Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Nanto5]

Hi, I'm new to the forum and so haven't yet had the chance to read through previous posts so apologise if this is already covered somewhere within website.

I started HRT (Elleste 1mg) at the age of 57 for 5 years on the advice of my GP. My only menopausal symptom at the time was that my hair was thinning. I had the very occasional hot flush, maybe one or two a week but was so bothered by my thinning hair that I agreed it was worth a try.

It was magical and I felt great although it didn't make a lot of difference to my hair loss. A pharmacist at Boots asked me if she could do a health review on me when I went to collect my prescription and I agreed. She suggested that as I'd been taking it for 5 years I might be wise to wean myself off and so over a period of probably 6 months I slowly cut down until I stopped taking it. From the very minute I stopped taking it my symptoms appeared with a vengeance. The most awful hot flushes, as many as 15 a day and almost as many during the night. Sleepless nights, restless legs, weight gain, feeling really emotional (so much so that I could cry at almost anything). The list goes on.

I really believe that for me, HRT just delayed the inevitable and I so wish that I had never taken it. At least if I hadn't I very possibly would have ridden the storm by now. As it is 2 years later and the age of 64 I am still struggling. I really don't want to restart because I don't want to have to go through this again, am reluctant to try anything herbal because I don't want to have to continue taking things for ever more. My questions are:

Will I ever get through this and how soon?

If I took any natural remedies would they just mask the symptoms or actually help me through this?

How long is this likely to go on?

Can anybody offer any suggestions or answers please?

Many thanks

[Ladybt28]

Hi Nanto5,
I am 57 and had the most horrendous time in peri and before finding the right hrt for me.  It is only my opinion and everyone's will vary but I am not sure that hrt just "delays" meno.  I think if it is going to be bad then it is likely going to be a long haul.  Everybody is different and you say "ridden the storm" but there is no general information which says that it lasts 2 years, 5 years, 10 years and then all the symptoms stop.

Your GP was most unfair and uneducated to suggest that after 5 years you should "wean yourself" off it.  That is outdated opinion and it is now generally accepted that women can take it for as long as they see fit, there are women at 80 still taking it.

Going through the menopause, I found that it turned out I had hormonal problems throughout my life and I wish I had been able to do something about it all earlier.  I am of the opinion that quality of life is key and it doesn't matter what you need to take or for how long whether pharmaceutical or herbal the most important thing is that you feel well, your general life is not disrupted and that no one should have to suffer ongoing symptoms day to day which can be eradicated.  Women lead very different lives to their mothers and grandmothers and the world requires much more of us whilst we are menopausal.

I cant answer you questions but there is no shame in just doing what you need to do to live a comfortable life health wise and it is no one elses choice but yours x

[bear]

Hi Nanto5,

Welcome! I don't understand... you say your only menopausal symptom was hair thinning and occasional hot flushes, you say HRT was magical and you felt great, although it didn't make a lot of difference to your hair loss. So what exactly was 'magical and great'?

I understand your feelings about delaying the inevitable, but I think each woman has a unique journey. I tried HRT and quit due to increased migraines and because hot flushes didn't subside. I still have hot flushes, but they don't bother me now (I have other more serious issues not related to menopause). The hair thinning/loss has improved considerably 2 years post-menopause. Otherwise I feel good, just fatigued in the mornings. It has taken around 2 years for other symptoms to settle like anxiety, irritability, poor sleep, bloating, and so on... lots of symptoms!

You will get through all this, if you don't have any underlying condition (sometimes we blame menopause for everything) and if you have a healthy lifestlyle (diet, physical activity, good sleep hygiene, stress management).

Regarding 'natural remedies', it depends on which remedies you're talking about. My personal view is that nothing can be considered 'natural' nowadays.

BeaR.

[Hurdity]

Hi Nanto5

 

OK how very dare the Boots pharmacist suggest you come off the HRT when you went to collect your prescription. Is that within her remit? I am shocked that women could be persuaded to do this when you weren't even having a review at the doc. Have you consulted your doc about this?

Secondly there is no time limit for HRT according to the guidance from the academic menopause societies - that is out of date guidance as Ladybt said. What type of Elleste are you taking - is it Elleste Duet - conti or sequi ( ie do you have a bleed?). The only real advice as you become over 60 that is generally better to use transdermal HRT ( ie patches or gels) due to reduced stroke risk and other potential cardiovascular problems.

I am also mid 60's and have been on HRT for 12 + years. Provided my health permits I have no intention of stopping just yet.

Another thing - taking HRT does not delay the inevitable - you only go through menopause once - ie the whole time of peri-menopause when your hormonal levels are fluctuating madly and you have horrendous mood swings etc. What happens is that it alleviates symptoms while you are going through the menopause AND BEYOND. A proportion of women suffer for years with menopausal symptoms even long after menopause and the general feeling that those women whose symptoms come back after stopping HRT - would have had them all the time from menopause if they hadn't taken HRT. So - you may still experience low mood, flushes, sweats, palpitations, headaches etc after cessation of HRT and these may well ease off after a withdrawal period but if after 2 years they haven't - then it is likely you would have been having them anyway.

