Menopause Discussion > Alternative Therapies
Anyone had early menopause and not used HRT?
honorsmum:
--- Quote from: Julesishappy on February 07, 2015, 10:46:35 PM ---Hi Brightlight. I found your post really interesting particularly what you said about adrenals. I'm 52 post menopause and reluctantly started hrt a few weeks ago mainly due to tiredness which impacted so negatively on my life. I eat well I exercise and I'd spent the past year trying alternatives without much success. It's not my thyroid causing the tiredness but I wondered about adrenals - do you have any info on this as I would be keen to read up?
Silver lady you mentioned you have low dose estrogen; are you able to advise what you take and do you have progesterone too?
Thank you 😊
I have posted somewhere about a you tube recording of Dr Annie someone that I found interesting. I emailed her website to ask the kind of question that you seemed to be asking originally Brightlight - if a woman doesn't have meno symptoms snd so doesn't take HRT are we to assume she will experience all the health problems noted in her recording. I've not had a reply.
My sister is 58 and was full meno at 46. She chose not to take hrt. I have a friend who is 48 with very early meno - no symptoms just no periods. She has hrt purely for the health benefits and plans to stop at 50.
We all try to make the best choice but it can be difficult! x
--- End quote ---
Very interesting question, thank you!
5 years ago, I had a 3 or 4 month course of steroids for Crohn's, and ridiculously wasn't advised that I needed to take calcium supplements while on it.
An x ray a couple of years later showed degenerative wear and tear on my hip, so I was sent for a bone density scan, which showed no concerns.
Recently, I asked my GP about testing for thyroid antibodies but she refused, saying that even if I showed high antibodies, she would not treat because of the risk of osteoporosis from the thyroid meds.
This is the same GP who refuses to acknowledge my peri symptoms, so therefore isn't prepared to give me HRT to prevent osteo!
BrightLight:
--- Quote from: Julesishappy on February 07, 2015, 10:46:35 PM ---Hi Brightlight. I found your post really interesting particularly what you said about adrenals. I'm 52 post menopause and reluctantly started hrt a few weeks ago mainly due to tiredness which impacted so negatively on my life. I eat well I exercise and I'd spent the past year trying alternatives without much success. It's not my thyroid causing the tiredness but I wondered about adrenals - do you have any info on this as I would be keen to read up?
Silver lady you mentioned you have low dose estrogen; are you able to advise what you take and do you have progesterone too?
Thank you 😊
I have posted somewhere about a you tube recording of Dr Annie someone that I found interesting. I emailed her website to ask the kind of question that you seemed to be asking originally Brightlight - if a woman doesn't have meno symptoms snd so doesn't take HRT are we to assume she will experience all the health problems noted in her recording. I've not had a reply.
My sister is 58 and was full meno at 46. She chose not to take hrt. I have a friend who is 48 with very early meno - no symptoms just no periods. She has hrt purely for the health benefits and plans to stop at 50.
We all try to make the best choice but it can be difficult! x
--- End quote ---
Hello :)
Adrenal stress isn't recognised in the medical world as such although when lifestyle, excercise and nutrition are talked about, these are the things that support the adrenals. It's basically an over taxing of our stress response and I liken it to over use of a muscle, over time if we continue the response in our bodies/minds we can tire the system. Many things can exhaust the adrenals - for me, it was overwork and life stressors like bereavement and work changes that have piled into my life over the years. Although diet and relaxing have a huge impact as well and when we are stressed we tend to neglect this as well - we run on adrenalin.
One approach is food and you might find this link interesting as a start to discover if you are 'exhausted' in this way https://www.womentowomen.com/adrenal-health-2/eating-to-support-your-adrenal-glands-2/
I'd really like to hear the answer you asked Dr Annie about symptoms v future health concerns. I am suspecting there isn't an answer. I say that because how can we logically determine that? We are all so different and so many factors are involved. I appreciate the detailed research and believe it, though I prefer to acknowledge that other factors also play a part. All research is based on a specific area, we need to bear that in mind when reading it. We may be looking deeply into one area when the area of concern that impacts more greatly on our health has been forgotten ;)
So for instance, heart disease has been proven to correlate with emotional well being, blood pressure responds to emotional/brain activity. I have been reading that osteoparosis may start much younger than menopause for other reasons. We all have to choose areas to address and just hope they all balance out somehow, we can't do it all. I sometimes get tangled up with medical stuff that 'promises' solutions to one issue and forget that really it's a broadbrush unless you choose to look at an individual.
