Has anyone NOT been on HRT? Has the menopause been ok if so?

[ForeverDelayedEpiphany]

I'm 44, and think my body has been in perimenopause since my youngest daughter was born in 2020.

Literally textbook symptoms, itchy ears, hot flushes, weird tingling, itchy skin, horrible palpitations and awful waves of anxiety, much worse migraines, dry eyes, thinner hair... it's not been too good, but it's been bearable.

The thing is, I am extremely sensitive to medication side effects, especially ones that affect the endocrine system. I have a medication induced neurological involuntary movement disorder called tardive dyskinesia that is like Tourette's and Parkinson's disease combined (and was caused by an off label antipsychotic). When I had to use some antifungal cream for thrush after breastfeeding once, it made my involuntary movements worse (as I think it is probably something that affects oestrogen and therefore dopamine receptors (.

Anyway, my rambling post is basically a way of saying I'm not sure about HRT but perimenopause symptoms aren't really great and seem to be getting worse.

Has anyone been through the menopause but not taken HRT? If so, how are you doing? Has it been ok?

No but following as not allowed HRT due to APS. Positive stories wanted

I'm (hopefully) nearing meno after 10+ years of peri. No HRT. I have a serious allergic condition that can be exacerbated by female hormones. I had the usual symptoms near the start but they disappeared and, apart from a brief couple of weeks a few months ago, haven't returned. If I'd started HRT when the symptoms were at their worst I'd have assumed they improved as a result of that!

Well I’m 67, and HRT wasn’t something I considered. I had tolerable symptoms.
I do worry about my bone and cardiac health now and wish I had taken a little something.
But fortunately at a certain point most symptoms passed. Zero hot flashes or night sweats, eye drops and melatonin as necessary.

I’m post menopause, no HRT aside from a few hot flushes I had no issues.

I have not been on HRT because the peri symptoms were manageable. Which was a lucky escape as I was diagnosed with estrogen receptive breast cancer aged 51.

Now I am in induced menopause with ovarian suppression plus aromatase inhibitors. I have less estrogen than a post menopausal 90yr old.

Being slammed into menopause is really really hard. All the symptoms amped up massively and I’m suffering. But I don’t want cancer again so no choice.

Yes of course. Millions of women including me. Absolutely fine. My only symptoms as far as I remember were
My periods stopped
I got night sweat for several years
Possibly I became fatter round the middle.
Never occurred to me to pathologise these things TBF.

I've been extremely lucky and have had hardly any symptoms - just a few hot flushes.
I'm anaemic due to rheumatoid arthritis and not having periods have helped with this
I've had a recent dexa scan and everything was fine.
I would have considered HRT but I've never felt like I needed it

My mum said she “didn’t even notice” menopause and sailed on through. It has had me on the floor before medication. So yes it can be done, but no rhyme or reason. Not until far more research is done - we are lagging to far behind on womens’ health in so many ways.

It really varies - some people sail through without any troublesome symptoms, some really struggle without HRT. More complicated still, some people find their symptoms improve when they're actually menopausal, others have symptoms that continue. A healthy, active lifestyle can help mitigate the symptoms but often a challenge is that the symptoms themselves make people feel too rough to be active and take care of themselves.

One thing to think about is bone density, as that's something that deteriorates imperceptibly but quickly after menopause, so if you have any risk factors (family history of fractures or osteoporosis, periods of low weight, taking some medications) I'd definitely see if you can get a DEXA scan.

It's difficult to know how you would react to HRT - it might as you say make things worse or possibly make things better because it provides consistent hormone levels. Can you discuss with an endocrinologist or neurologist? Of course it's not a black or white issue, you could try a low dose and come off it immediately if the side effects are unmanageable. There's a new medication called Veozah which isn't hormonal but can help with hot flushes so might be worth exploring.

I'm 60. My periods (which had been chaotic and rare) became regular at 48 and stopped completely at 56.
Never had any other symptoms.
Never took HRT, and never will. No over the counter "medicines" or products, either.
Not seen a doctor for any reason at all since 2011.
Everyone is different, many of us don't need HRT, but this is a decision you will have to take for yourself, OP.

Also hoping to manage without HRT as my fibroids have caused nerve damage so need them to shrink. Periods have got very infrequent but I have heard the worse bit is when they actually stop so not looking forward to that bit!

Something around 85% of women don't take HRT for various reasons (medical, personal preference, shit doctor, conscientious objector etc) but around 75% of women experience symptoms, some of which can be utterly debilitating. I would have loved to have got by without, but either I would be dead or in prison for murder by this stage if had held that line. 😕

Can you afford to go private and see someone who specialises in menopause and may be able to find a solution for you? Whether that is HRT or something else.

@ForeverDelayedEpiphany for me the worst bit of peri was the floods but I got the pants. I didn’t go on HRT until a year after my periods stopped as I honestly felt ok other than that all through. After though, I got quite anxious and I’d heard the HRT might help. So I started to use patches and they helped. However, I started to get side effects from the HRT (physical) that were a possible red flag for cancer risk (family history of breast cancer) so I stopped after a year. I honestly feel fine now.

One thing to think about is bone density, as that's something that deteriorates imperceptibly but quickly after menopause

Good point. I wish they offered DEXA scans as screening for all women over 40. I got a free one post cancer treatment because ovarian suppression and aromatase inhibitors decrease bone density really quickly as a side effect. So they wanted to check my baseline before inducing menopause.

