Do nothing at Menopause?

[maclen]

I believe I'm perimenopausal and I just wondered what happens if you literally do nothing about the menopause? Is it safe? You see some horror stories and it's giving me anxiety (which is probably peri anyway lol)...

I hit menopause 3 years ago (at quite a late age). I did - and still do - nothing any differently than before. I feel fine. I haven't seen a doctor for any reason for 13 years.
Everyone is different, OP - if you have difficult symptoms, then get help. If you don't, then just carry on - there is no need to medicalise normal life.

Absolutely this. There is a lot of commercial motivation. Just because Davina McCall tells you to do something, doesn't mean you should!

Is it safe?

Of course it's safe. HRT etc is there to alleviate unpleasant symptoms, not to make menopause 'safer'. If you start having symptoms of perimenopause that make you feel a bit shit, you can do something about that. If you don't have those symptoms, you don't need to 'do' anything.

@JinglingSpringbells is from both. (Specialist and GP)

Heart attacks prevent HRT being deemed suitable at all.

I just got cheesed off when the 26th person told me "oh hrt will sort you out." You say not everyone can take it and all you get back is "that's a myth"... "GPs know nothing" or even worse "Davina says..."

You get a bit touchy when it is on repeat.

Do nothing - well if you have no symptoms why would you do anything ?

"Safe"

It's advisable to have a very good diet and do weight bearing exercise to prevent bone density loss - hrt can also help that but isn't essential provided diet and exercise is good and you don't have a family history of bone problems

I was a few years into perimenopause before I realised it was perimenopause. So from my experience of living through it and doing nothing, I felt unwell. I was having heart palpitations, vertigo, extreme anxiety. I didn't realise these were symptoms - I didn't even know I was unnaturally anxious until I went on HRT and it stopped. The other really awful symptom was bladder pain and urgency, caused by the drop in hormones. At one point I was in so much discomfort I couldn't function normally for months.
Now you might not have any of this - I know some woman sail through but it's definitely worth knowing all the potential symptoms so you can act sooner rather than later if necessary. I know that before this happened to me I thought it was just hot flushes, which ironically was the one symptom I didn't get!

Sorry to hear that.
I wasn't aware you'd had a heart attack.

There are often posts here where women say they have 'heart issues' and sometimes it's high BP or palpitations, which are very different to your circumstances.

I saw that with the maple syrup too 😂. Davina’s making a lot of money out of it all.

At the end of the day, we are all individuals with (or without) health conditions and concerns. Some breeze through peri and menopause, some don’t. HRT is touted as a miracle nowadays and it’s not for everyone. Maybe it does provide some protection against osteo, etc etc etc, but if you don’t have a family risk of that, should you really mess about with hormones just in case? We all have different risk factors to consider… HRT is not for everyone. And it often doesn’t solve all problems.

Am I the only person who is utterly baffled that this question was asked in the first place? How have we got to this from a world where menopause just meant 'open a window and get on with it'?

Don't get me wrong, I'm delighted we talk about it openly and have ways to alleviate the more uncomfortable aspects of menopause. But for ever person who needs this help, there's another who doesn't.

Despite what Mumsnet posters would have you believe, not everything that happens to your body over 40 is caused by perimenopause or when over 50 by menopause. Yes, some things are. However, a whole pile of other stuff is simply what life throws at you.

Labelling everything menopause just provides another reason for the medical profession - and the world in general - to not take women seriously.

Appreciate all the replies. I guess I'm someone mid 40's that really hasn't thought about this yet but being the age I am everyone says oh you're probably peri... You start googling stuff and think bloody hell this is the end of the road for me lol! I'm not ready and really struggle with the thought of ageing.

Stop googling and pointlessly terrifying youself
I am 52 and feel pretty good. Better in some ways than in my 40s.

Unless you have symptoms which make you uncomfortable (and go to the GP if you do), you don’t need to do anything. Some lucky women don’t need any treatment for the menopause.

Yes you can do nothing.

I think I would have done nothing if it hadn’t been for a fibroid issue and then coil going in which wasn’t helpful so I wanted it removed and at the time of its removal people were going to late girl vaginal atrophy kicked in.
The hospital (not same who inserted coil) pulled a right face on them when I said I’m on hrt.

I’m upset to know it feels like a postcode lottery as to whom they will / won’t test for definitely being in some kind of change whether peri or menopause. Truly is it guess work.

I actually feel sick the leaflet with progesterone says something like this will make you shed a ‘bleed every month like a period’ so it is menstrual or not or some forced lining of the womb regardless each month for taking progesterone.

