Print

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

[Kathleen]

Hello ladies.

I have been off HRT for six months now so I thought I would post a quick update for anyone interested.

I  am post meno and unfortunately I never had great success with HRT so I decided to come off it to see if my hormones would stabilise naturally. I did a similar thing about five years ago and due to returning symptoms I restarted HRT. I realise the definition of madness is to do the same thing but expect a different result but I hoped that returning symptoms would be milder or more manageable than last time. My regime was one 100 mg of Sandrena gel and Utrogestan 100 mg orally.

Up until a few weeks ago I thought I was doing okay, some flushing had reappeared but  these episodes were mild. My vaginal dryness issues really increased last time but all is okay in that department and I don't use any treatment in that area. I noticed a pink discharge appeared every evening which I assumed  was due to vaginal atrophy.
I have had some headaches and some jitters which are horrible until they suddenly disappear as quickly as they came. My mood swings continue to be the bain of my life and  worry me greatly.
In summary I am not much better but also not much worse without HRT. One definate change was the the pink discharge completely resolved when I stopped HRT.

I have just had a routine blood test and discovered that my Ferritin level is low and  I am now officially iron deficient and I have been prescribed iron tablets for three months.
I have just looked up the symptoms of iron deficiency and things like headaches and mood changes feature so perhaps this is adding to my Meno troubles.
I suggest ladies that you make sure that your iron stores are adequate, especially if you have had spotting or bleeding.

I am keeping my fingers crossed that I will enjoy physical and emotional stability soon as this rollercoaster ride is exhausting!


I hope this is of help ladies and I wish you all well.

K.

[DottyD68]

Thanks for your update Kathleen. Interesting to hear about your iron levels. Hopefully you will see some improvements with the iron tablets.

I stopped HRT 8 months ago and overall feel better for it at the moment. I had some extreme hot flushes in the Summer in France but temperature was in the late 30's for weeks and suffocatingly hot. Even my husband was suffering and he loves the heat.

I had my bloods tested and all were normal/ok which was reassuring and I'm just focussing on eating well and trying to keep fit. I had some physio for back and leg pain and just back from another cycling holiday in France where I felt the fittest I have in a long while, which has made me feel more positive. Unfortunately caught this nasty cold as soon as we got back which doesn't help my ongoing post-nasal drip issue, which had seemed to be improving.

Anxiety is something that has appeared in my menopause years and is definitely exacerbated by external and life factors (I have been main family carer for my mum who is in her 90's and has had dementia for the past 6 years).

There always seems to be something but I think that is part of the general ageing process (in addition to the menopause)

Look after yourself x

[Kathleen]

Hello Dotty


Thank you for responding and your post gives me hope that things will get better for me at some stage.

At the moment my mood / emotional rollercoaster continues and yesterday I had some very strange flushes that were actually quite pleasant!  I also felt much better in the afternoon and evening though I am back to anxiety and headaches so far today.

It feels like things are changing every day but that may be a good thing as my body adjusts to ' the new normal '.

One thing that has definitely changed in a good way is my vaginal atrophy. This particular symptom wasn't too bad when on systemic HRT but when I took a break years ago the burning and itching started and I needed to use various moisturisers. I decided that if it continued I would ask my GP for some topical treatments but in the end my tearfulness sent me back onto to systemic HRT. On this occasion however my VA  is fine, and I don't have any of the problems I had before. This strikes me as odd because obviously I have much less oestrogen than at any time before the menopause but my dryness isn't a problem.

Like you I am focusing on general health and fitness and  I have altered my diet along with including my iron tablets. The main thing I have done is to add phytoestrogens into my diet and I now eat plenty of soy beans in the hope that makes a difference. Of course phytoestrogens contribute to a different form of oestrogen ( estrone instead of oestrodial) but estrone is the main female hormone in post menopause so it should be sufficient.
I know that Louise Newson says that estrone is much weaker than oestrodial but maybe that means it is also gentler and more acceptable to the body. I will carry on eating soy beans for a few more months to see if I notice any improvements, I am keeping everything crossed!

I hope you continue to feel better without HRT and if you ever decide to post some updates I will read them with interest.

Wishing you well and take care.


K.

[CrispyChick]

I follow your posts Kathleen and find this very interesting. X

Long may the lack of VA continue for you. 😘

I'm still in peri hell. So no comparison. But, I now know my body does not tolerate hrt - in any form, in any dose. Due to my other ongoing issues and sensitivities.

So I'm interested in what you say about estrone.  So is it just soy beans you are consuming? How do you eat them? I don't think I've ever eaten a soy bean in my life. Perhaps I should start.

X

[Kathleen]

Hello CrispyChick.

 
Ages ago I  read some research regarding soy beans and how the phytoestrogens in them reduced menopause symptoms in women who consumed them daily for three months.
I followed the research findings and began adding a half a cup of cooked soy beans to my lunchtime salad. I did this for three months and then reported back to the forum that it hadn't made any difference to my Meno symptoms.

At the beginning of this year I read the research again and realised that the women in the study had not been on HRT, I was ready to take a break anyway so in April I stopped my HRT and added in soy beans again.

