Hrt starting at 65yrs

Ceebee please let us know how you get on with it, as I'm about to ask my Doctor for HRT & I'm the same age as you.

I am 68 and have just started on hrt - largely to protect my bones since I have osteoporosis as well as postmenopausal symptoms but don't want to use bisphosphonates. My GP was very supportive but I paid for a video appt with a private specialist which was well worth it to get expert advice and reassurance. Literally just started yesterday on a very low dose patch and utrogestan pill daily so not a lot to report so far!

I also started HRT aged 65.
I spent a few months getting all my reading and research together (Balance App, British Menopause Society, reading posts here and MN) then armed with the info, I asked my GP who was in agreement.

i have got to this age, and now want to live the next phase of life as well as I can - with HRT.

I'll keep a check on this post as I have thought about going on HRT. Before I moved, I asked my Dr. there and she said it's not as easy as my just witing out a prescription, I would have to refer you to a specialist, which never happened. So, I'm going to ask my new Dr. here, she seems very nice, but I've only had a video chat with her.

Yes I am lucky with GP but I had to fight m corner for HRT. I don’t think GP’s have a choice really as it is now available from pharmacies? Even so, referring back to original question… I do suffer with a back problem which also results in aching legs - best thing is walking and keeping moving - sitting is the worst thing.

I’m 62 and was put on HRT patches last year. Then my GP took me off them as I had 2 episodes of AF ( according to my smart watch). The menopause dr subsequently said that the HRT wouldn’t have caused the AF and would in fact offer some protection and put me back on the patches. I’m waiting for a cardiology appointment…

undines

I would NEVER go on fake hormones. What do our bodies do with all that interference? There are many more natural ways that carry no cancer risk (and don't tell me the latest trials have said they're 'safe')

What do you intend to do if you develop diabetes?
If your choices lead to heart attack/stroke will you die quietly or demand medical intervention?

It’s sad how many medics dismiss the menopause as just one of those things, get on with it woman! It’s apparently still an optional part of medical training. We are 50% of the population - and yet…

OP how lucky you are to have such a good gp. Mine refused point blank for me to go on hrt when I started to experience joint pain. 5years on I am virtually housebound due to stiffness and pain. I had HR last year and now my other hip, spine and both knees and hands are riddled with arthritis and pain.

I’m on the Mirena coil with estrogen tablet - have been for the last twenty years (I’m 71). Recommended by a consultant who removed polyps - said it was the best protection. Have had several arguments with reluctant GP’s but quoted my list of pros and cons with no history of breast cancer. There is so much info online. (I understand the previous comment about replacement coil - not the most pleasant…..).

Autumnrose

“I would NEVER go on fake hormones”
So if you had diabetes you wouldn’t take insulin or if you were hypothyroid you wouldn’t take thyroxine?!!
All replacement hormones are synthetic for the reason that your own body isn’t making them in sufficient quantity. It has always been a mystery to me why oestrogen replacement is treated any differently from other hormone replacement. I take thyroxine and oestrogen and would certainly take insulin if necessary.

I agree! Weird how some people just dismiss all HRT across the board - there will obviously be some people who cannot take it for medical reasons just as some people are allergic to some antibiotics (also 'fake' body defences!)

If your GP isn't sympathetic to HRT, it's probably worth paying for a one off private HRT specialist appointment. I was lucky enough to find Caroline Overton at Bristol's Churchill Hospital before she retired. She wrote a letter to my GP setting out exactly what to prescribe me on the NHS, which my GP was perfectly happy to go along with.

Vagifem and ovestin have been so helpful for me to deal with vaginal atrophy. And I would consider other types of HRT now if I was sure that the benefits outweighed the risks. I am 68 and have osteoporosis in my femur due to a hyperparathyroid tumour which was removed successfully. It is just in the osteoporosis range and I have taken alendronic acid for 4 years but was never offered HRT as an alternative. I have no aches and pains except muscular but would like to improve bone strength. Anyway I keep looking at the new research about HRT and feel that it’s benefits may outweigh the risks for some women who are post menopausal. Falling and breaking a hip has risks too.

I was on HRT for 10years started it at beginning of menopause I decided to come of it as felt 10years was long enough. Now 7 years later asked Dr about going back on it as it seems it helps keep things at bay but was told if you’ve had a long break from it you won’t get any benefits from going back on it.

“I would NEVER go on fake hormones”
So if you had diabetes you wouldn’t take insulin or if you were hypothyroid you wouldn’t take thyroxine?!!
All replacement hormones are synthetic for the reason that your own body isn’t making them in sufficient quantity. It has always been a mystery to me why oestrogen replacement is treated any differently from other hormone replacement. I take thyroxine and oestrogen and would certainly take insulin if necessary.

I am looking into all this at the moment, but it is complicated by the fact that I have intermittent atrial fibrillation. I have quite bad osteoporosis and am on treatment for that. I have just started ovestin (vaginal oestrogen) for urinary problems and this is helping.

There is a private menopause clinic nearby and I might go for a consultation there if I cannot get a GP appointment.

I’m very interested in this thread as Im 66 and 10 years post menopause. I was persuaded not to go on hrt by my gp when it was happening and i really feel that I wouldnt feel so old and look so saggy if she’d put me on it then. I do exercise regularly but nothing changes. A year ago i went to my current gp and asked about hrt and the only thing she offered me was the vaginal suppository type which is really only for improving the lady bits and I don’t really have a problem in that area!!

Consultant gynaecologist advised me I could stay on HRT for life if I wanted to and felt benefits. I have Oestrogel plus a Mirena coil as this is apparently the lowest risk combination, not sure about how I will feel having the coil changed in my 80’s!

How can I tell the difference between aching bones and muscles. A lot of posts mention aching bones and using HRT for relief but how are aching bones diagnosed. Obviously not osteoarthritis, RA etc.

I would NEVER go on fake hormones. What do our bodies do with all that interference? There are many more natural ways that carry no cancer risk (and don't tell me the latest trials have said they're 'safe')

I had menopause at 42 no warning signs .Changed a few times but in the end it caused me hearing loss No refferals to a consultant or now I believe there are Menopause Consultants in certain big hospitals You need a good general health check up and lots of investigations Don’t think they are as strong now I’m in my70s and my hearing has got worse ENT then consultant not interested

Interesting! I'd like to go back on HRT but assumed I'm too old!!

My Mum was in her late 70's and long stopped HRT but the Dr's suggested she should go back on it. It helped but as she slipped into dementia, she would forget to used it and with everything else we were coping with, it didn't get high priority.

I had hysterectomy at age 25 yrs due to endometriosis & fibroids, was put on HRT. Age 50 got bullied by GP to come off it, within a year I could hardly walk, kept falling down stairs, lost 3 inches in height in 2 yrs, had to move to bungalow, eventually in wheelchair. New GP sent me to rheumatologist who sent me to orthopaedic surgeon, who confirmed osteoarthritis and agreed I needed to be back on HRT. My biggest regret was ever coming off HRT and doing all this damage to my bones, one knee replacement done, other one due but still in wheelchair.

Me too, i was on hrt from age 42 till 50, I'd had a TH, my gp insisted i had to come off it at 50, wish I'd persisted now to stay on it.