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[stanley2012]

Hi there I am going to see my doctor on thursday next week and she is pretty dead set against HRT but I think I would benefit from it.  Can I ask how you felt HRT helped you?  Thank you for any help x

[Winterose]

I posted on success stories .  HRT resolved most of my hot flushes - certainly all the daytime ones , stopped joint pain - it wasnt just getting old that caused that which is what I thought it was.  With most of the flushes stopped I slept better and without your sleep you are lost and setting yourself up for more problems  Stopped a lot of the anxiety.  Almost forgot : hrt and thyroxine stopped the awful heart palpitations, - good luck 

[Hurdity]

Hi stanley2012 - may I ask where you are in menopause re periods etc and what your symptoms are and how old you are? It is easier to advise knowing a bit more about you!

Sorry to hear doc is opposed to HRT but I presume you have read the relevant info in the menu on left? Also there was a very readable article last week in Daily Mail online in which Dr Heather Currie - gynaecologist and founder of this website, contributed. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2800760/should-women-hrt-menopause-experts-say-s-best-way-ease-symptoms-avoid-long-term-health-problems.html

I echo what Winterose said - hot flushes and night sweats eliminated and few bladder problems. I feel normal ( well as normal as I ever will!!) most of the time - not like I was when I was younger - but I can function and enjoy life.

Have a look at the HRT good or bad thread as well http://www.menopausematters.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,794.0.html and some of the articles in menopause news:
http://www.menopausematters.co.uk/news.php

Hope this helps!

Hurdity x

[stanley2012]

Hi Hurdity thanks for the reply! I have been away for a few days so sorry I have not replied sooner.  I am 48 and had periods that have varied in length for the last year but actually missed the last period altogether.  I was advised I was perimenopausal in about January this year.  I have terrible sleep, very woolly head and problems with my bladder mainly but I have occasions of flushes but not consistent.  My body feels about 100 and i have weeks of feeling like I don't know who I am anymore as my body does not feel like my own anymore.  My moods are unpredictable and I just feel emotionally not myself.  I genuinely have no idea what to say to my doc tmro and what to ask for to help with things?  The urinary problems are the most annoying and seem to have escalted in the last few months and I am sick of having to wear pads and dread coughing or sneezing! I just feel really confused about my options and have controlled high blood pressure and a history of severe migraines whilst taking the combined pill.  Please can someone help me with what to suggest to the doc as im so confused!

[Liz]

Hi - I'm around the same age as you (47 in April) and having similar problems, thankfully no bladder issues at the mo, though.

I've been on HRT for 7 weeks now and am trying Oestrogel and Utrogestan.  If you'd like to try HRT, perhaps you could suggest this to your GP.  Patches are also good, although I'm very active and mine didn't stick well.

[peegeetip]

Hi stanley2012

the choice to go onto HRT is yours.
Not the docs however they may protest.

The longer you put off with problems like bladder issues the less likely that HRT is able to help get you back to where you were.
I was getting to the stage where I was thinking more about my next toilet break and where that was when I was out.
Since taking HRT I feel I'm almost back to normal.
As I posted earlier today my only regret was not to start HRT sooner in my own peri.

You could ask for low dose femoston or elleste to start with as in the following link:
http://www.menopausematters.co.uk/perimeno.php

It might also help if you ask for one of the following vaginal treatments to help things faster down there also:
http://www.menopausematters.co.uk/local.php

Interested to know why your doc is so against HRT, so many seem to have old and out of date information.
Remember its your choice not theirs. Be firm and tell them "thats what I want".

All the best for your appointment
 

[stanley2012]

Hi ladies thank yo so much for your help im feeling so anxious about going to see her as she refused point blank last time and I like to be confident about what i am asking for.  My blinking head is so woolly I dont seem to be able to concentrate on getting the facts to stick!  I have a sister on patches but we are very different so the combined contraceptive pill worked for her but never for me so I cant rely on things being the same for me.  I have to get some help rather than just accepting this is my lot and I have to just get on with it! I am sure one day I will actually wet myself whilst out shopping!

[peegeetip]

Hello again

the wooly head made me so forgetful! I certainly don't want to return to that.
Once I started on HRT my sleep improved sooo much.
Better sleep plus no sweat/flushes was the best part in the first few weeks.
Some take longer for things to improve on that front.

Please remember that the contraceptive pill and hrt are different.
Depends on which pill you both tried earlier too.
Try the tablet HRT route to start off with as its easy and not as much trouble to get used to as patches/gels.
If you try the local gels then again see how it goes in conjunction with the tablets.

If you want to swap to patches later then you can.

All the best for tomorrow

 

[stanley2012]

Thanks Pet I will let you know how I get on! Im feeling very much like we are at the mercy of the doctors because it is such a minefield of information that we just dont understand.

[Hurdity]

Hi stanley2012

The bladder issues are connected but different and if you worried about leakage then perhaps you could ask for a referral to a specialist?

You might like to look at the sister website - bladder matters which has a lot of information and including about incontinence and the different types. http://www.bladdermatters.co.uk/ . Last time I looked the forum part of it was not active though. There is information on pelvic floor exercises which can help strengthen the muscles and help with incontinence.

I would definitely ask for some local vaginal oestrogen as suggested by peegeetip and on that link, whether or not you are able to try HRT. As she also suggests - low dose Femoston might be just what you need. I would not go for Elleste in the first instance, nor Prempak. Femoston is the closest you can get to our own hormones in tablet form - the oestrogen is estradiol which is bio-identical, and the progestogen is dydrogesterone, which is very close to progesterone and of the synthetic progestogens, is generally the least likely to produce adverse side effects.

Unfortunately mood swings are very characteristic of peri-menopause, but early HRT may well help with these. Have you seen the article on peri-menopause on this site?
http://www.menopausematters.co.uk/article-perils-of-the-perimenopause.php

Here's one about the bladder too:
http://www.menopausematters.co.uk/article-bladder-problems.php

Good luck with the doc!

Hurdity x

[Millykin]

I'm 44 and started HRT Femiston in April and I can honestly say its the best thing I done, no sweats anciety going away, and I also noticed before HRT my joints were sore, up 2-3 times at night for toilet, forgetting things no focus list goes on! Now I've just realised I've not been up during night for a month bladder can hold more, skin better more hydrated looking and memory seems back to normal. Wether it's psychological or HRT done the trick who knows but I'm not letting go of it!

[Anjia]

Hurdity why do you say not to go for Elleste  I am taking this the tablet estrogen only type and would like to no why you would not make this a good choice.

[Millykin]

I think Hurdity meant Elleste duet for peri meno as the progesterone is not very good for a lot of women but the oestrogen is fine,

[Hurdity]

Sorry Anjia - nothing wrong with Elleste - I should think before I write - I did read it back but obvs not clear!

Peegeetip and I were talking about the HRT for peri-menopause - for women who still have a womb and need a progestogen to protect the lining and to give monthly withdrawal bleeds. Peegeetip suggested Femoston (sequi) or Elleste (Duet) which are listed in the link she gave under peri-menopause, so both our comments were in this context. I was just suggesting if you have a choice of HRT then go for the Femoston for the reasons given.

If you are taking oestrogen only then that's fine - it's all estradiol! 

Sorry to have confused you!

Hurdity x

[Anjia]

Thankyou Hurdity I did think maybe that was the case it can get confusing, Im having a bit of a blip with hormones at the moment wish it was all plain sailing but we just have to put up with it x