Noone can say how long your symptoms will continue as we women vary so much in this respect.

However all the time you were taking HRT has given you a good quality of life and benefits to your heart and bones and even if you never start again - you can't take that away!

How old were you at age of last natural period?

Natural remedies will not help I'm afraid (if you mean herbal stuff) but a good varied diet and plenty of exercise, reducing weight if necessary. as well as alcohol will all help generally with your health.

If you want to restart HRT and there is no medical reason why you shouldn't then please go back to your doc and ask for a transdermal preparation ( patch or gel) starting with low dose eg 25 mcg patch. If you have a womb then you will need a progestogen too. Don't worry about having to stop again - after all you will ( hopefully be several years down the line). There are several of us on here in our 60's still on HRT and some late 60's.

Please give this some serious thought - there is absolutely no need to suffer!! Please do ask if we can help further.

Hurdity x

[Dotty]

Hi you have been given the wrong advice . You can carry on with hrt for as long as you need it. X

[Jari]

Hi Nanto5 and welcome to the forum!

My first thoughts are the same as BeaR says, if your only symptom was hair loss and the hrt didn't help this, but you say it was magical? What difference did it make for you?

Did your hrt cause you to have bleeds?
Had your natural periods already stopped when you started hrt? If so, what age were you when they stopped?

I took hrt briefly, but do not take anything now. My experience is that symptoms are fading over the months.
My gp said that most women she sees will experience 2-3 years of symptoms, but that they fade out.
It's important to do some regular good exercise as this will help to balance your natural hormones, also by eating a good balanced diet and basic supplements will all help to balance your own hormones.

X

[Nanto5]

Thank you all for your responses.

It was Elleste Duet I had been taking and I had been without periods for over a year.

I was talking retrospectively when I said that HRT was magical. Once I started with all of my symptoms after stopping HRT I realised just how great I had felt whilst on it.

When I said I thought I had just been delaying the inevitable, I meant that if I'd realised that I was going to get these awful symptoms after 5 years on HRT, I would never have taken it because the chances are that I'd be through it all now at my age.

I do have a healthy diet, am 5'4” and weigh 9 stone 5lbs. I have never smoked or drunk and have played tennis at least 3 times a week for over 30 years so I feel I do everything possible to keep healthy.

Final point is that it was a Boots newly qualified pharmacist who took me into a little room, with my consent and asked me questions on my health, not my GP.

Once again, thanks for comments.

[Jari]

Hi Nanto,
I see what you mean. I tend to agree with you. I know the ladies that take hrt won't agree with this, but I really do feel that, by taking hrt, it fools the body and changes the level of hormones, so that when you then come off it, those hormones drop, possibly more drastically, than if allowed to do so naturally. That's my feeling and will be the case for some, but I know there will be some different opinions.

From reading different threads, it seems that if you start symptoms after last period, then there is a higher chance of a shorter menopause. ?!  X

[Ladybt28]

Turns out that I had hormonal problems before peri Jari and then through peri I was put on hrt but it didn't fix the problems. As I went along they got worse and worse until it was living hell, but interestingly I was on hrt at the time albeit it turns out the wrong one for me which didn't work at all.  So I went onto hrt when I was 45 and I am now 57.  In the last year I have sorted out nearly all my health problems and I feel better than I have in 20 years.
I consider myself to be post meno now although I have no idea when my last "real" period was but when I try to drop my oestrogen in the slightest symptoms come back.

My life has been so appalling since age 45 and before with hormonal depression, having had a whole year of being "better", the whole idea of coming off hrt to try to find out if I was "through the menopause" for any reason, supply issues, or a doctor saying I had to stop would terrify me.  Personally I think because the hormonal problems were always underlying, and looking back I felt I live my whole life with meno symptoms of some kind since my first period,  none of which I would want to inflict on my worst enemy, hormonal/menopause problems will never be "over for me.  Sounds extreme I know, but I am of the opinion now that this stuff has given me a life after 15 years of complete hell and I don't really want to give it up....EVER.
I am so glad hrt "fooled" my body...I wish someone had given me hormones before 45 but no one every even considered it could be related to such a thing years ago.

[Jari]

Hi Ladybt, it sounds like you had an absolute nightmare with symptoms and that's good you found the right treatment for you in the end! I can understand that it would worry you to try coming off at some point, given the bad time that you had. It's also frustrating to think that the symptoms may have passed now though, but I do get it!

We're all dealing with different symptoms and different levels of symptoms, so we just need to learn as much as we can and do what we think is right for us. X

[Kathleen]

Hello Nanto5 and welcome to the forum.

As you can see from your responses so far,  there seem to be a variety of different experiences.

I am about two months without HRT and so far I feel about the same as I felt when I was taking it, which is nothing to write home about because my regime never did resolve all my problems lol. I have developed very noticeable VA recently so that is confirmation that my oestrogen levels have lowered again. Other than that I am no better, no worse so far. Time will tell and I'll be seeing my GP at the three month mark so we'll see what happens.

I am one of those women barely noticed peri but whose symptoms became more severe about three years after my last period. Again not standard but not unique either!

Wishing you well.

K.