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[Butterfly22]

Jari I have osteopenia do you? Can you reverse it do you know? Xx

[anais]

It's a shame people start falling out over taking/not taking HRT. All we can do is make an informed decision. It's about the relative risks. There's no such thing as no risk, regardless of what decision we make.

I was diagnosed with osteoporosis at 53. I had not taken HRT at all at that point. I already had reached the diagnostic threshold right at the natural menopause. There's no “reducing the risk of osteoporosis” benefit for me. I already have it. The thing is, I had been aware that we need to look after our bones years before the menopause and I honestly didn't expect to be diagnosed with osteoporosis. My gynaecologist said that if my ‘menopause symptoms' (hot flushes etc) were manageable and my bone density was OK then local HRT on its own would be fine. But that's not the case. I DO have osteoporosis and it was diagnosed at a relatively young age. So that's the more serious long term risk that applies to me (but not to everyone). I'm also aware I have osteoporosis. There are many women who don't know they have it.

My friend has been diagnosed with osteopenia. She doesn't take HRT  although she knows I do. That's her decision entirely. I don't interfere. Her relative risks may differ. She may well have already decided that the risks of HRT aren't worth it.

Sometimes I question whether taking HRT is a crazy idea but my thoughts always come back to my bone health. I know there are risks but I also know there are benefits. I just try to keep an eye on things and report any symptoms or concerns ASAP. I'm not complacent.

[orrla]

HRT gives continued protection so why come off?

[Jari]

Butterfly22, I don't know if I have it or not. I don't take hrt and so I wanted to check my bone health. I should get the results of that Monday. As far as I know, there are things we can do to prevent and reverse it. I will look for the form they gave me at the bone scan and post in a bit.... X

Anais, I agree with you. No need at all to fall out whether we take hrt or not, it's each individuals choice, based on what they individually believe to be right for them.
Sorry you have osteoporosis, have you been told you can reverse this? Again, on my form they listed the medication choices for osteoporosis... looking for the form.. X

[bear]

Hello everyone,

I've read this whole thread and there's a lot of misinformation and inaccuracies. I won't go on about them. Just want to say that 95% of all cancer types are multifactorial, which means that a lot of factors are at play. Only 5% are inherited and purely genetic. The risk factors for cancer are different depending on the specific type of cancer.

Regarding breast cancer, some risks have already been quoted above, but they're not the only ones. There are risk factors you cannot change: genetic mutations, getting older, early menarche (first period) and late menopause, dense breasts, atypical breast hyperplasia and lobular carcinoma in situ (benign), family history, previous radiation therapy before age 30, DES (diethylstillbestrol), a drug used between 1940 to 1971 to prevent miscarriages, both users and offspring conceived during use are at risk.

The risk factors you can change are: not being physically active, being overweight or obese after menopause, reproductive history (having the first pregnancy after age 30, not breastfeeding and never having a full-term pregnancy), alcohol and taking hormones.
Some forms of hormone replacement therapy (those that include both estrogen and progesterone) taken during menopause can raise risk for breast cancer when taken for more than five years. Certain oral contraceptives (birth control pills) also have been found to raise breast cancer risk.

Research suggests that other factors such as smoking, being exposed to chemicals that can cause cancer, and changes in other hormones due to night shift working also may increase breast cancer risk."

Source: CDC/US

I won't quote the previous posts but will add some info and my own opinion on the matter:

Birth control pills are taken by young women. One of the main key factors for cancer development is time. It takes a long time for a cell and its progeny to acquire the sort and number of mutations necessary to cause an irreversible state of deregulated multiplication. So time is an important factor for older menopausal women who are on HRT or not. The relative risk for women on HRT is slightly increased and that's what this meta-analysis study is about. The analysis has also produced other interesting results ('relative risks were attenuated by starting MHT after age 60 years or by adiposity, with little risk from oestrogen-only MHT in women who were obese).

There are no randomised controlled studies on HRT spanning 26 years, so that's why this meta-analysis is so important. Time of exposure is of the utmost importance for accessing cancer relative risks.

I sincerely doubt that the pharmaceutical companies will dispute the study. On the contrary, they will probably update the leaflets in no time. HRT is not their priority, health and money wise.

The fact that this study has come out during the HRT shortages is purely coincidental, studies take a long time to be drawn up, accepted and published. There's another possibility that could also be inferred from the timing of this report. Maybe some pharmaceutical companies knew about this study prior to its publication and decided to stop manufacturing hormones until further developments? It's highly unlikely, but also possible.

Newspaper headlines and reports can't usually be taken as scientific or accurate. It's often useful to read scientific or specialised reports instead of general media reports. The authors of this study are prominent scientists in the fields of Epidemiology and Statistics and they are doing an excellent job helping women getting informed about the relative risks of taking hormones. Newspapers editors are another story.

Medical doctors (private or NHS, or both) have their own opinion on the matter, but that's what it is, their opinion. I wouldn't take their word as gospel, when many are on the hormone business.

