Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Hot2Trot]

There is a lot of information on the internet about the different forms of HRT which you could read up to have some awareness of options, but only your own treating doctor can recommend treatment for you as this has to be based on your own personal circumstances.

There is some good information on this site if you look at the section called "What is HRT" on the left hand side menu.

[Cazikins]

I have only been taking HRT for just over 3 weeks. I was very reluctant to do so but got desperate with the lack of concentration & being unable to stay focussed - this led to bouts of uncontrolable crying & generally feeling run down & tired. I was having trouble sleeping, hot flushes & no energy to do anything, barely managing to get through a days work.
I noticed very little change in the 1st week but toward the end of the 2nd week noticed that I had more energy then I had done in months. Housework started to get done properly & not just a flip round with the duster. This week work was not such an uphill struggle & almost a pleasure again. I am sleeping better too. So yes in some ways they have helped to give me back a bit of my old life & I feel a bit more in control again.
On the downside I feel as fat as a pig, My stomach has blown up like a balloon & I am struggling to get into my clothes. I still get the flushes but not too bad mainly at night.
I shall continue with them for another 2 months & hopefully it will work out ok for me.
Cazikins

[Hotflush]

Hey Cazkins, you need to give them a bit longer. The next time i am at the docs when i need some more i might try some other type but i am reluctant to.  I would like to try to come off them for a while at least but i am worried it would be disruptive to me.  Hope you get some good improvement. x

[Libby Babe]

I should maybe have given mine a bit longer but my doc seemed to think that the side effects could have gone on for quite a bit longer and I couldn't stand the way my legs were feeling.  Maybe I will go back and see her in a few weeks and think about trying another type as I was getting a lot of improvement with my energy levels and I felt so much better in myself. 
Libby

[Cazikins]

Hi Hotflush if I continue with them for too long I can not imagine how big & bloated my tummy will be - maybe it will settle down again soon.

[suemumof2teens]

Hi all

I had a Total Hsyteramomy 2 year in July.  After it I was put staight onto Livial because of Endo and Fibriods was found and removed.  Through I managed to stay on this for 3 months then started with bad headaches so Dr changed it to another HRT, from then on I tried lots of diffrent HRT methrods all gave me headaches, mood swings and a feeling of unwell. So last November I made the descion to not to take HRT any more, and to go through the Menopause now at 41, I try to eat healthy food, plenty of milk, fruit( when I can rember) . I find I feeling not as unwell as when I was on HRT, I put up with the Hot Flashes ( with help of battery fan and water spray), so far sleeping ok and moods r ok, have found i'm getting a little bladder weakness and a bit of Vaginal dryness, but find at the moment I can cope, it when I'm at work I find the hard to cope cant use the fan and water spray when I want.


I know I should be on HRT because of bones, but my life was not good on it.


God Bless Sue

[quinnie]

help help ive been taking elleste duet for amonth after much soul searching everything seemed fine flushes reduced sleeping better mood swings improving slightly! in a month ive had three periods 2 smallish and one normal is this normal im trying to decide if i shud carry on taking them any afdvice anyone thanx

[juju]

Hi quinnie!I am on hrt that doesnt cause bleeds but it has taken about 7 month for it not to cause bleeds!I kept having bleeds when I shouldnt and considering its almost 3 year since I had a period,it wasnt right!Its all settled doen now.Now I dont know about the type that gives you a bleed and you are going to have to speak to your gp about it,but at a guess I would think its the same type of thing and your body has to adjust to the hormones its being given.You have had relief from some of your symptoms so please talk to gp...mine will chat on the phone.Let us know how you go on xx

[Cazikins]

Hi Quinnie, I suggest you speak to your doctor as Juju says. Tell him/her your concerns.
You have had relief with flushes, sleep & mood swings & that is good yes? but you are getting irregular periods which is not so good. See what you doctor says about it & then weigh up the + & -  & make your choice.
I have been on HRT for a month & have felt the benefits but also the side affects but have decided that in general I have a better quality of life. We are all different & have to make decissions as to what suits us best.
Not much help I know but good luck anyway.
Cazikins xx

[Hot2Trot]

I know I should be on HRT because of bones, but my life was not good on it.

