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[LizzieAnn]

I am so glad I came across this posting because I have had such a strange experience relating to HRT.  I had been going through the menopause and had no periods for nearly 7 months but the flushes, lack of sleep, irritability, crying for no reason and general exhaustion were debilitating.  I decided after reading a bit more to try HRT and went onto Elleste Duet for about four months, but each month I had a bleed, which really p**ed me off, because I'd just got used to being without them.  I also felt worried as they were very heavy, and lasted for 7 days when they came, with quite big clots in them, which I hardly ever had before.  My previous periods had barely lasted for four days tops and were not heavy or painful - these seemed to be all of the things I never had before which was really rotten. I had thrown away my Moon Cup prior to this and it was getting pretty expensive for sanitary towels!!  I phoned my doctor who said hey, let's try you on some non-bleeding HRT and I went onto Premique Low Dose and after only one or two days, I began to come out in a hot facial rash, having stabbing stomach pains and feeling really low.....I persisted for five days but my husband told me enough is enough, you are really ill.  I also had the weirdest feeling of complete numbness in my breasts - no feeling at all, it was so strange!  I stopped taking them on my birthday on 3rd March and now I am cold turkey which they say you shouldn't do....I was hoping someone could give me some advice about Premique because all I can find on the net is that these tablets were discontinued on November 2016 - so why was I prescribed them?!    Does anyone have any further info on these?  I am gonna get back in touch with my doctor tomorrow and discuss this because it's pretty weird.

I have decided that if the female body was meant to go through the menopause then there's gotta be an easier way to cope with it than HRT - what about diet and phyto-oestrogens?  Has anyone tried any of this with any luck?  I do not want periods as I was glad to get rid of them.  Vaginal dryness is easily solved by lubes, and as for sex life........I never have had any problems there, so that's not an issue.  I don't want hot flushes but I do tai chi daily and that really helps with regulating them.  Thanks in advance for any help you could give me.

[TraceyMc]

At this stage of HRT, (28 days in) it's awful.

I've had a flooding after being period-free for 19 months. My boobs are huge. I feel like I'm carrying cannonballs around in my abdomen and I want to cry. .

On the upside, I'll stick at it until the 3-month GP appointment.

[Dee saw]

Hi this sounds daft but will I have good days and bad not on hrt had my tubes left thought I had been through the change Lol only to find out after blood test no your going through the  cahange now joy had a few days aching headache feeling so like pooh feeling sick and not me on sertrline as I call them happy pills and advice oh don't use full stops etc dyslexic joy 🐞

[Dancinggirl]

Hi Lizzieann
HRT is trial and error. 9 months without a period is not long and you may well be still in Peri menopause and this will mean your hormones will be fluctuating and giving peeks and troughs. Continuous HRT can give bleeding problems if still peri meno. Sadly gps are Rearely 'up to speed' about HRT and treating meno so you need to read up all the info on this site to get clued up and go back with stuff printed off to discuss with the doctor.
If you want a simple HRT non bleed option then having a Mirena fitted, to stop the womb lining building up, can be a good and you then use oestrogen as either pills, patch or gel alongside everyday to control the memo symptoms. Look under progesterone in the TREATMENT section at the top of his page for more info on this.
The advantage of the Mirena is that less progesterone is circulated around the body and this usually means fewer side effects. Bleeding and spotting will occur initially but will subside within the first few weeks.


TraceyMC and Dee saw - do look at the various HRT options. - you do need to give each HRT type time to settle but you may need to try different types before finding somwthing that suits you. The
Femoston group of hers are often a good to try - they have a kinder progesterone.
Sertraline and other ad/srri treatment should not be the first line of treatment for flushes and night sweats.
DGX

[nearly50]

Hi Lifeofa50yearold, welcome to the forums.