-on the minimum amount of estrogel they will kept distributing 2 boxes of (expensive) gel to a person with a fibroid, I refuse to go up in pumps knowing my history and that estrogel can in some cases can cause growth and seeing what it did to the inside of thighs I’m not taking that risk. The last bleed/period was that pain free I thought I was dreaming but the medication leaflet left me so confused I can’t begin to explain.

I didn't take HRT. I took Vit D and iron to try and help with the tiredness, and started weight training to improve bone density which I think is pretty good anyway. I have very sturdy bones and have never broken more than a toe.. About half my friends took it and half didn't and I couldn't tell the difference, really, in terms of energy levels, wellbeing etc. But two had adverse reactions to it and I must admit that put me off. menopause is a natural phase of life, not an illness. I didn't want to treat it as something that needed to be blocked or cured. All my symptoms were in peri, anyway. As soon as I reached actual menopause I felt fantastic. Loads more energy and confidence.

@ForPearlViper ”Am I the only person who is utterly baffled that this question was asked in the first place?”

nope.

it’s ridiculous, I don’t understand how we got here. The peri etc bandwagon is crazy. See pp saying “Davina says we should all have HRT”. It’s insane.

I understand that the commercial firepower behind this movement is immense - but I’m shocked at how women on here seem to be responding. (If it’s not peri, it’s ADHD!) Hopefully MN is not representative of real life in this regard.

@EmeraldRoulette I think a lot of women have suffered in previous generations, without access to HRT. It's good that more people are talking about the symptoms and what women can do to feel better.
Even GPs don't always connect the dots when women present with symptoms - I was back and forth to my doctor for ages with some quite worrying symptoms (inc heart palpitations) before anyone thought to see if I was in peri. Once the dr has tested and ruled out a heart condition or depression or some other physical medical condition, the likelihood is that a woman in her 40s, who is feeling like crap, probably is perimenopausal!
I'm grateful to people like Davina, who have drawn our attention to it.

I find myself wondering if my nan, who was popping anti depressants like they were smarties, really was depressed or 'just' menopausal.

You can start to take it after age 60 as well. I didn't start HRT until 14 years after my last period, when I was 64.

However, I think it's more likely to be effective for maintaining bone strength, preventing heart disease and preventing dementia if it's started within 10 years of menopause or before age 60.

I was one of those "lucky women". However I later regretted my decision not to take HRT when I reached menopause, when I was diagnosed with osteoporosis following a bone scan.

Without oestrogen, women's bones can begin to diminish at an alarming rate. Osteoporosis can, in the most severe cases, lead to life-changing injuries and a loss of mobility.

I would advise all women to give serious consideration to HRT at menopause.

This is true. You can’t see osteoporosis until it’s too late. So you may think you are sailing through but lack of oestrogen will be having an impact on your bones.

Strength training can help a bit.

Its worth considering that falls are the leading cause of injury related deaths in the over 75s. Women are so scared of breast cancer yet don’t give a thought to brittle bones and heart disease which kill more. And yes I know the research is inconclusive on HRT and heart health but I’ve read enough studies to be convinced oestrogen helps with heart health.

We just need more studies.

I still think HRT is tarnished by the WHI study. It’s been completely debunked. Even the authors of the study admit it was wrong.

I left it until it became unbearable. Wish I'd got hrt sooner before my face exploded and turkey neck happened like. You age fast man, when those hormones go bonkers.

You might sail through it. I couldn't stand the joint pain, itchy skin or the flushes though.

I've done nothing for my menopause but that's probably because i have 2 other geunine quite serious illnesses to focus my attention on! I do feel that if menopause is your only issue, then yes, you'll be thinking about it. Also because I actually can't now, HRT would be incredibly dangerous for me.

I can't see how it's healthy to do anything for it. Our bodies were not designed to need medical support for something that is natural, surely?

We were supposed to die after menopause- we are living longer than ever. That’s 40/50 years without hormones.

With HRT you are merely topping up what you had previously. Oestrogen is important for so many functions in the body.

If you choose not to have it then fine. But it’s not ‘unhealthy’. It can prevent bone density loss and help women stay active and prevent falls - how is that unhealthy. It’s the opposite!

I can't see how it's healthy to do anything for it. Our bodies were not designed to need medical support for something that is natural, surely?

But would you say the same about all other things that are 'natural?
Infections, diabetes, thyroid issues, etc.
They are all natural things happening to the body.

Interestingly there was some research/report in the media last week on life expectancy.

It said that in the past 200 years, life expectancy in the UK has doubled.

So it's not that long since most of us were dying at 45-50.

Women were not living post-menopause for over 30 years and inevitable decline in bone density and risk of heart disease.

x-d posts @Delatron You got there before me.