HRT to be sold over the counter!

Espee you initial post made such sense. I have been on HRT for 12 years now ( I am 70 ) I went on it at a time i had a demanding Executive role and my head became full of fuzz at the time ( I didn't have hot flushes ). Various doctors have over the years tried to take me off of it so i slowly weaned myself down to 3 a week. Guess what, i suffered from some incontinence problems and was promptly told by a specialist to go back on them full time! I did and the issue has resolved. I was also told that unless i had breast cancer in the family it was the best thing for me for many other possible conditions such as osteoporosis heart stoke etc. I will continue to stay on it to the end. I look and feel good ( although i do have a healthy lifestyle also! ) . i dont object to the creams being sold over the counter but hormonal products usually need investigation to find out whats best for the individual. Please dont stand back and suffer. Life is too short. Do Read Espees post again

I had a hysterectomy at 46 so went straight on HRT. I still use the gel pump estrogen only. I am fit, healthy and energetic and (I have been told) don't look my age (74). My private practitioner prescribes for me because my NHS doctor refused to continue prescribing after I reached 55. For me it has been the best decision to continue with the gel which when weighed up with the benefits of heart health and bones, this far outweighs any risks of breast cancer to me which is not in my family history. There was a further study which later disproved the breast cancer risks with patches and gel anyway. It is up to women to decide for themselves, although I wouldn't buy HRT over the counter because you should get a blood test to show your hormone levels in order to correct them.

But it's not hormone replacement therapy is it? The proposal is just for vaginal oestrogen cream to be OTC.

I am 77 and still on on hrt, -decided 20 years ago not to argue with refusenik doctor.I have been buying them on the internet,and yes they are genuine and I still have a waistline and look younger than I am .

I had a hysterectomy at 49 and had an implant at the time. I then went on to tablets which eventually I forgot to take regularly, then forgot about altogether and I couldn't tell the difference between with or without. Now very nearly 70(June), I will say that I think that my skin has aged badly, but I'll never know if that would have been the case anyway.

pollyanna1962

Its only localised oestrogen such as vagifem not full HRT, you'll still have to fight for that as the HHS prefers to give out bone drugs to ladies of our age in order to get their back hander from big pharma.
Incidentally we NEED oestrogen unless we've had BC then of course we cant have HRT what we DONT need is a bisphosphonate chemical in our body for our bones.

I took that drug polyanna1962 diagnosed with osteoporosis just as I was going through the menopause (family history so I asked for a scan). On the drug for about 5 years, at the same time took up Tai-chi, and now do Pilates. 15 years ago osteoporosis had subsided to osteopenia, off all drugs and only taking calcium supplement. Last scan 4 years ago showed bone density was excellent for my age. Biphosphonate only targets your bones and leaves the rest of your body alone and it isn't a drug you take longterm, its use is strictly limited.

False news! Only vaginal oestrogen available OTC.

Yes my ears pricked up when I heard this on the news but then realised it will only be the vaginal cream that will be available.
My GP talked me out of HRT, she was all for alternatives & recommended sage and Soya milk etc. I sometimes wish I’d pushed a bit more to get a chance to try it but I have muddled through and am ten years in. It seems to be my spine that’s taken the hit and my hair, plus the awful weight gain around my middle. I often had hormonal migraines when I was on the pill so I guess I’d be the same on HRT. The breakthrough bleeding is another thing that put me off. The menopause certainly takes it’s toll, I know some people sale through but most people I know have some physical or MH symptoms. On the news the doctor was saying many women are struggling with their symptoms at work and there’s little awareness or empathy from employers, I would agree with that.

trisher

Incidently we shouldn't imagine that this is purely a Western or British problem, drug companies operate worldwide. The biggest market for HRT drugs now is China, where Premarin is currently being marketed and manufactured. www.all-creatures.org/articles2/ar-premarin-horses-china.html
So although you may feel your usage of HRT is justified you are buying into the drug companies marketing strategies and simply making them money.
My great grandmother, my GM and my mother all lived into their 90s and lived active lifestyles. This concept that you can tell someone on HRT is so misleading. No you can't. There are so many other factors involved. As for the idea that you need a drug to continue to live happily in the lifestyle you have problems with, why not just change your lifestyle? This would obviously change society a great deal, so perhaps that's why HRT is being so agressively marketed to women now. God forbid they should rock the boat.

