HRT or no HRT

[Essieloulou]

Hi, has anyone gone through the menopause naturally , wothout HRT and did you use any supplements, im trying tp weigh up pros and cons

Tha.k you

where symptoms are not enough to warrant HRT or have no symptoms at all, it is hugely annoying to hear from women who seem to think we're doomed to a life of invalidity or be incapacitated with heart problems. This is just not true.

@gemma What is true is the fact is that 50% of women will be 'doomed' - because 50% will get osteoporosis. if you want to bury your had in the sand over the figures, that's your choice.

It's not 'women' who are saying this (although they are using this forum to inform other women) - it's expert medical professionals - read the link I left about osteoporosis.

Until dementia topped the table recently, the biggest killer of women was heart disease.

Osteoporosis is a horrible disease and unless you've seen the impact on family or friends, it's likely not to appreciate its impact.

As I said before, you can't get HRT for prevention without medical proof of loss of bone density or a high risk of it- ie family history.

But the fact is most women don't have a clue about their bone density unless they take the initiative and get a private scan. It's a shocking area of neglect by the NHS.

So - if women want to use HRT for symptoms AND it's also helping their bones, why not?

It’s nothing to do with being slim and exercising. Menopause affects some women more than others - not because they’re overweight or unfit, but just the luck of the draw, in the same way that some women get awful period pain but some don’t.

I’m slim, fit, and had decided not to take HRT. However, I didn’t foresee the symptoms I’d get. Mine were anxiety (really weird and so unlike me, as I’m not an anxious person), a strange lack of confidence and self-consciousness (hard to describe but I changed from being an outgoing, busy person to someone who felt self-conscious going to the shop even though there was absolutely no reason for this); vaginal dryness (awful!) and palpitations.

I decided to try a HRT for a short time - and I was gobsmacked at the results! The anxiety just disappeared! I felt myself again. I hadn’t realised just how not myself I’d felt until I ‘came back’. My palpitations stopped, and my vaginal dryness improved immensely. I also no longer needed to get up in the night for a wee, and my urinary habits just felt better.

So, OP, if you think you might need it, have a trial of it for a few months and see how it goes. I’d never in a million years have thought I’d take it, but I actually needed it and it’s made me feel myself again - which sounds trivial but it’s absolutely not.

There are lots of Gemmas! That reply was for @Gemma5678

It’s nothing to do with being slim and exercising. Menopause affects some women more than others - not because they’re overweight or unfit, but just the luck of the draw, in the same way that some women get awful period pain but some don’t

Not luck of the draw. A soy based diet is the way to go to help with a lot of issues
especially hot flashes at the very least

I don't think weight exercise have anything to do with it. I'm extremely fit and do a lot of exercise and still suffered badly and need hrt. I find that assumption that only fat and unfit people suffer through the menopause very patronising.

I didn't think I needed it and got all the way through to menopause. I was having trouble sleeping though due to hot flushes and night waking. I've only been on it for two weeks and feel invigorated already. I am sleeping properly for the first time in ages.

You have to eat a huge amount of soy- more than is really possible- to create the effects of HRT. It doesn't work for everyone.

Most HRT now is made from yams- so not really much difference (still a plant) to using soy products.

Should say I am fat and unfit and didn’t have the hot flashes

That's because body fat creates more estrogen in the body- so meno symptoms can be reduced. It's also why being overweight / obese is a risk factor for female cancers .

What’s your source for those stats on osteoperosis @JinglingSpringbells?

The NICE guidance on menopause / HRT only looks to talk about stats on fractures relating to osteoporosis, and heart disease over a 5 year period, which seem limited.

This in an interesting thread.

But it's been quite sidetracked from what the OP asked in her post. She wanted to get feedback from those taking a more natural route, and most here who have replied to this point, have been quoted by other posters and told why HRT would be better for them.

I don't know if it is because I am in a different country, but why is it just not possible to have an open conversation here about not being on HRT. If I had started this very same thread on a local site, the replies would be along what was asked initially. As it is a conversation thread, not a medical site thread.

I will add in (not that I think it matters, but maybe it does) that most women here who are on any medication for menopause (be it hrt or an alternative) are largely treated by a private specialist. If my private specialist says I should try a natural supplement as an alternative, then I am going with the fact that they work with these and see results, or even side effects, day in and day out.

