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[Jamily50]

Hi , I am 50 in May and starting to find the menopause symptoms affecting me to the extent that I am becoming anxious and possibly depressed . My Dr has just perscribed Prempak - C which I would prefer not to take as it is conjugated oestrogens . I dont want to take this type of HRT on ethical grounds . He tells me that all HRT is produced this way , now I am confused and in tears as I was hoping HRT may help me . He said he would look into it but the receptionist who passed on his message seemed doubtful  .

I am wondering if there are other forms of HRT as all this is new to me ? He wants me to call him in a couple of days when have has looked into it and I have thought about it. I really need something to help my symptoms , getting out of bed in the morning with every joint aching is draining me .

Any advice appreciated x

[babyjane]

Hello Jamily, you will get lots of help and advice here as there are many ladies with experience of different HRTs. I don't use it but from just reading their posts what your Dr has said does not sound right but I will back off and leve it to the experts to help you.

Just wanted to say hello and reassure you that you have come to a good place for help and support.

Jane

[orchid]

Hi Jamily...sorry you are suffering, you have come to the right place for support and advice. Firstly you aren't alone especially with anxiety and depression. What you will be better off with is bio identical HRT, which is the nearest to the bodies natural hormones. There will be a lot of ladies along to tell you they are on Oestrogel which your dr can prescribe. It is easier to control the dose with gel. This is used alongside a form of progesterone if you still have a womb. I took Northisterone 2.5mg for 5 days every month or two to give me a bleed. Alongside this I take an antidepressent Dosulepin 75mg for the anxiety and depression. Hang in there it's all treatable! Big hugs! X

[Dancinggirl]

Hi Jamily50 and welcome to MM
Yet another GP that is not up to speed on HRT - very common I'm afraid.  He is quite wrong of course about the origins of HRT and in fact almost all the HRT types except Prempak now have bio identical or natural oestrogen.
Do look above under TREATMENTS - particularly the peri menopause section - where the different preparations are listed. Many HRTs have synthetic progesterones which are usually fine but some women find challenging. 
My suggestions would be to print off the pages from this site, make another appointment or drop off with a letter and perhaps ask if you can try Femoston 1/10 as this one has a kinder progesterone that is more likely to suit you. You may have to be very tactful about how you approach this as many GPs don't like patients telling them what they want, so gently explain that you have done some research and that Femoston 1/10 has the natural oestrogen you want and a less harsh progesterone.

PrempakC is one of the older type of HRts and actually still works very well for many women but I do understand your concerns ethically about this type of oestrogen. 
You do need to feel happy about what you take. orchid has suggested a regime of gel with separate progesterone which is an option but at this stage I would keep things simple and ask for Femoston (which does have bio identical oestrogen) as it sounds as though your GP is in the dark ages and asking for something that he won't find easily in his book of drugs could be really challenging.

As you can see there are many HRTs you can try so it will be trial and error but we are here to support you and hopefully you will be surprised how good you feel in 3-4 month times (possibly sooner). Keep posting.  DG x

[Hurdity]

Hi Jamily50

  from me too.

to everything that Dancing girl said!

I use Estradot ( bio-identical estradiol) patches with micronised progesterone (Utrogestan) but as Dancinggirl says - Femoston is a good one to start with and the closest combi tab to our own hormones.

Let us know how you get on - and don't be fobbed off by ignorance from your doc!!!

Hurdity x

[Jamily50]

Thanks fro the replies , I need reassurance as I was so positive and had made up my mind but now I feel deflated and think its going to be hard to persuade the Dr to prescribe a different type of HRT . He is more concerned about my Cholesterol being 7.2 . It is hereditary , im not overweight but it does need to come down so he has prescribed Statins which I dont want to start taking till I have sorted the HRT out as the side effects could get confusing .

He is an old fashioned DR  and I really dont think I am going to get anywhere  . It really is starting to affect life including work as I am on my feet all day and its a stressful job too .

I really feel as if I would be better being refered to a Menopause Clinic but not sure there is one within the NHS area . Im not the bravest person when it comes to fighting my corner either , I feel frozen at the first hurdle , thought it would be easier 

[coldethyl]

Can't help you on the HRT front but when you say your high cholesterol is hereditary do you mean you have familia hypercholesterolimia  or just that your family has all had highish levels? The former probably does require some medical intervention  but if it's just a case that you all have less than ideal levels then that can be addressed through diet. Current advice on low fat diets as a treatment for cholesterol is becoming increasingly discredited and it is in fact a high carb intake that affects our LDL and Trigs so you could try cutting down on them and see if that helps. My own went done from 6.5 to 5.5 just by cutting out carbs and I was certainly eating more fat!

[Jamily50]

HI coldethyl, I havnt being diagnosed with a cholesterol condition but my family does have higher levels , mum has just being tested 6.3 dad and brother both high too dad has been on statins for a while now he is 74 . I have been tested high before but as I am quite active and fairly healthy sort of shoved it to the back of my mind . I do like butter, cakes ,bread and chocolate but dont eat too much also have porridge every morning for breakfast .

I guess now is the time to shake myself and cut back on sugar and  possibly carbs although the Dr is insisting I cant lower my cholesterol with diet .

Interesting to hear about cutting carbs, well done for lowering your col levels  ,  my only thoughts are these are comfort when i am feeling low and of course I reach for them to make me feel better .  I would love to avoid statins especially as Mum had horrible side effects from them . Thing is now at 50 the new worry is heart disease

[coldethyl]

All I can say is that nearly everyone I know on the diabetic forum has improved their lipid profile by lower carbing. It is the ratio of the components that matter not the overall total. also we need cholesterol in our bodies and the drive to reduce it often seems driven by the financial benefit to the drugs companies and not sound science.
Carbs are a comfort but they are also a habit we can change .. Even my GP said he only has  what we tend to think of carbs ( in his case oats) once a day for breakfast. I notice that TV doctor Mark Porter is trying to change his cholesterol through lower carb diet so your GP is being a bit disingenuous to suggest that diet can't have an effect.
Give it a try as as you say statins can have quite severe side effects.

[Jamily50]

Interesting thoughts , everything seems to be about money nowadays , I will definitely look at changing habits , thankyou .

Wonder if my Drs decision to put me on Prempak - C is cost too ? Not looking forward to trying to change his prescription , He will see me as a right pain

[orchid]

Hi again Jamily, can you not see a different dr, or change dr. I'm with Coldethyl on cholesterol, lower carbs a bit. Did you get the break down of your fat profile hdl & ldl cholesterol, good fats and bad fats? You need a certain amount of fat to make hormones, so as long as you are sticking to a healthy diet with EFA's essential fatty acids ie from advocados and nuts and a Mediterranean type diet I wouldn't worry. Statins can have awful side effects, plus like you say it could get confusing! Good luck Hun, let us know how you get on.