HRT to be sold over the counter!

I won’t be buying.

I will.

Out of my friends (mostly 50s and 60s with a couple of 70 Yr olds) you can tell which ones are on hrt and which aren't.
I also have a mother and aunts for whom menopausal symproms have continedinued way into their 80s.
Sod that!
It's a common belief that menopause is something you go through and come out the other end
For a lot of women it continues well into old age.

I'm lucky in that there's a low incidence of breast cancer in my family
I weigh up the risks, and in my case the many benefits outweigh the very small risk.

Nor me. I was waiting to become a new woman. I was put on HRT and my hair fell out.

Kate maybe it's the type?
I was originally put on tablets which didn't agree with me.
I then started using the patches and have never looked back.

I had some problems when taking HRT which at the time outweighed the benefits. I know HRT can transform what often is a hellish time for many women, I'm all for making life easier for them.

Fabulous! Been on HRT for 9 years now, tried to come off it a couple of times just to see what would happen and back came the hot flushes etc etc. so I went back on it. It’s a no brainier for me.

snowberry. I had patches. They were a nuisance. They used to stick to my clothes, the bed, the floor.

Will be interesting to see what’s available and costs.

I wonder if one will still be able to see a Doctor about menopause/hrt issues, or will they say that is covered by pharmacy now?

It will not be happening yet. The drug discussed was Vagifem which is a cream to apply to the vaginal area which can become very dry and painful. It is very much at the discussion stage, this product only. That is what I gleaned from the lunchtime news.

No doubt it'll coincide with another scaremongering story and we will be back to the days of doctors tellingadvising us to stop taking it.
Its what usually happens.
I wish older women's health was treated more seriously, instead of the put up and shut up approach.

I don't mind women taking it if they want to. I do question why a perfectly natural process has suddenly become an illness which needs treating and will of course make millions for drug companies. I also dislike the fact that some of the drugs involved still necessitate the mistreatment of so many horses who are kept in foal just so their urine can be collected. There was a thread a bit ago about a woman who kicked a horse and she was roundly condemned, yet thousands of women are taking Premarin and thousands of horses are suffering because of this www.humanedecisions.com/premarin-horses-the-suffering-of-premarin-mares/
If you want to take it ask for a plant based one.
But I think there are benefits to being post menopausal. The idea of old wise women didn't spring from nowhere.

By the way don't click the link unless you are prepared for real animal cruelty.

After listening to the news, HRT will not be sold over the counter.

This is what it is about.
New proposals to reclassify the first HRT product for self-care (Gina 10 microgram vaginal tablets, containing estradiol), would mean that women in the UK could access a menopausal treatment at a pharmacy, without requiring a prescription for the first time. Other vaginal tablets that also contain estradiol, including Vagifem will still be available on prescription. This is the MHRA’s first reclassification consultation for a Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) product locally applied in the vagina. This product is inserted into the vagina and not taken orally.

Source: GOVUK.

www.gov.uk/government/news/views-sought-on-making-first-local-vaginal-hrt-product-available-without-need-for-prescription

It's just been on the lunchtime news, to buy over the counter will only apply to pessaries and cream for vaginal dryness, not the HRT tablets or patches if I understood rightly. Why not I ask? If men can get their Viagra.
My DD also alerted me to the Charity Boxes in supermarkets for Foodbanks, she now puts sanitary products in because of their high price and the fact some young girls have to stay off school because they have nothing to use.

I thought that free period products were now available in all schools in Scotland and England.

The bill in Scotland was passed in November 2020.

I have sent in a e-ref today to my GP to see if I'm suitable.
I have had it before but had to abruptly stop as my fibroid turned out to be Endometrial cancer, had the lot whipped away, that was 7 years ago. Still have Hot sweats, poor sleep, rubbish hair and ache.
See what they say?

Charleygirl5

It will not be happening yet. The drug discussed was Vagifem which is a cream to apply to the vaginal area which can become very dry and painful. It is very much at the discussion stage, this product only. That is what I gleaned from the lunchtime news.

That's what I understood too Charley plus the pessaries.

I currently have the pessaries and I wonder whether they will be taken off prescription. I find the pessaries brilliant!

Period products are available in schools Marydoll food banks usually supply individual’s or families, so perhaps sanitary products would be useful for women. I’m not sure if colleges have the same scheme that schools have?

I know that our local food bank is always looking for sanitary products, Jax It is shameful that we have period poverty.
The other thing they are desperate for are disposable nappies.

Out of my friends (mostly 50s and 60s with a couple of 70 Yr olds) you can tell which ones are on hrt and which aren't.

How can you tell? Do you know for a fact that you have guessed right?
I have never had hrt and I think I'm fine, fairly fit & supple and not needing any medication only a multivitamin.
Perhaps it's because I use a lot of soya products, including soya milk. Or just my good luck.

Before covid, I was in a library which had a sign saying there were free period items in the toilets.
There weren't.
I asked and was told they were kept at the desk because kids had been destroying them.
So anyone wanting them had to ask, in a fairly public area.

Messing around with hormones isn't to be done lightly, in my opinion.
I think it's a terrible idea.

I dont like this idea ,I had a fair few different pills before I found the patches that actually helped.Some of the side effects were scary ,heavy bleeding for instance.I wouldn't recommend buying accross the counter or online for something that is not easy to get right at first attempt .

My gp never prescribed hrt in any form for me! I would have loved to be able to get something/anything for menopause symptoms after my total hysterectomy and ovary removal. This was immediate. I was told he wasn’t prepared to prescribe anything due to increased risk of cancer! Also he told me the “majority of women cope without HRT” not at all helpful.