I have been noting any progress and at first my flushes returned plus some night sweats but they were mild and manageable. At first my VA symptoms increased but then resolved and I haven't had any problems for months now. Unfortunately my moods are still very changeable and I have some jitters and tearfulness as well. I have also noticed a return of headaches.

A few weeks ago I came across another study comparing phytoestrogens to oestradiol which said that phytoestrogens work much more slowly than oestrodial and it can take a year to achieve a full effect.

I have decided to continue with my soy bean experiment until Christmas and possibly into Spring of next year, which will be a year. Although this will be a long wait, if my other symptoms respond as well as my VA ( assuming it is the soy that has helped in that department) then all will be good, there will be no need of HRT and all the problems that it brings and my body will be running on a hormone that is natural for post menopausal women. Obviously I am keeping everything crossed that this will turn out to be the miracle cure so many of us are looking for.

I think whatever happens I will carry on incorporating soy beans into my diet as they are a bit of a super food anyway.

I am sorry to say that I don't know how to post links but if you Google Dr Neal Barnard Soy Bean Research and Menopause Symptoms you may find the information. I found out about the comparison with oestradiol just by Googling and a PubMed paper came up.

I hope this is helpful and feel free to private message me of you want to know more.

Wishing you well and take care.

K.

[Wrensong]

Hello Kathleen, your update with mention of low iron having been diagnosed makes me hopeful that once your levels improve you will notice a positive difference in wellbeing.  I was in a similar situation a couple of years ago (ferritin of 20) & have recently begun supplementing with iron again.  I expect you already know we need to allow a 4hr gap between taking our thyroid meds & any iron supplements & that adequate iron is important for us to be able to fully utilise our thyroid replacement.  As some symptoms of hypothyroidism & iron deficiency overlap, low iron can sometimes be the reason hypothyroid women continue to have symptoms suggestive of under-replacement, despite TFTs within range.  Poor conversion of T4-T3 can be one consequence of low iron, with detrimental effects on psychological as well as physical wellbeing.  I know from your posts you have long been trying to improve troubling emotional symptoms, so I really hope this might be the missing piece of the jigsaw for you.  Please do let us know how things pan out.  I have everything crossed for a very good outcome for you.

W x

[Kathleen]

Hello Wrensong.

Thank you so much for your very helpful post.

I am sorry that you have also suffered from low iron and I hope you are feeling the benefit of supplementing again. My Ferritin was 26 ug/L which indicates iron deficiency.

Your knowledge of all things thyroid has been very helpful in the past and I make sure to take my Levothyroxine first thing on an empty stomach, I have been taking my iron tablet with my lunch in the hope that it doesn't cause any stomach problems and so far, so good.
My other blood test results, including Thyroid were okay thankfully.

I am hoping that I will have some more energy and therefore cope better generally when my Ferritin levels are higher ( I read somewhere that we should aim for 80 - 100 ug/L).

In the future I will keep a closer eye on  Ferritin levels and supplement if necessary. Years ago I was advised to use Spatone Iron Water on alternate days as this helps absorption and is easy on the digestive system.

I realise that I have been banging on about my emotional symptoms for a very long time which is beyond frustrating. Over the years other meno symptoms have waxed and waned and I have been fortunate that my flushes and night sweats were bearable plus I have never experienced other complications like UTIs and GERD. Nevertheless this emotional rollercoaster ride is draining and  I hope that I can help myself and other ladies if it turns out that phytoestrogens from soy actually do help!

Thanks again Wrensong for your advice and I wish you well.

Take care.

K.

[Wrensong]

Hi Kathleen, like you I take my iron with lunch.  Interesting that your ferritin was treated @ 26 when @ 20 mine was not considered low enough to warrant treatment under NHS guidelines, the ref range for the lab here being 10-300.  My GP did agree though to retest to monitor progress when I told her I wanted to try to increase my level by supplementation, which thankfully she understood & supported so I didn't have to retest privately. 

Yes, I've also read that iron taken alternate days sometimes leads to better absorption & I remember you posting about that to help other members in the past  .  My levels responded quite well to taking ferrous bisglycinate @ only 20mg which I swapped to when iron citrate was making little difference, though to be fair I'd only taken a v low dose of the citrate form to avoid potential adverse effects on the gut.  Luckily the bisglycinate form doesn't cause me any probs that way.

Good to know your thyroid results are OK.  My TSH usually looks OK but my persistently low T3 is another matter entirely  as I've posted about ad nauseam(!) & that's one reason I wanted to try to increase my ferritin level, very poor stamina & ridiculously easy bruising being others.

I would think your energy should improve when your iron level comes back up & hopefully other symptoms too, especially if perhaps unbeknown to you (if your T3 is not being tested), the deficiency has been limiting the efficacy of your thyroid replacement.

I don't think you've been banging on at all, though I know how that feels as I hesitate to post yet again about my relentlessly awful night time symptoms for fear of driving other long term members insane!

I do hope the soy helps you & that you will feel a lot better for the iron 
I think it's helpful when members post about what they are trying & take the time to update the forum with the outcome, so please do let us know how you get on.

W x