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[Sula maye]

Hi, what I don't understand about HRT is that if menopausal symptoms are in effect a withdrawal from oestrogen then however long you are on HRT surely as soon as you come off it you are back where you started and your body will start having the same symptoms as your body aclimistises to the oestrogen lack once more. If this isn't the case then please tell me??? I heard the doctor on Woman's hour saying something about using HRT to get over the symptoms, but how many times does that actually work? How many of you have used HRT and then when you've stopped you are back at square one? If that's the case then unless you intend to be on it for ever then what is the point? Please help clarify this for me if you can. Thanks

[Sarah2]

From what I have read, it's 50-50- some women find their symptoms return after stopping, others find they don't. The friends I know who have stopped - a couple after 10 years on HRT- said their symptoms came back but not so badly and stopped quite soon- maybe in a few months.

The other thing is that HRT does not restore your hormone levels to pre meno  levels- they are lower- so your body is adjusting a little anyway even on HRT.

There are also other long term benefits to HRT- some evidence is saying that after a few years of HRT you reduce your risk of heart disease by 50%, colon cancer risk is reduced and bone density is better. They used to believe that bone density fell off again quickly on stopping but some new research showed otherwise.

So I think you have to consider the medium and long term benefits not just the relief of flushes etc.

[Dancinggirl]

Hi Sula maye
HRT is not delaying the inevitable, it helps to give you quality of life and protects your heart and bones for longer. We are all different and experience menopause differently - some lucky women sail through with barely a hot flush.  The transition through peri and post meno can take many, many years and some experience debilitating symptoms that greatly effect their quality of life and LIFE IS SHORT. There are soooo many factors that have to be considered - life stresses, type of work we do, general health, relationship issues etc.  The pressures of modern day life - we are the in-betweeners coping with elderly relatives and adult children that still need the bank of mum and dad, not to mention the fact that we have to work till we're at least 66 now!!!
To keep on top of all this HRT is, for many, not a choice but essential to enable us to cope.
Withdrawing from HRT can be difficult but many women start to reduce their dosage slowly over months or even years.
My first attempt at coming off HRT was at 49 when all the scares about HRT were in the news but at that time I was clearly not ready.  Life was very 'full on' at the time and highly stressful so I really struggled with flushes etc. so eventual went back on HRT.  I'm now 57 and taking another break - I've chosen a calmer stage in my life and I'm finding the symptoms are not nearly so bad.  My body seems to have adjusted much better this time however I wasn't on a very high dose before I came off the HRT anyway. Having said this, I will have a bone density scan in a few months and if my bones are not good and the local oestrogen I am using doesn't help my vaginal atrophy I will certainly be going back on HRT but maybe on a lower dose.
I know a lady in her mid 80s and she is still on HRT - she is absolutely amazing.
I hope we will see a time that hormone level checks will be regularly done and hormone replacement will be prescribed as a preventative for many age related problems e.g. osteoporosis.
This is just my view - hopefully others will be along soon with their thoughts.  DG x

[mamakaren]

Well said Dancinggirl! I totally agree. Our bodies go through a lot and quality of life is important to our well being! How can we live a good life if we are feeling bad all the time?

[Sula maye]

Why have you both responded as if I am dissing HRT and have no experience of menopause myself? I was attacking anyone, but I certainly feel rather attacked now!

I was asking a sensible question because I wanted people's experiences of coming off it. Having suffered for 8 years and wondering when my menopause will end, and having used HRT for a year only to find it all started up again once off it, and being 57 myself and having an old person, a sick partner and an 8 year old to care for, I am not an alien to the challenges of menopause - I was asking for both medical and personal truths. I'm glad it works for you, I'd hate to be on HRT for ever myself, but that's my choice - but I found the response that its 50-50 really helpful and it was that kind of info I was looking for.

[mamakaren]

I'm sorry if you feel attacked Sula Maye! That was certainly not my intention!!!!! I know decisions about HRT are a personal choice that many of us struggle with constantly! There is so much information on it and I know that I am often overwhelmed! I am 39 and am currently trying to find HRT that works for me. Your question was a great one!

[Sula maye]

Thanks for that Mamakaren I appreciate it. Hope you find a solution - in my experience bodies are a real pain in the ***** sometimes I wish I didn't need one!

[Taz2]

I don't think anyone was attacking you. It was not clear from your post that you had tried HRT already and the posts were giving a point of view.

