The Truth About The Menopause...Mariella Frostrup

Good to know that more women are getting treatment.

I was denied treatment - quite recently too- miserable old quack told me to "put up with it" ...just like his wife had to..

I wish I'd got a second opinion.

I hardly ever come on here but yes I will join that club!

Although the programme had its faults at least it aired menopause on BBC 1 primetime! I agree most women can't afford private specialists but I get so frustrated when I hear women bemoaning their hot flushes and low mood etc due to menopause. If there is no medical reason not to take hRT then it will improve your quality of life for all the years you are taking it and as EssPee said improve your bone and cardio-vascular health too. NOONE needs to suffer these days. OK it might take a few goes to find the right one - but it's worth it.

By the way ref one poster upthread - the "natural" hormones - estradiol and progesterone are available on NHS and in fact most of the oestrogen prescribed these days is estradiol - the one that becomes deficient at menopause. You just need to educate yourself and then find the doc in your practice that will prescribe the combo you choose. Plenty of info out there - My Menopause Dr, Menopause Matters etc.

I am mid 50's and have been on HRT for over 10 years and hope to stay on it for a good while yet.

To minimise any risks you just have to attend to any lifestyle factors eg the blood clot risk - lose weight, improve your diet, take more exercise, stop smoking, limit alcohol etc so that your cholesterol and BP will reduce - unless of course you have genetic factors that mean you are generally at risk - but most of us are not! Then your risks from HRT such that there are - will be minimised. Also trandermal oestrogens are better for you as they don't have to be processed by the liver.

Do I sound fanatical?!! I just wish for everyone not to have to suffer if they can avoid it!

paddyann We could start an "HRT for ever" club. [Grin]

gillybob, is it possible for you to change to a different doctor? I am extremely satisfied with the ones that I have been registered with from birth but had I been subjected to the experiences you have suffered I wouldn't hesitate to move.

Poly I only took the pill for 3 years ,I got pregnant TWICE while on it so was fitted with a coil I have had the most horrendous menopause until I saw a fab gyneacologist a few years ago .I'm on Evorel Conti patches and although I have intermittent bleeding my awful symptoms are gone.I see the Gynae guy regularly for checks ,had a visit last month ,for scans as I have ovarian cysts and I had a biopsy last time because I was bleeding a lot.Nothing to worry about he said ,no reason to come off HRT if you want to stay on it .In fact I too am staying on it for life .I feel great .I need to be healthy ,my daughter has multiple health issues that confine her to bed so I have to be aroundto help.
Best thing anyone suffering should do is see a gynaecologist and make sure you give him all the grisly details thats the only way you'll get help.

Oh yes I did Lollin and was told that the GP hadn’t read my notes properly . Mind you that’s nothing new for our surgery .

did you return to your doctor gillybob?

My GP gave me a prescription for blood pressure tablets saying that one of the side effects was that they prevented night sweating . My cousin works in the pharmacy where I pick my prescriptions up and she brought the pharmacist out to see me . It turns out that the GP should never have given me the prescription for BP as I have quite low BP anyway . She said that Taking these could have caused me to pass out !

I started taking HRT at the age of 41 having been on the birth control pill from the age of 18 apart from when I had my two children. When my periods stopped at 41 the GP said I was in the menopause after he had done blood tests to confirm this. He recommended HRT after I had read up on this and said the birth control pill had probably been masking early menopause which I could have been in for a while. Unfortunately this GP retired but recommended I stay on HRT. Trying to get new young GP's in the practice to continue prescribing this was always a battle. I came off it for a while my choice to see what happened and all my symptoms returned.On seeing a young female GP in the practice saying I wanted to go back on HRT and explaining why she offered me anti depressants to control night sweats and as I refused her offer said she would not prescribe HRT what I wanted and would refer me to a gynaecologist who then wanted me to go to a menopause clinic.This I refused and made an appointment with a more senior male partner within the practice. Thank fully he realised I was well informed and was happy to prescribe HRT in patches which I requested. I am 68 now and no longer have hot flushes or wake up several times in the night wet through and I feel back to normal. I am sure my bone structure is better too although I have not been offered any tests to check this out.I intend staying on HRT as long as possible but you need an understanding GP. I wish the producers of the TV program could see all the comments on here and do a follow up program.

My attitude is that the menopause is caused by lack of oestrogen so the obvious solution is to replace the oestrogen. It certainly works for me.
My mother suffered (and I mean SUFFERED) from osteoporosis, my bones are extremely robust. She lost inches in height by my age, I am as tall as I have ever been. When she was my age she looked old and acted like an old lady. I am full of energy and don't look my age.
HRT has been a blessing and everyone I know who is on it is thriving.
I feel so sorry for those who wish to go through the menopause "naturally". Medicine has made that unnecessary. If we kept to "natural" we would almost all be dead before we reached 50 and our ovaries gave out.

