Aged 45, plenty of symptoms no HRT

[Pinkjacket22]

I since turning 45 have had worsening of the following symptoms

• brain fog
• hair loss

-clotting so bad on first day of period I cannot leave the house

• feeling low
• night sweats
• PMT worsened
• disturbed sleep so tiredness as well

I went to the doctors today and all she would offer me is transameic acid and anti depressants. I cried as I fear I would as by far the worst thing is the brain fog and I don't see how antidepressants will help that. She said there are no tests she can do for hormones but I could get blood test for iron which sounds likely I am lacking. Would going privately likely give me a better outcome? Would HRT help? I have recently started a new job full time and the brain fog is making me feel incapable of performing as I did before this and fearful of not managing to keep job. I do get private healthcare through my job however. I do plenty of exercise, I don't drink and have recently overhauled my diet. She also suggested looking at alternatives such as black cohosh (?) in all honesty I don't know if I have the energy to seek the stuff as had kind of hoped there would be a hormonal solution. She did speak about the risks associated with HRT such as increased risk of certain cancers. Thanks in advance for any responses.

This! Over 45 is assumed to be peri plus you have clear symptoms.

I had to go back a few times with a list of symptoms at 44, though the final time she pretty much handed me the prescription as I sat down.

Quote the nice guidance if it helps

Im 47 and experiencing virtually all the same symptoms as you!
I had to get up twice overnight due to sweating.

Im avoiding HRT and not attending my GP but instead taking supplements with guidance from a friend who is an expert in her field.

I too was offered anti-depressants and yes they can help with low mood and (off label) for night sweats but I refused them.

Im very hopeful that by both boosting my amino acids and other vitamins that my symptoms will improve.

Congratulations on your recovery 👏
Go back. See someone else if possible. Take a friend as someone else suggested. Print off the NICE guidelines. Take a list of your symptoms (I often go blank when I'm nervous and forget to say the things I meant to). I think Balance had a symptom checklist you could print and take along. Stand your ground.

It might help if you know what you want prescribed. It will show you've done your homework and you won't be fobbed off.

I would say "I'm perimenopausal. I'm suffering with these symptoms. It's affecting my mental health. I'm in recovery and I'm in a new job and I can't afford to risk my mental health. NICE guidelines say xxx and I would like to discuss a prescription for patches/gel/whatever."

Good luck 💐

Thank you, I love this, I think you've covered it all so well. Ive ordered the book, it arrives tomorrow and going to print off the guidelines. Can think of the exact friend that is bolshiest. Thanks all for helping me, I feel so much better already.

I’m 49. Periods so heavy due to perimenopause and fibroids I eventually got out on prostap injections to put me into temporary menopause (as an alternative to hysterectomy). I have a letter from my consultant saying “give this woman hrt” which is needed if you’re on prostap, as there’sa risk of osteoporosis.
My gp STILL tried to give me antidepressants, told me hrt causes cancer and said if I got osteoporosis, there were treatments for that! She then prescribed me oestrogen gel, but without progesterone (which IS a cancer risk). I’m currently pushing to get the full prescription of both oestrogen and progesterone.
It’s shit, isn’t it?
I’ve had three years of trying to get this sorted. Prostap is definitely better than flooding all the time, and hopefully I’ll eventually get this sorted, but it just shouldn’t be this hard.
Tranexamic acid was better than nothing, if that’s any consolation.

Oh gosh @Nellodee that's awful. I've only been on this HRT journey for 12 months but I honestly think I understand it all so much better than 3 out of the 4 GPs I have spoken too.

It's scandalous. Every single woman in this country is going to go through a menopause. A large number of those women will seek medical advice and the GPs are not equipped to give it. I have heard SO many times of women who have seen gynae consultants privately or through the NHS and then the GP has refused the prescription - the very point of a GP Is that they are a generalist, surely they must accept that although they generally have a decent grasp of everything at a basic level, they cannot ever have the level of knowledge of someone who spends their whole working week dealing with menopause/gynae issues (or diabetes, kidneys, whatever). It is the HEIGHT of arrogance of any GP to think they know better than a specialist.

I've started to notice that younger female gps are a bit more on the ball.

They're more likely to hang out on Gp social media.

A younger than me mum at school who is a gp was absolutely raving about hrt to me the other day and spent a lot of time listening and discussing my questions. She had experienced mental health issues on the pill and seemed to be a passionate advocate for women's health care.

My own Gp seems v good - when I went armed with nice and louse newsons book, she pointed to her own copy on the bookshelf. Also younger and the women's health specialist at the practice.

She keeps testing my oestrogen and thyroid without me asking. Which is good as somehow oestrogen has dropped again despite a raise 6 mo ago. Some symptoms back, which I thought might be thyroid. <sigh>

@toptail22 I do appreciate that some women don't want to use hrt for various reasons.

However if vitamins and supplements worked, they'd be prescribed or at least offered by consultants.

My consultant gynae is very balanced in his approach to menopause especially lifestyle changes, as well as other complementary things. BUT he completely disagrees with adding vitamins (waste of money and just peed out if more than RDA). Amino acids won't improve estrogen levels.

Don't forget that estrogen helps your bones and heart, and may prevent dementia. It's not just for the obvious symptoms like sweats and flushes.

@Pinkjacket22 How are you doing now? Do you want to update to say what you tried & what seems to have helped?

I hope you have a positive update.

NB : this is an old (zombie) thread but I like to encourage people to update if they can, many months later when we know they can tell us more about what if anything has really helped them feel much better.

Hello, I asked for (and got) an appointment with the doctor who is good with menopause. Almost cried with joy when she was so patient and explained my options. Opted for mirena coil and patches and feel so much better. Also the davina book really helped for explaining it.