Print

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

[Eliphanty]

I know there are a lot of reasons why women don’t want to or can’t take HRT but there must also be a lot of women like me … oblivious!
I am relatively well-educated and very health conscious. However I was totally clueless about the impact declining estrogen has post menopause.
I’d always thought that HRT was only for helping women to get through perimenopause. Supported by the fact that it is recommended aged 45-51. That implies it is to help with the transition.
But what about after? Are we supposed to just shrivel up?! Did you know for example that the discs in our spine degenerate more quickly post menopause? I didn’t.
Why isn’t HRT taken more routinely as we continue to age given how beneficial it is for bones, heart, mood, skin, blood vessels, blood pressure, joints, muscles etc?
I feel frustrated that I wasn’t fully informed. I feel I’ve spent 4 years post menopause starting to shrivel when HRT could have helped to at least slow the process down.
How can this lack of awareness be changed? Or is it just me?

[CLKD]

   certainly it isn't U alone but unless a person has symptoms, they aren't going to be looking at what may be the causation.  For any speciality.

I knew that The Change was a loss of periods and mayB a few hot flushes.  I didn't know about peri menopause: those years prior to the final bleed = menopause.  With associated aches and pains ; loss of oestrogen, the bodies elastic.  Vaginal dryness due to the body becoming dry due to loss of oestrogen.

The body shrivels naturally.  Women don't require HRT if they have a good diet, a regular exercise plan, good lifestyle which may all prevent osteopenia for example.  However, flushes etc. can become overwhelming.

In the las 5 years I've had to alter my entire diet, cutting out processed foods: shop made cakes and buns, scones etc..  Because the hidden fats and sugars were making me ill i.e. gut bloating to the point of being unable to eat.  I also have to keep an eye on my gait as I am beginning to lean forwards ..........

[Eliphanty]

Thank you for the welcome CLKD 
I understand the importance of eating well, sleeping well, exercising, reducing stress etc but non of those actually replace estrogen. I know you said we generally have to be symptomatic to look for causes but it just seems that estrogen is vital to keep our bodies functioning smoothly. I’m wondering why we can’t therefore use HRT post menopause to hold onto our health as long as possible? I’ve read that to get health benefits we would ideally have estradiol blood levels of 250pmol/l yet typical levels post menopause are less than 100pmol/l (and even much lower in some women).
So I’m confused. HRT seems to have so many positive benefits yet we seem accepting of the fact we’re drying up when we perhaps don’t need to - or at least not as soon.
It feels like nature has played a cruel trick on us women 😕

[Aprilflower]

I've never wanted to take HRT and now, for medical reasons, I can't anyway.

My peri was horrible but I improved greatly after.  We all deteriorated as we get older and no amount of HRT will stop that.

To be honest, when I read posts from ladies that struggled endlessly to get their HRT right, I'm not sorry to have not tried it.

[Ayesha]

An older friend tried to tell me once but I didn’t take any notice because I wasn’t being affected by any of the symptoms she was experiencing, I was too busy with other things in my life at the time.  Fast forward to when I started to experience what my friend was saying regarding the symptoms of menopause and I didn’t hesitate to start HRT because my hot flushes were debilitating.  I stayed on it for five years and came off because of all the side effects that started to creep in with annoying and anxious filled hospital visits. Fast forward much further on and no one told me about GSM (Vaginal Atrophy) which came as a complete and utter shock, no warning, no knowledge from the medical professionals and stuffed with antibiotics because it was assumed a bladder infection/cystitis. All this is now resolved by using topical oestrogen and without the hassle that systemic HRT brings with it.

You just have to read the posts on here to know that HRT can be a minefield and yes to take a pill would be great to resolve all symptoms of the menopause, but that’s impossible as menopause symptoms are far too complex and an individual phase of one's life. Ultimately symptoms of ageing is a process that HRT alone can’t resolve, a healthy lifestyle is vital to achieving a good old age. 

[CLKD]

Nature hasn't played anything  although it can feel like she has.  It's natural ageing, some go along not noticing ........ others R on Forums like these. 

I believe that good genes can be a factor? 

[DottyD68]

Hi Eliphanty,

I also felt that there was not enough information out there about the effects of the menopause before it hit me, but in some ways I'm glad I didn't have the worry of what was coming down the line. I also think some of the symptoms are just general ageing that occur during the menopause years which get bundled under the "menopause" title. My husband has been actively fit and healthy all his life and is now starting to several "old-man" symptoms which can not be blamed on the menopause. Sadly we are not immortal and decline is natural.

I know that many women find HRT to be life-enhancing, but not everyone, and not everyone feels they need it. It is not a magic bullet. Despite it's benefits, like all medications, there are side-effects and consequences to being on it and some ladies find those to be more intolerable than the actual menopause symptoms themselves. My beef is that it is marketed by some as a simple, no-brainer medication that will guarantee symptomless living and eternal youth when it doesn't.

