What are the benefits of NOT taking HRT?

[AlpacaThePicnic]

We obviously are wall to wall with the benefits of taking HRT

I just wondered if there are any benefits of not taking it as I weigh it up in my mind whether I wish to continue with it

My main reason for not taking it is to avoid weight gain! I'm slim and hate putting on weight 🙁
I've had a recent bone scan and apparently my bones are in good shape, so that was reassuring.

I have a soya rich diet and take both menopace and omega supplements religiously and I honestly think this really helps.
I generally have no significant symptoms and mostly feel pretty good!

Hello again @Maireas !!! I am in agreement with you on this also. I'm nearly 64 and have never taken HRT, but my menopause was a dream one with nothing more than feeling a bit hotter than usual for a month or two. Some posters on MN are very vocal about HRT and shoot down in flames anyone who dares say that it is not necessary for the entire female population. As you said, it's an individual choice, and women need to do what they feel is right for them.

I think it's a cost benefit analysis we have to make. I am taking it mainly for arthritis and I think it helps but not hugely. It does help with sleeping. I am still deliberating whether it's worth it or not. I decided to trial it for myself.

I never had the typical symptoms and in some ways I felt better cos I used to get really bad PMT that caused brain fog etc ...

Thats correct, its so tedious having to point this out all the time on various threads.

If you survived your childhood your life expectancy was fairly good, not as good as now of course because of all our various medications and different diet but women lived way past menopause generally speaking

If I didn't take it I would drive myself crazy

No hot flushes or night sweats but my personality changed. Usually a very laid back 'pick your battles' kind of person but I turned into someone who would argue about anything and everything. I was horrible. Also the brain fog and being completely unable to make the simplest decisions - it was overwhelming

Am 50 and the main earner and I just couldn't do it

The other thing that convinced me was friend's mum going for a bone scan. She's late 70s and the nurse doing it commented it was obvious she'd taken HRT for a significant period as her bones were so good. She said they can almost always tell who has/hasn't taken it

If you're not on HRT, what can you do to prevent osteoporosis ?

Im considering HRT, probably been in peri for about 5 or so years now, its difficult to tell, GP not that interested. I dont get any hot flushes or anything like that buy my anxiety and confusion/memory loss is awful, worried about early onset dementia. I am worried about dementia long term and also bone loss so thats my main motivation for wanting to try it, but I am worried about getting headaches, putting on weight (as Ive just lost around 5 stone, 5 more to go).

As another person says, how do you know what to do with regards prevention of the above?

I also thought that progesterone thinned the lining so reduced the chance of cancer, which is one reason I had the Mirena 🤔

Weight gain. It's a bitch.

I've cut down to one pump of oestrogen a day.

My main issues are irritability and sleep. Both much improved on hrt. Waiting for a bone scan as I've had two broken bones in three years. If no osteoporosis I might try and wean myself off.

I'm 56.

For those worried about dementia, I saw a quote the other day that said doing 10,000 steps a day reduces your chances by 51%. Certainly worth looking into.

I had an early menopause at 42, and by 49 when I finally managed to get HRT I already had osteoporosis.

As women cannot retire until 67 [state pension] then people like me would have been working in total agony, for a quarter of a century after menopause.

How is that sustainable? I had to crawl up the stairs at the end of the day. Downed painkillers like sweets.

HRT gave me my life back, so much so that I could get a better job, and took early retirement at 53 and make changes in my life that mean I now don't have to work in agony until 67.

So out of interest, if you take HRT for several years and then stop, do the symptoms come back?

These threads always turn into something else other than the actual question!

The OP didn't ask why women chose not to take HRT
She asked what were the benefits of NOT taking it.
(That's something very different.)

You can't prove a negative!

The discussion about it being 'natural' has been blown out of the water years ago. Because all the world-renowned menopause gynaecologists agree that being without estrogen for 1/3rd of your life is a risk. (This has been written about at length in the International Menopause Society journal, Climactic)

And they do compare this extra 1/3rd of life now to shorter lives of women in previous generations. Many women will live to 90 which could be 40 years without estrogen.