I see OP hasn't been back. I am not too surprised really as the thread has taken a pro turn, and that is not what she was asking.

@Loopytiles If you scroll back to posts from yesterday you will find the sources -

There is a quote I pasted from the Royal Osteoporosis Society - left at 13.16pm

There is this link to a paper on managing bone health left at 15.50pm. I also copied and pasted bullet points from page 2 of that link

https://ilcuk.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/OsteoporosisUK.pdf

Oh here we go, only naughty fat people need HRT. Good god.

I was slim and going to the gym 5 times a week when perimenopause hit me like a train, with anxiety, panic attacks, rage as the starters for 10. My slim gym bunny sister was the same. The most overweight person I know had no symptoms at all.

I'm pro HRT - no hot flashes, better sleep, reduces risk of osteoporosis, better skin, better hair, look younger , energy to do things, less angry, renewed sexual desire

To add to my post, I tried the natural route for 6 years. I took 5HTP and St John's Wort for the anxiety.

For me, my symptoms were severe so I wish I had started HRT sooner and I hadn't believed all the press about how bad it was.

@Loopytiles

theros.org.uk/latest-news/women-s-health-strategy-needs-to-go-big-on-osteoporosis-emergency-affecting-one-in-two-women-over-50/

Oops, thank you & sorry @JinglingSpringbells

I tried HRT for a year but I didn't see a massive benefit. Only thing I really noticed was my joints were slightly less sore in the morning. It did nothing for my sleep annoyingly. It also seemed to trigger my endometriosis/adenomyosis though the specialist said they couldn't be sure it was the trigger (but when I came off it, the pain stopped).

I'm off it now and far happier. I take a vitB complex and magnesium (though not every day) plus vitD, coQ10 and fish oil. I'm 51 and still having periods (though they aren't regular anymore).

No, not had hrt , although partly this was because I gad breast cancer, and hrt was a potential risk.

However, my mother and sister haven’t had hrt either, and I’m not sure whether I would have taken it either.

I did take supplements, mainly evening primrose oil (or similar) for hot flushes, but that was it.

If your maternal relatives went through the menopause relatively smoothly, the chances are you will to.

Periods stopped at 56 (having restarted at 48!). Now 59.
Never had HRT - never will.
Never taken any supplements.
Never seen a doctor about it.

I know I am lucky, as I hardly had any symptoms, but if someone feels fine, then there should be no need to medicate.

I say it constantly - everyone is different, and HRT is not compulsory.

No have never taken HRT, had menopause about 17 yrs ago. My meno symptoms were minimal so I didn't consider taking it, probably if I'd had a lot of symptoms I would. So far so good, but I do have thyroid disease instead so that is my bugbear! For those advocating a lot of soy, please don't, it's very bad for your thyroid!

I've made it through without HRT. I found peri-menopause difficult but no one symptom lasted more than 6 months. Each time I'd think I can't bear this anymore, I'm going to ask for HRT, the symptoms would change, so in the end I never did. I used bio-identical progesterone cream and also took high strength red clover isoflavones. I have continued using them.

I'm mid 50s now and fully menopausal. I haven't had a period for nearly 3 years. I have good bone density, my heart and blood vessels all look good, I have normal cholesterol, normal BP (I'm fortunate to have private healthcare at work). My only significant health issues are 3 different types of arthritis, which I've had for a long time (pre peri-menopause) but after some recent weight loss and dietary changes the symptoms of those have improved too.

I've just started using vaginal estradiol (Gina) pessaries as I noticed that everything felt a bit dry and uncomfortable.

Other than that I'm really enjoying being in menopause. No hormonal mood swings, no periods - honestly the bliss of no periods is something else. I feel calmer, clearer minded and more even tempered.

I have three sisters. None of us have used HRT (all in our late 50s/early 60s). We are all fit and healthy (though I am overweight).

I certainly noticed menopause - I used to get night sweats - but nothing to make it worth doing anything about.

I don't drink or smoke and have a diet that is pretty rich in calcium so don't think I am particularly at risk of osteoporosis. I am more at risk of breast cancer I think (my mother had it).

It's not as simple as low-calcium= osteoporosis and more calcium= no osteo.

The action of bone remodelling (old bone and new bone being formed) is very complex and is directly linked to hormones, both estrogen and other hormones.

As a breast cancer survivor who can never take HRT, this is just what I needed to read 🙄