Ladies who decided not to take HRT...how has it been?

I have never taken HRT I am 66, I do have some joint pain but no more than my friends, I am fairly active and am a carer for my DH who has had a stroke. I did take the mini pill till I was 50. I lost weight (8 stone)after I stopped taking it and didn't want to put hormones in my body which obviously made me gain weight again. I am lucky? I still have my original hair colour and good skin without too many wrinkles.

NonGrannyMoll

I didn't take HRT. Maybe my experiences would have been different if I had taken it, but there's no way of knowing because I didn't take it....! All I can do is tell you what my menopause was like. I had huge memory problems which made both my working and personal life difficult (I wouldn't just forget promising to do something, I forgot even the act of promising). My sex drive went into, well, OVER-drive (DH wasn't complaining, but it meant I was forever "fancying" other men, which was awful and out of character. I put on weight, suffered horribly from insomnia and went into obsessive nest-building syndrome. Would any or all of that have been avoided if I'd take HRT? Maybe, maybe not. We're all different, so my experiences will certainly not be the same as other women's. We either try HRT and see how it goes for us, or we don't (and see where Mother Nature takes us). Good luck with it anyway.

Wow, you had varied symptoms there. Some more common but others I'd not heard of! The trouble sleeping is really the worst for me but sleep can be an issue at any stage of life. I've got a very young son so I need all the energy I can get! Thanks for your reply and good wishes.

I have had a hysterectomy including removal of both ovaries at 46 (55 now). I have had 2 long periods off HRT, and during both I was miserable. The symptoms I could not live with were intractable joint pain all over, almost total insomnia, terrible anxiety, itchy, flaking, skin, dry eyes, abdominal weight gain, muscle weakness, crashing fatigue and hideously sagging breasts that actually were impossibke to fit into any bra. So yes - HRT for life here.

Emberforever

I have had a hysterectomy including removal of both ovaries at 46 (55 now). I have had 2 long periods off HRT, and during both I was miserable. The symptoms I could not live with were intractable joint pain all over, almost total insomnia, terrible anxiety, itchy, flaking, skin, dry eyes, abdominal weight gain, muscle weakness, crashing fatigue and hideously sagging breasts that actually were impossibke to fit into any bra. So yes - HRT for life here.

That really is so much to cope with. HRT is around to help and works for you 😊.

62Granny

I have never taken HRT I am 66, I do have some joint pain but no more than my friends, I am fairly active and am a carer for my DH who has had a stroke. I did take the mini pill till I was 50. I lost weight (8 stone)after I stopped taking it and didn't want to put hormones in my body which obviously made me gain weight again. I am lucky? I still have my original hair colour and good skin without too many wrinkles.

@62granny thanks for your reply. Hope you and your husband are doing OK. It's nice to hear you have good skin and your original hair colour too. I was thinking I might end up like an old prune if I dont take hrt as most posts I read say you definitely age better facially if you take it. That does make some sense but hopefully a good skincare routine helps. I've been dyeing my roots since my early 30s though!

I have never had HRT, perhaps I was lucky but I never had any real problems. The only problem I had was when I had a Well Woman appointment the nurse seemed almost angry that I never ‘suffered’.