Coming off HRT at 63

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I’m 63 and have taken various HRT over the past 13/14 years. Finally, I was on progesterone and Lanzetto oestrogen spray. I’ve now tailed off it which took 5 months in total.

But… I ache like never before. Hips and shoulders, spine, wrists. Wakes me up at night. I’ve also in the past 6 weeks started with night sweats/chills AGAIN!! At 63. Is this usual?

I don’t want to take HRT for ever due to health risks but it’s like my hormones have gone back olin time!

It's difficult, isn't it.

Not everyone gets rid of all meno symptoms - some women have them for ever (my consultant told me that) and have to carry on with HRT.

63 isn't that old to be on it but I appreciate you're worried about the risks.

I think you either have to accept that you still need to take HRT with its small risks, or accept that you're somehow have to find other ways of coping with the symptoms, (herbs etc) but that's very hit and miss.

There is a new drug out for hot flushes which isn't hrt but you'd need it prescribed and not sure if your GP would be up to speed on it.

@JinglingSpringbells Thanks for that. I’m seriously thinking of going back to it. I’m taking all sorts of supplements and exercise/pilates regularly but I feel like I’m crumbling 😐

Any idea of the name of that new drug?

Ahhh…

Fezolinetant (Veoza) is a non-hormonal drug that can help with hot flushes and night sweats in the UK. It's available on private prescription, but has not yet been approved for use on the NHS.

The risks are the same as moderate drinking or being overweight
I can't see the point in stopping and having a miserable life.
My joint pains were hideous
Now I can run around like a kid again
I cycle, run, swim, play tennis and sleep like a baby.

Lack of exercise, lack of sleep and low mood will affect you more than HRT

have you weighed up the preventative effects it has on osteoporosis, heart disease and dementia against the risks?

I'm 67 and still on hrt after hysterectomy in mid 40's. I did attempt coming off it but couldn't bear the hot flushes and anxiety that started. But I only take ( patches) a very low dose. And it's oestrogen only.
It keeps the hot flushes at bay and the anxiety is lessened. Also helps with insomnia. I'm clinging on to it as long as I can.

God, I’m struggling!! I’m FIVE months off HRT and all of a sudden the hit flushes are getting to be horrendous. Why!!? Surely, it’d have happened before now.

One of the reasons I came off the Spartans progesterone (I still have a uterus) was due to sudden and massive hair fall. It got so bad that my hairdresser showed me how best to disguise it. At a stressful time in my life, it was the final straw when I read HRT could cause hair shedding. Incidentally, since I’ve been off HRT, my hair has noticeably made a comeback. But… The sweats are f**king awful. I feel like I’m melting!

Has anyone tried anything “natural” or herbal that’s helped with the hot flushes?

Im all ears!

One of the reasons I came off the Spartans progesterone

Typo? :)

If you're suffering maybe consider going back onto it?

Typo!! 😂
I would but my hair fall was massive!
Might try this… particularly says for flushes!

The hair loss may not be related at all to HRT.
Estrogen usually helps hair to grow.

One thing you need for hair growth is plenty of protein so check your needs (the amount correlates to your body weight- roughly around 1gm per kilo body weight.)

And a really nutritious diet helps.

Herbs are worth a go but it's hit and miss.

I have been on HRT for 18 years and have tried a few times to stop using it. Each time the night sweats have returned very quickly and been awful. I have no intention whatsoever of trying again to come off HRT. I realise there are side effects but I am not sacrificing my current health for some future health I may not have.

Nowadays there is no maximum time/age to be on hrt. To me is all about quality of life. Many women still have menopause symptoms till a great deal older than 63. Hair shredding can happen with aging for many reasons so I would maybe investigate that first before deciding it down to the hrt. End of the day if you're feeling dreadful, achy and your quality of life is suffering I would stay on the hrt.

I will speak to my gp. I called at Boots today and talked to the pharmacist. She said there can be some hair loss associated with HRT but the fact is been on it for years made her think it was unlikely to be the medication and to look at diet/stress/exercise related issues.

Thanks all 😊

Would you mind me asking how old you are now @FiveShelties
I've been on HRT close to the same time as you. I've tried reducing it and my sleep suffers.

I found coming off slowly meant there was no sudden falling off a cliff as it were. I didn’t expect, several months later to resume all the menopause symptoms I’d had when I was 52! 😡

@JinglingSpringbells I am 68 😀

Thanks. Were' pretty close in age.

There is no guarantee that coming off slowly means you won't have symptoms again. I assume what happens if your estrogen levels fall at a slower rate but that doesn't mean that symptoms won't come back.
My Mum had flushes and sweats in her 80s. (Never on HRT- asked for it at 60-ish and told 'too old' - that was decades ago,)

@JinglingSpringbells I remember my mum and aunties going through hell. For years. I do think I need to go back on it. Last night I was woken so many times and when I turn over in bed, EVERY MOVE is so painful.

My mum has finally persuaded her GP to put her back on HRT - she's 84. She's suffered for years with hot flushes, anxiety and night sweats, but is finally symptom free.

I'm intending to stay on HRT forever.

Slightly late to the thread here but I also tried coming off HRT last September, I’m 54 but had a hysterectomy at 40 although I kept my ovaries. So I’ve been on estrogel only for about 4-5 years. When I started taking it I wasn’t too bad with menopause symptoms, mainly some anxiety. However when I had three months off of it from Sept-Nov last year I ended up in a terrible state. Crippling joint aches, loads of hot flushes and I felt about 100 years old, anxiety also returned. I went back on it in Dec and am now only beginning to feel totally normal again. Flushes went quickly again, but the joint pain & exhaustion took a while to subside. Coming off really destabilised my general health. It was a shock as I’m usually a very active person.

So basically for me, it’s weighing up risks. Yes HRT does carry certain risks as I get older, but probably not as many as being basically housebound with joint pain, exhaustion and not sleeping, plus all that increased my anxiety. It did take 6 weeks for the symptoms to come back, first few weeks coming off HRT felt fine, then I hit a wall with a bang. I guess we’re all different, but it’s certainly made me newly appreciate what it does for me personally, and for me the benefits still outweigh the risk. I went for an 8 mile walk yesterday, whereas a couple of months back I had difficulty even walking across the room.

Can’t get in at the GP. Am seeing the surgery pharmacist who can re prescribe. I’ll just try a low dose oestrogen spray and progesterone caps.

Good luck. Hope it helps 🙏

In older women, and especially after the age of 70, HRT increases tau accumulation in the brain and with it, the higher chances of Alzheimer’s disease. Nobody should stay on it forever and anyone above 70 should reconsider it, and those closer to that age as well.
The science is here https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adt1288

Thanks for that @qwertasdfg I’ve saved that paper to read later but it is indeed worrying