Menopause Matters Forum
Menopause Discussion => All things menopause => Topic started by: debbyx on February 08, 2025, 01:29:54 PM
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Hi ladies
I went through peri and menopause with no issues at all thought i was so lucky , but when I got to 60 and post menopause
It has hit me with a bang, so many symptoms that’s too long to list but the worst are the anxiety, aches and pains and acid reflux. I am so depressed and spend most of the time crying , I have had to give up so many of the nice food I love to try to help with the acid reflux and keeping a diary to see what triggers it.
I have a couple of good days then weeks of all different issues.
I have had a lot of doctors appointments but they just don’t seem to want to put it down to post menopause, saying you are to old to start HRT and should be past this by now and its anxiety and has put me on anti depressants . I know from reading this forum that many of you are past 60 and still getting symptoms.
My sister in law is same age and been given HRT but my sister is a year younger than me and was not offered HRT
We are all at different surgeries.
Does it just depend on the doctor.
On my last visit I have been given tablets for the acid reflux . I haven’t taken them yet or started the anti depressants I struggle through each day I just want to feel good again.
I just don’t really want to start on anti depressants.
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Why not start the reflux tablets, its a horrible condition and best to get it under control. Do at least two months of it and then start to see if you can do without with diet changes. Its the ageing process, we can no longer tolerate some of the foods we are used to eating and its all about learning to live with a changing body. Also nothing wrong with anti depressants, use them until you get your body and mind sorted and decide what you want to do going forwards.
If you want to go on HRT then do so, no GP should refuse unless there is good medical reason.
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It's The Change - does what it says on the tin. So many still believe that the menopause is the cessation of bleeds and a few hot flushes! >:(
Anxiety is common for many. Whether or not it's caused by hormones, using appropriate medication for 8-12 months may help. Aches and pains may be caused by loss of oestrogen, the elasticity of our bodies. U may also require testosterone, which many aren't aware can help.
As oestrogen levels drop muscles may become lax = aches and pains as well as hiatus hernia/acid reflux. What have you been prescribed? For years I used Milk of Magnesia with success, my GP later prescribed omeprazolo which I swallow at breakfast: for the irritating clearing of throat cough which I have found out in recent months is caused by hidden sugars - Coke, chocolate :o, some fruits.
When does the reflux bother you the most?
How were your moods during your menstruating years? I would cry the night B4 a bleed even if a period wasn't due.
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I think you should try the reflux tablets prescribed by your doc to at least get it under control and then if they don't work you can at least be referred for any further tests. I delayed taking mine but then developed an ulcerated oesophagus which took stronger tablets and a long time to get sorted. I found tomatoes, raspberries, chocolate and alcohol were a problem for me but once I started taking omeprazole (a PPI) I was able to eat and drink normally again. Please give the medication a try.
It's easy to feel that once we are post menopausal then we should be fine but oestrogen levels continue to fall. As has been said on here already, nowadays, you can be prescribed hrt even though you are older. The guidelines have changed in recent years and you should be given the chance to try it. You can stop if you don't like it.
Taz x :hug:
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Push the phrase 'quality of life' and let us know how you get on and what you decide to do.
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Sorry to hear you are having a difficult time. Quite a few women on here have had a similar experience and found their symptoms suddenly get worse post menopause. At 60, I would imagine you are possibly 10 ish years post menopause and you would normally have expected your hormones to have bottomed out but I have been caught out on that myself recently.
I'm 63, about 15 years post menopause and been using HRT for the entire time bar a few breaks to get baseline hormone blood tests. I thought I was happily settled on my HRT dose but it suddenly stopped working and my migraines resurfaced so I have now increased the oestrogen dose. I have noticed a massive improvement. So it would seem that oestrogen continues to decrease or perhaps it becomes less effective many years post menopause and that is why you suddenly have symptoms.
I would definitely push for HRT. I think it does vary depending on the surgery but I'm pretty sure you can insist on being prescribed HRT under the NICE guidelines. You are definitely not too old to start and this is also stated in the guidelines.
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Thank you all for your replies. It does make me feel better just knowing that this is all part of life.
I just don’t understand why the doctors can’t see that menopause does go beyond 60 .
I have checked my medication and I have been given lansoprazole for the acid reflux and sertraline for the anti depressant.
I have never taken medication in my life
That’s why I am worried about taking it now.
I think the acid reflux is causing me the most problem at the moment, so maybe I need to start on the lansoprazole and maybe if that works my anxiety won’t be as bad as it is now and i won’t need the antidepressants.
Thank you for being there
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Morning. These medications are designed to help. Which symptom is bothering you the most?
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I had nausea like pregnancy sickness for about three years after menopause, it went away eventually. Gastric disturbances are absolutely a menopause symptom, but also a symptom of other disorders (is menopause a disorder?), I think lansoprazole it an OTC medicine, so nothing too hefty.
