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[Emerald2017]

The more I read the more I am convinced that our body cannot survive without our female hormones.
I cannot imagine myself to stop hrt and to have to struggle with all these awful symptoms.
On the other hand all these scaring stories about cancer...
I think that using safely hrt depends on many individual factors and it is very complicated.
On the other hand I am convinced that docs and gyns don't know how to handle meno. I strongly believe that it is more an individual decision and responsibility.
I tried to find a caring and well informed gyn who said that I can use hrt as long as I want with regular check ups and yearly mammograms...maybe I just found a gyn that simply agree with me?..

Your thoughts ladies???

[Wilks]

Hi, for me it's a gift, despite the small increased risk of cancer. Smoking, alcohol and obesity are bigger cancer risks.
Plus, I would rather have a better quality of life than to struggle on til I'm 80 with very poor quality of life.

[Emerald2017]

Thank you for replying Wilkes! 💐

[Daisydot]

Agree Wilks definately gift for me Emerald.good luck with your choices do what's right for you x

[Emerald2017]

Thank you Daisydot!

[Dancinggirl]

Emerald - HRT is a personal choice and a lot depends on whether your body suits HRT or not.
All the scares have been overblown and there is still a stigma around using HRT - hrt is still seen by many as giving in and not being strong enough to ‘ride the storm'.
Education is the key. If we were all educated better about our bodies and how it works and therefore prepared for the various stages through life so we knew what to expect, then treatment would improve because we would know what to ask for.
Finding a supportive professional is certainly the key. Well women clinics in every town and city could work wonders. DG x

[Dorothy]

I think it's down to the individual and their symptoms/risks and quality of life.

I was on the pill for years due to a hormone imbalance that was leaving me with a very poor quality of life.  My GP regularly raised concerns about the increased risk of breast cancer, but continued to prescribe it as long as I was 'aware of the risks'.  My quality of life was so poor without the pill that I felt I'd rather have a shorter life that was happy and active than a longer one where I woke up each morning wishing I'd died in my sleep!

I've just had a scare over a breast lump (benign) but even when I thought it might be cancer, I didn't have any regrets over taking the pill because it gave me years of really good life instead of the kind of living death I would have had without it. 

[Tempest]

Can't wait to start it and hopefully stabilize! 3 plus years post oopherectomy (surgical menopause) most of it 'cold turkey'.

It's a looong story for me, but I was a member here a while ago and really, really struggled and thought HRT might have been making things worse. After several 'theories' from various doctors (and yes - psychiatrists) it was found following MRI and lumbar puncture and extensive neuro. testing that I have Multiple Sclerosis. This of course makes heat intolerance much, much worse.

I have just less than 3 weeks to wait to see my specialist to help with HRT - hoping for some relief this time! So glad to read that so many of you are doing well! xxxx

[Emerald2017]

I absolutely agree with you Dancinggirl!
I'm not in U.K. and we have no clinics for meno in my country, so I try to get informed by my own. I sometimes find that I'm better informed than my gyn!:)
I am convinced that my body cannot survive without estrogen. At first when I diagnosed a year ago I was feeling like a failure cause I need hrt. Things get better with time and the forum is really too helpful and precious for me!
Thank you all! 💐

[Daisydot]

I so agree with you ladies.and well woman clinics spot on dancing girl,we shouldn't have to beg for help ,it's so bloody demeaning,even with the support of a meno specialist I still get grief from these dinosaurs of gps who are so outdated and too lazy to keep their skills updated.
We all know the risks we all take the necessary precautions I just wish they were so passionate about telling us about all the risks involved in taking these drugs that they get nice little earners from ie statins etc.

[Tinkerbell]

Definitely a gift for me, I can't live with the awful VA without it.
I get a bit annoyed when an acquaintance and SIL go on about the breast cancer risk, they don't seem to acknowledge that their  weight, alcohol consumption and lack of exercise increase their risk of cancer.

[Daisydot]

You know what tinkerbell you can print off all the evidence and support about hrt that you wish but these people are so blinkered it makes not one bit of difference they are fossils with closed minds.ignore them and you do what's right for you wether it's hrt or natural remedies,if it works for you then bless your heart that's good enough x

[Emerald2017]

You are so right Daisy!
I try not to think so much about risks.
I guess that if men have to face something like this, they will make everything to replace their testosterone without second thought!
Nobody tells you what will happen if we don't replace our estrogen, they only talk about breast cancer risks. What about osteoporosis, heart diseases, diabetes, wrinkles...?
I think that we deserve a better treatment and understanding. I can't stand to make me feel like a hysterical woman! And if I am hysterical it is cause my symptoms due to estrogen deficiency and not by my choice!!!

[CLKD]

In Ireland then?

Any medication is a gift.  When I think of those who don't have access to the simplest of pain relief in War Torn regions  .  GPs need to be better informed about menopause.  But by the time we reach that age, many are ready to retire themselves and the younger GP Trainees are unlikely to get even a basic knowledge about The Change!

For me ovestin treatment for vaginal atrophy was a Gift.  Stopped those razor blades up there! so I can get on with Life.  Same with anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medications, without those I wouldn't be typing this!

I suppose we were told about periods either in School or by friends, occasionally by Mums but The Change was hushed up, something that we didn't need to know about until we go there?  I had my first period when I was almost 12 so was very early.  It wasn't talked about  and was s embarrassing  .

At what point do girls need to know about menopause 

[Daisydot]

That's a very good question CLKD I have a 40 year old daughter who won't even consider she's peri but has all the symptoms, ive told her at some stage she'll be glad she has a mother who is informed about the steps that can help her but she couldn't be more disinterested right now.