I used HRT for six years from the age of 53 to 59 and am off it at the moment as my GP is one of the ones who think that 60 should be the cut off date. My symptoms have returned over the past four months until they are not exactly at the level they were when I first started HRT. However I have had six good years whereas a friend of mine who is the same age didn't go down the HRT route and is still suffering but without the benefit of having six good years. I am going to see my doc tomorrow and ask to restart HRT and get my life back!

There is no way of knowing when menopause will end and if we look at it logically it never ends. Once you are in menopause you are in menopause - periods don't return. Oestrogen doesn't magically spark up again and vaginal dryness doesn't miraculously disappear after a few  years. As Dr Currie (founder of this site) said yesterday on Radio 4 guidelines used to say that symptoms would last around two to three years after the last period but now it has been revised to read up to ten years and maybe more.

Taz 

[Sarah2]

Sula- I think it's one of those things that is so individual. I know 3 women who took it for a long time and had to re-adjust after stopping long term HRT- 10 years.

I  know another woman- friend of a close friend- who is now early 70s- and stopped for 6 months but her symptoms came back and she has gone back on it.  My own consultant says that for some women there is no reason why they cannot take it for life is they are happy to take on board the risks- he says there are risk taking it ( but small and it's safer than we thought 10 years ago) and risks not taking it ( heart disease, osteoporosis, bowel cancer...) so it's a woman's choice unless there are very strong reasons in her medical history not to take it long term.

I hope this helps. I think it's a case of working out what works for you at each stage of your life.

Sarah x

[Sula maye]

Thanks Taz2 and sarah2 for the info shared. It was the lecture on what the menopause is like and women's lives that felt unnecessary and made me feel a bit under attack.

[mamakaren]

No worries! I am trying HRT and of course I have worried about all the negative things I have heard about it!    But in the end I decided to give it a try because I have felt miserable! It hasn't helped me yet but I'm determined to find something that helps me! Good luck Sula Maye! I wish there was a clear choice! Our bodies are a pain in the rear sometimes! I have certainly wanted to trade mine in for a younger model sometimes!

Karen

[bramble]

Sula Maye,
I was on HRT for 5/6 years and stopped it on my doctor's advice about 2 years ago. I stopped it gradually and my symptoms have not returned. It took a few months for my sleep pattern to get back to normal. The biggest difference I have seen has been in the lack of energy since I stopped. Maybe I have been one of the lucky ones.

Bramble

[oldsheep]

I hate tickbox doctors ie you've been on it 10 years, you're 60, you have to stop HRT 
I've found meno clinics and consultants are more rational about it. I suppose it's their field, whereas it certainly isn't for GPs but I do wonder if there's a NICE guideline somewhere that says no more payments for HRT prescriptions for women over 59?

I had a terrible time with hormones. On the old high dose pill at 11 yrs old as I was bleeding so much every month I was terribly anaemic. Then I had a horrendous menopause, pre HRT. I'm pretty sure I won't be asymptomatic when I do stop...friends of mine have just ridden out the menopause for a year or so and been fine, no HRT. They are all the ones who had very light periods when they were younger (I knew them at school).
It's a very fair question but like everything (or everything 'should' be) it's a risk-benefit thing.

[Joyce]

Everyone is different. I took a break a few years back - cold turkey. Not a good idea. GP pointed me in direction of this brilliant website. Ladies on here give their experiences hoping to help others. I'm currently cutting back on my oestrogen in the hope I can come off it somewhere down the line. I have a friend who had her mirena removed 3 years back and she's been fine, no flushes or sweats.  Another friend in her 60s is still suffering.  After my break, I decided quality of life was most important.  I don't regret it either. How I fair on reduced levels this time round remains to be seen. Getting odd flush, but not as bad as previously.

[Dancinggirl]

Hi Sula maye - I am really, really sorry you interpreted my post as an attack - that was certainly not my intention - I merely wanted to give my viewpoint & experiences in the hope it answered your question.  I gave such a comprehensive reply because I, quite wrongly, assumed you were questioning the need to take HRT as a treatment.  Unfortunately too many of us have experienced the attitude that we women should do things 'the natural way' regardless of how we feel.  As you rightly say, it is a very personal choice and everyone should follow their own path.
Anyway, sorry if I expressed things in the wrong way. I think many of us on this site take the view "live for today and let tomorrow take care of itself".
Best wishes  DG x