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[Lesley-M]

Hi everyone
I'm a newbie here,only joined a couple of days ago but have found some really interesting and useful posts already.
I am 48 years old and had a hysterectomy at the age of 30 but still have my ovaries. I have recently started on Climival 1mg after being told by my GP that i am peri menopausal. I actually had my bloods tested to see if i was starting the menopause after reading on the internet about "menopausal frozen shoulder". Earlier this year i started with lower back pain but put this down to my job,i'm a care assistant,and then i developed a frozen shoulder. I saw a male GP who told me i'd got a frozen shoulder and basically told me to go and read up about it on the internet. I came across a story about "menopausal frozen shoulder " and how HRT had worked wonders for women "of a certain age" suffering with this. I went back to the surgery to see a female GP thinking this was the answer to my prayers and basically she said she'd never heard of it and started to give me a lecture on the risks of HRT. She did arrange for my bloods to be tested though and the results came back that i was perimenopausal. I came out of the surgery in floods of tears and then went through a period of crying everywhere i went,so much so that i couldn't go anywhere for fear of breaking down crying. Around this time my sleep problems started and the GP eventually put me on Sertraline and Amytriptiline(for the pain). The amytriptiline did help slightly with sleep at first but then the flushes and sweats have started and thats when she put me on Climival. I have been on it for just over a week and my sex drive is starting to come back but as yet there is no improvement in the sweats and my memory seems to have gone gaga. I have to go back to see the GP in a couple of weeks and i am thinking of asking her if i can have patches instead as i have heard that they don't seem to make you put weight on like the tablets,i've already gained so much weight due to the amytriptiline.
Any advice would be appreciated xxx

[andius]

Welcome Lesley-M:

What you have been experiencing sounds like you certainly have some menopausal type symptoms.

I understand your concern about the amytriptiline as I was prescribed it for pain at one time and immediately started gaining weight.  After 1 month I told them no more.

I hope you and your GP can come to a consensus for an HRT that you feel comfortable with.
Luckily you don't have to take the progesterone since you have had a hysterectomy. If she is already willing to give you HRT, then she likely will be willing to change you to a different one.  Be sure and read up on what you are interested in getting.

Andius

 

[Dancinggirl]

Hi Lesley-M
You've only been on your HRT a short time - it may take time to kick in. At 48 you are still young to be without oestrogen - what a shame your GP was rather negative about it - they do have to cover their backs about the risks though.  Some may consider you lucky, as without a uterus you can just take oestrogen (as you are doing ) and not have to cope with the, often difficult, side effects of progesterone. HRT shouldn't actually make you put on weight - I find I just retain a bit more fluid - but everyone is different. Feeling tired and depressed makes me eat more comfort food and then I gain weight.
RE: your frozen shoulder: I am an ex professional dancer so really used to managing injuries etc. and have often had frozen shoulders and necks. I find GPs are pretty useless about this sort of thing and just prescribe painkillers. Like so many things, you need to find an underlying cause if possible and correct it. 
How is your posture? Are you doing a certain action repeatedly - could you be suffering from a RSI?  Do you use a shoulder bag? Is your bed mattress wrong for you - too soft/too hard/ just old and sunken? Does your pillow support you neck properly? Are you in a draught anywhere?   Look at all these things and see if anything can be corrected. This could help you sleep better as well!!!???
If you can afford to see a physiotherapist or osteopath, they will give you treatment and advice which can be great.  Do ask for recommendations about who to see.
I'd persevere with the HRT you have been given for a couple of months and then move to a patch or Oestrogel if your are not happy.  By the way -I found I started to sleep better after a couple of weeks taking HRT.
Good Luck  DG x

[Rowan]

One more thing I would like to add to Dancingirls advice regarding a frozen shoulder and neck pain, though my problem was lower back and hip, after going through all the NHS had to offer and now a pain management appointment, what I found that helped combined with the Osteopath treatment was buying a memory foam egg box mattress topper.

I could not believe that such a simple thing would make such a difference but it has.