50% of women over 50 will get /have osteoporosis. That's a fact. And it's down to loss of estrogen. I've been involved in talking to women with severe osteoporosis through my work and it's a very underestimated disease. It's painful, disabling and causes more loss of independence and deaths in old age than female cancers.

HRT is licensed for the prevention and treatment of osteo in women (under 60 at least).

So- sorry this is so lengthy- IF you are not using HRT or stop at a young age, your bone health should be part of the decision-making. The NHS doesn't offer screening for bones as routine until you have had a fracture (typical- deal with things too late) but you can have it done privately.

Regular weight bearing exercise and maintaining a healthy weight. Both of which I find easier to do by not taking HRT than some of my friends who do take it.

Note I said some of my friends not all.*

Also great for reducing the risk of osteoporosis and CV disease. Good for mental health and sleep too!

@AlisonDonut Our posts crossed but I'm so glad you posted as it highlights my point and I'm so sorry you suffered.

I'm in my early 60s and have never had HRT.

The reasons are:
a) I don't like messing around with my hormones (I never took the pill either) and my symptoms,
b) not wanting to increase my risk of breast cancer, which my mother had and
c) no symptoms that were severe enough to bother doing anything about.

Walking alone will not reduce osteoporosis. It's not enough.
You need to walk at least at 4.5mph to get the impact to help bones.

Weight bearing exercise and lots of it.

Don't smoke.
Don't drink much
Eat a healthy balanced diet
Keep your weight under control but not too low - the 21-28 BMI range should be fine. (depending on ethnicity and waist measurement).
Don't go on any rapid diets, that's actively dangerous. If you're obese try to lose weight very gradually with exercise.
There's no good evidence that calcium supplements work and they can cause problems, so don't do that.
The evidence that dairy intake helps is patchy, so you don't need to give it up but don't rely on it.
Keep your vitamin D levels strong.

Weight bearing exercise again.

Dr Newson covers this on her website. The symptoms you have if you stop HRT are the symptoms you would have had all along. HRT doesn't delay it.
If you took HRT for 10 years you would have 10 years of no symptoms. If they were there when you stopped HRT, you have had 10 years without them but you haven't delayed them- it just means you are still having them.

I just hate taking anything tbh and find the gel messy and unpleasant to use. But I'd rather that than osteoporosis, so I'll wait and see what the results of my bone scan are.

I don't use hrt because I didn't have much in the way of symptoms and hitting menopause well over 50 , with an active lifestyle the potential benefits were low

And then - I feel much better , more like myself now than any time in the last 40 years - so why would I add hormones that make me feel less good back into my body ? Not worth the risk

@RitaCrudgington All those things are right BUT they don't actually prevent it. I've written on this (professionally) and done a lot of research.

Bone loss is a direct result of loss of estrogen. up to 5% is lost per year in the first 5 years post menopause.

Watch this video by Prof Stevenson [[https://thebms.org.uk/publications/bms-tv/[[//

OsteoporosisProf John Stevenson, Consultant Metabolic Physician, Royal Brompton Hospital, Trustee – British Menopause Society, answers these FAQs: What is osteoporosis? Does the menopause effect osteoporosis / bone health? Do I need to have my bone density checked? How would that be assessed? How is osteoporosis treated? Does HRT help treat osteoporosis? What other measures can I take to improve my bone health?

The it’s natural I won’t medicate it argument doesn’t really wash with me. People medicate lots of natural occurrences in our bodies all the time. Periods are natural but a huge amount of women use the pill or the coil to stop them/stop pregnancy. Pregnancy is natural. Illness/bacteria is part of nature but we use medicine to stop it killing us.

Im in the early stages of peri I’m undecided on HRT but if symptoms become worse I will try it. I’m 44. It’s help my older sibling no end. If it didn’t work for me I’d come off it

For all the posters saying it's 'not natural' as a reason not to take HRT (and deciding that it's a benefit not to) it's worth watching this video on OSTEOPOROSIS AND MENOPAUSE.

https://thebms.org.uk/publications/bms-tv/ Prof John Stevenson is towards the bottom left of these videos.