HRT what percentage don't take it?

[Allshallbewell2021]

I never took HRT & menopause started a long time ago. I didn't think I needed it but now I get the sense that everyone seems to have it and I wonder if I would have benefitted. I was extremely busy at the time; I changed jobs and went back to working full time with a still young-ish family so I just didn't think to explore the idea.
It sounds like there are great benefits but maybe some women don't have HRT and are fine?

Also, to defend my ignorance - it used to be a near taboo subject whereas it's like talking about the weather now where I work.

My GP recommended it, as it supposedly helps prevent osteoporosis & heart disease. She mentioned dementia as well. On starting it, I’ve realised how many issues I had were due to Perimenopause. Feeling so much better already.

I am in my 60s and on HRT and I will continue to do so. I have been on it for at least 10 years now. I am on daily gel ( after a hysterectomy) and also on vaginal pessaries 3 times a week for the support of the genital/ urinary system ( women can end up with excessive UTI issues and vaginal atrophy ). My hair is full. I see it as topping up a level which has started to deplete with age and hopefully is also helping me with protection for my heart and bones.

@Allshallbewell2021 if you are concerned about your health then maybe speak to your GP who can arrange some checks eg bone density etc.

Before hrt I was pretty much suicidal.
I had so many symptoms for two years that I didn't know were related to peri menopause. I was 38 when they started.
By the time I started having hot flushes at 40 I was miserable. Barely getting through each day with anxiety, muscle pain, itching, heartburn, insomnia, exhaustion, numbness, headaches etc
Dh was carrying me, the kids and the house on top of a demanding job.
At 39 the doctors said it couldn't be peri as I was too young. At 40, by chance, the bloods came back showing I was in premature ovarian failure.
The difference in me from before and after hrt are like night and day.
I'm very open about it on my sm and have had over 20 female friends message me privately to ask for info as well as lots commenting on my posts about it.
I'm not one for sharing personal stuff at all but this just feels important.
I'm so glad for the women who feel they don't need it. My mum says she sailed through hers but as a child living at home with her I bore the brunt of her rages.

I am 62, started menopause around 51. When to GP with hot flushes the main problem. Didn’t really get a lot of help, basically was down to me if I wanted to try something, so left it a while. Had a conversation with a nurse when having a mammogram a few years later, she told me to go back to GP. I saw female GP who was supposedly the menopause GP, again gave me the options, but had trouble stabilising blood pressure, so again left it. I think if I were to advise anyone, I would advise, if they can afford to see someone private, do it, I wish I had. I now get aches and pains that could have possibly been helped with HRT, but who knows.

I'm 55 and started menopause about 18m ago. I'm not taking HRT as I only have an occasional hot flush, luckily not a lot else. I do have the mirena coil in though, so my womb is protected.

I don't really know an awful lot about it, tbh. I don't know if I should be taking it, or not.

My Mum had HRT 30 years ago and I feel that was rare but most people didn't talk about "women's problems" in my parents circle.

I have literally just started Oesrogel this morning in the hope it will help my sleep.
I have few other symptoms, but my paternal grandmother had terrible osteoporosis, despite a very healthy lifestyle, so can't do any harm

I was told I’d need to go on it as I have a family history of osteoporosis. I now have lots of symptoms eg anxiety, brain fog, fatigue so planning to see gp to start the ball running asap

I think the difficulty is that doctors and practice nurses don’t always recognise the symptoms of menopause or maybe play them down, say it’s normal and therefore an acceptable way to be. The only symptom my GP discussed with me was flushes and whether or not I wanted to put up with them and to consider that it was a normal stage of life to consider just living with. Unless you know where to access information to help decide what to do, you’ll never be aware of the full impact of living life through the menopause with or without HRT.

I'm almost 54 and still have 6 months left on my mirena for the progesterone bit btw

I'm 62, periods stopped 10 years ago. I thought I'd escaped menopause lightly as I only had hot flushes, which the doctor recommended red clover for & that did the trick. I don't think the emotions side of it was considered as much then. I was on an emotional roller coaster - completely unlike me - but it never occurred to me that it might be a symptom of menopause. I've read recently that symptoms can start 10 years after periods have stopped, so I'm on the alert! Bone & heart health seem fine, hair is still thick as ever. Finding this thread interesting reading!

But do people like me ever get given HRT on the other side of the menopause as the benefits seem to be so highly valued?
Of course, I would need to go to be seen - I'm just interested if you can take it well after menopause in principle? Obviously not self medicated. But I'm just wondering about it as I feel maybe I missed a boat. I had a really rugged time for a few years in many ways but was so busy I didn't think of it. It's only recently I realise all the women I know are taking it - but it used to be as private as talking about your sex life.

