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) or clonidine as first-line treatment for vasomotor symptoms alone.

Also, read everything on the website of Dr Louise Newson. Search in the meno box for anti depressants and loads will come up all saying GPS have to stop dishing them out.

www.menopausedoctor.co.uk/search?query=anti%20depressants

Thank you both. I’ve been prescribed pogynova. Will see how things go with that.

Should I tell my employer? What do you say?