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[lizmc]

Hi all
I have a question, I am 47, and taking HRT for approx 8 months.
Doing well, most of the time..  Do I ever have to come off it? And does it mean that I will have to go through menopause anyway?..I would love to hear from you on this one...
Thanks

[Taz2]

Hi Liz - you may be advised to come off it around the age of 50/51 to see whether you have troublesome meno symptoms. If you then restart then the next milestone, assuming your overall health such as blood pressure is good, will probably be at age 60 when most women are advised to stop (as happened to me). Some women get all the previous meno symptoms but others don't. HRT is now known to delay menopause rather than to help us through it. There is no way of knowing which category you fall in to. Quality of life is important though and it is not something that we have to grit our teeth and get through.

Taz x

[Sarah2]

I thought the 'stop at 60' had been replaced by newer thinking?
On the BMS website, their statement says that there should be no arbitrary limits on age or length of time on HRT- it depends on individual circumstances. There is some advice for women starting HRT over 60, but nothing about stopping at 60.

Here's a link and it's about halfway down the page.

http://www.thebms.org.uk/statementpreview.php?id=1

This is another summary saying the same thing-no limit on duration, but has to be individualised.

http://www.rcog.org.uk/what-we-do/campaigning-and-opinions/briefings-and-qas-/rcog-and-hrt-debate
Not all drs believe that it delays meno- the figures are something like 50-50 ( symptoms return on stopping and no symptoms)

[Taz2]

Sorry Sarah but the stop at 60 hasn't been replaced by newer thinking in the majority of cases. The first person to tell me this was the menopause consultant at my meno clinic in Oxford. This was then repeated by both my GP and my gynae consultant. The risks and benefits are balanced perfectly evenly though between 60 and 70 and it is only at 70 that the risks outweigh the benefits.

What the medical profession do say is that each woman has to be made aware of the risks in continuing with HRT and this is what happened at my own surgery. It is the stroke risk which is most mentioned I believe.

I have put myself back onto HRT but have still to make a GP appointment to tell her what I've done. Should be interesting!

Taz x

[lizmc]

Thanks for the info guys. I plan to stay on it for as long as I can.. I was crazy when all my symptoms began.. And I spent a few months planning to go through the "natural route" until my best friend asked why as I sobbed my eyes out for no reason. It suddenly dawned on me, I actually don't know why..so one trip to my doc, three days later I started to get my life back...
It appears now HRT is safer than it used to be..
And of course your right Taz quality of life is more important. We shall see as I go and take advise from the doc..
Regards
Liz

[Sarah2]

Do you mean that drs are ignoring the advice of the BMS and doing their own thing, regardless, or do you mean that clinics and consultants are ignoring it too?

I know about advising women of the risks etc- but isn't that effectively putting the ball in the woman's court so she can decide if she wants to carry on and accept the risks?

Friend of a friend has gone back on it at 73- after being on it for over 20 years, had a 6-month break recently, felt terrible and has told her GP she accepts all risks.

[libbyloo]

1000mg starflower oil has stopped my hot flushes. Took 4 weeks approx to take effect. Recommended on here, trialed it. Really pleased. Would recommend. My general meno sympotons were !old compared to many of you. Sleeping well again too.x

[Joyce]

I'm using half a 25mg patch nowadays with 1000mg starflower capsules. Have to say it's taken a while but now virtually no flushes, some days even none - well not that I'm aware of. Don't want to give up patch completely yet though, as don't want to go back down that road again, ever.

[Rowan]

I am using half a 25 patch too, sometimes no patch at all for a few weeks, and using omegas, no symptoms at all.

[Taz2]

Hi Sarah -  I was under the care of the menopause clinic in Oxford and they said that they didn't like their patients to be on HRT after the age of 60 due to the stroke risk but that they would prescribe it if it proved difficult to cope without it. I then approached my GP who didn't think that reaching 60 should be a reason to discontinue HRT.. until she read up on more case studies etc. and then also advised against it. Three other GP's in my practice agreed with her. I was talked through the risks and asked to sign a form (obviously specific to my practice) agreeing that should I continue with HRT I was aware of the risks.

There seems to be a lot of confusion over the continued prescribing of HRT to women over 60.

Taz x

[Hurdity]

As far as I know there are no studies showing that Starflower oil can eliminate hot flushes, but it is a dietary supplement which I am sure has good health benefits if your diet is deficient (in gamma linoleic acid I believe)!

Re stopping HRT - lizmc - this subject has been aired many times recently so you will see the discussions along similar lines if you do a search from the Forum Home Page. Unfortunately we on here are all too well aware that despite the recent recommendations (ie from BMS etc as per Sarah2 links below), many doctors (both GPs and specialist gynaes) are either not up to date on the subject, or will not change their stance until the NICE guidelines on menopause are updated.These are currently being reviewed and are due to be published in 2015.

In the meantime - yes we do have to take the matter in our own hands and with the help of sites and forums like this one, can become well informed so that we can tell the doctors what we want to do and why, while accepting what risks there might be.

In terms of delaying the menopause, this is partially true, in that for some women the body seems to react to sudden (or even gradual) drop in oestrogen (from stopping HRT) - and gives us back those dreadful hot flushes and sweats we got rid of years ago! However what you won't get later on is the turmoil associated with the fluctuations in hormones that causes some of the other symptoms ie mood swings etc - because the hormones just stabilise - but at a low level. Unfortunately this can also lead to permanent low mood and/or anxiety in some women. It is a complex area and as already said you won't know how you will react , or how you would have reacted had you not taken HRT and I strongly agree that quality of life, as well as general health benefits (from HRT) are especially important considerations.

You don't say what HRT type you are taking but you mention safety - and as you get older - heading towards  60, the safest types are transdermal (patch or gel) oestrogen as oestradiol, and "natural" progesterone - ie the one that is the same as that produced in our own body. At this point there is no need to worry about this though - just to bear in mind for the future.

Hurdity x

[Rowan]

If I had to take only one type of supplement it would be omega oils.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Starflower-Oil-Benefits---Highest-GLA-Content-In-The-World&id=6410385

http://www.livestrong.com/article/300802-starflower-oil-menopause/

I can honestly say I really feel well and my skin feels as soft as it did in twenties.

I even got a compliment a few weeks ago, I had a full body massage and the young Therapist told me that my skin was so soft and my arms so firm, this cheered me up no end after going through the idiopathic uticaria in January and February, that's when I started taken the Omega oils in higher doses.

Your body make hormones from cholesterol  http://health.howstuffworks.com/diseases-conditions/cardiovascular/cholesterol/how-the-body-uses-cholesterol.htm   and you need the right oils and fats for this for this conversion.

Coming off HRT is a personal choice but there are things you can take to ease the transition.