Weaning off HRT

[RatatouilleAndFeta]

Anyone want to do this together?

I've been on it for 1.5 years.
Have tried the spray, the patches, testogel, the vag oestrogen... I'm feeling anxious all the time and have put on weight. My boobs are like melons. I'm tired of thinking about it all the time!

Today I bought some fish oil. And I have the menopace tablets.
Going to try to swim every day and add in some yoga.

Majorly cutting down on carbs, sugar & alcohol.

Am a bit apprehensive about how much my joints ached pre-HRT, but
I feel like if I can lose the extra 3st I'm carrying, the joint aches might not require the HRT anyway.

Oh am going to stick with the vag cresm as it's very low and definitely has a positive effect.

Am weaning off, as I was on a 75 patch and had some 50's left over.

I'll post how it's going here every day.
Be lovely if anyone is thinking of quitting, and wants to join me?

😊

i was on here a few weeks ago as I thought patches were causing bloating but GP wanted to scan my ovary’s. Ovary’s are clear but I do have 2 fibroids. I mentioned having 2 periods 2 weeks apart which apparently is a possible red flag so I’m now waiting on a consultant appointment. I think I’m going to carry on with patches until I’ve been seen by someone who has more knowledge. Just really fed up with it all.

Probably after a month or so. It’s so embarrassing and uncomfortable when I’m working 🥵

I’ve also been very hot and sweaty since coming off HRT.
ive ordered some menoforce sage supplements for this, so I’ll update once I’ve used them for a week or two.
apparently magnesium is good for insomnia?

If you're taking magnesium for insomnia, get glycinate not citrate (which is for constipation iirc).

Thanks for the tips. I have used magnesium in the past and it really helped with leg cramps 😀

I'm taking magnesium as a daily supplement to try and help with the all-over body aching but no improvement so far and today is off the scale

I’m sorry @BooseysMom , that sounds exhausting.

Thanks. Yeah it is! I feel a bit better now. The mornings are by far the worse. I feel like I'm 80!! I have to get coffee down me to feel like I can keep going..just like my DM did!

@BooseysMom I hope the aching reduces and mornings become more bearable!
I've been off HRT for 2 weeks now, sleep fine, no night sweats, so far so good, but I suppose it is too early to see the difference yet as it will take a while for my oestrogen levels to drop:

Well I finished my last bottle of oestrogel on Saturday morning and need to make an appointment to get my Mirena out.
That will be the real tale as I have always wondered if it masked my menopause symptoms.

Just a couple of snippets to add to this discussion.

My consultant recommends a 3-month break to see how you react to stopping HRT. It takes 3 months for any HRT to build up in your system and the same for it to fall.

(I stopped for a month, for a particular reason, and my insomnia and night sweats kicked in after 3-4 weeks.)

Stopping and starting...

Long term use has to be phased out as there is a risk of a kick-back with the risk of heart disease and blood clots in the first year after stopping. This applies to long term use (probably more than 5 years.) Gradual stopping would be over 6 months, reducing the dose.

Stopping and starting after short term use is not so much an issue but stopping quickly (cold turkey) may result in symptoms coming back more than if you reduce it slowly.

Someone mentioned a nurse had said stop-start was ok. Well, yes, it is in some ways, but you can't make a good judgement if you are stopping and starting many times over in a year.

I know (of) women on other forums who stopped and quite quickly they developed prolapse issues (one had to have a hysterectomy) so something to bear in mind- do your pelvic floor stuff well before and carry on!

samthebordercollie.
Thank you. I had a major sweaty episode whilst at work which was like someone turning on a shower above me!! Weirdly I haven't had any since and don't get night sweats, just aching. I have been off it for nearly 2 months now. I hope you continue to be symptom-free. good luck!

jingling thank you* *for this useful info. I will bear in mind the stuff about stopping and starting and going cold turkey

I'm now experiencing sharp stabbing pain in the side of one breast. My DM passed away 6 years ago of breast cancer and any pain like this terrifies me 😒

@BooseysMom can get see your GP?
ive had similar pain and it seemed to be hormonal, I don’t have it anymore. So I’m sure yours is fine, but maybe get reassurance from a professional?
sorry about your mum 💐

I've been stopped for a couple of months now and my aches and pains are my main issue. Also a bit more brain fog.

