Print

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

[Milk Thistle]

Hi all.

So Im 49 and post menopause. Been taking HRT continuous for 2 years but decided after headaches most days to stop. Kliofem.
So I cut my tablets in half for 3 months and then into quarters for a further month. I was dreading stopping but apart from some slight cramps on day 1 to 2,nothing and I have to say I feel fantastic. I have also lost 5 lb in weight. I now use ovestin cream twice a week and thats it. Dont be worried about stopping HRT if you need to

[DottyD68]

Hi MilkThistle,

Really interested in your post. How long is it since you completely stopped HRT?

[Hurdity]

Hi Milk Thistle

I'm glad you're feeling  better after stopping HRT, but I'd like to make a couple of points.

Firstly that you are still young at 49 to be without oestrogen. The advice for early menopause would be to take oestrogen at least until the average age of natural menopause which is 51/52 (I know this is only 2-3 years away) - remembering that you could live into your 90's, so extra years of protection against osteoporosis and cardio-vascular disease may be beneficial.

Secondly that there are other types of HRT you could switch to eg patches or gels or even different tablets, which may not give you headaches (though you may have tried some already!). Kliofem contains the synthetic progestogen norethisterone which cause adverse sdie effects in some women including headaches and taking it every day could well exacerbate this. There are gentler forms of progestogen.
 
Just some thoughts. All the best and hope you continue to feel well.

Hurdity x

[Penguin]

Hurdity, just so I've understood, when you say continue until 51/52, so you mean in the case of a woman whose periods have completely stopped and who has gone into full meno?
What if someone at 49 was still in peri but late stages so obvs still ovulating at times and having bleeds albeit lighter and shorter. Could you stop hrt safely in that instance?

[Penguin]

Hi all.

So Im 49 and post menopause. Been taking HRT continuous for 2 years but decided after headaches most days to stop. Kliofem.
So I cut my tablets in half for 3 months and then into quarters for a further month. I was dreading stopping but apart from some slight cramps on day 1 to 2,nothing and I have to say I feel fantastic. I have also lost 5 lb in weight. I now use ovestin cream twice a week and thats it. Dont be worried about stopping HRT if you need to

Timely and good to hear! I'm 49, not quite meno but have recently dropped my hrt dosage to very low due to horrible estrogen surges. I'd like to completely stop but last time I tried cold turkey, I only lasted 7 days! So this time I am reducing to lowest possible dose first.

[Hurdity]

Hurdity, just so I've understood, when you say continue until 51/52, so you mean in the case of a woman whose periods have completely stopped and who has gone into full meno?
What if someone at 49 was still in peri but late stages so obvs still ovulating at times and having bleeds albeit lighter and shorter. Could you stop hrt safely in that instance?

Yes exactly - if you're still peri then you're getting natural oestrogen through ovulation and the menstrual cycle. What happens is that following the last natural period or the last ovulation, oestrogen levels (average) fall rapidly over the next couple of years (though there is still some cyclical activity - just not enough to ovulate) until they reach their post-menopause low levels so it is not a sudden drop off - one day high next day low.

Here are the summary recommendations from BMS:

"Women with POI and early menopause should be encouraged to use HRT at least until the average age of the menopause.

HRT and the combined contraceptive pill would both be suitable options for hormone replacement in women with POI. However, HRT may result in a more favourable improvement in bone density and cardiovascular markers compared with the combined contraceptive pill."

https://thebms.org.uk/publications/consensus-statements/bms-whcs-2020-recommendations-on-hormone-replacement-therapy-in-menopausal-women/

I see from the detailed statement that they say 51. For some reason I had remembered it as 51 yrs 4 mths - which may be the case (though how it can be that precise I don't know because it depends on which part of the world etc!) - hence 51/52.

Hurdity x

[DottyD68]

I gradually reduced my HRT over a number of months last year and felt best on the lowest dose. The 1st month of no HRT I felt fine. Month 2 the night sweats, insomnia and palpitations returned and month 3 the low mood and anxiety was so unbearable I resumed after 12 weeks.
Am now nearly 2 weeks into Evorel conti patches and most of thos symptoms have greatly reduced again. So even though I don't want to be on any medication I accept I do need a low doseage of HRT to allow me to live my life as the variety and number of symptoms was just too much for me.

[Penguin]

I gradually reduced my HRT over a number of months last year and felt best on the lowest dose. The 1st month of no HRT I felt fine. Month 2 the night sweats, insomnia and palpitations returned and month 3 the low mood and anxiety was so unbearable I resumed after 12 weeks.
Am now nearly 2 weeks into Evorel conti patches and most of thos symptoms have greatly reduced again. So even though I don't want to be on any medication I accept I do need a low doseage of HRT to allow me to live my life as the variety and number of symptoms was just too much for me.

When you say low dose, how low do you mean? That is what I'm aiming for too, I've just posted about it and how to adjust my progrsterone accordingly which I think is going to be way too high for half a pump of estrogel! Also were you peri when you stopped, or full meno?