As you say you do need to speak to someone who can advise you as each case is very different.

I’m 61 and didn’t go on it because synthetic hormones caused havoc for me in my twenties. I’m out of the woods in most respects but do wonder if I would have more energy and feel more positive on it. I also worry about my bones.
menopause for me coincided with bereavement and a lot of emotional upheaval for other reasons. I actually feel I’ve been depressed and lacking in joy or motivation ever since. I do wonder what part hormones have played and if HRT would have made a difference. I have so much less energy than I used to have. I put it down to age.

Have a read of this thread - lots of similar discussions about it all here -

www.mumsnet.com/talk/menopause/4719854-uti-soreness-are-my-bike-riding-days-over?page=1

Thank you

@Xrays - I’m interested in the auto immune part. I have auto immune issues and have been experiencing what could be menopausal symptoms for a couple of years - I’m 42 now. They’re not unmanageable (in the grand scheme of having an auto immune condition!) but I wonder if it might be worth checking. I didn’t realise there was a link.

I'm 54 and with the exception of achey joints, all other symptoms have been very mild and some, like mood swings and depression etc I haven't suffered from at all.

I take cod liver oil for my joints but that is all

It’s more common with certain types of autoimmune issues - Addisons for example which is very rare (which I have) but it does seem to happen very often. Worth a google and read into it.

I'm like other posters. I made the conscious descision at 18 that I didn't want a lifetime of fake hormones in my bloodstream (the pill), so only used condoms. Now I'm in peri/meno I take the same view. I don't want inauthentic hormones in me. I've been lucky in that my hot flushes are very gentle. I have brain fog but I hope that will shift over time.

www.balance-menopause.com/menopause-library/body-identical-hormones-factsheet/

There is now a move towards seeing HRT as akin to thyroid replacement medication - ie an oestrogen deficiency similar to a thyroid deficiency (hypothyroidism) that requires replacement.

I was early 30s and advised against it so never had it. I don't therefore know what benefits it would give me. I don't have any obvious symptoms now that I would say were particularly menopausal now.

I have debilitating symptoms but can’t take HRT.

I feel as if it is becoming far more the norm

Surprised OP didn't know about the Davina effect.
In 1993 53% of surveyed UK women age 50-65 had ever tried HRT, rose to 66% of women that age in 2003. Seems like it's been the case for long time that most women at least try it.

Raw prescription data here from NHS, updated to early 2022, the prescription count is still increasing. Prescription rates are strongly related to social advantage "almost twice as many patients received prescribing in the least deprived areas of the country compared to the most deprived".

I think this is saying that of all women surveyed age 50+ , thru early 2020, almost 7% had a current prescription.

Feb 2023 update "Around 15% of women aged 45 to 64 in England are currently prescribed HRT, which has increased rapidly in the last 2 years from around 11% and continues to increase."

7% to 11% to 15% is a big increase over a small time period, but it's still a small minority of population in receipt. It also seems to me like a lot of people try HRT but don't persist with it.

The thing is, there’s a huge lack of up to date knowledge about HRT - both amongst the general population and from GPs. So even though there’s been the “Davina effect” to some degree you only have to read posts here and in the many health forums I am in to know that actually many, many people still don’t understand how HRT works, and that old myths like you can’t have it if you have high blood pressure / risk of blood clots etc just don’t apply now. (And many doctors still wrongly advise this to be true)! And there’s still - and this goes for saying in most areas of health related issues- this thing people have where they view medics as “gods” who they won’t challenge / won’t do their own research / won’t seek second opinions. It’s a huge melting pot of misery for many women as it’s near impossible to navigate the whole thing.

I am not a medical specialist by the way. I’m just a middle aged woman who has suffered with multiple chronic autoimmune issues all my life and has had many traumatic medical experiences. I’ve had to fight and battle for my health many times, made formal complaints against consultants and doctors (which were upheld) and now I regularly help others on medical groups and forums having finally reached a point where I understand and feel in control of my own health. I am not 💯 convinced that in the future we won’t see another 360 degree turn about HRT but for now I know it’s made a huge improvement in my life and so many women just haven’t kept up to date with the new information out there. I feel really sorry for women of my Mums generation and older who never really spoke about stuff like dry vaginas etc because it was so taboo, their lives would have been so improved if they’d all been more open like we are now.

It did wonders for my mood and sleep.