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[Christine]

Hi

I had a stack of blood tests a couple of weeks ago, one of them being the one for menopause.

GP said today that I have now gone through menopause according to the blood test (also I haven't had a period since Feb 2013). End of 2012 I came of HRT as I felt rough on it.

As the GP says have gone through menopause, what does this mean for me...will anxiety etc start to subside...or will things get worse

Christine

[Christine]

Thanks Stella

I hope am not tempting fate saying this but flushes stopped around 8 months ago, other things aches, headaches etc are rare now too...the worst thing I had for the yrs before this & still have but not as bad is anxiety!!!! so bad I hate going anywhere sometimes. I hope that improves!! eventually

I started having anxiety etc when I was about 46 but GP kept saying they wouldn't send me for a hormone test as I was too young for meno...gave me a blank face when I mentioned peri.

Am 50 now so its been a few yrs of hell. especially having to do it with no HRT except the twice I tried it for 3 months each time.

Christine

[Sarah2]

I don't think theses are questions that anyone can answer for you because everyone is different.

Maybe reconsider HRT if your symptoms come back? Trying a couple of sorts is not a lot as there are many types of combinations that might still help.
It's now recognised that menopausal symptoms can last for many years.

But- I don't think drugs are the long term answer to anxiety- maybe think about some kind of 'talking therapy- eg counselling- to help understand why you are anxious.

Can you trace your anxiety back to any events where you suddenly lost confidence?

[Taz2]

I think that your GP says you have gone through it because you have now gone a year without a period so are officially post menopause. Everyone is different as to how many symptoms they get. As for the anxiety I personally believe that a combination of anti-depressants and talking therapies are often what is needed. There is evidence that the brain is lacking in certain chemicals in some people. If you are lacking red blood cells then you become anaemic and nobody thinks badly of you for taking iron supplements and I think the same can be said for anxiety and depression so if the anxiety doesn't get better then it would be worth asking for some help.

Taz x

[Hurdity]

Hi

As Stellajane says your hormones (oestrogen) will continue to decrease from the date of your last period, for another 2 years or so, and will settle at a new low level.

This does not necessarily mean all is over though, because some women only start to get troublesome symptoms (flushes and sweats) at this point - and especially things like vaginal atrophy for which topical oestrogen is recommended. I hope this is not the case for you.

If your anxiety started as you became peri-menopausal and you hadn't experienced it before, and cannot trace it to some life event, then it could well have a hormonal cause and HRT might help. It has for many women on here. However I am not sure whether a GP will prescribe it as the first line of treatement for anxiety in the absence of any other menopausal symptoms (but I may be wrong here), although as I said above, if it only started peri-menopausally with no other cause then this should be taken into account!

Personally, I would want to look for a hormonal remedy - combined with talking therapies as Taz and Sarah suggest, before taking anti-depressants.

Hurdity x

[Christine]

GP said the blood test results show am now post meno...

[Sarah2]

That's what my first and only test showed ( even though I was having periods at the time) and I went on to have periods for at least 2 more years...!

[Taz2]

Me too Sarah!.

Christine - if you have gone a year without periods then you are known as "post meno" and any bleeding after this time should be investigated. Blood tests are really unreliable which is how some women get caught out re pregnancies because they are told that they are post meno but are still occasionally ovulating.  It is all very confusing at times!

Taz x

[Christine]

Thanks

[lubylou]

Hi,
Can anyone point me in the direction of the basis for these two references about things settling to a new lower level two years post meno as mentioned in this thread? Does this two year time frame only apply if a person has not been on HRT before periods ceased? What does new low or lower level mean - does it still mean that meno symptoms will still occur after two these two years?

oestrogen levels should drop two years after being post menopausal and that hormones (oestrogen) will continue to decrease from the date of your last period, for another 2 years or so, and will settle at a new low level,

there's a theory that says two years after going through menopause your hormones settle down at their new lower level and all should be fine

Thanks
Lubylou

[Sarah2]

Are the words you have posted in italics your own words or have you copied them from somewhere as a quote for the post?


People used to believe that meno symptoms would all be over in 2 years ( after a final period) but recently this has pretty much been abandoned because it's just not what many women experience.


This is  from the Mail. In amongst all the blurb is some decent research from KIng's which showed that 50% of women still have flushes etc at 65.

The disturbing thing about this article is that the women refused HRT  mainly on irrational fears/ mis information ( one didn't want to put 'artificial hormones ' into her body, 2 said breast cysts meant they could not take HRT, which is not completely true)  including those who had a premature menopause and for whom HRT ought to have been prescribed.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2506911/Trapped-ending-menopause-For-women-misery-change-TWO-DECADES.html

This is the research from King's
http://www.kcl.ac.uk/iop/news/records/2011/October2011/menopausesymptoms.aspx


You might find this useful from the BMS- it says there should be no time limits on how long HRT is prescribed- which shows that there is no cut-off point of 2 years or whatever for symptoms.

http://www.thebms.org.uk/statementpreview.php?id=1

[Hurdity]

Hi lubylou - I think that's my post you are quoting - well the first sentence - the second doesn't sound like mine because it's not true ie all should be fine, but it depends on the context!!

This is the standard information about oestrogen levels for a natural menopause ie they fall to their final low level after about 2 years following last period. When I find the ref I'll pm you. It is not about symptoms but about actual oestrogen levels in the body.

I don't know how long oestrogen levels take to drop to the same level following cessation of HRT, but somewhere I read that serum estradiol levels fall to baseline very soon - so if that's the case then it is much quicker. I'm not sure though if it is stored in the system and released for a while after and maybe someone else knows about this?

Re the symptoms - after two years the fluctuations will cease and from that point of view then hormone levels should remain stable - so that might havebeen the context for that remark. Many menopausal symptoms are symptoms of oestrogen deficiency (rather than hormonal fluctuations) and do not become apparent in some women until into the true post-menopausal time (ie from 2 years after last period onwards) - such as vaginal atrophy, bladder problems, osteoporosis etc.

There is information on this site about this here:
http://www.menopausematters.co.uk/symptoms.php

Scroll down to later symptoms.

And as we have discussed on here many time and the refs Sarah has given - many women also suffer from the same symptoms as they did earlier (flushes and sweats) formany years, despite the fact that their hormones are no longer fluctuating, and I don't think the reason for this is known.

Hurdity x