I felt Mariella's experience was different to most women because she appeared to see private specialists, which most of us can't afford. Not everyone has been offered, or takes HRT either. My menopause has been dogged by excessive bleeding due to fibroids, but I can't have anything done as it's too painful, unless I have a general anaesthetic, which I don't want because of my weight. They put me on Esmya to shrink the fibroids, but it made me gain huge amounts of weight and caused me to have excessive sweating, especially at night - it was horrendous. In the end we have settled for the mini pill, which has stopped my periods and I don't have any other symptoms - I'm 54. After Christmas I am coming off the mini pill to see if I have gone through the menopause naturally - I really, really hope I have.

I really do not understand women who make other women feel they are making a fuss. just because they have not suffered a terrible menopause. As women we should be kinder to each other. I am into 14 years of all the menopause hell. I met a lady in her eighties who is still suffering.

So interesting ladies. Can I ask if anyone has had acupuncture to help with menopausal symptoms? Is so please could you complete my very short survey for my dissertation. Should only take 1 minute. Thank you its very much appreciated to give a better insight into menopausal symptoms
www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/DZQ6GR6

Sorry Pittcity . My sisters GP said the contraceptive pill was probably masking menopausal symptoms for several years . My sister never had any children either which I suppose is another factor to consider.

That's that theory blown out of the water. I guess it's just the luck of the draw like most things in life.

Speaking of taking the pill . My sister was on it from about 18 to late 40’s . She stopped taking it when she stopped bleeding . A blood test confirmed menopause . No symptoms whatsoever . I never took the pill and despite being 5 years older have had a prolonged menopause with every possible symptom .

That's an interesting theory poly
I felt rotten taking the pill so gave up after a couple of months. Menopause has not been too bad so far (I ruled out HRT thinking it would affect me adversely as the pill did). So I think there could be something in your idea.

I have sometimes wondered whether the length of time that I was on the Pill had anything to do with the length and severity of the menopause. We were the first generation to get the full use of the Pill, I was on it, on and off, for about thirty years. Started menopause at 50, went on HRT as I was working in a people-related job and it was the most horrible thing to be talking to someone and suddenly feel the dreaded flush coming on. Stopped taking HRT five years later, because by that time was working from home and decided to just weather it out. Don´t like to take medicines long-term. Horrendous symptoms (hot flushes, anxiety, nightmares), now am 61 and they still persist, though getting a little easier . Have asked doctor about whether being on the Pill had any connection to difficult menopause and he said he had no idea.

You were right first time gillybob hahahaha.

Oh jeez I wasn’t fobbed off by a locust (why would an insect be working as a GP?) I was fobbed off by a locum ( took 5 attempts )

I did ask to be referred Esspee and she told me to wait until after my biopsy results came through ( which I did and they were thankfully clear) . I couldn’t see the same GP again ( typical) and was fobbed off again by a locust .

gillybob, rather than mentioning menopause clinics to your GP why not simply ask to be referred if you feel you need further help. I do feel that we women do not stand up for ourselves enough and often accept what we are told.

I guess I didn't know that it was supposed to be a taboo or secret subject ... my mum just told me not to worry about it and I didn't. Didn't have any problems whatsoever, but whether I was just lucky or not mentally predisposed to expect problems I don't know! I have to say that I feel great sympathy for those women who DO suffer badly.

The documentary was very weak just an excuse for MF to get screen time. It’s not taboo if you have friends and family and you are open about it. I’ve been going through the menopause for 13 years now and the symptoms are now slowly fading but I still have hot flushes , mood swings and terrible anxiety but if you are open about it I found it helped me.

I'm going to stay on it for life, had an early menopause after a hysterectomy at 39, and within a couple of years had brain fog, anxieties, three hot flushes an hour, and was completely miserable. HRT (progestogen only as no uterus) gave me back my life, and despite trying every few years, at GPs insistence, to come off it, all the symptoms came back very quickly.

I now have a reasonable GP (man!) who accepts I will not come off it. It is your body, and only you can weigh up the risks/benefits, but the one advantage of the programme was it did show that the risks were very small. It didn't mention that they are even less for those without a uterus. My main problem now is the dreadful vulval itching and soreness, like sitting astride a barbed wire fence, which I treat, but it always comes back with a vengeance. HRT doesn't seen to help with that. That wasn't mentioned at all!