I do think it should be easier for women to be given the option of trying HRT (with the side effects and consequences fully explained) and see if they feel better for it. If they do then it is a positive outcome.

[Jules]

I didn't know anywhere near enough about menopause except from my sister who had an early one with severe flushes and low mood. My hot flushes were manageable. I didn't know your vagina and vulva changed and when I was having discomfort with sex, I put it down to marriage problems and to some extent it was because it wasn't uncomfortable with a new man, but then the UTIs set in and then the visible changes and I feel so fed up that had I known about the treatment, I could have prevented or slowed down the deterioration. With local estrogen I found comfort again but I've wondered lately whether systemic hrt might help though I wouldn't have taken it at the time. I'm currently having an unsettled period. That sensation around the uretha that makes you feel like you're getting a UTI but you're not. I had tight tights on last night, could be the cause? I don't know what else to try? I'm using my vagifem and estriol cream. It's making me nervous of sex. Am I going to cause damage? So I agree with all of you. We didn't know enough, hrt might have some benefits, some of us don't want to use it, we can't stop the aging process and if someone had told me about all this at 40 I'd have been horrified.

[bombsh3ll]

I think the basic answer to why there is so little education or awareness is because it is women.

If men routinely outlived their gonads the situation would be completely different, I'm sure.

Women's health, particularly once they have passed their perceived societal usefulness as sex objects, baby factories and units of GDP, is not considered a valuable outcome.

And if everyone eligible for hormone therapy went to their GP and requested it, the NHS would collapse, so there's a real conflict of interest in educating women about menopause care.

[Minusminnie]

I had tight tights on last night, could be the cause?

Pamela Mann do crotchless thicker denier tights for colder weather & Pretty Polly do crotchless usual denier tights called Pretty Cool.
I find the crotchlessness helps so nothing tight across the vulva area.

[Jules]

Thanks. I'll have a look at those

[Mary G]

There is absolutely no doubt that the benefits of HRT outweigh the risks and it's not just about helping the symptoms in the first phase of the menopause like hot flushes and night sweats, it's a preventative treatment to protect against post menopause conditions like bone loss, cardiovascular disease and cognitive decline.  There is increasing evidence that HRT prevents dementia and bowel cancer too.

For me it's a complete no brainer and I'm taking HRT for life.  I consider myself very, very fortunate to have experienced early warning signs at the onset of the menopause which forced me to take HRT.  I developed migraine auras which are 100% caused by low oestrogen plus I had out of control daytime sweating.  Had I not had those problems I might not have taken HRT and ended up like my sister who so far has osteopenia, a frozen shoulder and carpal tunnel.  She is now playing catch up and struggling to increase her bone density whereas I've got the bone density of a 35 year old despite being six years older than her.  I tried to persuade her to take HRT years ago but she was ideologically against it and refused to talk about it. Now she is forced to take HRT albeit at an inadequate dose.

More and more evidence is emerging about the importance of oestrogen, testosterone and keeping FSH and LH levels low.  I think all women should be encouraged to use HRT as a preventative treatment unless there is a very good reason why they can't take it. The right type and right dose of HRT hugely improves quality of life too.

It's incredibly short-sighted of the NHS not to encourage HRT use.  It costs them a fortune to treat women for the many health conditions caused by oestrogen deprivation in later life ie hip replacements, osteoporosis etc.

[Jules]

That might be so. But I suppose we can all give examples for either side. My mum for instance is still going at 91 with no hrt. My friend is 75 and no hrt and as fit as a fiddle and no menopause symptoms. Your sister may have had problems despite hrt. As with all medical treatment it's individual choice but it would have been good to have all the information and known the options

[Sophya]

I don’t think it’s “just you” at all. I was also under the impression that HRT was mainly a short-term bridge through peri and early menopause, not something with longer-term protective potential. What frustrates me is not that everyone should take HRT, but that the full picture isn’t routinely explained. We can’t make informed choices if we’re only given part of the story. Knowing the benefits and limitations would help women decide what’s right for them, rather than discovering things years later and feeling regret.

[Jules]

I don’t think it’s “just you” at all. I was also under the impression that HRT was mainly a short-term bridge through peri and early menopause, not something with longer-term protective potential. What frustrates me is not that everyone should take HRT, but that the full picture isn’t routinely explained. We can’t make informed choices if we’re only given part of the story. Knowing the benefits and limitations would help women decide what’s right for them, rather than discovering things years later and feeling regret.

That's how I feel. Not that everyone should be on hrt, it's like saying everyone should be on statins or BP medication, but I agree that we should know our options. And that includes localised hrt. I was given some 7 years ago but it wasn't explained and when I expressed concern about the stated side effects, the male consultant lost his patience with me so I delayed using it for another 3 years. We had our of date info.