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[Pammie]

Larky perhaps you could do a short trial of Hrt, maybe two months,  to see if it helps.  If it doesn't work out you could come off it again.   But don't try it too near the wedding just in case you get unpleasant side effects... December/January might be a good time.
Estrogen raises serotonin which improves mood - so it may very well help with that.

Pam x

[marilyn]

when i first started the hrt Evorel 25 seemed to help somewhat .I also have a mirina coil still fitted and get conflicting information from different doctors ,some say i dont need it others say it protects you from cancer .been on the patches a few months now but keep feeling sick and have a horrible taste in my mouth my appertaite has really increased and craving sweet foods .only just been diagnosed as going threw the menopause they did a blood test and it came back 100 so had to have bone scans because there not sure how long i have been like this .idid ask them to do this test a few years ago and they said i was too young so had to have it done privately . most people have the hot flushes but i didnt get them but i do get dizziness and feel like im gonna pass out a lot had soo many blood test to investergate this but the have all been fine so assume its something to do with the menopause x

[allysonone]

Hi rivadan. Just thought id mention that i have been getting periods up until 2 months ago and im 59. Not that weird according to my doc and apparently can go on into the sixties. Im not on HRT by the way.i think this sight is very supportive but there is conflicting advice and the GP knows best, especially about mixing chemicals,especially hormones.Many of us come on here because we dont know whats happenning to us, and not necessarily because we are having a hard time. Go back to the doctor. my doctor of choice was a woman however i found in the end much better support from a male gp, similar age to me,and very sympathetic and helpful.   

[silverlady]

I have just read this on another forum and I think its worth a read.

Dr John Stevenson, HRT expert at London's Royal Brompton Hospital, said the health scares had been a 'disaster' for women's health.
He warned that the NHS faces a long-term rise in female patients with fractures and heart disease, which are conditions that HRT combats.

'Women now coming into the menopause are too scared to go on to HRT and I think it is a disgrace,' said Dr Stevenson, who is chairman of the charity Women's Health Concern.

'It has been a huge catastrophe for women and women's health and there is no doubt that women have suffered unnecessarily because of this.'

In the UK two million women were taking HRT at its 2001 peak but the number has now plunged to one million.
Dr Stevenson added: 'For most women suffering from menopausal symptoms I would advise them to have HRT without question.
'There is nothing else that is nearly as effective as HRT.
'It is one of the cheapest treatments we use in medicine and I wonder what the cost to the NHS will be of all the future heart attacks and fractures because of women not having HRT.'
The worldwide health scare over HRT began when a U.S. Women's Health Initiative (WHI) study was halted three years early in 2002.
It claimed women using HRT were at higher risk of breast cancer, heart disease and strokes - contrary to previous research suggesting taking the oestrogen protected them against heart problems.
HRT is normally prescribed to menopausal women in their 50s to combat symptoms such as hot flushes and mood changes, although it also protects bones.
But the WHI study also gave HRT to women in their 60s and 70s, who had gone through the menopause years earlier, with the average age of subject in the research being 63.

The WHI conclusions were overturned last year when re-analysis of the data found the extra risks may apply only to these older patients, who do not normally use HRT.
In fact, hormone therapy was shown to cut heart attacks in women in their 50s.
It did not raise their risk of strokes and they had fewer dangerous calcium deposits in their arteries. Such women had a lower risk of death from any cause compared with those not taking HRT.
A recent study published in the British Medical Journal's Online First edition found that even in women well past the menopause, with no hot flushes, the treatment produced a marked improvement in sleep, sex drive and joint pain.
In May the International Menopause Society issued a review showing HRT is safe and effective for women aged 50 to 59 in the early years of the menopause.
Contrary to 'misperceptions' it does not raise the risk of heart disease for these women and its impact on breast cancer is 'minimal', the panel of 40 international experts said.
Dr Stevenson said he hoped the review had changed attitudes to HRT among women who were missing out and among GPs who had become uncertain about its benefits.
He added: 'I hope that we will be able to restore the confidence in GPs about HRT so that they will prescribe it.'

silverlady x

[Taz2]

Hooray! 

