Positive experiences after stopping HRT

[iltdu]

Hello

Has anyone had a positive experience after stopping HRT for whatever reason? I had to stop HRT after taking it for just 4 months.

Everything I read keeps noting negative experiences and I am so nervous now I am going to be some sort of trainwreck in a month or so.

I cannot find any good material on positive steps to take that help for those that cannot tolerate or take HRT. Except for eat well, exercise and get sleep! If only

It would be great to hear experiences on the positive side or at least not toooooooooo negative!

Thank you!

@SierraSapphire

Im so sorry to hear this .
I have a family member in the same position- she had been taking combined HRT for around 5 years and was found to have stage two endometrial cancer . She was seen as soon as symptoms appeared and is generally hopeful but the post operative chemo is tough.

Hi @iltdu
sorry to hear about your diagnosis and wishing you a smooth passage through treatment.
Try posting on the Balance app (it’s a menopause app) also for views.

I firstly, sorry for your diagnosis.

I had to stop Evorel Sequi patches a month ago ahead of surgery next week, and it will likely me a month/6 weeks before I can go back on them again.

The aches and pains are back, as are the temp swings/flushes and am v migrainey but always an in my period. I am in heavy duty painkillers ahead of the surgery so not as bad as I was before I started the patches. My sleep has also gone to shite again.

The mood swings haven’t been as bad as they were before the patches, they were definitely PMT related whereas before they were all the time.

Put it this way. If I was told I couldn’t go back on it I would be pretty peeved but not devastated. And I suspect tackling my diet, losing weight and exercising more would help. And also that the worst of my symptoms are cos the hormones are aggravating my EDS rather than being some menopausal. So I may not be a fair comparison.

Good luck!

Thanks @Novella4 - mine seems to have been caught early, so hopefully "just" a hysterectomy. Hope your family member is okay

Utrogestan (progesterone element of HRT) didn't work for me and I have to have a Mirena in order to remain on HRT.

Some women just don't seem to absorb utrogestan properly or sufficiently to balance out the oestrogen element of HRT. I suspect that lack of progesterone had been a problem for me pre-menopause, too. I should have had the Mirena years and years ago when I was perimenopausal and flooding and was foolish to be scared off it.

I hope you're being given good treatment and recover very quickly.

Sorry, missed the key point that I was developing atypical hyperplasia (though second consultant wasn't sure it had actually got that far and three biopsies haven't suggested it). But definitely a cue to switch from Utrogestan to a Mirena.

And to answer the OP's question (sorry), I had some success with sage tea for daytime sweats. And a chillow under my pillow at night. Possibly red clover helped a bit too.

I was advised to consider stopping HRT after post menopausal bleeding, a hysteroscopy and biopsy. The main reasons for taking HRT, for me, were night sweats and hot flushes and these did resume, but only for a few more months. SInce then, 4 years ago, I have been fine and am glad I did stop.

Anxiety is another symptom, but I think unrelated to the menopause, and I have been treating this as a separate issue - using calming techniques and positive thinking etc. This seems to work well, so I wonder whether addressing the anxiety itself, as though it were a separate symptom, would help.

Hi everyone thank you for sharing your stories and big hugs to everyone going through treatments, newly diagnosed and battling with the ups and downs of just about everything!

Its interesting that its not so straight forward for anyofus.

I have found going for a good long walk really benefitial - consistantly going everyday regardless of the weather. It does help with sleep I am convinced of it.
I have done yoga over the years and loved it but over the past few months I literally didn't have the energy for it - motivation maybe. So I am determined to start that again. However I have the yoga nidra app on my phone and find the 20 mins relaxation great for the days I have really bad sleep, I find myself nodding off for a couple of minutes from pure exhaustion some days. But its great to have.

Talking to some friends who didn't take HRT or came off it for lots of reasons, what they have done is the following too.

Yoga
Consistant bed time
Eye Mask, eye plugs
Nightdress
Open window
Camomile Tea
Lavender drops on pillow and wrists
Walking
Sage tea
Good multivitamin

One thing I think too that can be helpful and I need to practice this so much myself, is to slow down a bit. Its a time in our lifes that there is change but if we can get through one day at a time isn't that brilliant?

Thanks again everyone and I think its so important for us to remember that we are all on a journey and if things work for some and don't for others, lets just support the journey's and share the experiences - good or bad.

Today I am positive and actually feel I have a baseline now going forward to determine actually what stage of peri/meno I am in and go from there. There is something comforting in knowing what stage your body is at. No more so when you get a diagnosis that throws you a bit or a lot.

Take care all!

That's interesting, Abra1d1, hour was it identified that utrogestan wasn't working for you? I mentioned to a number of medical professionals that it didn't seem to be affecting my cycle at all, but no one picked it up as a problem so I wasn't concerned, I wish I had been. I was about to be given a Mirena for hyperplasia as the consultant originally didn't think it was cancer and was surprised when the biopsy came back. There's no cancer in my family, I'm still having periods, and I'm otherwise fit and healthy so it was a shock.

iltdu I have also realised that my pace of life is too much, and I spend way too much time working and looking after others. I haven't really worked out yet how to change things, but a serious diagnosis does kind of force the issue!

Oh definitely its a shock when you get a diagnosis out of the blue. I was sitting at the dentists when she noticed something sinister to quote herself on my lip. Not thinking anything of it as I hadn#'t even noticed it myself. All happened very quickly biopsies, consultants, surgery. But I feel I am out the other end now very quickly and lucky to have been seen so quickly.

