What happens without HRT?

[ByersGreen]

Are there any concerns about doing nothing.

I don't sleep well and have flushes. Weight is fine. Bit down tbh.
This will all pass I assume.

Is there a long term negative to seeing this through without any medication?

I cannot use HRT as history of breast cancer in the family. VA is horrible and unfortunately, due to a useless GP ( and because I didn't know about VA) mine is severe. Im now on the pessaries and cream. I found my menopause flushes etc did settle but I suffer dreadful anxiety. I have thyroid/ autoimmune issues on top of all this. It's not easy but symptoms do ease.

Some of the posts here are shocking.

This is a health forum where women want advice.

It's not AIBU as far as I know

It's a disgrace that someone can't ask a question (the OP) and then the thread descends into abuse.

I have spent 15 years researching HRT , talking to all the UK menopause experts on it, both for my own benefit and for work (writing about it for the media.)

I could spend all day here, replying to posts that are incorrect and where some posters still want 'proof'.

There are masses of credible sources like the British Menopause Society, which have statements on HRT, osteoporosis, BC and all the rest.

If you want information, go there.

@JinglingHellsBells

Some of the posts here are shocking.

This is a health forum where women want advice.

It's not AIBU as far as I know

It's a disgrace that someone can't ask a question (the OP) and then the thread descends into abuse.

I have spent 15 years researching HRT , talking to all the UK menopause experts on it, both for my own benefit and for work (writing about it for the media.)

I could spend all day here, replying to posts that are incorrect and where some posters still want 'proof'.

There are masses of credible sources like the British Menopause Society, which have statements on HRT, osteoporosis, BC and all the rest.

If you want information, go there.

How ridiculous.

Why are you telling posters to ignore the NHS website and breast cancer charity websites? Why on earth would you do that?

If you've spent so long researching it clearly no health organisations are listening to you!

Just to underline - I have taken HRT myself. I weighed up the risks and felt the benefits were worth it. They were, for a few years. That is what I would recommend that anyone does.

@Bryonyshcmyony

No more deaths but more cases?

@Bryonyshcmyony The stats show there may be 3 to 4 more cases per 1000 women over a 10 year period.

With some types of progesterone, the figure is thought to be lower.

Whether women are happy to take that risk is up to them.

The risks from drinking 2 units a day and being overweight are higher.

www.dovepress.com/olive-oil-in-the-prevention-and-treatment-ofnbsposteoporosis-after-art-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-CIA
There's lots of research on olive oil, and how it can help symptoms in menopause. It can help with preventing osteoporosis

This from the British Menopause Society

clearly shows there is a small increase, so no idea what you are on about

@Bryonyshcmyony Sorry but where did I say ignore the other links?

FYI some of the information on some other sites is out of date.

I have given you the stats on BC in the previous post.
These are the accepted stats by all the experts including the Women's Health Concern, which is the sister organisation of the BMS and sets things out very clearly.

@Bryonyshcmyony Are you even reading properly? I have left you stats.

@awishes

Can any give me their experience of vaginal atrophy, I think I have it but afraid to go to GP?!! Will pessaries help, would I need to be examined?

It's wrecked my sex life. The pain is unbearable. It's almost impossible to get anything in there now. Itching. Thinning skin. Bleeding. I'm really bad at remembering to use my vagifem tho, so I'm my own worst enemy but even that hurts to insert now.

It's a balance isn't it? There are risks in everything. I'm currently walking my dog. It's an activity which I know helps maintain a healthy me. But I could trip up and fall (especially since I'm typing). Statistically right now I'm 'safer' sitting on my sofa!
We are rubbish at understanding risk and how it's different for everyone.
For me HRT literally stopped the crazies. Restored some kind of balance. I'm now off the tablets and over the worst. I continue tk take Ovestin internally because the risks there are really non existent and the benefits huge.
Everyone is different t and I'm afraid OP we do t k ow how you are or will be affected. Best thing is to find a good GP and thrash it through with them.

My SIL had a go at me for taking HRT as my mother had BC at 65. She thought it was shocking and that I was taking irresponsible risks.

My SIL is about 4 stones overweight and does like her wine, etc.

People are still a bit wilfully blind to the higher risk factors for BC, in my view.

Personally I felt so crap in perimenopause that I piled on 3.5 stones in two years. I feel better now I am on HRT and have actually lost 1.5 stones in the past year, taking regular exercise and eating better. It's about how it helps you reduce overall risk to your health - I knew I was also on a fast track to diabetes and joint problems.

Fuck me,
why does it descend into this.

Everyones periods are different, everyones lives are different, why would the menopause not follow that. We need open honest discussions.

HRT is not the enemy here. Poor information, poor research, poor funding is.

@EvilPea

Fuck me, why does it descend into this.

Everyones periods are different, everyones lives are different, why would the menopause not follow that. We need open honest discussions.

HRT is not the enemy here. Poor information, poor research, poor funding is.

I agree with you

I think it's silly to gloss over the fact that there is an increase in BC rates among women using HRT. Perhaps further research will show that that isn't the case, who knows.

@Naaaaah

Oh my god a penny has just dropped for me with your post, my last smear was agony. Like proper agony and the nurse did her best but was clearly irritated by me. But this was why wasn't it.

FUCKING HELL
This is why we need to talk about it.

