HRT success stories

[hardtofindaname]

I'm perimenopausal. I still have periods (with shorter cycles). I'm 46. There's a history of early menopause in my family.

I'm having lots of symptoms of perimenopause. I've been given vaginal oestrogen which is great.

I've got horrific anxiety, digestive issues (which I have anyway from a hiatal hernia but am sure that these are made worse by hormonal changes). Now I have this vile metallic taste in my mouth and my mouth feels sore and dry. I'm pretty sure it's not acid reflux and the meds for that made no difference and it's not a dental issue.

My GP said well you can have HRT if you want it very unenthusiastically without saying what type or giving me any more info. I said I will think about it.

Does anyone have any HRT success stories? I don't want to know about dangers. I already have health anxiety.

The anxiety is really getting me down and this constant vile taste in my mouth is just the last straw.

I should add I also get bouts of really bad tinnitus, awful sore nipples, anger and random crying fits.

Yes. This time last year, I was anxious, emotional, exhausted, ached all over my body, didn't sleep well at night, had heartburn, bad skin, headaches and the most soul destroying constant fatigue. I've been on hrt since Feb and estrogel and utrogestan since May and I'm a different person. It's fixed me. It wasn't an overnight change, and hasn't been an easy journey, I had patches to begin with and they didn't suit me, I've needed to increase my dose a couple of times, and I have an additional medication to help with my sleep, but I can safely say now that hrt has saved my life. Not meaning to sound dramatic. All, every single one of the symptoms I listed above that I was suffering have gone. Gotta be worth a try.

Just read second post... I also have tinnitus! I'm sure it's connected to my perimenopause. My Dr prescribed me amitryptaline and it really helps me get to sleep at night, the tinnitus used to stop me sleeping. Ask for some, it's been a revelation for me, absolutely life changing.

Interesting about the Tinnitus. I'm 49 and have Tinnitus, I blame feeling utterly frazzled and emotionally so stressed, for no real obvious reason other than having a very busy life and finding other people increasingly intolerable (apart from my kids).

Watching with desperate keen interest.

I haven't tried HRT, other than vaginal oestrogen, but I haven't felt the need to.

In your shoes, with your symptoms, I'd give it a go. It can't hurt and chances are you'd feel much better.

I am a success story! AMA.

Since taking HRT my night sweats (hideous, cold, drenching ones) have vanished.
My moods have improved hugely, especially dissolving into tears at the drop of a hat. Don't do that now. Still get the rage from time to time but not as irrationally.
My skin and hair are good. I think I was getting the beginnings of vaginal decrepitude (sorry, forgotten the correct term. HRT is not a panacea for brain fog...) but that is all fine now.
I am energetic and have not put on weight.
Bloating and other gastro symptoms come and go but aren't as bad.
My occasional bouts of vertigo have all but gone and are very mild when they do show up.

Great to hear the success stories.
Am about to start hrt.
In have periods still but the following symptoms:

Sleepless nights
Very hot on occasion
Aching bones
Digestive issues
Gum issues
Dry nose
Moodiness
Premenstrual for about 3 weeks a month
Anxiety
Tiredness
Palpitations
Pins & needles in my arms / hands upon waking

I reckon it's worth giving it a go. If it doesn't work you can always come off it.

Watching with interest. I'm same age as you OP and also struggling with peri symptoms (particularly the anxiety and insomnia) as well as feeling extremely anxious about HRT.
I've been on the pill for the last year to help with peri symptoms. It's been amazing for dealing with heavy, painful periods and it helped with some of my peri symptoms initially but I feel like they're back with a vengeance now. I feel very depressed and anxious all the time and permanently exhausted from insomnia.
I've got an appointment to get Mirena fitted next week and I'm really anxious about it.
I definitely need to hear some positive stories about HRT!

I had my out-of - date Mirena changed a couple of weeks ago & I'm feeling much better. Using gel too now, only been a week or so but again, feeling much better.

I don't have any problems with the ius insertion (no children) but had it fitted by experienced people.

That's good to hear @Wombat49

All this sounds like I need to speak to my GP again. Mood swings are improved, hot flushes and adrenaline rushes almost gone, but I have never felt such exhaustion. I mean really not sure how I'm dragging myself through the day. Some nights I fall asleep quickly, others I lie awake for hours. I'm the same amount of tired the following day.

Saved my life too. Anxiety not gone completely but no longer cripples me. The Rage has disappeared. Joint pain also disappeared, which was one of the worst aspects for me as I was previously very active. Periods a lot more regular and finally starting to calm down.

I found HRT (Ellesse Duet) very helpful. Able to sleep again, hair stopped falling out and got thicker again, skin better, mood calmer. Mine took about a month for my hair to stop falling out, sleep and mood improved pretty much immediately. I think I got headaches for the first couple of days on it, but nothing too dire. Good luck!