HRT - too late?

[ThisRareFox]

Hi,

I’m 53 and had my last period aged 45. I hadn’t noticed any symptoms prior to this. I had no spotting, nothing - I just thought I was late (we were on holiday at the time and I just thought it was the stress of getting there with 2 young children delaying my period but, no, it never returned).

After a few years of awful symptoms - mainly anxiety, palpitations, psychological symptoms (not wanting to be around people and avoiding everyone and anyone) - which led to me leaving my job and marriage (I am still in the same profession but I seemed to go off the rails in a job I’d been in for 16 years).

Anyway, I am a lot more settled now. I didn’t take HRT. It was never offered to me even though I went to the GP twice.

The thing is, my blood pressure has crept up since menopause and I believe this is to do with the drop in oestrogen. I have had blood pressure checks done and the doctors just say that my blood pressure is a little on the high side but don’t offer any treatment. I’m am not obese but have a few extra pounds I need to lose but I regularly get dizzy, especially when bending over doing gardening jobs.

Is it worth asking for HRT even though I’m 8 years post-menopause? Is it too late?

I don't think it's too late (I started it at 58) but I'm not sure they'll give it to you for just blood pressure as it is meant to be prescribed based on symptoms and slightly raised BP isn't one of them I don't think. But maybe worth asking about the dizziness. Do you have any other symptoms remaining? I started it due to the late onset of hot flushes.

Can you confirm you're in the UK? Just looking at the timing of your post. Asking because sometimes posters come back and say they are in another country, (where the guidance on HRT is often totally different.)

You won't be given HRT for high BP. It's not prescribed for that. It can be prescribed at your age and older for meno symptoms.

HRT helps prevent heart disease by keeping the arteries more flexible and helping to stop plaque forming. There are 10 years post meno when this is worth doing. After that time the damage has been done and it doesn't help (as much)

https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/support/women-with-a-heart-condition/menopause-and-heart-disease#HRTbenefit_or_risk_to_your_heart

To reduce your blood pressure the advice is to change your diet, take more exercise, lose weight.https://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/risk-factors/high-blood-pressure#Reducinghighbloodpressure

If you were post meno at 45, your really should have a bone density scan. You were right on the edge of an early menopause (that's up to 45) and you could have lost bone. Ask your GP for this.

https://www.nhs.uk/tests-and-treatments/dexa-scan/why-its-done/

Apparently never too late. The Balance app has lots of info that might be useful. In my experience GPs really don’t have the expertise or interest so you have to do the research yourself and approach your GP armed with information.

I’m nowhere near as bad as I was. I didn’t really suffer from hot flushes, strangely enough, but definitely had anxiety, the feeling of being completely overwhelmed with everything, sleep problems, palpitations at one point and crazy sex surge!! I still don’t like being in shopping centres and anywhere where there are crowds.

Nature and the outdoors have been my saviours.

My friend started at 74 and swears by it.

Yes, I’m in the UK. Had a sleepless night! Hence, why I was on here.

@JinglingSpringbells I’m also in a very stressful job with a massive workload (NHS), which has probably contributed to the increase in BP.

I started 6 months ago aged 56, 2 years post menopause, they didn’t even question, I just rhymed off symptoms, told them the impact it was having on me and how it was affecting my quality of life and I’d considered asking to be signed off work as was at breaking point with lack of sleep, I’d read up on it on menopause matters and BMS and I’d like to try patches, micronised progesterone and vaginal estrogen and they gave me a prescription.

good luck, don’t leave until they give you a prescription!

You can start HRT at almost any age BUT you can't go and ask for it to reduce blood pressure , which is what you asked @ThisRareFox .