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[Sussexgirl]

I have been on HRT for 5 years and at my last visit to the GP she said that due to the length of time taken i had to start to come off, I was on Evorel 50 and cut down to 25 and three weeks ago stopped altogether.  I am really suffering from night sweats, some day sweats and a feeling of being slightly jittery and anxious. 

Do other people take it for longer, perhaps in small doses?  Is there anything i can do to ride this out?

Thank you

[Dancinggirl]

Hi Sussexgirl - The 5 year cut off is nonsense - as long as you are healthy you can stay on HRT and if you can cope on a lowish dose all the better.  I'm 59 and still using HRT and hope to be for a few years yet so I can keep working.  Maybe ask for a referral to a meno clinic or a gynae.  There are new guidelines from the professional body here in the UK somewhere on this site which you could print off and show your GP.  DG x

[Annie0710]

As long as there's no medical reason for you NOT to have hrt, you CAN continue

I've been on max dose 16 years now and my gynae said I can be on it for life, I'll have a think about it when I'm in my 80s and make a decision then !

I changed docs when I was 36 and about 2 years later they started giving me a hard time (that was 2004 ish) and I fought tooth and nail and got my own way and stayed on it, I'm so glad I did, they were trying to scare me saying bad things will happen but I just kept remembering all my symptoms of before I was on it

Stand your ground

Annie xx

[Joyce]

Well I can sympathise with this. I'm currently on very low dose oestrogen only HRT. Last GP visit I was told that after my summer holiday they want me off HRT & on Citalopram. However, I'm going to see different GP then & going to argue my point. I'm already on Citalopram for anxiety & the more I think about it, I don't want to up the dose.  I've been on HRT for well in excess of 5 years.  There are new NICE guidelines coming out, the ladies on here mentioned it to me. However, from what I can gather they won't be published until October.  So much conflicting evidence.

[CLKD]

Pity you didn't ask here before you took your GP's 'advice' 

Make a list of symptoms, lay it on thick and say you don't think you will survive without your previous regime ……. why do GPs think that ADs will help if a lady has had good success with what she was already taking   

It really shouldn't be a battle - after all, a diabetic wouldn't be told to stop treatment if they felt 'better' 

   I'm fed up with GPs deciding what patients should/not be taking.  Because of what exactly?  Old 'research', Practice protocol, costs ……… it makes me depressed, when ladies are doing well on HRT and GPs - who haven't had to take it yet - 'advise' ……….. I AM SO ANGRY!

[Cassie]

Been on it for 12 yrs and intend to stay another 20 yrs at least!

[GypsyRoseLee]

I'm 44 and have only been on HRT for nearly 4 months. I started taking it due to the sudden onset of irrational anxiety and depression which seemed quite cyclical. Also started suffering with insomnia too.

My consultant casually mentioned that she was quite happy for me to stay on HRT until I was 60 ( so another 16 years) and we could then have a chat about whether I would want to continue? But she has patients in their 70s who have been on HRT for over 25 years or more.

Before HRT I felt so mentally ill and horribly anxious much of the time. It was the darkest period of my life and I never want to go back to ever feeling so low and frightened again. I intend staying on HRT for a long time.

[CLKD]

My GP tentatively, quietly, occasionally asks whether I would consider stopping me ADs and BBs ……. I think because he is ticking boxes, as he never pursues it.  Without them I wouldn't be here …….. same with HRT, regardless of my breast cancer history, I believe quality of Life is important so if push were to come to shove 

Trouble is, unless we have Forums etc., or Consultants that approve of long-term use of HRT, then we have to 'go' with what GPs suggest ………. 

[bramble]

Sussexgirl,
The usual advice for coming off HRT is to give it 3 months or more after stopping to see if things settle down. It is possible and probable that you will get a slight recurrence of symptoms but these should eventually disappear. If it was a conti patch you were on, it may have been easier to cut your patch every few weeks to give you a gradual decrease over a period of time. However, you have stopped it altogether so fingers crossed that you will soon be symptom free! I was on pills and gradually stopped and apart from a few random symptoms over the first month or so, I was fine. Hoping you are too!

Bramble

[Sunnydays]

The draft NICE guidelines are on the women's health concern website. There is a full document for comment (I don't know who makes the comments!) but it might be worth looking up to see what it says about length of taking hrt. It goes thru section by section about each cause for concern eg breast cancer, blood clots etc. it might help with your decision.

[Sussexgirl]

Thank you all for you replies, all very helpful, i have been to my Drs Surgery today and seen a different GP, who was most understanding and helpful and said he was more than happy for me to go straight back on.  As I had a surgical menopause 5 years at the age of 47 he sees no reason why I should not be able to stay on it for another 5 years.   

[CLKD]

Well done you!  Same regime?

[Sussexgirl]

I have to start off on the lower dose of 25 and if I feel i need to i can move up from there, I would like to use the lowest if possible.  I have been quite surprised and the speed at which they appear to be working, i have had alot less hot flushes today and slept better. Wonder if they always work this quickly?

[CLKD]

Vitanana: I think you already said that 

Sussexgirl - how's the weather down there today and did you sleep better?

[Dancinggirl]

vitanana - are you a company promoting Red Clover Supplements? If so promotions for products are not allowed on the forum - do check with Emma our moderator if you wish to advertise on this site. 
If you are not a company selling anything then I apologise for misunderstanding. Dg x