Have you discussed this with your GP?  HRT is only a second line of defence for bones and should not be given for that reason alone. If there are no other indicators for taking HRT then there are (allegedly) other products you can take which will give you the protection you need. 

If I do not continue with the HRT then I too will have to go down another route for protecting my bones as well as eating a healthy diet.  My doctor has not said what, and I haven't looked into it yet.

[Ana48]

Help, I don't know what to do!!!   Last Friday I went to see my Gynae.  He gave me the results of my D&C.  He said everything looked healthy, except that the lining of the womb is inactive which goes to show that I'm menopausal.  He suggested I take HRT (Prempak), although it could have some risks, but that everything in life comes with risks.  I told him I was a bit apprehensive because my grandmother on my mother's side died of breast cancer and my first cousin also on my mother's side has just been through breast cancer.  I have been going thru' a lot of anxiety, some depression; sometimes I'm also weepy, etc.  My friend has been taking Prempak for 18 years now and she said her life changed, but I still don't know what to do.  What are your thoughts?

If I decide not to take HRT, do you know of a good effective anti-depressant that might help whilst I go thru' this.

I eagerly await your replies.  Thanks!

[Hot2Trot]

Despite my misgivings, I would certainly prefer to be taking HRT than anti-depressants.  You do have higher risk factors than I do, but have you actually looked up what the statistical increase in breast cancer figures actually is?  There are some details here http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/diseases/facts/menopause.htm

I found it a difficult decision without having any added risk factors, but now I have started it, I realise that although I thought I was okay, it has had positive benefits.  My husband has remarked a few times this weekend how much better I am sleeping and how nice it is to wake in the morning and actually find me still in bed.  The hot flushes, which I hadn't really thought of as troublesome, have stopped completely and I am less heat intolerant (this was a major problem but one I thought I was simply stuck with). 

I have had a few side effects, the worst being nausea, but this all seems to have settled down now.

I was only give two months supply with no indication of what happens next.  My sleeping and ability to get to sleep was zero and I was hyperactive, which was why I was prescribed it in the first place.  I will have to go back to my doctor and discuss what happens next but my intention would be to continue for a bit longer at least.  As I am under 50, there are firm indications for me remaining on HRT for at least another three years.

Ultimately the decision is yours and you are very wise to consider your family history but anti-depressants may not be the answer either.  I think your gynae was rather insensitive to say what he did and I wonder whether your have a supportive GP that you could discuss it with before making a decision.

[Taz2]

Hi Ana - sorry that you are having this dilemma. Can we swap doctors though - I am having to  mine to get even a "sniff" at anything HRT like  I have taken antid-s and they make me feel so ill that HRT would be my choice straightaway 

With regards breast cancer risk there is good information on this site too http://www.breakthrough.org.uk/about_breast_cancer/index.html  just click on Risk Factors. I seem to be at as much risk from the glass of wine I have each evening as from HRT 

Hope that you are feeling not too bad today 

H2T - thanks for posting all the info on your experiences of HRT - it is helpful - and I think that what you say about not realising quite how much you did need it until you started to feel better in other ways is true for a lot of us. By the way, my 11.45 hot sweat didnt arrive last tuesday and I havent had one since, although up till then they were happening every 20 minutes. I can only think that a period is on the way     

Love Taz x 

[Ana48]

Hi Hot2Trot!   Thanks for your reply, and for the link - it was very encouraging!  I think you're a very brave lady.  I admire you for making the decision to take HRT, but it still scares me knowing that there's breast cancer in my family.  Like I've already mentioned, my friend has been taking HRT (Prempak) for 18 years now and her life changed, but there's no cancer in her family.  I will go and see my GP next week and I'll see what she recommends.  Thanks again for your help and reply!

Lots of love,
Ana

[Ana48]

Hi Taz!

Thanks too for your reply and for the link - I still have to study it.  I found that my Gynae was quite helpful and at the end he left the decision to me.  As I've already told Hot2Trot, HRT still scares me.  In Gibraltar, there's a very high incidence of cancer perhaps due to the amount of pollution, etc and I think, on the whole, women are very wary of taking HRT.  Thanks again for your advice and concern!

Lots of love,
Ana