I don’t know a single woman on HRT who takes Premarin Trisher.

Everyone I know is on patches, gels or implants and we are all very aware that in the early days of HRT that unethically produced product was on the market. I said before that I have been on HRT for over 30 years and my prescribed oestrogen is made from yams. I researched that right from my second prescription. (I was unconscious when the first implant was inserted). Credit women in this country with some sense.

My lifestyle suits me perfectly thank you. I have no intention of doing without the very hormone that makes me a woman. My mother suffered, and I mean suffered, from osteoporosis, my bone density is that of a young woman, I have the protective cardiac benefits that oestrogen gives, and am far less likely to suffer from osteoarthritis, prolapse, vaginal atrophy, low libido, stress incontinence, UTIs, sleep issues etc., etc.
I do look and appear to be much younger than my peers who are not on HRT. Don’t get me wrong, I am no glamour girl. I’m just an ordinary woman who is regularly assumed to be far younger than I am. The friends who have been taking HRT long term all look younger. We have a glow about us and a far better quality of life than the average woman. Why would we want to change that?

Its only localised oestrogen such as vagifem not full HRT, you'll still have to fight for that as the HHS prefers to give out bone drugs to ladies of our age in order to get their back hander from big pharma.
Incidentally we NEED oestrogen unless we've had BC then of course we cant have HRT what we DONT need is a bisphosphonate chemical in our body for our bones.

It isn't being treated as an illness what is being treated are the symptoms that come with a natural process. I am on HRT for vaginal dryness and it is a more expensive one using synthetic hormones so no animal cruelty.
Believe me it has given me back a quality of life.

trisher

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.

Agree Trisher. I remember a wise biology teacher telling us that hormones are finely balanced and can be upset by artificial intervention. I took the pill for four years and after coming off didn’t have a period for 6 months. That was a sufficient warning for me and I never took it again. My daughter was on the pill for about 15 years and it took over 2 years for her to conceive she was on the way to IVF but fortunately became pregnant while waiting. I wonder if the uptake in IVF is the result of extended periods of pill contraception as well as leaving it late to have babies.
Now everyone is keen to have eternal youth by artificial means. I had a brief time on hrt for excessive hot flushes but didn’t want it to be a forever thing. I’m 70 now and still get the hot flushes but it’s just one of those things. There are a lot more problems with getting older and bone density can be tackled by other means. It doesn’t make sense to increase a risk of cancer to add to the woes of getting older - which are an unevitable part of life.

I took HRT when I started into peri-menopause. It was fantastic stuff. Then I had a diagnosis of ovarian cancer so I had the surgery and a massive tumour that had wrapped itself around my womb was removed. Thank God it turned out to be a fibrous growth and not cancer. This unexpectedly early and instant menopause caused hot flushed and osteoporosis. So back onto the HRT, Then another scare about breast cancer caused by HRT was in all the papers so as I had such a close call the first time around I stopped taking it. I think I aged physiologically by about ten years and arthritic knees became a problem, they still are but everything else seems fine now. My daughter at 51 has just started on HRT spray and after just a few months she is her old self with lots of energy and feeling much better. In the Times today they say that after 70 the risks are greater than the gains.

My GP tried to persuade me to take HRT, although I felt fit and healthy. He pressed the fact that a member of my family had died from a heart attack. I do wonder if doctors get any kind of bonus for patients who decide to take up long term medication. I have never taken HRT, but do realise that I am lucky not to have had the severe symptoms that some woman suffer.

It's not HRT across then board. It's HRT used to reduce vaginal dryness.
And, it's a proposal, not approved yet.
Fir other menopausal symptoms eg hot flushes, mood swings, you'll still need a prescription.

I had hysterectomy age 25 yrs due to endometriosis & fibroids so was put on HRT (30 yrs ago) when I moved area the new GP was very anti HRT and basically bullied me into stop taking it biggest mistake of my life. Within 2 yrs I lost my mobility developed arthritis due to the bones deteriorating am in a wheelchair and in agony every day now. Had to move to a bungalow in a new area, new GP put me back on HRT, had a DEXA scan waiting for surgery for new knees. I had a battle trying to get HRT and it wore me down and had huge impact on my health, about time we can just buy it!

