HRT angst

Although this is an old post Grandkind I’m just wondering what you did in the end ? Did you go back on HRT ? I’m 61 with a womb and had been on Hrt for 8 years . I went cold turkey as forced into it because recently as we know some brands were unavailable. I had been trying to get off it for years because that’s what everybody says you should do ....come off it . It’s been 2 months now and I feel half the women I was . I even now have a prescription sitting there that is there for me and my Docter will prescribe . But I’m hesitant as I’ve persevered for 2 months and I feel il be back to square one worrying I’m on HRT and will it kill me even though I feel fantastic!! This is so difficult for us ladies of a certain age ? x

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hello everyone, i am 68 yrs old and have been taking HRT since a full hysterectomy when i was 41, i have tried to wean myself off HRT for a couple of years but always go back to it as i feel head achy and generally not as well> today whilst at the GP she told me it was time to seriously think of coming off HRT as it would not be doing anything in the way of benefit for me>I told her i really wanted to stay on it but after getting me all hot and bothered the inevitable happened, she wanted to take my blood pressure i told her it would be up no doubt as it does when i go to the surgery! and i was a bit ruffled! it was 152 /95, its normally 130 ish 76 ish she then frightened me with the stroke heart attack risk at which point i said i would give up the HRT, sorry this is so long but any similar experiences ladies or advice i would be grateful of ,

Hi Ladies,

I just started on the HRT patch one month ago. My mood has improved dramatically and I've plenty of energy. BUT, I've started bleeding this past week. Its not much, but its concerning me because I 'm wondering if this is just my body adjusting to the hormones in the patch. Can anyone throw some light on this ? Has this happened to anyone else, and if so does it settle ? Thanks in advance

I started the menopause at 45 and over the years, tried various methods such as creams and pills, the latter making me feel very heavy. I was given patches to try and they worked well.

After some time, I started cutting the patches in half, much to the surprise of my GP at the time, but he thought it was okay to do that and subsequent GP's (I have moved around a bit) felt the same. Half was still enough to stop the flushes.

I felt fine and came to the conclusion that in my 50's and 60's I didn't need the hormones of a 25 year old so a lesser dose seem to fit me well; until I saw a new GP, a woman, who said I had to stop. She wouldn't prescribe me any more.

I am now 68 and over the past few years I have had awful hair loss and arthritis. I'm sure my bone density has deteriorated too. As older women, we still need to be fit and healthy for our families and I do as much as I can to exercise, eat well and take supplements.

It would be helpful if there was a milder version of HRT for post-menopausal women to have if they felt they needed it, to help bones, brain fuzz, thinning hair and skin - not to mention excess facial hair!

I am tempted to go back onto half patches again. Has anyone resumed HRT after stopping it for a while?

Hi Bluegal I have never been on HRT and I am 62 and now regret it. I have struggled for several years with weight gain and hair loss and feeling more and more decrepit. As I sailed through the menopause (or so I thought) I really thought I didn't need HRT. I can see now that my lack of concentration, thinning hair, weight gain, aches, pains, exhaustion, sudden feelings of fright ..... could go on forever, actually are part menopausal. So I went to see my GP today and asked for HRT and she was happy for me to start it with no pleading or justification on my part. I had expected her at say I was too old but no I came away with a prescription for two months supply of Tibolen and she said I should feel the effects within two weeks. I skipped all the way to the chemist. Not really but within two weeks I should be skipping again.

Grankind I am the same age as you and have been on HRT now for 30 years. I see one of the top professors in the field twice a year for my implant and she is happy for me to continue for the rest of my life.
Unlike you I don't have a womb so I have only oestrogen which is implanted under my skin every six months. With this method I receive a very small dose because there is no "first pass through the liver" which you get with oral medication. If implants became unavailable I would use patches or gel as they are transdermal and therefore you need only a very small dose.
The thought of life without HRT is unthinkable to me. I have no wish to go through the menopause. I feel wonderful and am in excellent health. My bone density is that of a much younger woman and when I asked about my 70 year bone scan (I had one at 50 and 60) my GP read out the specialist's report which ended by stating that I will need another scan only if I stopped the HRT.
Taking HRT is about quality of life. I feel sorry for those who have never experienced the difference it makes.

www.gwh.nhs.uk/media/163808/wiltshire_hrt_guidance_2014.pdf

While browsing after someone brought up the subject in conversation the other day I came across the above link. I found it easy to follow advice and information.

I can vouch for the advantages!

I will repeat the post I wrote on the other post on this subject.
The Times on Sept 4th had a very informative article on a 20 year study of women on HRT.
The title is - Hormone therapy: why everything you thought you knew aboutHRT is wrong.
Worth a read if you can find it.

I was never offered HRT - probably because I never went to GP either but have often wondered if taking HRT simply delays the effects of the menopause? I understand it's benefits especially if an early menopause but has anyone not taken it and regretted it? I mean people who don't have too bad a menopause stage. In my case I barely noticed any difference hence the reason I didn't see a GP but now am wondering if HRT protects against other things like heart attacks?

I am nearly 72 and have been on HRT since I was 4l. My doctor is now making noises about stopping it.

I have tried to stop it before and, quite frankly, life was a nightmare. If she stops me I shall buy it off the internet.

I understand that in Scandinavia people are on it for life which is what I want.