I think it's silly to gloss over the fact that there is an increase in BC rates among women using HRT. Perhaps further research will show that that isn't the case, who knows.
Shall we caveat that with the tiny increased risk, it is an increase non the less so should be managed. But it is not the headline it was perceived to be.

Lets balance the message out.

I would just like to add. The decision for me not to use HRT was made jointly between myself and my doctor. My family history of breast cancer is strong, so I decided not to take it. Each person here makes their own decision. Im sorry the thread has descended the way it has into hostility. There really should be room for everyone's views. Everybody's body/circumstances/ family history etc is different. Id like to wish everyone here relief from their symptoms, it's not easy going through menopause.

'HRT is not the enemy here. Poor information, poor research, poor funding is.'

No, it isn't the enemy. I agree poor and conflicting information is. How on earth are we supposed to make informed choices when we hear hrt may protect against dementia alongside it may increase the risk of developing dementia.

Also, it increases the risk of bc and ovarian cancer but 'only' a by a bit always sounds questionable to me.

@Naaaaah that sounds horrendous, I'm sorry. Have you tried combining Vagifem with Ovestin? That's what I do and it's made all the difference. Vagifem alone, even every two days, just isn't enough.

"What I don't understand is whether HRT is just putting the problem off for 7-8 years?"

There's no reason to stop taking it...ever.

I am hypo thyroidal. I'm missing (or severely lacking) a vital hormone. I will have to take pills to replace them for the rest of my life. Going without might not kill me but life would be extremely unpleasant.

How is this different from taking HRT? The menopause isn't something you get through...it's the loss of three hormones as well as oestrogen there's progesterone and testosterone. The missing testosterone can affect libido and mood.

" isn't in the interest of the nhs to deprive people of a medication that will not only protect the patient but of course reduce the pressure and therefore financial demands on the nhs."

I don't think the NHS are sufficiently interested in the menopause/women's health generally. As someone said..if men had the menopause and were told that they were going to lose interest in sex after 50 there would be an uproar.

I had a hellish menopause. No hot sweats or flushes..but pretty much everything else. VA, anxiety, my libido has vanished. I've lost confidence in so many things. I can't drive if there's anyone else in the car now..I get too nervous.
My GP did the predictable thing of putting me on anti-depressants. So I went to a menopause clinic and got prescribed all three hormones. It's early days but I'm already sleeping better and my general mood is better.

Going back to the OP, I got through peri menopause without HRT, as I wasn’t diagnosed post menopausal until 18 months after my last period (combination of not being taken seriously due to age and then pandemic). My GP said she would recommend HRT as I’m losing out on 10+ years of natural hormones and she was particularly worried about my bones. I’ve been referred to the gynae consultant, but haven’t heard from them yet. I’ve been wondering if I should go back to the GP about the HRT or just wait for the consultant.

@JaniieJones

'HRT is not the enemy here. Poor information, poor research, poor funding is.'

No, it isn't the enemy. I agree poor and conflicting information is. How on earth are we supposed to make informed choices when we hear hrt may protect against dementia alongside it may increase the risk of developing dementia.

Also, it increases the risk of bc and ovarian cancer but 'only' a by a bit always sounds questionable to me.

Less risk than drinking or being overweight, but those risk factors don't seem to count.

'I am hypo thyroidal. I'm missing (or severely lacking) a vital hormone. I will have to take pills to replace them for the rest of my life. Going without might not kill me but life would be extremely unpleasant.How is this different from taking hrt'

Severe hypothyroidism can be life threatening. Thyroxine doesn't increase the risk of cancer.

'I don't think the NHS are sufficiently interested in the menopause/women's health generally'

PHE is of course interested in health issues though. They then advise the nhs. If there was a medication that definitively reduced the fractures in order women where obviously the care and treatment is a massive drain on nhs resources then I believe we would all be taking it.

'Less risk than drinking or being overweight'

We don't encourage either though do we?

I take vagifem, sage tablets, magnesium, vitamin d and occasional a multi vitamin, I don’t drink much, fairly active, boot camps, Pilates and yoga each week. At the moment I can cope and intend to stay on what I’m on. I know where I am, HRT sounds way too complicated

I am sorry, but that made me laugh! That regime sounds pretty complicated to me! I took natural herbs for a while (TCM) but they were v expensive. I told my Doc they did really help though, and she said "you do realise they help because they increase your oestrogen don't you? Which is what HRT does..." so a lot of women using natural remedies are basically helping their bodies do the same thing that HRT does.
I am not sure why so many women struggle so much with the idea of HRT when it's a a very low dose of hormone compared to the Pill, especially the incarnations of the Pill we took in our teens and 20s. I am sure some women get through meno without HRT, and nothing much "happens" to them, but equally, there's nothing wrong with accessing medical help if symptoms are impacting your life. You don't HAVE to be suffering awful things, even low level symptoms can affect your sleep, your sex life, your work, your relationships.
Given the amount of drugs and booze, hormones and fags I ingested in my youth it would be pretty hypocritical of me to throw my hands up at the idea of HRT..and yet there seems to be a strong sense of pride in some women about doing it the "natural "way, as if anyone is giving out prizes!

there seems to be a strong sense of pride in some women about doing it the "natural "way, as if anyone is giving out prizes!

Its like childbirth isn't it, Women really can be women worst enemy