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[Deeble]

Hi - just wondering if anyone out there stopped hrt in recent months and if so how they're getting on?
I was on a low dose, femoston conti, since late 2015. After a scan and hysteroscopy early January(investigations triggered by some random spotting) I decided to see how I got on without the hrt. I had been told to stop using hrt prior to the hysteroscopy and biopsies, so it seemed as good a time as any to keep going without it and see how I got on. Biopsies turned out to be all ok!!!!
So, six weeks on I'm just getting a bit easily irritated, grumpy, bit gloomy and generally lacking in optimism. However, the impact of covid on all our lives and ongoing worries relating to some other family issues that I'm facing could easily account for that...
Low mood, high anxiety were my worst meno symptoms so I'm definitely on the look out for all that flaring up again! But, my energy is better and I feel more 'me' - even if that me is a bit of a weepy misery on and off in the last 10 days. I feel as if I'm riding the storm and hope hormones will even out and mood lift and settle over the next few weeks.
Still using Vagifem plus Sylk and now also Olive and Bee as moisturisers. No negative impact in the  nether regions since stopping hrt.
Would be very interested to hear how others may be getting on if coming off hrt.
Thanks for reading! X

[Nas]

I have been contemplating coming off HRT but the flushes would be too much to bare! The longest I’ve been off HRT is a few days. I’m post menopausal so have no faith that the hormone will settle any time soon, if ever!

Good luck.

[Deeble]

Thanks Blitzen5 - it's good to hear other people's experiences.
I'm post menopausal  too.
I'm getting  some random night sweats but was never really too bad for hot flushes.
Mood is the thing with me really - and energy. My energy is better but my mood and particularly my optimism are on a bit of a wobble.
I'm holding out for now and plan to give it the 12 weeks to see what's levelled out and what hasn't - I'm halfway through!
Going out now to buy chocolate - dark of course! I think it will help!!
X

[gillgrant]

Hi I stopped hrt 10 weeks ago. Elleste Duet and then Femosten for 7 years. The worst symptom for me since stopping is awful night sweats especially in my face and really bad insomnia. I had the emotional stage and cried at anything. Im determined to see it through abit longer but if the night sweats don’t settle I will be bk to see dr.

[KarineT]

Hello,

HRT or not the body has to settle at some point. The menopause is permanent but why should the symptoms persist, say, beuond 3 years and more in postmeno? The body might have relied on oestrogen for 30 odd years and this could be the reason why so many of us struggle when this hormone and progesterone decline.  But I can't imagine the body will never adjust to a lower level of these two hormones.  I can't bear thinking that I will have hormonal problems for the rest of my life and I'm really hoping that everything will settle down eventually.

[Deeble]

Hi:
gillgrant I hope the night sweats settle - I've been getting night sweats but not too badly so I think that's something  I can endure for now. I'd feel differently if I couldn't sleep - insomnia makes everything so hard I hope you are able to get a night's sleep soon. I've used valerian night time tea in the past but it doesn't  seem  to be as strong as it used to be ..
KarineT:
I really hope these hormones do settle and don't take too long to do so. Have you used hrt? I feel I'm riding the final storm now (hopefully) and have to believe hormones will eventually calm down.
My Mum used hrt till she was mid/late 70s. A change of house and gp forced her off hrt ... She didn't do well at all when the hormones were abruptly taken away - and the symptoms got mixed up with age-related and other health issues. Looking back it must have been very hard on her.
I think if I'm going to transition to not using hrt then now's a good time to do it and like you I'm banking on it all settling down eventually!

[KarineT]

Hi Deeble,

I've never used HRT and I do hope that I won't have to.

I am just over 12 months in postmenopause and I sometimes worry that my symptoms will get worse.  Some ladies on here have mentioned that their symptoms were getting worse despite not having had a period for at least 3 years.  It's terrible.  If anything, one would have thought that the symptoms should improve if they were troublesome perimenopause and not get worse.

[Becr]

Hi Deeble,

I came off mine at the start of the year and stopped suddenly. I was on sequential estrogel and utrogestan. I was on only 1 pump of estrogel and I wonder if I am post meno as in not peri and that the low dose was just too low. I tried different HRTs over two years but never felt that good and on the gel and utro I was gaining weight month on month. Since stopping I have started to lose weight and feel better in myself. I feel as you say "more me". Not happier but less irritable, more level in mood. No period for over 6 months now even on Sequential. A few light flushes, more feeling hot all of a sudden and then it passes. I also had a few cold flushes at night but these have stopped now.

My sleep has started to become problematic again. I wake at 3am most nights, get up, have a cuppa and bumble about for a bit then go back to bed and fall asleep about 5am for a little bit. I also have recently noticed bad bloating and wind (eek) but got some probiotics today and within an hour stomach settled down.

So far I feel that being on it was no better than off so will stay off but things might get worse. If I become too melancholy then I will have to rethink. I do think that I have adjusted to being a different person since menopause.

[Kathleen]

Hello Deeble.

I am post meno by ten years and only started HRT three years after my last period due to increasing symptoms.
 
One of my first post meno problems were headaches but they resolved after about six months so when other symptoms began I assumed that they too would fade away after six months. When this didn't happen I asked for  HRT. I tried various regimes for six years and then in July 2019 I decided to try managing without it. At first I felt about the same , certainly no better and no worse and we were in Lockdown so seeing a GP was difficult. Eventually my mood became very low and I cried constantly so now I am trying HRT once again.

My advice to you is to keep your situation under review and discuss your progress with your GP as often as you can. There are no guarantees that settled hormones equals a decent quality of life ( you could be living  the next twenty to thirty years in misery).

Hopefully you will do well without HRT and please let us know how you get on.

Take care.

K.

[Deeble]

Hi Becr
I feel I know what you mean - about adjusting to being a different person after menopause...
I had an improved day today if that's helpful to know - I had a long walk that I didn't really want to go on!  But, I felt much better walking and every now and then I noticed that I was feeling a bit better and more 'me', not in a difficult place emotionally. So that felt like real progress, noticing a different and better mood.
Hope your sleep improves. I read recently organic cocoa powder is a good source of magnesium so a milky cocoa might be worth a try at bedtime? Wishing you all the best. D x

[Deeble]

Hi
Thanks for sharing your experience Kathleen. It's really helpful to be able to compare with others and makes it all less of a muddle
I had been thinking of calling  my gp to review everything since the biopsies in Jan. and my deciding to keep going off the hrt. With covid etc I have felt I should wait but maybe I should just call and have a chat. Then if I need some help further down the line it won't come as too much of a surprise to her!

[Becr]

Take care Deeble and glad you had a better day today. I think as Kathleen says it is an evolving picture and I may well try HRT again down the line. x

[Winter]

This is interesting, and it's so hard to know what is life, and what is withdrawal from HRT.

Not exactly the same, but I took one week's worth of Femoston last month, I felt terrible, so had to stop. Since then, I had a very heavy and painful period, followed by a painful ovulation. I have awful PMT this month too. Could one week of pills really have this much affect on my cycle one month on??

[Deeble]

Hi Winter
You're so right ... working out what is life vs what is hrt withdrawal!
Re your question - In my own experience I stopped hrt for a week a couple of years ago (to see how I got on). I didn't do well - very wobbly, anxious, tearful. A kind locum saw me and reassured me that changing things for a week might take a while to come right - it took me nearly 3 weeks after restarting hrt at that time to feel I was back on track. So I could well imagine you might be still affected one month on after your week's worth of Femoston. Hope it's settled down soon.