Why did you decide on HRT? What difference has it made? Is it all good news?

[BergenLane]

A friend suggested I might benefit, but tbh I know very little. Any advice appreciated whilst I do some reading.

I decided to ask for it when my periods went wappy. I went from regular as clockwork, average flow, to being all over the place and sudden flooding (which was a bit of a nightmare at the airport one year!)

As well as that I had massive mood swings and severe anxiety which was unusual for me, I've had periods of depression and pmt before but this was a whole new level, I was having panic attacks and crying all the time.

I went to the doctor who suggested I have the mirena coil to sort the periods out, plus oestrogel. It worked, as I don't have periods anymore and although the gel took a few months to take effect, I'm on a far more even keel.

I started on it orally and then patches. It stopped the hot flushes and the mood swings and gave me my life back. Been on it about 10 years

For me it stopped/helped massively with achy elbows/feet, night sweats, headaches, brain fog, rage, dry skin....

I feel a healthy 45 when I’m not it, and an unfit 65 when I’m off it.

It's been the best thing I ever did. I had night sweats, hot flushes, panic attacks, racing heart, feeling like I would burst into tears. It was horrendous and I felt like I was someone else. It was incredibly difficult trying to hold down a full time job whilst feeling like this.

I now feel 'normal' and myself again. I'm 56, 6 years into HRT (Kliofem tablets).

Watch Dr Louise Newsome on YouTube. I didn't realise how bad I felt until I felt better. Oestrogen patches & mirena coil did it for me. I've got my zing back.

That is so true. I didn't realise how bad I felt until I felt better. It has taken a while to work properly and a bit of tweaking. But honestly I'm a happier , healthier person because of hrt.

Interested.tomhear these stories

It’s given me more stamina. I read that every part of your body has oestrogen receptors.

My impression with HRT is that there are broadly four attitudes on this topic:

1. Women who have heard scare stories from the discredited 2002 study, won’t touch it with a barge pole and prefer to seek herbal options, some of which help and some of which are a waste of money and don’t touch the sides if you are having a bad perimenopause/menopause. This group often say ‘menopause is natural, why would we replace hormones the body is naturally losing’ and worry that HRT will just postpone something that will then happen later anyway.
2. Women who don’t experience much in the way of symptoms and can’t understand why others might need HRT, they have also heard the scare stories and think it is unnecessarily risky.
3. Women who have done a lot of research and/or hit breaking point and realised HRT has more benefits than risks, such as its protective benefits on the heart, brain and bones. There are several menopause campaigners now working to publicise this.
4. Women with a specific medical history that makes them either assume they can’t take HRT or they don’t want to. If you’re not in this group, HRT is definitely worth considering.

TableNiner
I'm category 4.
I had my first tablet today femoston, as well as a course of folic acid tablets.
I'm looking forward to seeing results to improve my life!

At about 47 (seven years ago) I started waking in the night drenched in sweat and couldn’t get back to sleep. I’d gone to law school at night while working full time, worked Magic Circle law firm hours with two babies, and been made redundant and never had trouble sleeping when I needed to, but all of a sudden I couldn’t get a full night’s rest and I just couldn’t function. I’d read that strenuous exercise - 45 minutes at least 5x per week - could help so I started training for half marathons. It worked for about 2 years and then just didn’t anymore.

Just before my 50th birthday I started on Elleste tablets and my life changed. All I needed was to be able to sleep and now I do. I’m dreading the day they tell me I have to stop!

You don't have to stop taking it though

TableNiner
Ooops posted wrong. I'm category 3!!!

For me, it cleared brain fog but none of the miraculous energy I was promised by the doc - the folic acid and b12 supplements have been much more effective for that.

(Prescription strength; had blood test which identified deficiency)

@AtillatheHun
How long before you noticed a change with the supplements? I've had my second tablet today!

I took the first b12 late in the day and couldn’t sleep that night - was a pretty much instant energy surge! I now wake at 5 and am not exhausted. I’d been on the folic acid for about 2 weeks at that point (I wish they’d address the cause of the deficiencies- my very favourite foods are full of them, so want to know why this has arisen ) and have been on the jet for 6 months. Brain sufficiently clicked back into gear to start and function at new job within 2 months, top of game a little later. Bloody relief it wasn’t early onset dementia 😂

HRT is fantastic! Been on it for 3 years.
Given me my life back. I sleep better as in better quality of sleep. I don't ache. Fewer migraines (almost none). No night sweats. Much less anxiety. No more unreliable periods and flooding just a monthly bleed (needed if you take oestrogen and still have your uterus).
I am never ever coming off HRT. Never never never.

Did I mention no more brain fog or feeling numb? Sorted that as well. No more random crying either.
Other than the migraines. I'm low risk but due to migraines I had to have the initial prescription from a consultant. I paid for that and for the small sum of two hundred quid, I was sorted.
I didn't think that HRT would make such a difference. It started kicking in after 3 days by day 5 I felt a huge difference. It was such a sudden change I thought it might be the placebo effect. But no. My patch fell off during a hot day aboht a month later and I didn't notice for 2 days. OMG. I felt horrendous and it went within 12 hours of sticking a new patch.

For me, it was my hair falling out! It became so thin and fine. I was also getting very anxious and emotional about things that wouldn't normally have bothered me.
My hair grew thicker (and my eyebrows and eyelashes which had also thinned) and I'm more emotionally stable, but it hasn't helped with the brain fog - my mind is like swimming through treacle at times!

I was suicidal. I took HRT and three days later, I felt better. It really was as simple as that for me. There were other side effects like more energy, better sleep, less anxiety but that was the kicker for me. My hormones were raging and needed stabilising and now I'm so much better.

By the way, I hadn't done much reading - the stuff I knew about HRT was from the discredited 2002 study, but I made the decision that the (false) increased risks were worth it for me. Was very relieved to then watch the Davina doc!

Just to give a balance view, HRT has not been beneficial for me at all, on the opposite, I have felt worse on it each time. On a positive note, the worse part of the 'change' was definitely during the perimenopause, things have got much better since being in the full menopause. Issues come in waves, some weeks I feel 75% back to normal, and then suddenly I get that feeling that my body is governed by adrenalin whatever I do and I feel horrible.

I have learned to accept it better though as I feel much worse the more frustrated I am with it.

I however do not understand any woman struggling with symptoms not at least trying hrt. It has a beneficial effect for the majority of them. I so wish it had for me.

I'm toying with asking the Dr to go on it but am worried it will stop all symptoms of the menopause only for them to come back if I have to stop taking it. Can you stay in it for ever and what would happen if I stopped taking it? Would all the symptoms come back with a vengeance?

You don't have to stop taking it though
I’d like to hear more about this please?
I love my HRT
My sister ( who suffered, never took HRT) always says’ wait til you come off it, then you’ll go through what I did,’
Surely this can’t be true, it doesn’t just delay the process?
Do we take it for ever?
Thanks for any advice.

I tried it because I had all the symptoms- night sweats, brain fog etc and because I’d been told it was the answer to everything.

Difference it made - uterine polyps and breast cysts caused by the hormones. Now waiting for a possible Hysteroscopy and had to have cysts drained. Will have regular check ups.

Now off the HRT on the advice of the 2 Consultants and praying everything is ok.

I am one of the few who can’t take it. Deep joy.

Re stopping taking it:
when I would have benefitted from HRT (about 10 years ago), my GP encouraged me to see if I could cope without it because once you started taking it, it would be difficult to stop. But taking it for over 5 years increased the risk of breast cancer.

I appreciate things might have changed since then but worth having that discussion with your GP I think.