If you feel depressed a lot then it could certainly be menopause causing it. If that is the case then sertraline would probably help, it helps my husband put up with me ;D
However you don't want to take antidepressants and the GP was unable to persuade you that it would be better than HRT.
I wonder if your GP noticed you didn't agree?
It sounds like they weren't listening and you need more evidence that will make them listen.
I found this; If HRT is to be used in women over 60 years of age, lower doses should be started, preferably with a transdermal route of estradiol administration.
Here; https://thebms.org.uk/publications/consensus-statements/bms-whcs-2020-recommendations-on-hormone-replacement-therapy-in-menopausal-women/
Your GP can't ignore the the bms, they have compulsory membership in the UK. That's a recommendation your GP might feel encouraged to try.
Also this; There is very little evidence regarding starting HRT for older women because this research has not been undertaken. However, most women who are otherwise fit and well do still gain benefits from taking HRT even if it has been more than 10 years since their menopause.
Here; https://www.themenopausecharity.org/2022/04/19/starting-or-continuing-hrt-many-years-after-your-menopause/
They are American, but I'm sure women here are the same and there are many more similar references you could print off and take to your GP to reassure them it's ok. For many GPs that's all they need.
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I have never taken medication in my life
That’s why I am worried about taking it now.
I was exactly like you, wouldn't even take a paracetamol. Once you accept this new way of life you will feel much better in mind and body and taking meds are now part of this new phase.
I didn't find this phase easy to accept, it can be very depressing, but I did in the end and feel so much better for it now.
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I have never taken medication in my life
That’s why I am worried about taking it now.
I was exactly like you, wouldn't even take a paracetamol. Once you accept this new way of life you will feel much better in mind and body and taking meds are now part of this new phase.
I didn't find this phase easy to accept, it can be very depressing, but I did in the end and feel so much better for it now.
That is such an excellent point, it's worth repeating.
From my first pregnancy onwards I hated taking any medicine and only had good food and herbal remedies, I wouldn't have touched a paracetamol.
This post-50 phase is different and I'm on three pills a day now, one is tibolone for my bones, one is prozac for anxiety, one is ramipril for high blood pressure.
I'm not one kg heavier than I was at twenty or thirty, why is my BP raised? Menopause, that's why. It temporarily came down when I tried oestrogen, but I couldn't tolerate any progestin, so it went back up without them. Anxiety was similar.
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I see the menopause as a fault in the female design. What should happen is hormones should drop to a level whereby women are no longer fertile but they should still be able to produce enough vital hormones for the body to function properly ie like men. Obviously this is not what happens and a lot of women find it hard to face but the solution is there - HRT. It's similar to taking thyroid medication which people seem to readily accept.
I once had an argument with a doctor about HRT so I decided to draw him a diagram. I wrote HRT in the middle of the page, drew a circle around it and then drew several prongs from the circle listing out the numerous conditions caused by oestrogen deprivation. He shook his head but I said I thought it was ridiculous to give women numerous forms of medication for osteoporosis, high blood pressure, anti depressants etc when HRT is the obvious answer.
I think it's better to tackle the root cause first ie oestrogen deficiency and then add in extra medication if needed.
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Agreed MaryG. The number of people who are prescribed X medication then B and O to counteract side effects!
Neither of the drugs that you have been prescribed debbyx need to be taken long term if they don't ease symptoms after 4-6 months. When I was prescribed ADs in the 1980s I wanted to know the cause of my depression but there is no research that first my illness. It was a few months after I reluctantly began the medications that I suddenly realised how much better I was feeling ::)
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I would absolutely take the PPI.
I LOVE omeprazole and have been on it since my 20s.
It is one of the medications with the most favourable efficacy:harm ratio that I can think of (up there with hormone therapy), and it is a rare person who doesn't get relief from acid reflux at the appropriate dose for them.
However what it will not do is address any symptoms that are resulting from loss of gonadal hormones, so in your position I would absolutely continue to pursue hormone therapy.
There is no good medical reason or even any current guideline indicating it shouldn't be used over 60, in fact arbitrary age based cut offs are discouraged.
Whilst it is true that a lot of the benefits eg cardiovascular health are less significant if it is started a long time after menopause, there is no age at which it ceases to be effective for either quality of life or bone health, which are the primary indications for its use anyway.
I would recommend seeing a menopause specialist - once started on treatment the NHS will often (but not always) continue the prescription or at least some components of it.
Certainly it is worth exploring this before antidepressants.
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I absolutely feel for you and know well how you feel. I suffer with so many symptoms and so many seem to get better while others develop out of the blue (it makes my blood boil at times).