I could go on an on, but this is not important. The important thing is: Know thyself, knowledge is power. Don't let panic, anxiety, fear, anger or misinformation take control.

Overall, this is good news for all of us, on hormone therapy or not, the more we know about this subject, the more we know about ourselves.

BeaR.

[Sparrow]

What a wonderful, Informative and balanced post.

Thank you BeaR

[Jari]

Great post Bear! Good info! X

Re the bone scan, on the form they gave me, it says deficiency in calcium and vit d is a cause, also hormonal factors can be a cause and also bone mass developing insufficiently.

Treatment:
A balanced diet, regular calcium intake including in diet, vit d intake through sunlight, stop smoking, reduce alcohol, exercise to increase bone strength.
It says Bisphosphonate is main treatment and another is parathyroid hormone treatment with daily injections. It doesn't mention hrt as a treatment or prevention on this form I was given by the nurse at the bone scan, although some sites online do mention it as a treatment, along with the others. Hope this helps! X

[shrosphirelass]

Thank you everyone for the links and additional information. It is a minefield and I know statistics can be interpreted in different ways. The fact the study is not a RCT means that it is not gold standard research as others have said.

What concerns me most is the effect this study may have on doctors and medical staff attitudes at a time when HRT is in short supply.

We all weigh up risk and benefits and we should of course be able to make informed choices, but the studies are not robust as they do not take into account individal differences.

I do not want a doctor or nurse pratitioner telling me that the risks are too great and therefore do not wish to prescribe HRT, which for me makes the difference between being able to function and not.

We all have our own way of getting through this, it is an individual choice, and everyone should be supported in their journey.

[Callisto]

Agree entirely with Shropshirelass,
Quote from BeaR:
Medical doctors (private or NHS, or both) have their own opinion on the matter, but that's what it is, their opinion

 BeaR is correct but their opinion,  ( whatever it may be) affects directly my/ your/ our medical treatment as they are the gatekeepers...
It's all very well to know thyself look after thy self - I entirely agree with all of that but in the end of the day the doctors decide for us what they deem is best.
We are not in control of our destiny and choices if these decisions are made for us.
🐾C

[CLKD]

Statistics can prove anything from anything about anything  ........ I worked with a few statisticians years ago  .  What I want is hard evidence, not possibilities or maybes. 

[Sparrow]

Statistics can prove anything from anything about anything  ........ I worked with a few statisticians years ago  .  What I want is hard evidence, not possibilities or maybes.

You might have to wait a long time CLKD.  Science is not an exact but an evolving process.  What is claimed to be cast iron fact, one year, can be disproved the next.

As for pharmaceuticals, a lot of money is made out of them, so I much prefer research that is done by academics than by big pharmacy.  Excluding that which is covertly funded by pharma of course.

[Padine]

BearR, thank you for your sensible and comprehensive post.
I read some of the articles then checked my HRT-I'm on Indivinia (for 18 months now) and read the pack info, then had fear grip my stomach and was fighting back tears. Then I took some deep breaths and read the balanced sense. I thought about the gynae “advice” I got age 16, which was a load of tosh, as I discovered. I didn't start my periods till I was 17.At 16 I was only 4st 10, and my pushy mother took me to see this (horrible) gynaecologist. The examination was creepy and he said/told my mother I should never go on the pill and my chances of ever getting pregnant anyway were very slim.
I left home, saw a fabulous Dr, and the rest is history! I was on the pill from 20, had 2 wonderful children and turned 60 this year. I'm not obese, a little overweight so try to be careful, hardly drink, don't smoke and HRT has improved my life significantly. I will see my Dr at my annual review and no longer feel the fear.
Apologies for rabbiting on but I feel better for thinking it through.
      Padine xx

[Kathleen]

Hello ladies.

This is such an interesting topic plus a lively discussion.

I also think knowledge is power no matter how unpalatable the information may or may not be.

The Cell Biologists who wrote an article in The Guardian last week bemoaned the lack of research into the causes and effects of the menopause. It was only when she began to suffer that she realised  so little was understood about the process.

The menopause is traumatic for many women so we need to keep the subject newsworthy and we owe it to ourselves to be open minded about treatments.

We are all in this together girls and surely we all want the same thing:  an effective, safe  and appropriate treatment that gives us a decent quality of life with minimal risks to our future health.  A tall order!  Let's hope the cell biologist and her colleagues can make it happen.

Wishing everyone well and sending hugs to you all.

K.

[Butterfly22]

Ah thank you, I wasn't given anything in fact I was going every six years when I was living in Newcastle moved to the county and had to keep saying to the doctor I'm suppose to get bone scan. She sent me in the end and they said you must come every three years. Xx

[Butterfly22]

Ah thank you, I wasn't given anything in fact I was going every six years when I was living in Newcastle moved to the county and had to keep saying to the doctor I'm suppose to get bone scan. She sent me in the end and they said you must come every three years. Xx

Thanks so much for passing the info on 😘