What age did you start HRT?

[Rolloisthebestpony]

I’m 41 and going to ask for it

46

65.. should have started 20 years earlier, but thought I could do it all myself!!

53

56 - So much later than most, but still regular periods. Just had night sweats and anxiety, not terrible, but GP said it would still be beneficial. On it 18 months now, upped my dose recently from 1 pump to two, but periods now not regular, so maybe coming through the other side?

@UnaOfStormhold Thanks!

Thank you OP for this thread I'm 53 my periods are still as regular as clockwork however , the tiredness , brain fog and aching joints I now get on the second half of my cycle is getting harder ..going to sort out HRT this month..after reading HRT get rid of the joint ache

52. Then I was diagnosed with breast cancer within a year, the sort that is probably linked to HRT. I stopped it immediately and am now on drugs that make menopause symptoms much worse.

52 and one year post meno. I did start having to use topical Oestrogen for VA from age of 48.

42

I started at 52. From 50 onwards my periods got further and further apart and I knew I was peri. I thought I was handling things really well and was going to sail through without HRT. At 52 I suddenly found night sweats meant two changes of bedding a night and I was constantly exhausted with the broken sleep.

Then the hot flushes started affecting my work. Firstly I found whenever I needed to speak in front of an audience the minor anxiety would always trigger a flush and I'd be there bright red in front of everyone. Then, whenever there was any sort of confrontation and my heart rate raised a little a flush would happen which would mean it was hard to hold my own.

Finally I started getting really bad pain from osteoarthritis in my hip and the physio suggested HRT might help.

I haven't looked back. The flushes and night sweats have completely gone. I actually cried two weeks after starting on HRT when I realised I had slept through the night for the first time in several years. The pain in my hip is not gone altogether but is massively improved. A complete game changer for me.

Hrt 59
Testosterone 61

49

54 and should have done it some years earlier.

31! Early menopause hit after the birth of dd. I have been on tablets, gel, patches, gel again and testosterone (now stopped) and mirena coil.

HRT hasn’t been a cure all for me. I am still getting some milder symptoms like achy joints and dry skin. I used to run but had to stop because it just hurt so much. But the health risks from early menopause far outweighed the risks of long term hrt.

I started at 43, a year after periods stopped. I probably should have been on it much earlier, I had so many symptoms of peri from around 37 or 38 but I didn't realise it at the time that it could be that because of my age.

Just finished my first month of patches, I'm 43. Starting to feel more like myself.

Following to note the symptoms. I’m 49 and my periods are still as regular as clockwork, although they are getting heavier.

34

46

40 . My symptoms were quite unusual: tingling, dizziness, stomach issues, cold sweats, a feeling like ants crawling on my back. Took a while to realise it was due to hormones.

My periods have become less heavy with HRT, but they now last longer (ten days 😬 but the last half is extremely light. The first two months I was on HRT I had the worst period pains. This last month wasn't so bad though.

I'm going to try tablet form HRT next month (currently have patches) because of period length

So my periods started becoming erratic when I was 43. However this coincided with the sudden death of my partner, when our child was 1.

At 44 / 45 the weight gain began in earnest, but this was in 2020 and lockdown on top of bereavement really didn’t help. As a single mum with a house full of beige food and kid snacks it was and is really hard to exercise / eat healthily. I’ve put on 3 stone. :(

46 - some hair thinning, boobs suddenly went south. Like, overnight.

47 and 48, some very mild flushes. Last period was a month after my 47th birthday, 14 months ago, so to my surprise I’m through the menopause, 5 years earlier than my mum did. Maybe bereavement / lockdown / Covid / vaccine played a part? I have had heart palpitations which I didn’t even know was my symptom. My GP arranged ECG etc and offered anti-depressants without even mentioning menopause.

I probably have anxiety now, but I think it’s circumstantial, not hormonal - WFH as a single parent just fosters huge isolation and therefore I’m far too much in my own head. My social life destroyed by all of the above. What I do have is REALLY achey joints - I feel like I’m 68 not 48 now. Also dryness, and low libido. And a very big dose of CBA.

Saw my GP recently and she hummed and hawed and says I have to have my smear test up to date before prescribing HRT … for various reasons I don’t want this (and fgs why not treat the vaginal dryness first?). I’m not sure about the whole thing so have just ordered myself a pack of Everol Conti so I can try it out myself. Maybe this is foolish, but hey. I do worry about some of the increased risks.

Was still having regular periods but was feeling tired, achy, a bit of brain fog. The occasional hot flush and night sweat.

I'm now a lot less achy and tired. I also feel less flat and more like myself. I'm glad I took the plunge.

47 here. I had over a year of low mood/low level anxiety, low libido. Didn’t think anything of it, then hearing friends talk about menopause symptoms made me think twice. Went to doctor (at age 46) who told me I was a bit young for menopause and suggested CBT. I did that but got signed off as the therapist didn’t think I needed help from CBT. Then went back to doc and asked for HRT, which I got. 2 months in and feeling a bit better, fingers crossed…