May I ask whether you have been actually tested whether those symptoms are not caused by something else? There are solutions out there that actually don't require taking medicines to make you feel better. If you feel open enough there is a new book by Nicole Sachs "mind your body" that has just been released 5 days ago and talks a lot about pain and other chronic symptoms, while also giving simple solutions to bettering greatly the quality of life.
I am doing the work of NS for about 3 weeks now and can attest to massive improvement it made along different parts of my body!
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To a certain extent the body heals itself hence the need for rest and sleep. But we are totally unaware of what healing has taken place. However, when symptoms occur it may be necessary to take medication which will ease them or in many cases, as life savers.
Activity can cause osteoporosis arthritis which is natural aging. It can be as little as managing symptoms as they occur . I don't think 'mind your body' will ease symptoms of vaginal atrophy for example which is usually due to loss of oestrogen. As long as possible keeping off medication can help to avoid any side effects; DH and I have been lucky thus far as a friend, by the age of 60, had undergone 2 hips and a knee replacement: she and I walked for miles with the :scottie: every weeks ::). She is 11 years older.
Keeping a diary may well help to chart symptoms and how they affect daily activities.
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Hi debbyx
Have you had your vitamin levels (D, B12, folate), ferritin and thyroid function tested?
Just thought I'd mention it as the things you mention could be down to something else apart from menopause. Even the acid reflux.
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Omeprazol works wonders for acid reflux. I think it’s a good idea to start with that to try and get you some relief from the symptoms. I agree that physical health issues have a massive impact on our mental health. But please remember that there is no shame in taking antidepressants. Sertraline is a very common SSRI and it may help ease your anxiety. But it’s not for everyone, you know what’s best for you.
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CLKD "mind your body" helped with my VA greatly. The premise and principle is that while all these natural changes occur in our bodies they don't (and shouldn't) account for this amount of pain. I was fortunate enough to have come across this work shortly after my VA excruciating pain started, it is now gone. With sometimes mild discomfort.
I am not saying stop medication and just do this, but it is worth a try with an open mind, there is nothing to lose.
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I would find it very difficult to believe that a mind control system would have any affect on VA (GSM) only replacing the lost oestrogen will help that nasty condition.
Perhaps mind over body might help in some instances but it would never for the likes of me who would have no faith in it.
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How R U this morning debbyx ?
Certainly I wouldn't consider using mind therapy to ease symptoms of VA .......... a lot of health conditions are caused by not breathing correctly: my music teacher told me that the best overall exercise for the body is singing ........ which I miss doing a lot. Because many people don't use lung capacity to its fullest.
I need to take pain relief 4 a headache or it escalates to nausea = panic attacks.
I had CBT but it didn't work as my phobia is ingrained from within a few hours of being born. :-\
Yoga etc. is used with success by many. It really does depend on what works for each of us.
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@Ayesha - never have i said people should withdraw hormones. But pain is not necessarily a must with this.
@CLKD - I am not talking about CBT, CBT is a attempt to train your nervous system out of instinctive reaction, which is hard.
As to VA - it's not really a therapy, it's concept that is rather hard to explain in few sentences. But why would you recommend singing and yoga or CBT for other issues but not for this? :D
So, if you have a headache at the end of a stressful day, or stomach issues when you're really nervous, or neck pain from all the tension, or fainting from extreme fear, why would you dismiss the idea that perhaps more issues in the body can be caused by "mind" (not all caused per se, but the pain can be caused by mind)? Being someone who also suffered with panic attacks (much less now) i know what it does to the body, to my body, which ended in hospital twice during panic attack as i was convinced i will die. And there was absolutely nothing wrong with me, physically.
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My panic attacks have always been physical first. One cannot ease VA symptoms with 'mind over matter'.
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It's not really mind over matter. It's the acknowledgment that the condition doesn't account for amount of pain.
This concept is nothing new. It was first developed and studied for many years by doctor John Sarno, who's it become life's work. There are a other practitioners who further develop this method, and although i know how it sounds.. There is a level of despair (for lack of better word) that helps to jump into this.
I for one was fed up with feeling like faecal matter all the time and compromising my family at so many turns.
I'm not saying anyone has to do it, but it is worth exploring if any other medical advice is made of:
- it may help, but it may get worse
- for some people it works but for others it doesn't
- lets try cutting this but if this doesn't work we can try cutting something else ;)
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How R U Debbyx
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If you are really struggling to be taken seriously by your GP is it worth making an appointment with a specialist. I know not everyone want to go this route but a friend of mine that just wasn't being taken seriously for years finally gave in & made a private appointment & was started on HRT within the week. After 6 months she is now just transitioning back to the NHS but she is so greatful she took this step and feels like she has her life back.
Worse case scenario you have your mind put at rest that it isn't menopause related, best case, you get to have your life back.
Whatever you choose, hope everything works out for you