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[CLKD]

Each of us is different.  Because 'it says' in the various books etc. doesn't make it true! 

[Conolly]

Hello Wilks and ladies,


Do whatever makes you feel good, body and mind wise. If you feel comfortable enough to be on HRT and are not scared of possible side effects, what is preventing you from doing it?
If you are scared of possible side effects, it's really a benefit/cost decision. Nothing is without risk.
If you are confused and don't know how to make an informed decision, keep learning and you will find your own way to deal with it, eventually.
Ageing is tough, with or without menopause symptoms. Sometimes I think my symptoms are telling me that I need to take care of myself and the best way to do it is to listen to what my body is trying to say and be proactive instead of moaning about it. Embrace the experience is my motto these days.


Born to be wild 😜 😂


Conolly X

[Tempest]

LOVE your post and attitude, Conolly (especially the 'born to be wild')! xxxx

[Wilks]

Thanks for all your replies, I suppose I'm being overly anxious about it all.

A few people have questioned what I said about the risk of osteoporosis and heart disease, but it's true. I'm not making it up: you can read all about it on this Menopause Matters website or Dr Louise Newson's website.

[Conolly]

LOVE your post and attitude, Conolly (especially the 'born to be wild')! xxxx

Thank you, Tempest. I am a rock'n'roll advocate for all life's ailments 😎 Never too young to die, never too old to rock'n'roll.

Conolly X

[Hurdity]

Hi there all - to avoid any misunderstanding and to my comments were absolutely in context and were a light-hearted take on Wilks' comments about what can happen to the body post-menopause in the absence of HRT "The itchy dry skin, VA, increased risk of heart disease, loss of bone density, spare tyre, hair thinning, lack of energy, loss of libido, brain fog, etc are with you forever unless you take HRT forever?". Spare tyre = fat, loss of libido = sexless etc etc - I have just said exactly the same but using different words - trying to be a bit humorous about it  . No point beating about the bush!

As Wilks says the evidence on the long terms consequence of oestrogen deficiency and maybe some of its influence on the ageing process is well recognised medically from scientific evidence which of course is based on populations and not indivuduals so does not follow that each individual will follow the same path because of our unique genetic make-up and life experience.

But my main point following those comments is that whatever we decide or do or not do - it is important to have a positive outlook and make the best of ourselves to minimise the disadvantages of deterioration of health and looks in older age - and above all not to worry!!!

Absolutely Connolly

Hurdity x

[Tempest]

Your experience is helpful and encouraging, Tika. Thank you so much for sharing!😊 xxxx

[tika]

Thank you Tempest.

None of the things  mentioned that will happen if you don't take HRT have happened to me, I honestly feel like asking my GP to put down in writing what I have said and post it, to prove it., she has said many times "Whatever you are doing keep on doing it" she has also said that she has some ladies in their 70s and 80 taking HRT. I have a feeling that these ladies had had complete hysterectomies.

It just goes to prove all women are different! I don't just don't do nothing, I look after my health always have and its paid off. I have taken a small amount of estrogen in the past and coming off it I have not fallen to bits in fact I feel so much better!

Before I joined and just read posts I remembered something that hurdity posted which shocked me and stuck in my mind and made me want to join, I don't want to get into any unpleasantness on this forum, just to hope that all points of views and experiences of menopause are respected.

Can't remember all the post just this   women turning into old men without HRT or words similar to that!   this is so wrong! and was such an insensitive remark.

[Conolly]

Hello tika,


Sometimes I don't understand why some HRT advocates are so passionate about it to the extent that they forget there are people who don't want/need to take it  I have certainly changed at the onset of perimenopause but I don't blame it all on hormones. Each ome of us has a personal life journey that shouldn't be reduced to a simplistic ‘lack of oestrogen' explanation. Hormones are powerful chemicals, they rule our lives in many aspects, no doubt about that. Women like you and me, who don't take HRT, won't turn into old men or old hags. We are what we are. No bloody hormones define who we are now and that somehow is quite empowering. Whatever suits you is the golden rule. 🤗


Conolly X

[Wilks]

Just to be clear, I said the RISKS of osteoporosis and heart disease are increased post-menopause because of loss of oestrogen. That does NOT mean that every post-menopausal woman who doesn't take HRT will develop either of those conditions, or have a shorter life expectancy, and that is not what I said.

(Similarly, smoking increases your risk of cancer but not everyone who smokes will get cancer.)