Surprisingly the DEXA scan showed I already have osteoporosis!! So I am also getting osteoporosis treatment to reverse bone loss and increase bone density.

I am 2 years post menopause and have not taken HRT.
Symptoms are flushes, bad sleep, probably more stroppy, but nothing I can't manage. What would have pushed me to HRT was if I had had flooding or endless bleeding, but thankfully they just faded away (with a few doozies).

I think my sporting performance might have been impacted as I had a couple of years where I'd run and feel like what I think people who don't enjoy running feel like. I have been a runner all my life. I'm slower now, but I don't ache or want to stop and I have the fire in my belly to get on the podium (for my age!).

I'm pretty highly strung anyway, so who knows whether my mood swings, lack of resilience and anxious periods are hormone related or just the way I am, mixed in with life stuff (poorly relatives, being made redundant etc).

My older sister really struggled to find the right HRT and in the end ditched it all. I really didn't/don't want that.

My periods just stopped at age 52. No symptoms or anything . But the rages.... I wanted to kill my husband one day because he hadn't put his mug in the sink. That lasted maybe 6 months then I had 1 more period and that was it. I think I was lucky. My daughter has been the same.
I've always wondered if it had anything to do with estrogen (sp?) levels. I've never shaved my legs - ever. I don't need to. I used to shave underarms once a year at holiday time, 'just in case' ! LoL.

I am 60 and never had HRT. I was lucky though in that I didn't suffer much in the way of symptoms, weight gain and hot flushes now and again were about the worst of it.

I don't use it. I had one course and felt suicidal. I definitely used to feel like this on the pill, back in the day. No GP was ever interested in my horrific PMT on the pill, they just kept saying I shouldn't get it. I was diagnosed with ADHD a few years ago, and am now seeing that HRT can act differently on the ADHD brain, so perhaps it's that.

Perimenopause was horrendous, for reasons associated with ADHD as well. I used to sit at my desk and think, I do not know myself, I do not know how to do this job, I am a shell of myself. I had the sex drive of an 18-year-old boy (I'm guessing). I couldn't follow instructions. I binge ate and didn't understand why because I wasn't hungry. Couldn't get myself to the dr, either, just could not face it. Thank fuck it got better in menopause. I have my brain back. I also have a wonderful husband who took on board what I was saying and helped me.

No HRT here. I'm 55 and have more or less sailed through it. My body temperature regulation is a bit all over the place and I've put on weight round my middle but otherwise I feel fine.

I can’t take HRT as I had hormone receptive breast cancer aged 39. It’s been horrible at times. Rages, aching joints, feeling so down I’ve convinced myself my family are better off without me (CBT helped with that), brain fog, heart palpitations.

I’d take HRT if I were allowed to.

Everyone’s different though. My older sister is sailing through peri-menopause. Our DM did too.

Yes I wish they allowed them to all women at leat over 50. I fractured my metartasal completely out the blue when I turned 51 a year ago. I’d actually been recovering from a shoulder injury so my activity levels were very low. One day I pushed my foot into my trainer as usual and was just left with a searing pain which X rays confirmed as a broken foot bone. My female GP was immediately concerned and referred me for a DEXA but the hospital denied it as they considered it to be to hairline of a fracture 🤦🏻‍♀️. I’m peri right now with no family or friends support network, live completely alon e and just really worried if my body’s deteriorating further and I won’t know until some other bone like wrist goes which will be a huge struggle alone 😐.

I'm post-menopausal and have never had HRT. Menopause didn't cause me any problems.

I did (and do, at 62) have a lot of rage and anxiety, but I have no reason to attribute that the menopause. I think it is due to circumstances in my life.

@Cynic17
Re "not seen a doctor since 2011" ie 14 years
I was similar at 60 , hadn't seen a doctor for years because I felt fine. Finally got round to having my first annual health check and found my blood pressure was 192! Spent the rest of the day in a+e and have been on blood pressure pills ever since. Only symptoms were occasional headaches and feeling my blood pounding round my body .
It's worth having your blood pressure checked - I think chemists will do it for free. It could save your life.

Me. My doctor won't prescribe it because my cholesterol is too high. It's not been too bad, main symptoms were thinning hair and loss of libido. I'm 60 now and feel pretty much back to normal. I guess everyone reacts differently. Of course, I don't know how I'd feel if I had taken it, so I have nothing to compare it to.

@ForeverDelayedEpiphany TBH no one here can tell you because you're going to get a whole range of answers. 15% of women 'sail' through menopause with no symptoms. 10-15% have symptoms for life. The rest have them for some years (average is quoted as around 7) and around 75% have symptoms affecting quality of life for a number of years.

What you should do if you can is see a menopause specialist, probably privately, to get their time (an hour compared to 10 mins with a GP) to discuss all your medical issues in detail. They can also work alongside your other specialists (assume they are treating your movement disorder?)

You may have to travel to see a really good specialist - ie London- or another big city but once you have, your GP can usually take over whatever they recommend. The British Menopause Society has a list of specialists across the UK but do you own research. There are a handful of excellent ones, some who are part of the BMS and write guidance on menopause and HRT.

The other point is that being in peri for 5 years already puts you at a slightly higher risk of loss of bone density if you are missing periods.

I didn't understand you point about thrush medication and estrogen= symptoms. Thrush medication isn't estrogen.