If I take HRT, I think I will just take it and not expect too much as it were - it will either work or it won't and I won't know until the future, if at all. But I do still have a dilemma with the absolute assumption it will protect me and that this is the only way. It's hard actually. I know my 'real' health issues, or at least my weak points and at this point I am not too sure what impact or relevance the menopause has on those. If that makes sense...... for the last 2 weeks I have been 'scared' into the idea that early menopause means I have a future diagnosis that is certain - heart disease and osteo - I am choosing to hold fire on that assumption for the moment :)
BrightLight:
The other thing about the adrenal glands is that at menopause they take over or are at least a primary source of where hormones get made - so I guess if they are not supported well with rest and food etc they will be under even more strain and hormone production suffers
Hurdity:
Hi Brightlight
I've been busy over the weekend and just catching up - I made some points about hormones and the adrenals and the endocrine system on another thread but can't find it at the moment. :-\
Basically there was an important discussion about how all our endocrine glands age - and CLKD and I and others probably put up some relevant links, but it won't hurt to put them up on this thread too as it's relevant. This is one on ageing changes on hormone production: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/004000.htm ie as we age everything works less well - and of course menopause is an extreme example when our ovaries pack up comparatively rather suddenly.
As you say, it is understood that stress has a huge impact on our bodies both physically and mentally to which anxiety contributes. This list of symptoms for a start indicates how our body is affected:
http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/pages/understanding-panic.aspx and the sections on stress are quite good too:
http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/Pages/understanding-stress.aspx
http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/Pages/reduce-stress.aspx
These do focus on the whole individual rather than on one specific gland or area - so that individuals can benefit even without a full understanding of their body.
In terms of eating - we need to have as healthy a diet as we possibly can to support our entire physiology - and if the diet is balanced and unrefined etc, our bodies will work as they are meant to (other health conditions and lifestyle permitting).
I'm sure I've said this recently on another thread - so apologies if I'm repeating myself!
I think you are wise in your approach to HRT ie if you decide to take it - not to expect too much of it. Too often it can be thought of as a magic cure when the first and most important things any woman needs to do at this time is to take control of all aspects of health and lifestyle, including weight, exercise, diet, alcohol etc as well as stress and hormones!
Hurdity x
Hurdity:
--- Quote from: Julesishappy on February 07, 2015, 10:46:35 PM ---
I have posted somewhere about a you tube recording of Dr Annie someone that I found interesting. I emailed her website to ask the kind of question that you seemed to be asking originally Brightlight - if a woman doesn't have meno symptoms snd so doesn't take HRT are we to assume she will experience all the health problems noted in her recording. I've not had a reply.
--- End quote ---
Hi Julesshappy
I haven't seen the youtube so can't comment specifically on what the health problems are that she refers to and whether it is early menopause she is referring to. However no-one can say that we will categorically suffer from and particular health problems except that our bodies will gradually function less well as we age - but each will experience deterioration in their own way.
However you might be interested in this paper which Emma linked to for World Menopause Day - which was entitled "Prevention of Diseases After Menopause" which gives a summary of the research so far looking at general lifestyle as well as hormone therapy - and their impact on diseases and conditions which women suffer or are susceptible to after menopause.
http://www.imsociety.org/downloads/world_menopause_day_2014/white_paper/wmd_white_paper_english.pdf
The way all of this works is through studies that give likelihood and risk eg of a condition or illness, and where trials have shown that a particular treatment has reduced the incidence of whatever condition or disease. It is never all or nothing.
It is then up to the experts to decide whether a particular treatment is recommended. If say - (hypothetical example) only 5 % of women would develop severe osteoporosis if they didn't take HRT up until the age of menopause, then few would be persuaded. If the figure was 50 % then most would decide to take it. Do you see what I mean?
The thing is we don't want to do the experiment on ourselves ie "Let's see what happens if we don't take it" and then find out our health has deteriorated. Similarly "Let's see what happens if we do take it" and then develop something that could have been caused by the HRT. We use the statistics and trials to make a judgement - and we try to trust the specialists to help us in this choice - most of us on here of course are reading up about it so that we are as well informed as we can be.
Bit of a ramble again but hope I have explained OK?
BrightLight - what a pity you have been scared into this idea so early on your journey - when you might not have reached menopause anyway, and your menopause may turn out to be a couple of years away yet. At least you are doing lots of reading :)
Hurdity x
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version