Is anyone else not on HRT?

Never had HRT and didn’t suffer with menopause. I don’t look my age, don’t have much grey so I suppose I’m lucky. Have friends who suffered terribly with sweats, flushes and mood swings.

Well I had a hysterectomy (ovaries left behind) in my 40s. But HRT was never an option due to long term meds for migraines. I too came through unscathed although my road map face and neck could be the casualty I suppose, anything else is acceptable.

Dorsetcupcake61

Maybe one positive aspect of current publicity is it encourages women to consider the menopause. I'm 60 and my last period was in 2014. Until then they had been very heavy for a couple of years. My GP said I was menopausal but didnt discuss HRT. I was extremely lucky in that no significant hot flashes or mood swings. Probably my main issue was poor sleep patterns,waking in early hours etc. I have had times when felt apathetic or anxious but put this down to life in general!
Yes I noticed wrinkles appeared more quickly and skin not bouncing back if lost weight.
I have found the information about long term affects of decrease in oestrogen really helpful,and I am amazed at how little I know. I expect it's too late for HRT now but I definitely welcome the discussion of later symptoms and affects.

It's never too late to start HRT.
I know women in their 70s and 80s who take it.

Esspee

What most women do not understand is that although the early effects of low oestrogen levels such as hot flushes and brain fog are usually of relatively short duration and are only experienced by some women those are NOT the major effects of menopause. It takes often 10 to 15 years before the really debilitating effects, those that hugely affect the rest of your life, start manifesting themselves.

Once your ovaries stop producing oestrogen there is a slow but insidious deterioration in your body. Your bones thin, your vagina atrophies, your urinary tract becomes prone to infection, arthritis kicks in, sleep becomes a problem. etc.
Whether or not you “sail through” the early stage there is a time-bomb in each and every one of us as the lack of oestrogen weakens your bones, causes prolapse, vaginal atrophy, loss of libido, osteoarthritis, urinary infections, stress incontinence to full incontinence, sleep problems etc.

No, we won’t all suffer these issues but few older women escape without at least one of these conditions impacting their quality of later life. I am in my 70s and among my peers almost everyone not on HRT complains about preventable health problems.

Simply women were designed to live to about their 50s. Our egg supply lasts roughly that long. Nowadays, thanks to huge advances in medical science living to 80 and way beyond is not unusual but a high proportion of elderly women suffer from lack of oestrogen. It impacts their quality of life in a major way. Thankfully modern medicine provides a solution. Once your body stops producing oestrogen it can be replaced by identical oestrogen in the same way that diabetics can replace their missing hormone insulin. It is not a drug. Both menopausal women and diabetics can now choose to go without or replace the hormone their body is not manufacturing.

What is needed is for women to become informed about their bodies and to understand that they do have a choice. It may be that for medical reasons hormone replacement is not suitable but for those for whom it has overriding positive advantages it can give them a healthier happier future.

Agree with all of this.
Lack of oestrogen affects many things and isn't just about hot flushes and the end of periods.

Do not be put off by ill advised GPs - go to a specialist menopause service that can bust some of the myths around HRT & who can or can’t benefit from it. I’ve been on it for 10+ years & will remain on it for all the protective factors it bestows. Google Dr Louise Newson ?

I have never took it went through menopause aged 50.had horrendous hot flushes still have them occasionally .I went fully grey in my thirties luckily it's a nice grey so have never coloured it .following breast cancer had bone scan which showed osteopenia .following second mastectomy I am taking taking tablets to suppress hormone and I am already feeling some of the things it causes .

I'm not on HRT, I got a few hot flushes and erratic periods before they stopped but I decided to tough it out.

I was lucky enough to not need it through menopause, and so glad to be free now of menstruation.

Many friends do use it though and have found it helpful.

I remember asking my GP for it because I had the occasional sweaty face and back of my neck. He refused and I never went back. I suppose I'm glad now but would have liked it for the cosmetic effect, but my symptoms weren't really bad enough.

Never taken it. Had a few symptoms of the menopause and spent a while in layered clothing, stripping off and opening windows to cool off. I'm 76 now walk regularly, do Pilates and Tai Chi, can still plank and downward dog in Yoga. Love my grey hair, as my hairdresser said highlights my shade cost a fortune.
I think a lot's down to your genes. Women on the maternal side of my family have lived into their 90s. and without HRT. I also subscribe to the wise old crone theory. Women without periods are more powerful and it frightens men.

No. My mother had and died of breast cancer. My menopause wasn’t too bad. Intermittent symptoms over about 5 years. The worst was travel/ morning sickness type symptoms, which I could never be sure were menopause related anyway.

All gone now. I tended to treat each symptom in its own right. I’ve always taken Magnesium, calcium, Vitamin D, for bone strength. Regular exercise.

Glad I never needed it.

I always used to joke about being a woman saying I could get old, take HRT and then get young again but then there was the cancer scare and I didn’t consider it. I did sail through the menopause except for my periods getting longer and closer together for a while. Doctor put me on something that had, I think, testosterone in it and felt amazing while I was on it: so full of energy. I do know someone who’s still on it and, from a distance, you’d think she was still in her forties . I know it’s important to talk about menopause problems but worry that all young women will assume it’s always a horrendous time. I do miss my hormones, though and felt a terrible sadness at the thought of no more babies, even though I had no intention of having another one.