Taz x

[Bette]

Brilliant!
We need to remember where this is so we can guide newbies to it if they're having problems getting HRT and need something to show to their gp's.
Bette x

[Emma]

There's a link to this article (20th September 2008) from our press archive (number 60)
http://www.menopausematters.co.uk/press.php

[Trey]

Hi Silverlady,  Just to say thanks for posting that article on HRT.  I posted it on a US forum where I serve as the moderator/professional and this backs up what I feel, yet I have to be careful not to speak from my perspective on serious issues so this helps a lot.  Not to speak because I am not an MD, so have to quote others.

[Taz2]

Thanks Emma - I thought it looked familiar!

Taz

[Meg]

With regard to this, am I the only one who is dubious about sweats, insomnia, anxiety ever being over?  I am fifty six and have had the manifold symptoms for six years.  I am sure their must be women who carry on with the sweating etc beyond their fifties.  Do we take hormone therapy until the end presuming we can find anything to suit.  Many women find coming off after ten or more years means the return of sweating etc.  It may be that the doctor who wrote the article advocates staying on oestrogen for life which may be easier if you have had a hysterectomy.  All of this is a massive dilemma for women as we are supposedly living longer.

Meg

[GOW]

I am 48.  Had my last period 5 years ago. Flushes etc largely gone.  However, have read I should have at least 1 year on HRT before I get to 50 to help prevent osteoporosis - but some of my father's sisters had late onset breast cancer - so unsure what to do.  Now also hear that menopause pre 45 is considered premature and that I probably should have been offered HRT years ago.
Anyway, its now or never for the one year before age 50 so have to make up my mind and need some info to help me decide.  
Do yo have to start HRT within a certain amount of time of your last lperiod.  Am I too late to start it?
If I start it now given that I am post menopasal by quite a few years, what effect will this have on my system?
How much does it increase risk of strokes and other nasty possible side effects that I am a smokerr?
Will I have periods again?  Will I have menopasal symptoms - flushing etc - again when I stop HRT?
What is HRT made of - animal or plant or or chemically made hormones?
Are biodentical / bioidentical hormones better and are they available on NHS?
How should I decide whether to go for oestrogen only or combined type HRT?
Do intend to read a lot on here - but if anyone here who is more knowlegable would be good enough to reply to any of the above questions I'd really appreciate it. Thanks

[Taz2]

Hi GOW - welcome to the forum.

I am sure that all of your questions will be answered eventually when more members are around - I have jus got back from the pub.     It is considered advisable to start HRT if you begin menopause before the normal age of 51. You are right in that you would have been considered to have had a premature menopause if your last period was at age 43. You have been cheated of the protective effects of oestrogen on your system i.e. heart and bones and it may well be that a year of HRT is better than nothing. The risks associated with it at your age are considered to be really minimal as you are merely replacing what your body should have been producing anyway.

It is good that your flushes have just about stopped. Many ladies have them for life. What other meno symptoms to do you have?

Tazx

[Bette]

Hi GOW
 
Wow, what a lot of questions! 
I'd suggest that you start by reading through the info in the Green Menu as a lot of the answers you're looking for are there. Info on bio-identicals is in this article http://www.menopausematters.co.uk/pdf/magArticle4.pdf
After that, ask any questions you have left and we'll all do our best to help out. Maybe start a new thread on "New Members" as most ladies look there first and you can get missed in the middle of an existing thread.
And when you've had enough of facts, have a look at the "Funnies" 
Bette x

[Taz2]

Hi Meg - no you are not the only one who thinks that the flushes etc will be around for ever. I have always said that it is called the "change" for a reason. It isn't called the "feel rubbish for a few years and go back to normal" as some women do suffer from the symptoms for the rest of their lives. Things like vaginal dryness wont get better and will always need some degree of oestrogen to maintain vagina health and comfort. Joint aches plagued my mum from the start of meno up till her death at age 83. At the time, not knowing much about menopause, I just put it down to old age but some of it has to be down to the lack of oestrogen.

I attend the menopause clinic in Oxford and they are adamant that, other health problems permitting, a woman can remain on HRT for the rest of her life. Refreshing news.

Taz x

[silverlady]

Trey I am all for sharing knowledge, I am eternally grateful for my mum giving me a book on women's hormones when I was in my early thirties which set me on the path of finding out as much as possible about the changes that women go through, I was determined to prepare mysef for menopause and would have liked other young women to know that it was in their hands to a certain extent the effect hormones had on their health and lives.

Perhaps this generation of women with so much more knowledge to hand and the sharing  of it will be better prepared.

silverlady x