It’s only for the vagifem cream for dryness nothing else.?

Esspee

Riverwalk

I do question why a perfectly natural process has suddenly become an illness which needs treating

Yes, it is a perfectly natural process - of ageing.

As is arthritis, incontinence, prostate cancer and dementia - do you mind if these sufferers have treatment?

Well put Riverwalk.

But arguably every part of our lives since the moment we are born is part of the ageing process. And the menopause is as much a stage in our lives as puberty. Many have argued that taking puberty blockers is wrong and harmful, but taking hormones to stave off the natural process of the menopause is right? Perhaps it will stave off some of the effects of ageing, so does a change in diet (for diabetes), so do nutritional supplements and exercise (for osteoporosis), so does exercise (for incontinence). As for arthritis it is not a disease of ageing, some very young people have it. It is in fact an auto-immune condition.

Riverwalk

^I do question why a perfectly natural process has suddenly become an illness which needs treating^

Yes, it is a perfectly natural process - of ageing.

As is arthritis, incontinence, prostate cancer and dementia - do you mind if these sufferers have treatment?

Well put Riverwalk.

Incidently we shouldn't imagine that this is purely a Western or British problem, drug companies operate worldwide. The biggest market for HRT drugs now is China, where Premarin is currently being marketed and manufactured. www.all-creatures.org/articles2/ar-premarin-horses-china.html
So although you may feel your usage of HRT is justified you are buying into the drug companies marketing strategies and simply making them money.
My great grandmother, my GM and my mother all lived into their 90s and lived active lifestyles. This concept that you can tell someone on HRT is so misleading. No you can't. There are so many other factors involved. As for the idea that you need a drug to continue to live happily in the lifestyle you have problems with, why not just change your lifestyle? This would obviously change society a great deal, so perhaps that's why HRT is being so agressively marketed to women now. God forbid they should rock the boat.

The sleep problem I am having at the moment would be sorted with HRT, but whether it will be prescribed for a 77 year old, I have my doubts , though it would be lovely to get back into a youthful body!

Esspee

trisher

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.

I have been on HRT for 33 years. My type of oestrogen is made from yams. I am surprised that/if Premarin is still prescribed in this day and age.
Nowadays mostly transdermal gels and patches are prescribed plus implants. Pills are not recommended as the dosage has to be very much higher to survive the first pass through the liver.
Any doctor prescribing Premarin is seriously out of date and any woman accepting it is personally responsible for allowing it.

Not only is it prescribed it is a growth industry. As some countries begin to legislate against the mistreatment of the mares the drug companies are moving their horse facilities. China is one of the countries of choice. You can understand why. As for the usage well
Yet the drug is still made and sold; indeed, the FDA recently gave the manufacturer permission to market a new Premarin-based drug meant to treat osteoporosis as well as menopause. Says the Pharmaceutical Business Review, “This would open up bazedoxofine/Premarin therapy to the whole postmenopausal market while providing a continuum of care throughout the menopausal period.” Even with the health scare, the market for Premarin and allied PMU-based drugs is estimated to exceed $1.2 billion; the market for the new combined product, the article continues, is expected to exceed $550 million by 2010
That's an old article I would imagine the use hasn't dropped. There are many women who fail to realise what Pre mar really means and Premarin is not the only mare urine based product in common usage.

Snowberry no breast cancer in my family either but I still have had breast cancer which was oestrogen positive so if I were younger I would only have HRT as a last resort. I was on it for 5 years when I was 50. Had breast cancer at 69.

If I didn't use the pessaries in question (which I hope I will continue to get free on prescription), I would be back on antibiotics every few weeks to deal with the painful, recurring UTIs, so using them is a no-brainer as far as I am concerned!

That said, I do feel that all women need to be examined by a doctor before using such things for the first time, and to ensure that they are not overlooking a more sinister cause of their symptoms.

Being able to randomly buy them over the counter without any initial medical guidance doesn't sound so good, but maybe that won't be allowed to happen anyway.
After all, it's not like you even can buy thrush treatments over the counter without a prescription if you are over 60.

Thanks Agnurse for explaining clearly why these items shouldn’t be OTC.