[Penguin]

Hurdity, just so I've understood, when you say continue until 51/52, so you mean in the case of a woman whose periods have completely stopped and who has gone into full meno?
What if someone at 49 was still in peri but late stages so obvs still ovulating at times and having bleeds albeit lighter and shorter. Could you stop hrt safely in that instance?

Yes exactly - if you're still peri then you're getting natural oestrogen through ovulation and the menstrual cycle. What happens is that following the last natural period or the last ovulation, oestrogen levels (average) fall rapidly over the next couple of years (though there is still some cyclical activity - just not enough to ovulate) until they reach their post-menopause low levels so it is not a sudden drop off - one day high next day low.

Here are the summary recommendations from BMS:

"Women with POI and early menopause should be encouraged to use HRT at least until the average age of the menopause.

HRT and the combined contraceptive pill would both be suitable options for hormone replacement in women with POI. However, HRT may result in a more favourable improvement in bone density and cardiovascular markers compared with the combined contraceptive pill."

https://thebms.org.uk/publications/consensus-statements/bms-whcs-2020-recommendations-on-hormone-replacement-therapy-in-menopausal-women/

I see from the detailed statement that they say 51. For some reason I had remembered it as 51 yrs 4 mths - which may be the case (though how it can be that precise I don't know because it depends on which part of the world etc!) - hence 51/52.

Hurdity x

Thanks, that all makes sense. I don't want to hijack this post so wondering if you have time, could you please comment on the post I've made this morning re reducing hrt please? 🙏

And Milk Thistle, great to hear such a positive story!

[DottyD68]

Hi Penguin,

I have posted on other threads about my challenge getting the doseage right over the past few months.

My GPs have been keen for me to move from sequi to conti using gel and utrogestan. I was peri when I started at 53 but I will be 56 in a few months and I think I am probably meno now. I haven't had any form of bleed for over 6 months even on sequi (I know that isn't the official 12 months but I feel my own hormones haven't been wildly fluctuating since last Summer). I have previously tried to use continuous utrogestan but it doesn't agree with me which I find strange as I was ok with double the dose for 14 days on sequi. It is like the balance between the oestrogen and progesterone is not right on conti. I have not been able to find an explanation anywhere on why the utrogestan doseage stays the same (i.e. 200mg on sequi and 100mg on conti) irrespective of whether you are on 1 or 4 pumps of oestrogen. To me it just doesn't make sense. I was fine on 1 pump of gel but it felt like the equivalent utrogestan was too much for me.

So having established that utrogestan continuously is no good for me I am trying patches. The lowest doseages available in combined patches are 50mg so I am trying that. For the first few days I tried half a patch which I thought would be equivalent to 1 pump and to see if I had any adverse reaction. I upped it to the full patch as I find it fiddly getting half a patch to stick plus it is a different absorption mechanism than the gel. It is still early days but I am hoping I have found a winning regime as I really don't   want a coil and that seems to be the only other option.

I hope this answers your question?

[Milk Thistle]

Hi all

To Hurdity. Thank you for your points. Much appreciated. I take a strong dose of calcium, plus magnesium and B12. Im a vegan so that doesnt help matters. I drink beetroot juice daily,and generally eat a very healthy diet. I have always been health conscious or should I say fearful of bad health. I have had no children which is why the doc thinks Im early to this

Thank you for all the good wishes too everyone x

I have been reading up over the weekend about the ovestin cream that I started using and to be honest I rather the natural approach where I can, so for my atrophy, I have started putting a small smear of virgin olive oil on my bits. It sounds mad but it really works and stops the chaffing .I tried vagifem and I must have been allergic as I came out in a bit of a rash 

[Penguin]

Hi Penguin,

I have posted on other threads about my challenge getting the doseage right over the past few months.

My GPs have been keen for me to move from sequi to conti using gel and utrogestan. I was peri when I started at 53 but I will be 56 in a few months and I think I am probably meno now. I haven't had any form of bleed for over 6 months even on sequi (I know that isn't the official 12 months but I feel my own hormones haven't been wildly fluctuating since last Summer). I have previously tried to use continuous utrogestan but it doesn't agree with me which I find strange as I was ok with double the dose for 14 days on sequi. It is like the balance between the oestrogen and progesterone is not right on conti. I have not been able to find an explanation anywhere on why the utrogestan doseage stays the same (i.e. 200mg on sequi and 100mg on conti) irrespective of whether you are on 1 or 4 pumps of oestrogen. To me it just doesn't make sense. I was fine on 1 pump of gel but it felt like the equivalent utrogestan was too much for me.

So having established that utrogestan continuously is no good for me I am trying patches. The lowest doseages available in combined patches are 50mg so I am trying that. For the first few days I tried half a patch which I thought would be equivalent to 1 pump and to see if I had any adverse reaction. I upped it to the full patch as I find it fiddly getting half a patch to stick plus it is a different absorption mechanism than the gel. It is still early days but I am hoping I have found a winning regime as I really don't   want a coil and that seems to be the only other option.

I hope this answers your question?

Yes it does, thanks so much.