Is anyone else not on HRT?

Glorianny

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.

??. Thank you to those who spotted my mistake. Glorianny is who I was agreeing with.

I blame the breast cancer I had on my GP's wanting all his older women on HRT . I had no checks at all before starting it and this was before I was even needing it . Lump found in a routine mamogram .

Glorianny

Is it wrong of me to find it funny that Davina McCall is on TV showing how she colours her grey roots and on another programme telling us how HRT stops you going grey?

You aren’t supposed to notice that!???

Is it wrong of me to find it funny that Davina McCall is on TV showing how she colours her grey roots and on another programme telling us how HRT stops you going grey?

Paddyanne I dont think my post was a judgement on anyone but yours was.

I’ve had really bad hot flushes,night sweats,insomnia and more recently unexpected anxiety since finishing my periods over 10 years ago,the symptoms still continue.After seeing various programmes on tv about hrt’s role in preventing or reducing dementia and osteoporosis I went to see my male Gp who was unsympathetic to say the least,his words were,you’re too old (59) you’re too fat (11.5 stone 5 ft 4in) size 14 and you’ve got too bad a family history ??? So basically go away and don’t bother me again.so I’m still sweating,not sleeping and fretting about things that are often out of my control.
I give up.

FarNorth

Sorry, I didn't mean hrt medication as prevention.
I meant things like vitamin supplements and exercise.

Apologies for misunderstanding your post. I think it was reading it after previous posts about HRT that caused it. I fully agree about supplements and exercise. I was relatively inactive until I retired. Pilates and Tai Chi have done me such a lot of good. I think we should all be encouraged to take up some sort of exercise.

No same here no HRT, did have a some flushes in my forties but put it down to being overweight more than the menopause but with hindsight probably a bit of both. I have lost a lot of weight since my menopause luckily, and like the OP my periods petered out and stopped when I reached 50 .
I put my weight loss down to the hormonal changes as well as diet as I don't have the cravings like I used to have. I am by no way " slim" but a more regular size which I am happy with.

paddyann that's dreadful. I'd do the same as you, in that situation.

Sorry, I didn't mean hrt medication as prevention.
I meant things like vitamin supplements and exercise.

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?

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.

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?

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.

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 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.

No, never needed it.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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 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.

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.