Menopause Discussion > All things menopause
HRT--good or bad?
learning2me:
Hi,
I took HRT - 3 different types - for 4 years. Only problem was headaches. However I was then diagnosed with a Brain Tumour and stopped it last September.
Really suffering with all the classic meno symptoms now.
My GP has suggested toughing it out, but wil prescribe again if I really want to go back on. So I am also having the quality of life dilemma.
My holiday was a disaster as it was just one long hot flush :(
It is interesting to read ther people's experiences, and the decisions they have made.
So pleased I found this site :D
newstart:
Hello ladies
I have just introduced myself on the new members thread.
I am 51 this month and had my last period in February 2006, after the perimenopausal stuff that most people seem to be describing - short cycles, flooding, periods going on for weeks etc, etc. Hot flushes started at that stage but were erratic - and relieved by the next period. However (you know the story, girls) once the periods stopped completely it has been uninterrupted hot flushes and night sweats, now with the added delights of vaginal dryness, menofug and joint pains.
In fact for a very brief period at the end of last year I took HRT (Premarin) and reverted to being a fully functioning human being within a few weeks. My family rejoiced! :D
Shortly afterwards though, there was that report from the USA about the reduction in breast cancers which was attributed to the fall in HRT use following the WHI research. I went cold turkey and came off Premarin overnight.
Now, I am thinking again about going on to HRT - there is no family history to suggest that I shouldn't, and I have no adverse medical conditions. I have read a lot of different analyses of the results of the WHI and Million Women Study and it seems that the results have been dramatised for maximum impact in the media. Everything I have read suggests that the best way to control menopausal symptoms is through HRT. I have tried all kinds of alternative remedies - they are expensive, and haven't worked.
If I have a concern about going on it it's that I might have left it too late (18 months since last period). I know that there is a 'window of opportunity' and beyond that time HRT can have a negative effect on the body. But, on balance, I think I'll be going back to the Doc's for a prescription.
Oh, yes, and one more thing have found out - I have often wondered about women doctors, and how many of them take HRT, well, I found a study (University College London) from 1997 which stated that 72% of menopausal women doctors took HRT. It would be interesting to know what the percentage would be now. However, as a friend of mine has pointed out there are plenty of women GPs working part time well beyond retirement age in our part of the world. They look very fit and healthy and were likely to be in the Cohort of 1997!
Just wondered what your thoughts were on this?
Take care, all!
Patricia
flutterby:
Hi Patricia
Very interesting those statistics on GPs.
Makes you think that probably few of them are actually taking the grin and bear it route, taking into account the percentage of women who are suffer only minor problems or are virtually symptomless. I wonder also how many take 'alternative therapies'
Flutterby :)
newstart:
Hello again
Sorry but I have misread that research:
Here is the link to the article about women doctors: http://eprints.ucl.ac.uk/archive/00001802/
And the abstract:
Abstract
STUDY OBJECTIVES: To ascertain the determinants and experiences of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) use by menopausal women doctors. DESIGN: Postal questionnaire. SETTING: UK. PATIENTS: A randomized stratified sample of women doctors who obtained full registration between 1952 and 1976, taken from the current Principal List of the UK Medical Register. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Current and previous use of HRT; reasons for and against HRT use; menopausal status; hormonal contraceptive use; lifestyle patterns; family and personal history of disease. MAIN RESULTS: While 73.2% of 471 users had started HRT for symptom relief, 60.9% cited prevention of osteoporosis and 32.7 prevention of cardiovascular disease. Altogether 18.7% had started for preventive purposes alone. Significant predisposing factors to starting HRT were the presence and severity of menopausal symptoms, surgical menopause, past use of hormonal contraception, and a family history of osteoporosis. HRT users were also more likely to use skimmed rather than full fat milk, to try to increase their intake of fruit, vegetables, and fibre, and to undertake vigorous physical activity at least once a week. They were less likely to have had breast cancer. Long duration users were more likely than short duration users to be past users of hormonal contraception and to be using HRT for prevention of osteoporosis as well as symptom relief; they were less likely to have experienced side effects. CONCLUSIONS: The high usage of HRT by women doctors reflects the fact that many started HRT on their own initiative and with long term prevention in mind. The results may become generalisable to the wider population as information on the potential benefits of HRT is disseminated and understood. However, HRT users may differ slightly from non-users in health-related behaviour and a substantial minority may never take up HRT, at least until the benefit-risk ratio is more clearly established.
Reading it again it says that 72% of users take it for symptom relief not that 72% of respondees said that they took it. However it does refer to high usage by women doctors.
Still interesting, I think.
Patricia
newstart:
And another abstract with information on actual level of usage
Link:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?Db=pubmed&Cmd=ShowDetailView&TermToSearch=8520274&ordinalpos=2&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum
Utilisation of hormone replacement therapy by women doctors.Isaacs AJ, Britton AR, McPherson K.
Department of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, England.
OBJECTIVES--To ascertain the prevalence and duration of use of hormone replacement therapy by menopausal women doctors. DESIGN--Postal questionnaire. SETTING--General practices in the United Kingdom. SUBJECTS--Randomised stratified sample of women doctors who obtained full registration between 1952 and 1976, taken from the current principal list of the Medical Register. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES--Prevalence and duration of use of hormone replacement therapy; menopausal status. RESULTS--Overall, 45.7% (436/954) of women doctors aged between 45 and 65 years had ever used hormone replacement therapy. When the results from women still menstruating regularly were excluded, 55.2% (428) were ever users and 41.2% (319) current users. The cumulative probability of remaining on hormone replacement therapy was 0.707 at five years and 0.576 at 10 years. CONCLUSIONS--Women doctors have a higher prevalence of use of hormone replacement therapy than has been reported for other women in the United Kingdom, and most users seem to be taking hormone replacement therapy for more than five years. The results may become generalisable to the wider population as information on the potential benefits of hormone replacement therapy is disseminated.
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