DiscoDancer1975

No. My mother had and died of breast cancer. My menopause wasn’t too bad. Intermittent symptoms over about 5 years. The worst was travel/ morning sickness type symptoms, which I could never be sure were menopause related anyway.

All gone now. I tended to treat each symptom in its own right. I’ve always taken Magnesium, calcium, Vitamin D, for bone strength. Regular exercise.

Glad I never needed it.

Yes...agree, if we all took medication in case something happened in the future if we didn’t, the drug companies would all be even richer than they are now.!

I took it very briefly, I had problems with it. I had a late menopause still had periods until about 57. I have had lots of horrible symptoms, although from what I have read of other women's experiences not as bad as some but certainly haven't sailed through it. Some menopausal symptoms can be pretty similar to those of an underactive thyroid which I have, taking Thyroxine, but as discussed on various threads some of us find that's not a silver bullet by any means into alleviating many of the downsides of that condition. Yes have definitely suffered from poor sleep patterns, lots of tossing and turning, hot flushes, not so many now, brain fog at times. Haven't had too many mood swings. I have great sympathy for those who have the most extreme symptoms and are unable to get their HRT.

Oak I never contemplated HRT due to the animal cruelty. I heard they keep a pregnant horse in a barn and collect it's urine to make HRT. Hope I'm wrong on that or that they have found other ways of making it. I went on Black Cohosh from H&B which is from the bark of a tree, they said it was to be taken for 6mnths and no more, I took it for years and only stopped when H&B took it off the shelves as it had to go back through a H&S trail, which has to be done every 10yrs or so. Tried again recently, but find it gives me bad indigestion now, so stopped.

Loose women mention HRT almost every programme, makes you wonder if they get commission!

I had one implant which lasted six months and then regular patches for about three years. Dr then suggested reducing patch strength to wean me off. Worked a treat. Never needed any help since and that was many years ago.

I wouldn’t say I sailed through it - but decided to tough it out like some other GNs. Hot flushes/night sweats were awful and I started to sleep on my own. As DH worked away, my mood swings etc were my own problem.
HRT wasn’t considered due to animal cruelty, but I did resort to some herbal remedies.

Yoginimeisje I am not au fait with what drugs are currently available but Premarin short for Pregnant Mares Urine (which is what I was offered all those years ago) involves appalling cruelty:

Peta People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals write that:

750,000 mares are impregnated each year for the sole purpose of collecting their estrogen-rich urine. Tied in small stalls, unable to move either backwards, forwards, or sideways or lie down comfortably, they stand with sacks strapped to their groins for months on end. In order to make the urine more concentrated, their water intake is restricted, so the horses are constantly thirsty. The foals are considered “byproducts,” and most are fattened up, slaughtered, and sold for horsemeat or turned into dog food.

The alternative was Cenestin which is soya and yam based so that was out too.

No, never needed it.

I had extreme periods in my forties because of fibroids and start of menopause. I was fitted with a Mirena IUD with hormones it instantly made me ill. My body rejected it I had a few operations for polyps and smaller fibroids but the problem persisted. I had another Mirena fitted with different hormones with rejection again. I just got on with hot flushes etc until it eventually ended naturally.

halfpint I was a non smoker ,never even tried it, rarely drank alcohol .vegetarian ,ran six miles a day every day weight trained 2 evenings a week and STILL had the menopause from hell.
If I hadn't been offered HRT I would be at least divorced and worst dead
A healthy lifestyle is no guarantee of an easy menopause,it can affect anyone .
My mother had no problems at all and her periods ended when she was 42,both her sisters had early menopause one at 28 .
You really shouldn't judge women who need HRT ,it really is just the luck of the draw.I'm on it for life anyone who tries to take it off me will need to prise it from my hands .

I'm still on it - age just 70. I started on tablets years ago, then went onto patches which then went on short supply. Now on lowest dose of Oestrogel gel plus a Progesterone tablet nightly. Feel great, no aches and pains, plenty of energy. The health benefits plus protection to my bones is a bonus. I'll stay on it forever if I can.

DiscoDancer1975

DiscoDancer1975

No. My mother had and died of breast cancer. My menopause wasn’t too bad. Intermittent symptoms over about 5 years. The worst was travel/ morning sickness type symptoms, which I could never be sure were menopause related anyway.

All gone now. I tended to treat each symptom in its own right. I’ve always taken Magnesium, calcium, Vitamin D, for bone strength. Regular exercise.

Glad I never needed it.

Yes...agree, if we all took medication in case something happened in the future if we didn’t, the drug companies would all be even richer than they are now.!

No wonder you agreed DiscoDancer1975, it’s your own post! Did you mean to quote someone else?

Or are you disagreeing with yourself, DiscoDancer?

Taking preventive measures gives us a better chance of staying healthy, and that would mean reduced profits for drug companies, especially if the measures we take don't involve products from those companies.

FarNorth

Or are you disagreeing with yourself, DiscoDancer?

Taking preventive measures gives us a better chance of staying healthy, and that would mean reduced profits for drug companies, especially if the measures we take don't involve products from those companies.

But if you are put on HRT and take it for the rest of your life that could be 40 years of expense. If you are medicated for a condition it is unlikely that you would need that long on drugs. Treatment for osteoporosis for example means a short period on drugs then supplements. How can that make more for drug companies?