Hi:
5 years into the menopause now .
I always said that if I needed it I would take hrt, after all, I'd been on the pill for most of my life.
About two years ago, with the insomnia, night flushes,depression, urinary problems and inability to want or have sex making me feel at my wits end, my GP put me on tibolone.
My menopause symptoms got better very quickly but then I had an "episode" which is difficult to explain but I couldn't walk properly and my balance went, my memory went really bad, forgetting the end of a sentence and slurring words.I became absolutely exhausted and the smallest chore left me catching my breath.
I became pretty much housebound and my husband had to hold my arm into the doctors surgery.
Blood tests and hospital appointments ruled out an thing wrong, but I had two more episodes and came to the conclusion that it was the tibolone, the timing was too coincidental.....no indication from GP,or manufacturers info warned that this could happen.
GP put me on ostrogel/utrogestan: no attacks but similar, milder symptoms.Eventually stopped when got spotting between increasingly heavy periods.
Now feel much better, can walk properly, fewer headaches etcetera but the menopause symptoms have come back.
Feel I'm in a complete catch22 situation.
Was referred to gynocologist 're interim bleeds and she didn't seem surprised at my bad reaction to hrt, she suggested that changing to another form might have similar effects and suggested using oestrogen pessaries instead.
I am going back to my GP to get vaginal pessaries and try citalapram for the night sweats :ironically the treatment he first suggested but I was scared of taking antidepressants.
I don't want to put anyone off hrt and if I could, I would:just be aware of what your body tells you.
It may be that hrt depletes your supply of vitamin b12 and that could explain a lot of my symptoms.
Good luck to all my sister's in menopause