Glad your meds are starting to work, sounds like you're at the point of being able to tackle your weight issues too which is great. Your doctor might've been being a bit harsh but I don't think she was being cheeky - you might indeed see a reduction if you get your weight down as I think a healthy weight for your height is closer to 11 and a half stone.  A lot of women do need to look at their eating patters at this stage and you'll get a lot of support on here too. Good luck!

[Sandra Snow]

No one tells when you go onto HRT how hard it is to come off of HRT or how you have to come off of it very gradually to try stave off the intensified symptoms of menopause.  I am, after over 18 months, back to where I was prior to starting on HRT 7 years ago, having about about 16 - 18 hot seats per day!  HRT worked well for the 7 years.  No hot sweats or menopausal symptoms.  Have I simply delayed the inevitable by going on HRT?  Would the hot sweats have finished by now if I hadn't taken HRT?  I am not at all overweight and very active.  My doctor just can't give me an answer?

[Dancinggirl]

HRT doesn't delay the meno. Whether you use HRT or not, nobody can tell you how long meno symptoms will last - symptoms can last from one to severn years or even the rest of your life.  At least HRT will protect your bones and heart for the long term.
I have used HRT on and off for over 25 years. I am now 61 and 8 months without HRT and not doing too badly. My joints have deteriorated quite quickly - if I hadn't used HRT my joints would be much worse.  I took a break from HRT for 3years in my early 50s and the flushes etc never subsided - I am now in a calmer phase of my life so the flushes don't bother me so much - I am not expecting these flushes to subside in the near future - my mother is in her late 80s and still complains about feeling too hot or too old.
At least the years with HRT can make life more pleasant. There isn't any good or right way to stop HRT - you just have to be prepared to adjust your life to cope without HRT. DG x

[mamatulton]

Hi all, im looking for advice really. Ive been off work for 6months due to groin/hip, and feet pain and only on the right side of my body. It was originally thought by my gp i had MS but MRI proved otherwise. It now seems it could be lack of oestrogen thats causing this. As you can imagine the pain is very intense and ive been pretty much housebound. Im due to start HRT after my next period but im really worried about starting it but i cant continue to be so debilitated so have no option. 

[Redcat]

No one tells when you go onto HRT how hard it is to come off of HRT or how you have to come off of it very gradually to try stave off the intensified symptoms of menopause.  I am, after over 18 months, back to where I was prior to starting on HRT 7 years ago, having about about 16 - 18 hot seats per day!  HRT worked well for the 7 years.  No hot sweats or menopausal symptoms.  Have I simply delayed the inevitable by going on HRT?  Would the hot sweats have finished by now if I hadn't taken HRT?  I am not at all overweight and very active.  My doctor just can't give me an answer?

When I asked her whether she had been on HRT my GP told me that this is the reason she didn't go on it.  Because when you stop you go into a sort of shock instant menopause.  I think it's worth it though because I'd rather put that off for a few years and deal with it when I am older and have enjoyed life while my body is younger than to go through it now and not feel like doing anything with my life because I was feeling so rotten.  I've been on elleste duet for about 3 weeks now and I feel better every day.  I had a period after two weeks as I started after the other period ended (on my Gp's advice) and the bleed was heavier than it was naturally, but it lasted the usual 5 days, no more.  The only change was the heavyness and I had no pain or pms.  Other than that I have been feeling fabulous compared to before.  The first week or so was hardest in terms of symptoms.  I hope I can carry on as I have not felt like this in about a decade.

[Lifeofa50yearold]

Hello (Im relatively new so please bare with me while i try to find my way around)
I have been prescribed 4 different types of HRT to date.
1st was when i was in late  peri some 5 years ago when i "Assumed" things were really bad.
Complaints of sweats in the day after a shower and bieng drenched in sweat after drying my hair. It did not help at all. Can not recall what it was called.

I hit 50 this year and my gosh it was like the meno train had hit me .
Since feb ive had 3 more different types of HRT.
Elleste conti- mild improvement on night sweats. Male gp - had changed surgeries in feb this year too so no medical history .

