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[Becr]

Hi All, I started HRT after 8 months without a period and all though I never had hot flushes I did struggle with low mood. My shape changed from curvy to more straight but If it wasn't for the flatness of mood I might not have started HRT.

I have been on HRT for under two years. I started on Sequential and the first few months had heavy periods but then the periods stopped and fatigue and muscle pain worse so I was switched to Estrogel and Utrogestan. I was on only 1 pump of Estrogel and 100mg of Utrogestan continuously.

I got to the stage recently where I wanted to see what was going on as I found I was very irritable all the time and my knees were agony. I also seemed to gain a lot of body fat around my hips and tummy, back to a very curvy shape again.

I have been off HRT for 10 days and I don't feel any different really. Praps a little brighter in mood and less irritated. Could it be that the dose of Oestrogen was too low to make a difference? Is it too early to tell? I anticipated feeling crap or having a period but so far okay.

[Hurdity]

Hi Becr

Different women will experience things differently when stopping HRT. It partly depends also where you are in menopause but sounds like you could be post-menopausal. If so, and if the progesterone was controlling your womb lining properly then you should not bleed after stopping. In your case you were on a low dose of oestrogen and if you didn't have any breakthrough beeding while on this HRT for some time then it sounds like the prog was doing its job re your lining.

Also it can take some weeks to feel the effects of stopping oestrogen. The only time I stopped was for 3 months, and that was 10 years ago now! By this time off HRT all flushes and sweats had returned and other symptoms besides including pelvic aches etc - so I suggest you wait a while and see how things develop.

The other thing is if you are taking progesterone continuously that can lead to permanent low mood, fatigue etc because progesterone is a sedative, whereas oestrogen is the feel good hormone. So I would say that continuous prog is not ideal if flatness of mood was your main reason for starting. If your mood feels better then it is most likely that it is stopping the prog that is the cause. Later you may begin to feel the effects of reduced oestrogen. At this point you can re-assess and if you want to restart then look again at your options.

There is no reason not to continue with cyclical HRT if continuous prog affects you negatively, except that it does mean your withdrawal bleeds have to continue and your body has to cope with taking prog and then stopping it intermittently which can cause pms. I take it on a long cycle with OK from my doc , to minimise this.

Hope this helps

Hurdity x

[Lamplighter]

Hello Becr, like Hurdity I stopped HRT (having been on full strength systemic for just under six years) and for the first three months I thought wow wonderful no symptoms whatsoever, I feel great, should have done this years ago.  Uh oh, spoke too soon, after five months the main symptom that pushed me to take HRT in the first place was back, and with a vengeance, along with assorted other symptoms that were gradually rearing their ugly heads again.

The point being that as it takes time to build up estrogen levels in your body, so too does it take time for them to gradually leach out (a bit like peri I suppose, bit by bit, drop by drop...)

As Hurdity suggests (she sounds very wise and knowledgable) give it a go and see what happens, but I'd suggest that you be prepared with as big an arsenal as you can muster to combat whatever symptoms might resurface.

Best of luck to you

LL

[Becr]

Thank you both for your helpful responses. I agree that it would seem I am post meno and the lack of bleed is telling me this. I had no bleed on the sequential before I switched to Continous.

I do feel as if I have sort of stored up the HRT oestrogen in my hips and thighs as these were areas where I had lost weight before HRT. My shape had gone from very curvy in my 30s to more straight during late peri. Once I started HRT I found my body fat went back to my hips and thighs again.

I agree that it's likely that I will start to feel the effects of low oestrogen again in time. And I think I will have to think about using HRT again. It's helpful I suppose at the moment to see where I am. Thanks again.

[KarineT]

Hi Becr,

I think I'm almost post meno as I haven't had a period since January 2020.  If I don't have one this month then my post-meno status will be confirmed.  I am not on HRT because I'm worried that symptoms might come back the minute I stop.  I take food supplements instead. My main symptoms are low mood and anxiety, feeling spaced out from time to time, mild to moderate dizziness, cold sensations or cold flashes. Surprisingly I hardly get any hot flushes apart from feeling a bit warm during the night from time to time.  I also get a bit of muscle and joint pain.  Progesterone is something I don't want to try due the low mood it can cause,  especially if it's a symptom I'm trying to ease.  The strange thing is I cannot even tell if my symptoms have improved or worsened since 2018.

[Becr]

Hi KarineT

The symptoms you describe are very similar to how I was experiencing Peri. Initially it was a rollercoaster with debilitating anxiety being the main issue. My job requires me to deal with a lot of responsibility and I was paralysed with fear around the what ifs of things going wrong. I would wake at 3 in the morning in a complete panic. Over time after making changes to work the anxiety lessened. When I levelled off in peri and my periods stopped I found I was left with a deep flatness, and poor sleep. I became used to waking at 3am and would get up and do stuff as if it was just a normal part of my routine to be awake in the night. Then my beloved dog died and I knew I couldn't take any further drop in mood so I decided to give HRT a go. I found it great initially but the progesterone phase made me angry and I started gaining weight as my appetite was through the roof on the Oestrogen phase. I think had I seen a specialist menopause doctor I would have had a better outcome.

like you I never had an hot flushes, just the odd sweat at night when I would wake hot then freezing cold. I used to love running but that is a no no now because of muscle pain. I would get these knots in my calves that were awful. Hey ho! I'm not going to rule out going back to HRT but for now the symptoms of being off it, though different, are no worse than being on it.