[Daisydot]

Hi Hasty i was very lucky to get a referral fir a dxa scan via my private meno consultant and between us we battled successfully to get it on the nhs it was hard work lol.
As far as I'm aware the gp has to justify it to a higher body before any referral and you have to have had 2 fractures.a history of oa in the family.have lost height and a few other stipulations to "qualify".You can have it done privately in London in some of the sports places with no referral needed,my son had it done it was to do with his keeping fit regime.

[Annie0710]

Some of my symptoms have passed like nausea, lead weight feeling  thighs, extreme headaches, a degree of dizziness has gone too, x

[CLKD]

Pre-dictive text!   Tnx Emma 

I think that girls who, in recent years, have had a lack of dairy in their diets are more likely to encounter heart and bone problems.  For various reasons many have cut out dairy which means a risk of problems sooner rather than later.

Every thing we do has a risk.  So I take real care when getting out of bed and have been known to fall off slippers  , usually when walking upstairs .....   certainly I am more clumsy these days.  When I had treatment for breast cancer I was asked whether I would change my diet after diagnosis, but why: anything nasty had been 'laid down' years previously so altering diet didn't seem worth the bother. 

I never smoked, never appealed to me.  Don't like alcohol.  But something will get me eventually I suppose  .  Apart from VA I haven't needed HRT as the symptoms weren't bad enough and didn't last, fortunately. 

[Wilks]

And I didn't say that women who don't take HRT will turn into fat old hags either!

There's no denying that some women struggle with menopause while others don't have a problem with it. I personally had several severe problems last year which I DO attribute to low oestrogen and low testosterone. That's my experience and I'm not suggesting that's the case for everyone.
Hope that clears things up?

[Dancinggirl]

I am 62 and have been 2 years without systemic HRT.  It would be easy, and far too simplistic, to say that all my health issues are related to oestrogen deficiency. The ageing process is going to happen and it's something we all have to face.  I make a big effort eat well and exercise sensibly - quality sleep eludes me these day but I practise Mindfulness a lot.  I have never smoked, I've never been truly overweight (when I stopped dancing professionally, I did gain over a stone but then I was 7.5 stone in my dancing years) and I have never drunk much alcohol.  When diagnosed with diverticulitis last year I was told I should have had a high fibre diet - I am a life vegetarian with probably too much fibre in my diet and constipation is something I have never had - it's normal for me to open my bowels 2-3 times a day - It's these comments that have made me loose faith in the medical profession and I come from a family filled with doctors, dentists and nurses!!!
 Continuing with HRT, IF ( and it's a big IF) its suits you and you can continue using it for the long term, then there can be benefits.  However, one must also take into account the side effects and risks once you get past 60. It's always going to be benefits versus side effects with HRT.

I am now relieved to not be tackling the many side effects that come with HRT - if I could just have a small amount of oestrogen, without progesterone, then I would seriously consider it but to be honest the benefits of HRT were being outweighed by the side effects for me.  I am using Vagifem local oestrogen and will use this for the rest of my life. 

My health issues are basically a compressed disc between L3-L4 and I doubt HRT would help this and my digestive system has gradually got worse and worse over recent years and I doubt that Oestrogen would truly help this either. I manage my VA and bladder issues quite well with local oestrogen and vaginal moisturisers and I doubt systemic HRT would improve things that much more.  Yes, my energy, sleep and stamina are declining but I think the many years of quite extreme stress are the cause of my problems and I really don't cope with stress so well any more.

My day time flushes are less now but I can't tolerate extreme cold or heat so well these days. I have to pace myself much more and I certainly couldn't hold down a full time job - even though the government feels we should all be working till 66!!!!

My mother had a premature meno, like me, but didn't use HRT. She is now 90 and is mentally and physically better than all her 4 children.  She gets very annoyed when we children are unwell - “we're being such a worry to her” and it's always our fault that we are unwell!!!!  She has stayed very slim but always walked a lot, took lots of holidays and expected her children to sort all her problems. In other words she is wonderfully self centred and I think this is the best way for a good old age.

How we age will be largely down to our genetics and lifestyle choices - heart disease, cancer, bone health etc. can be helped with lifestyle choices and HRT can probably be beneficial in many ways BUT essentially how ageing process affects us will vary greatly. 
What worries me is that we are the generation who will suffer because there aren't the people or resources to look after us as the inevitable ageing problems descend.  My husband and I are already making plans for our old age to hopefully ensure we have quality of life, leave our special needs son with some security and the government doesn't get hold of the little we have.  I am finding the forward planning quite rewarding - it's giving me hope for the future. I crave calm and security now, to enable us to have some fun along the way.  DG x