Changed after 8 days to femoston2/10 as my mood was rock bottom and deeper and darker than i could ever imagine possible.  The night sweats were horrific waking drenched upto 4 times a night . 

Doctor put me on femoston 2/10 as she said i might need a little more? Cant recall what that little more was or what it was for night sweats or depression. ( Id read every review going till my eyes were on stalks -(I was going to have a forced withdraw bleed &  I did on the 4th day of the 2nd pack.not a happy bunny as had not bled for 5 years.

Back to gp - changed HRT again to femoston conti -  After she had consulted "The book" of meds.
4 days in im kinda scared to speak to soon.
I had 2 bad night sweats out of the 4 on the conti - had a very restless night on the 3rd day & 4th day -today woken up dry. Moods still good -ish.
I have piled on the weight in 5 years to obese- 5ft 7 and weighing 19 stone 
Whether its due to hrt or just meno im not sure . I dont have the get up n go to even think for too long about exercising -id rather just crawl back into bed and hybernate. So
In answer to your question for me
Yes finally it does work and long may it continue ..

[DaisyB]

Mamatulton - I am very new to MM. Sorry to hear that you have been feeling so rotten. I too have problems on one side of body. Numbness spasms and pins and needles. Started 6 weeks or so ago - at same time anxiety went through the roof lots of other nasty symptoms and everything seemed overwhelming. I visited private GP and gynae and was told def peri menopause and that likely was cause of my problems over last 3 years. Got to the stage now where my thyroid is just in underactive range and iron levels low as well as hormones fluctuating- I'm all about alternative and health shops. But gynae cautioned that I could be in serious trouble if I didn't take action now to address with HRT. Got Mirena fitted under anaesthetic and waiting for estrogen. This site has been amazing given the wealth of experience and advice from other women. I am hoping this is the beginning of a better way forward. Looking back I can honestly say that I wish I had recognised much sooner what was going on. My NHS gp had fobbed me off so many times that i felt like a hypochondriac- now I've accepted that HRT may just save my sanity- I'm giving it 12 months and after that I will explore the bio identical again if I'm not getting results. Hopefully things start to improve for you soon - I know that the responses from much more learned women on this site will def reassure you and hopefully provide you with the info you need to make informed choices for your body. Take care DaisyB

[Dancinggirl]

Hi and welcome to MM daisyB
The Mirena can be a really good option as part of HRT as it usual gives fewer progesterone side effects and, after the first few weeks of bleeding and spotting, can result in no bleeding after that.
As for bioindenticals -- well, the oestrogen you will be given will be bio identical as the horse urine derived oestrogens are now phased out.
Utrogestan, which is the bio identical progesterone doesn't suit everyone as it can bring problematic bleeding and has a strong seductive effect.
Once you get going on the oestrogen things should really improve over the next few weeks. Do try the oestrogen as either Oestrogel or estrodot patches as either of these work really well. DG x

[DaisyB]

Dancinggirl
Thank you so much for words of wisdom. Anxiety is riding high again tonight - doing everything I can to keep it down. Waiting on word from private gynae to get estrogen started - hanging in there and taking great comfort from all of you on this forum. Sincerely appreciated DaisyB 

[spiritguide]

I take femoston 1/10, I have over the past month been trying to reduce it. My aim is to continue with my monthly blister pack of one every other day, then the next monthly pack one every 2 days, so on and so forth. I'm already starting to feel knackered and achy... I don't want to be on it forever so I will gave to give it up at some point. I think I may have been on it for at least 2 years. I'm tempted to go back to one everyday; however my sister was on HRT and she suffered breast cancer so I'm a little cautious about continuing it long term (I haven't told my doctor about this as I was desperate to be medicated).
 

[Welshy]

Hi I've recently started on 3 days ago actually on indivina  1mg/2.5 mg and I'm having some side effects, more hot flushes difficulty in sleeping, dull headache low mood , irritability, does this wear off or should I stop taking them ,,, thanks xx