I'm considering going back on a very low dose.

No weight loss - but much less gigantic/painful boobs.

My new sage tablets seem to be really helping with hot flushes and general sweatiness. It’s hot weather here next week so that will be the real test!

Twoshoesnewshoes
Sorry for the late reply. Thanks for your kind words. I saw the nurse and she said to use a heat pad and take pain killers and keep checking. I have to go back if it continues but it's eased off a but now. I haven't used a heat pad as it's too bloody hot!!

Hello everyone!
It's been 5 weeks since I stopped HRT and everything was going fine, but this week nights are getting difficult (presumably because my oestrogen level has now dropped to pre HRT levels). I'm not sleeping we'll, largely due to having to get up to pee 3 or 4 times a night, with HRT it was 1 or 2 maximum. Im hot at night but no night sweats...yet!
How is everyone else doing?

Hi samthebordercollie
Good to hear your experiences off HRT. You sound the same as me, I've been off it 2 months now and keep waking every night to pee but I have no sweats yet. What I do get is really bad all-over body aches especially upon waking. I'm not going back to HRT though as it did nothing for me but cause my body to swell up everywhere! What are your moods like? Mine is stable and when I was on HRT, it was all over the place.

Hello @BooseysMom !
TBH I hadn't thought a lot about mood, but I think mine might have have been better too. I'm definitely not as swollen without HRT and haven't noticed any aches or pains on waking. I do a lot too much sport so this probably helps! Lots of weight training and running.

Re the weight gain and symptoms, something often overlooked is stress management. Stress can have a major impact on weight gain and and accumulation of belly fat. The fight or flight response causes many reactions in the body that affect all areas of our physical and mental health. Balancing blood sugars, low GI foods, eating a nutrient dense clean diet, reducing processed foods and staying hydrated. Even minor dehydration can really affect us, even contributing to the dreaded brain fog! HRT is not a magic pill, we need to take a holistic approach. Regular moderate exercise, not going crazy which will stress our bodies even more. This is coming from someone who is definitely fighting the same battles as all of us. We really need to take time to find calm in our day. Get out in nature and take the constant stress off ourselves. Show ourselves some love, acceptance and compassion.

That's good you do the weights and running. I can't do either without collapsing!! I try pilates and that helps but had to give up running. I think back to my DM and she didn't do much exercise and she seemed to spend a lot of time in bed! She'd never tell us what was wrong. It must have been menopause. She had breast cancer at 60. I am terrified I'll go down the same road 😥

@BooseysMom I'm really sorry about your mum. Did she have antecedents of breast cancer? I just ask because my mum had breast cancer in her early 50's, there were no antecedents and my dad is convinced it was because she had received a tennis ball in her breast when younger. She was also going through a lot of stress at work at the time, plus plus putting up with my dad's philandering! She had radiotherapy and went into remission quickly, so that was a relief.

I had a really good weekend, slept better even with a couple of glasses of wine. So am going to pursue the non HRT route for the time being. Exercise definitely helps if you have the time (weights are best at our age![

I haven't read the full thread yet, but will work my way through it soon. I'm late fifties and have been on HRT patches for about food and a half years. I can't say I feel amazing but I also have fibromyalgia, however I have no hot flushes and also quite well when I can switch off!

I've considered coming off HRT, but have been reading some of Louise Newsom's articles and obviously I'm aware that oestrogen has gone forever and all the side effects may come back. I worry about bone density, osteoporosis, dementia etc. What are everyone's thoughts on this?

Also after being in HRT for a while, when you stopped did you find the hot flushes came back? Anything else that happened after stopping?