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[jasmine5]

I've been taking Hrt for five years and have decided to take a break with a view to stopping completely so I went 'cold turkey' almost almost five weeks ago and this is my journey so far:-

Horrendous night sweats and I mean HORRENDOUS!  Waking at least 6-8 times a night with sweat dripping from my face, hair and back. 

Day sweats - can happen anytime, anywhere with perspiration streaming down my face, neck and bizarrely from behind my knees!  Each flush can last up 10 minutes or longer.

Insomnia - feeling exhausted but unable to fall asleep and then when I eventually do, waking early.

Terrible leg and foot pain upon rising and also after I've been sitting down for a while.

Mood swings and being irrational.

Flat, lifeless hair (couLd be all that sweating?)

Shrunken boobs and bits!

I dont think my symptoms were this severe before I started the Hrt.  I would really like to stop but I'm suffering so much I don't know what to do.  How long will it last and do things eventually get better? Any advice please?

Jas x

[bramble]

'They' do say you should taper off slowly. Easier if you are on a conti pill. Which I was and I tapered off over a period of months. And all good - few hot flushes and my sleep pattern went all to pot for a month or so but all in all, not too bad. Not sure how you would do it on a sequi regime unless you could drop down to a lower dose pill or patch.

Bramble

[dazned]

I think there's women on here who have stopped hrt both cold turkey and by tapering,it doesn't seem to make a difference to the outcome either way. I can only say give it a while longer  then re evaluate. Why did you want to stop hrt,what hrt will you change to if you decide to re start it,have you examined your lifestyle,diet etc ?

[jasmine5]

I've been having problems for the last year or so with very bad boob pain and bloating hence the decision to stop.  I was on the gel and capsule regime.  I know some ladies taper off slowly but I was only on 1 pump of gel so thought as its a low dose its probably ok to just stop.  On a positive note (and there's just the one!) my stomach has decreased by half but then so have my boobs! 😱

I'm pretty active I swim and walk.  If I have to go back to Hrt (Gp willing as I'm now 58!) I'll probably choose patches but to be honest I've had a problem with most preparations.

x

[jgr]

Hi jasmine5, I have been on patches for 5years + and recently decided to come off them after a few issues. I have been gradually cutting a bit off every few weeks with the hope of coming off them completely. All was going well with only a few flushes returning at night, until i got down to about 1/4 of a patch. Everything started to dry up, first time this had happened. Bad fuzzy heads, headaches, nausea aches and pains, health anxieties etc etc started to come back. I put the patch back up to 1/2 and although i still have a lot of the above, it is not as bad. Going on hoilday next week so didn't want to have a bad time while away. I will keep trying when i get back to come off them. Just want to be through this nightmare once and for all. xx

[Stillsearching]

I went cold turkey 25 days ago. Started Estring 5 days ago and got a prescription for Sylk at the same time 

So far :-

The Good

1) Bleeding has stopped
2) Flatulence stopped 
3) I have more energy
4) Stomach looks smaller
5) So far no joint pains
6) No discharges of any description
7) Libido is back 

The Bad

1) Bad night sweats 6 or so times a night so interrupted sleep
2) Daytime hot flushes which I didn't have before
3) Memory lapses that I'm not used to


The Ugly

1) A whacking great cold sore has appeared under my bottom lip 

I plan to give it 3 months and see how I feel. If I go back on it will be Mirena coil and Climeval. Not sure if I can continue to use Estring

[jasmine5]

Stillsearching - I feel you're pain!   In desperation I've started to take sage tablets twice daily and using that knicker magnet from Boots but up to now both have been no help whatsoever.  You're right about the libido but the trouble is everything is too dried up and sore to take advantage of it! lol

Jgr I've tried cutting the patches by a quarter in the past and found it didn't work for me as I was too impatient and they also started to fall off when water got behind them.  Good luck though I hope we both suceed.