Perimenopause - how to get HRT?

[Newnamefor2021]

I'm having a horrific time but I'm only 39. I can tick every single peri symptom, on top of that my periods are so haywire I've pretty much bled every single day for the last 3 years and they are extremely heavy.

I itch- feel like my crawling constantly. Night sweats, mood swings, anxiety like over never felt, aching, weight gain, insomnia, extreme fatigue, breast pain, joint pains, hot flushes, extreme memory problems, no sex drive, dryness everywhere. I'd say I've been going through this for the past 6-8 years, which is know makes me very young and probably why I'm constantly ignored. I conceived twins every pregnancy, only one set made it and lost the extra twice.

GP say nothing. I keep saying I can't go on like this. I'm not even offered anti-ds, just that I need to keep waiting in ablation (which I've been waiting for for 3 years) but I don't see how that fixes anything other than maybe making my daily bleed lighter.

Anyone experienced this before 40? Will they take me more seriously once I hit 40?

Keep going back to doctors try and see someone different in the practice if possible, unfortunately it took me just shy of 7years to actually get acknowledgment and HRT, but my goodness it's so worth the fight. No-one tells you how horrendous peri can be. Best of luck 🍀

I had the coil fitted for my periods and then added Ostrogel a couple of years later.

My GP practice have a couple of GPs who specialise in women's health/menopause. Could you ask if yours do too?
An extreme option and one I jnow you shouldn't have to take, but it might he worth thinking about going private if you can afford it. If not, I'd just keep hounding your GP until they do something. Ask then to refer you to the local menopause clinic and let them decide

The coil and implant make me go a little loopy and also caused my hearing to decline which may also be an issue with the hormones potentially. I have a condition which causes me to lose my hearing and it's affected by hormones which, given the loss I've experienced over the past 3 years, is likely happening anyway due to unbalanced hormones. So I don't know.

Thanks, will do.

Private isn't really an option for me right now. I'll keep nagging. Thanks

Ask to speak to your menopause doctor at the gps. We have three where I am registered. I went in with the list of what I'm going through and you need to tell them you want to trail hrt for three months.
I'm 40 and I've just started it, it's ridiculous what you've got to go through to get it. Bloods aren't exact yet if I went into the doctors at 45 would of been given it no problem, but I had to fight for it at 40.
Go in, tell them what you want and why, go prepared and don't back down x

I have a friend who was fobbed off and told to take up running ! She wrote a letter to the practice manager outlining symptoms and what she wanted and was prescribed HRT at the next appt.

Keep pushing !

Thanks so much. I will do. I think it's an added complication as I'm deaf and sometimes they just can't be bothered with me as I'm a little bit harder to communicate with. I wear aids but they need to look at me for me to actually hear them and lip read. I sometimes need a minute to figure out what people have said if I've missed words.

Thanks. It's crazy isn't it? I can only imagine how many women quite work or reduce hours because of this. Let alone divorce husbands (or maybe that's just me). Everything is always such a fight.

Thanks everyone

OP this checklist is an 'official' one -
Might this also help ?

Sorry for the many posts but I am recovering from a hysterectomy and been supporting a friends battle with menopause so lots of info to hand - this is from Davinas book re how common menopause symptoms before 40 are !

Quoting Davinas menopausing book -

Early menopause.
It's MORE COMMON than you might think.
1 in every 100 women go into menopause before they are 40.
1 in every 1,000 go into menopause before they are 30.
1 in every 20,000 go into menopause before they are 20.1

Wow. That's crazy how common it is. Frustrating how difficult it is to get any support for female conditions.

How old is your youngest child, OP? How many full term pregnancies did you have?

Youngest is 9 - 39 weeks c-section.
Twins 11 - 36 week c section
Eldest 13 - 41 weeks natural

So all full term ish, for twins anyway.

If you’re in the UK, check out the NICE Menopause Guidelines and use them to refer to at the next appointment with your doctor. Maybe take a print out. Also mention again any symptoms you’re experiencing using the checker posted above.

if you have POI HRT is recommended for bone and heart health.

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng23

What supplements are you taking to battle the iron anemia?

I've been on iron for year's, I've never really came off it since my teens. I get iron and blood infusions now too when my bloods drop too low.

I was taking a bunch of different peri vitamins and heebs etc that has been recommended online but at my last pre-op (I've had 5 so far) I was told not to take anything. Stopping really made things worse for me.