Hi there pat21
I'm not sure what you mean by general consensus? Do you mean the opinion of women posting on here or the views of the medical profession, or what happens in practice?
Nowhere does it state clinically (as far as I know) that women should be made to stop HRT at any particular age or after a specific number of years provided there is no medical reason in her particular case not to continue.
This is what the British Menopause Society says about it - their consensus statement from 2013:
http://www.thebms.org.uk/statementpreview.php?id=1 The decision whether to use HRT should be made by each woman having been given sufficient information by her health professional to make a fully informed choice.
The HRT dosage, regimen and duration should be individualised, with annual evaluation of pros and cons.
Arbitrary limits should not be placed on the duration of usage of HRT; if symptoms persist, the benefits of hormone therapy usually outweigh the risks.
HRT prescribed before the age of 60 has a favourable benefit / risk profile.
It is imperative that women with premature ovarian insufficiency are encouraged to use HRT at least until the average age of the menopause.
If HRT is to be used in women over 60 years of age, lower doses should be started, preferably with a transdermal route of administration.
It is imperative that in our ageing population research and development of increasingly sophisticated hormonal preparations should continue to maximise benefits and minimise side effects and risks.
This will optimise quality of life and facilitate the primary prevention of long term conditions which create a personal, social and economic burden.I've put in bold the bits that are relevant to your situation.
The new NICE guidelines (now in draft) also do not state anything about time or age limits.
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/GID-CGWAVE0639/documents/menopause-draft-guideline-nice2The important thing is that women should be told of the published risks and given the choice whether or not to accept these risks.
Many GPs - such as presumably cubagirl's - adhere to the outdated notion of 60 - but there is no basis for this except that this is the magic age at which risks are said to increase (according to the evidence which in any case is also outdated and far too general to apply to all HRT types) - but it's an arbitrary age. If you look at the information here you will see that Dr Currie has evaluated the risks and benefits of HRT and between the ages of 60 and 70 the benefits equal the risks.
http://www.menopausematters.co.uk/balance.php I fall into this category although I'm not 65 yet! I am lucky to have a part-time gynae GP who is happy for me to continue (although my regular GP is not so I don't see her any more!).
Some gynaes at menopause clinics also seem to specify this (form what some women on here have reported) but I'm not sure why, As far as I can see, they are just interpeting the results of the large trials that took place (ie the WHI study etc) and applying their own judgement to the data on risk, rather than simply informing the woman of these results, and letting her decide based on this knowledge
In your case it's even more ridiculous to apply this "rule" because you are as you say on a very low dose - which will also give some protection against osteoporosis even though it is half the recommended amount.
Unfortunately many of us are at the mercy of the outdated views of ill-informed doctors but hopefully the new NICE guidelines will help here in that no age/time limit is specified - just that treatment should be reviewed annually.
Hope this helps
Hurdity x
