HRT vs Natural route

[Rainbowsayhi]

Hi all, I'm perimenopause and I am interested in both.
There are pros and cons to both conventional and alternative treatment. Some of my peri friends are not taking anything and don't experiencing any symptoms. Also only one post meno friend is taking HRT and I can't ask the rest. They have gone down the natural route, alternative medicine, supplements, food etc...
I would appreciate some opinions and experiences to help me make a decision. Thanks for reading.

The thing is though, every woman's experience of peri/meno is different and reactions to treatments can be so varied depending on personal health circumstances, so you can't really compare. All you can do is find out what women who have had similar symptoms have done/are doing. What issues are you having?

It’s so personal. If someone wants to go down the ‘natural route’, presumably you mean without HRT, that is fine with me, it’s not for me however. I need to be able to get out of bed and function at work in a demanding role and wasn’t able to do that without HRT. I also take supplements, and A-Ds for the crippling menopause anxiety. Defo couldn’t work without them. Just my experience , others will be fine without anything like that.

There's a very long thread on this that was started on 17/2/25 by @essieloulou It's about 15 threads down the page.
Might be worth reading that?

She was asking the same thing.

There are no alternative products proven to work the same as HRT (this is medical /science from the BMS/RCOG research into alternatives, not opinion.)

Up to 40% of women using alternative products are getting a placebo effect (British Menopause Society report.)

So it all depends on the severity of your symptoms and whether you want to spend time trying herbs etc rather than prescribed meds.

In a nutshell HRT pros - protection of bones whilst on it, better mood, better sleep, less overheating, reduction utis, no vaginal atrophy. Cons - regular prescriptions, some experience side effects, potential risks all well documented.

Natural pros - no prescriptions, no associated risks of the medication but risks of long-term problems regarding bone health, potential for poor libido, vaginal atrophy, poor sleep/mood/anxiety in some.

Imo it's a lottery. The best place to look is your own dm, see how she got on. A lot of risk is familial it seems.

I do believe HRT will become more popular as celebs endorse it and the fright of that study 20yrs ago continues to wane. Just sadly there is little new info so whether the newer tyoes are definitely safer and not just thought to be remains to be proven.

Hiya, thanks all. @JinglingSpringbells · I will take a look, quite a lot of info here, to browse and take in.
Main symptoms are irregular periods, joint pains, sometimes insomnia, dry, itchy skin, low mood. When I told one friend I'm tired, she suggested I try Hrt.