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[Bambi62]

Hi.  New to this site today.  I am 52 and have been advised by GP to start taking everol conti patches (no bleed).  I am really anxious about starting HRT for several reasons.  I had my last period about 4 months ago - I have been dipping in and out of menopausal hot flushes and then periods.  I currently only suffer from hot flushes, especially at night and get very little sleep but don't get mood swings or feel low or depressed.  I have read that this HRT treatment should only be started if you have not had a period for at least 12 months.  This is not my case. 

My main aversion to HRT is that I may be taking it for 2-3 years,not knowing if in the interim the hot flushes have stopped and I continue to take HRT for no reason.  I am scared to mess with my bodies natural hormones and reading some reviews on this HRT it looks like symptoms/side effects could be more aggravating than the horrible hot flushes I suffer from.  My GP seemed keen to push me onto enverol conti immediately but would like to hear others experiences before I take the leap.  Any advice/experience shared would be great.  Thank you

PS I have had 2 previous ops to zap fibroids.  Periods were soooooo heavy with clots and lasted for days but since the second op, about 5 years ago, periods were much more regular and less heavy and less painful.  I have never had children or been pregnant .  Some say this will may menopause worse.   

[peegeetip]

Welcome to the forum.

Great that your GP is helping you out, so many of us have a fight on our hands to get there.
Given your problems with fibroids the doc may have put you on conti sooner to avoid any related issue. The benefit is that you should no periods but it might take a we while to settle down remember.
In my own case on sequi it took 6 months or so to help get me back to more of a normal feeling. The same can be said for conti.

There is no need to be anxious or worried. The HRT will stave of some of the more unsavory aspects of our peri / meno journey. You can take a look at the forum as the left panel has some of those problems highlighted. It's just there to point out what could happen and some of these problems are best headed off than treated later.

Recently studies have shown that one third! of us will continue to have flush/sweats and other symptoms for 10 years+. Some on the forum try an HRT holiday every so often to see how they cope but thats a double edged solution. In seeing if your still having flushes/sweats this can make other problems worse or come back in that time.

How long you take HRT depends on how your quality life is affected without it.
For me I was starting to get to a point where going to the toilet was controlling my life and stopping me doing things.
Once I started HRT things improved so much and I would not want to go back to that worry.
Had I started HRT sooner then I'd have avoided that problem in the first place.

Each of us are different in the way we react to HRT. Some do have problems but most of us breath easier with its help.

Be thankful for the doc you have, a lot of us have not been so lucky and have had to push hard to get the relief and help we should all have access too. 

The stuff about menopause being worse for some is rubbish, we are all different and anyone who tries to convince you otherwise is best taken with a pinch of salf and at worst ignored

Best advise, relax, stop worrying and enjoy the flush free zone

 

[Hurdity]

Hi Bambi62

  from me too!

Just to add that the oestrogen in Evorel conti is bio-identical to our own estradiol so you are just replacing your own natural hormone as the ovaries begin to shut down and don't produce so much of it.

If you are concerned about doing things more naturally then you could ask instead for oestrogen only patches along with micronised progesterone - (Utrogestan) which many of us take. This is the same progesterone as in our bodies and is associated with fewer undesirable side effects - just the usual ones ie it is a sedative so at high doses can make the user feel tired. It is a question of finding the solution which makes you feel better overall- there is a downside to everything. Most of us on HRT put up with the negative aspects because on balance we feel much better and know how debilitating continual flushes and sweats can be, and also there is a health protective effect of continuing with oestrogen.

Here is a link to a recent article about the benefits of HRT in which Dr Currie (founder of this site) expresses her views: 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

Hurdity x

[peegeetip]

I saw that article too thanks for posting H.

One of the better ones from the dailymail

I re-read the following in it - which I've added as a quote below:

"Your GP won't give you HRT?

"If YOUR GP is reluctant to prescribe HRT and yet you think it might help, ask the doctor if there's a menopause specialist in your area, or whether any of the GPs in the practice have specialist menopause training. Some women pay for a one-off private consultation (around £200) with a gynaecologist, who may accept responsibility for writing an HRT prescription."

Easier said than done but rather amusing that there is this need to "accept responsibility" for writing your prescription. Some prescriptions seem to be handed out with less of this consideration.

Is it not just a bit strange that we can buy supplments, tablets(Paracetamol) and Vitamins over the counter (some see vitamin d as a hormone rather than a vit).
However we can't buy HRT over the counter as a supplement too.

So many supplements, tablets and vitamins are potentially really harmful, even toxic if not taken correctly.
Vitamin D being a bad one as its fat soluble which makes it even worse apparently.
But we are allowed to pop these uncontrolled items to our heart or healths content with no recourse to a doctor or severe warning to our health (that should maybe go with them too).

Certainly no long term followup to see what they do to our bodies in reality.
And most people take supplements, tablets and vitamins blind with no reference to their current levels even when we have no symptoms to explain why we'd need to take these expensive items in the first place.
On the other hand there is a "hold back" and fear culture on prescribing HRT when we present with symptoms of peri and meno that need to be cared for.

Adding this useful article which also explains the new guidelines from the BMS too.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/181726.php

So good to see the comments from each of the doctors in the article.

All the best with your next step Bambi62.

 

[Bambi62]

Thank you everyone for your kind advice.  Yes.  My GP  has been very supportive and offering me HRT without question.  I guess my concern that she was ready to write it out there and then without me having time to weigh up the pros and cons.  As I said, my only, but awful symptoms are the hot flushes and night sweats.  I lie awake nearly all night in a quandry over whether to 'sweat it out' and hope they just stop or take the leap into the world of HRT.  Still thinking about it and will let you know how it goes.



Welcome to the forum.

Great that your GP is helping you out, so many of us have a fight on our hands to get there.
Given your problems with fibroids the doc may have put you on conti sooner to avoid any related issue. The benefit is that you should no periods but it might take a we while to settle down remember.
In my own case on sequi it took 6 months or so to help get me back to more of a normal feeling. The same can be said for conti.

There is no need to be anxious or worried. The HRT will stave of some of the more unsavory aspects of our peri / meno journey. You can take a look at the forum as the left panel has some of those problems highlighted. It's just there to point out what could happen and some of these problems are best headed off than treated later.

Recently studies have shown that one third! of us will continue to have flush/sweats and other symptoms for 10 years+. Some on the forum try an HRT holiday every so often to see how they cope but thats a double edged solution. In seeing if your still having flushes/sweats this can make other problems worse or come back in that time.

How long you take HRT depends on how your quality life is affected without it.
For me I was starting to get to a point where going to the toilet was controlling my life and stopping me doing things.
Once I started HRT things improved so much and I would not want to go back to that worry.
Had I started HRT sooner then I'd have avoided that problem in the first place.

Each of us are different in the way we react to HRT. Some do have problems but most of us breath easier with its help.

Be thankful for the doc you have, a lot of us have not been so lucky and have had to push hard to get the relief and help we should all have access too. 

The stuff about menopause being worse for some is rubbish, we are all different and anyone who tries to convince you otherwise is best taken with a pinch of salf and at worst ignored

Best advise, relax, stop worrying and enjoy the flush free zone

 
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