Gosh girls

achillesshield Abra1d1 SierraSapphire Matchingcollarandcuffs

you have been through the mill, with all that you have been through.

Do take care and its great to have some support here!

Just to add what I think has made a difference for me is excercise, excercise and more excercise.

Also, evening primrose oil has helped hot flushes.
I have cut out alcohol and caffine.

samsmum2 stilldazed Totheweekend - oops sorry I missed you .

Gosh my brain fog 😀

Yoga
Consistant bed time
Eye Mask, eye plugs
Nightdress
Open window
Camomile Tea
Lavender drops on pillow and wrists
Walking
Sage tea
Good multivitamin
Evening Primrose Oil
Cut out alcohol and caffine

We are on a roll 😀

I think it was more inference than directly saying utrogestan wasn't working but there was such a clear improvement when the Mirena was inserted that it was obvious. I was on continuous HRT, so after the initial settling-in period, I shouldn't have been bleeding at all.

I hope you find ways of carving out time for treating yourself! Or at least placing yourself in priority position.

samsmum2 so sorry to read you have had such a horrid challenging time. Hopefully the specialist will provide you with some advise that will work for you. Take it easy on yourself you have had a lot of change over the past few months and even without the old menopause I am sure your emotions are all over the place with a stroke.

Hi all,

Anyone got a good suggestion for a nice mosturiser for your face? Not sure if its the treatment around my lips that are aggravating skin, or the body temp changing up and down during the day 😀 Plus I never had rosacea. I was more of acne young adult, but I look slightly raw and my make up is dry on face. Not sure these days whats up............. I am nearly trying to avoid looking in the mirror. But I would like to treat myself to a nice mosturiser that isn't too heavy but would help with tight feeling on skin. Thanks!

I am determined to start from the hair down and get myself feeling well and positive.

Oh another thing - has any of you suffered with real itchy scalp? Thats another symptom of low oestrogen by all accounts.

Have a good day🌻

@iltdu
Hi, I know what you mean about the red facial skin . I had that too and a sore feeling on my face sometimes.
the first thing I did was stop using a muslin cloth to cleanse. I used a wash off ( take the day off , clinique) and just used my hands. I just tried to be really gentle .

I started using a primer under a light foundation too .
I tried the anti redness range from Darphin - lovely to use but I don’t think it did much.
Again the redness just went away without me doing much else.
I get a slight itchy scalp but it starts in spring so I assumed it’s hayfever ( it’s my early warning system to start hayfever tablets lol)

Sorry I’ve just noticed that you wanted a moisturiser rec. I use a liberal layer of Advanced night repair first thing- it’s great dabbed over make up for a glow too. I found moisturiser too heavy under make up but of course our skin could be very different.
I found a serum to be more soothing and to absorb better

@iltdu I get that tight skin feeling. I use Aveeno and love it (and use it all over). If I want a real treat, I use the Elemis pro collagen marine cream - it's expensive so I ask for it as a gift at a birthday/Xmas time!

I take fish oil but the one with omega3 in not all the omegas and that seems to make a difference.

Exercise makes a difference (especially gentle weights) and no caffeine late in the day.

So glad your cancer diagnosis was early on your lip!

@EyeOfJupiter yes that Elemis cream is wonderfully soothing feeling too

Tx EyeOfJupiter and Novella4 . I agree re. the cloth, I found that definitely too a bit harsh on my skin. My dermatologist swears by La Roche Possay products, but I actually find at the moment they are just not doing it for me. I suspect between everything I probably need a new routine and reboot!

I actually hadn't thought of Aveeno for face cream. I use the body lotion on one of my kids and find it great.

I would love the complete Elemis range 😀 .I got a gift last year of the cleansing oil and I still have it, its lovely and has Omega in it. It might be time for a real treat with the marine collagen cream.

Thank you again.

It's lovely isn't it @Novella4 . I had a sample of it on a Ba flight many years ago and was totally converted!

The other thing I do for sleep is take an antihistamine when it's v bad. I get bad allergies anyway so it works for both things. Piriton works for some people and if not, you can get Phenergan and try that (but I would try a small dose first as it can knock you out totally!).

@EyeOfJupiter yes - antihistamines etc knock me out . I react strongly to all medication - half a paracetamol cures a headache for example . Maybe that’s partly why I had such unpleasant side effects on HRT ( that plus the risks always lurking in the back of my mind )
@iltdu , for me , a lot of coping without HRT was about slowing down a bit. Putting yourself first is not what most women are used to doing our stage of life . I know when I took HRT it was to help me cope with work, caring , adult children getting launched in life / married . I have a big family !
I reduced hours at work ( I know that isn’t always possible ) traveled more , learnt a new language. Embraced a new chapter

Hi all, wondering how everyone is doing on our no HRT journey 😀 I have been out of action for a couple of weeks with treatments and in the middle of it all I had to get a polyp removed from my throat. Got a rotten cold last week and only beginning to feel semi normal today. I have had a lot of night sweats the past couple of weeks but invested in a lighter duvet, new nighties and keeping the window open. Kinda all helps but its still waking me up and disrupting sleep. But I keep telling myself it will pass! I was talking to a friend of mine yest who is older than me in her late 50s and she told me she had a rotten couple of years perimenopause but once she was 13 months period free she felt a new lease of life, not all the symptoms automatically disappeared but she felt this was a new journey for her and feels she knows she is finished periods now and her body has adapted. So I am going to go with that mindset today as I muster up energy to have a positive day! Hope everyone is well and taking care!