This is a very interesting discussion. By the way Sula maye, having read my way through a great deal of this forum, I don't think anyone ever means to be aggressive; there is always the potential for misunderstandings on forum posts. It is no real substitute for hearing a person speaking to you. Print cannot always convey the sentiment behind the words!
My experience has been that the women here are supportive. All we can do is share our personal experiences and thoughts. If only the menopause had some consistency how it manifests itself, but it is a different experience for every one of us! I think that is why having a place to share all those different experiences is a fantastically informative, but at the same time annoying, because there is no “one size fits all†experience of going through the different stages of and being menopausal !
Whether to take HRT is such a personal thing. I had early menopause and was put on HRT by my GP on his recommendation - for the long term protection of bones, heart etc. He thought the benefits outweighed the “risksâ€. In my ignorance I thought this was the norm for GP's, but it seems not. Here is my experience and take on things.
At that time I had no real symptoms apart from very irregular periods (they were always erratic anyway). Long story short after various tests and procedures my GP did a blood test and announced I was menopausal and said go on HRT! It seems that I had it easy as so many women seem to have to fight to get HRT. I was ignorant about all things menopause (no mother or close female relatives to talk to about it). So I followed the advice of my GP and went on HRT. I did not realise then that this was delaying the symptoms, up to that point I had never experienced a hot flush or night sweat.
Fast forward to 2010 when I came off HRT cold turkey (for various reasons). Wow did I know it. I had daytime flushes and was just hot to the point of feeling sick most of the night very night. I did not (and still do not) have night sweats that soak the sheets and come on suddenly and then subside after a few minutes. Mine just go on and on BUT I don't sweat as much as the feeling of a furnace inside me seems to warrant! I don't know what is worse, but I do know that I haven't slept under a duvet for over three years, a sheet and cotton blanket was my limit. But now if it is really cold I use a 2 tog silk duvet. I lasted just over a year without HRT and after that I went back on low dose HRT.
So to fast forward again to how things are now. I have been on low dose HRT for about two years and all that time I have had night time prolonged hot flashes (one hour flash then and 15 mins “off†and then an hour on!) . I get no daytime flushes. Over the last year I find that sometimes the night time ones don't get bad until about 04.00 am. Over last summer the flashes seemed to be reducing i.e. getting less frequent, less long lasting and less “HOTâ€.
I figured that sticking it out on the low dose would mean that gradually my levels would go down and I would be aware that this was happening so I could start to reduce HRT without a sudden /shock return of my symptoms.
So last year I decided to start to reduce, in Dec I got down to one tablet every other night. Unfortunately after a month on the “one very other day†regime the night time symptoms came back (but daytimes were OK). So because I had several really bad nights I went back to the one HRT tablet a night dose and things seem to be settling back down.
I believe that I need to reduce very slowly (very by which I mean over a 12 month period).
My personal experience has been that an abrupt cold turkey stop of HRT is not good, my hormone levels seemed to go into a shock like state. Although I am very disappointed that my symptoms came back when I reduced at the end of last year over a 6 week period, I will try again but slowly.
I have come to the conclusion that my hormones fluctuate a lot all the time anyway, but I do think that over the last 2 years on the low dose HRT (which I needed to enable me to function day to day) my symptoms have gradually reduced over this time. So I am really hoping that if I very very gradually reduce the dose again the symptoms will also gradually reduce so I can come off HRT without too much “painâ€. This is what my Gynaecologist said should happen. And this has happened in that my symptoms have lessened over the last two years and when I did reduce last year I did not get any day time symptoms. My Gynaecologist was sure I would be able to titrate down to nil, but he seemed happy for me to stay on HRT in the long term. He told me that he had one patient who managed on one tablet a week. I would like to get off HRT if I can. But if I cannot then I will stay on this low dose for as long as I need.
My experience has been that HRT does not necessarily delay the inevitable, it can help the inevitable be a lot less severe (to the point where some women have a very poor quality of life) than it might be without taking HRT.
I hope this long diatribe helps someone!
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Topic: doesn't HRT just prolongue the inevitable?? (Read 26618 times)