Just to add, I'd rather feel better now and accept a very small risk, than feel pretty awful now in the hope I may live longer. Quality over quantity for me every time .

Or change your GP! There are two GPs at my practice, one told me HRT wouldn't help me, then 18 months later I asked the other GP, who said she was "very pro HRT", she then prescribed it for me and it really helped. They all sometimes differ in their views, even within the same practice, so it's important to be insistent and take responsibility for your own decisions and your own health.

get a refferal to a gynae clinic.GP's often dont have a lot of interest or knowledge in HRT .The evidence suggests its not nearly so dangerous as it was once said to be.You dont have to take one doctors opinion as gospel so even if you get a second opinion it might be enough to keep you on it

I hope someone can advise me. I am 61 and happily on hrt. I am healthy, it suits me. Trouble is, my GP isn't happy for me to take it for much longer. Any suggestions?

I'm 64 an dhave been told I can stay on HRT for life by my gynaecologist ,HE says the risks are minimal and that the effects of menopause I was suffering were much more of a risk to me .I'm happy to take it whatever the risk .My sister will be 70 on her birthday her GP took her off HRT end of last year ,she requested a gynae appointment and has been put back on it and told the same as I was,she can stay on it ofr life

Sorry Humptydumpty, I didn't see your post asking for citation.
www.nhs.uk/news/2012/01January/Pages/HRT-breast-cancer-link-was-wrong.aspx
Researchers have reanalysed the design and data from three studies that had suggested that HRT is associated with an increased risk that breast cancer would develop. They wanted to determine whether HRT caused breast cancer to develop (that the link was “causal”). The researchers looked at a pooled analysis study called the Collaborative Reanalysis, the Women’s Health Initiative randomised controlled trials and the Million Women Study, which was a large prospective cohort study including 800,000 post-menopausal women.

The researchers found that these studies each failed to meet the majority of nine criteria which would be need to be met in order to say whether the studies could establish causality. These criteria included whether the women in the studies took HRT before their cancer developed. They looked at whether the studies had controlled for any confounding factors (where a factor may be associated with both the likelihood of taking HRT and the likelihood of developing breast cancer). The researchers also looked at the biological plausibility of any causal link.

Grannyknot, having a relative with a DVT so young was what put me off using the pill as contraception. So after a lifetime of not taking anything except the odd ibuprofen, it may seem odd that I took HRT. But it was the one thing that greatly improved my quality of life in my fifties and sixties. If it hadn't suited me I would have stopped. The other factor in all my thinking is my mother, who took HRT for a while, came off it, and then went on later to develop vascular dementia, which was a cruel blow. When I do visit the doctor's these days the waiting room is always full of the elderly, many of whom don't seem able to walk. I just didn't want to be one of them!!

I think the general consensus of advice these days on HRT is to take it for as short a time as reasonably possible around the menopause, whereas at older ages (say 70+) it is useful in proection against oseoporosis

Oh by the way (just reread your OP) - I had DVT (deep vein thrombosis) as a very young woman and it was put down to the contraceptive pill - I was advised to never take it again, which set me on a very miserable path of attempting to avoid conception! Urgh, those awful "coils". I still shudder at the thought.

Thank goodness I'm done with all that.

That is exactly why more research is needed into hormones as nearly every woman has a different experience. I was really happy on HRT and had very few aches and pains. But it was very low dose. I have just bought some vitamin tablets that claim to at least slow down the hair thinning, but it won't help me with the other symptoms. The tablets were very expensive and could prove to be a waste of money, but my long suffering H was willing for me to try them. At the moment, until I get to see my GP - 3 weeks wait! - I am weighing up whether to stay as I am and try to make the best of old age as it comes, with more frequent trips to the doc's, or go back on to HRT, which is never going to be risk free. The interesting thing is that if I had never taken it I would never have known how much it kept me young in mind and body and how little I was costing the NHS!!

This is an interesting thread. I am one of those that can't say I really suffered with the menopause, don't notice any of the symptoms described in the thread above either before, during or after.

But having had a hysterectomy at the age of 51, I was automatically put on HRT and boy, then did I suffer! I had such severe breast pain that I would walk down the street with tears running down my cheeks, dreaded even putting on a bra. The GP swopped pills and we tried a few other options, but in the end it was decided that I was "oestrogen sensitive" so that was enough reason for me to give up with HRT altogether. I didn't put on too much weight, I didn't have hot flushes, no mood swings, and none of the other usual symptoms either.

Now 17 years later, the only thing I could say that might indicate that I am post-menopausal and sans HRT - literally the only thing I can think of - is that I notice that my hair is thinning. But my nickname at school was "Thatch" so I'm not to worried about going bald...

Humpty -When I posted this I had the intention of seeking out women like myself, similar symptoms etc. - it's not about picking people up on what they have said and being disturbed by them. Pollaidh is actually correct in what she says. We are talking about a very complex subject, and I for one, am not trying to catch anyone out. In any case I do already know that the million women study has said to have been flawed by various institutes including that for the overview of safety in medicines and by people such as Dr. John Studd. If I could afford it I would get on the next train to go and see him as he is an expert on women's health. If you get the chance read what he says....

Pollaidh your post re. million woman study is disturbing - what is your source for saying that the results on HRT coming from this study are wrong?

Thanks again Pollaidh - it has cheered me up to know that there is someone else out there like me!!! xx