Print

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

[jeannie960]

Hi
I've very recently started to show high blood pressure readings 166 or 170/80 odds.  I've been using a decent monitor.  I used to be too low! 100/50 etc until about 2 years ago.   I had a total hysterectomy 23 years ago and have been on Zumenon (oestrogen only) since.  I never had any problems with it and initially was on 2mg and I got it cut to 1mg years ago.  Anyway I'm 60 in a couple of weeks and I'm thinking that perhaps it's time to stop taking my HRT.  The high blood pressure has made me scared to continue. I'm going to phone the nurse on Monday to ask for a chat but I'm worried that having taken my HRT for 23 years I may have done myself some damage.  It will probably be stopped anyway when the GP finds out that I have high blood pressure. I have another thing that's surfaced and likely unrelated.  A small mass below the right groin on the top of my thigh.  Gp doesn't know what it is and has referred me for a scan.  So many things to worry about in a time that we can barely get to actually see or speak to someone with some expertise.  Think I just needed to come on here and vent as sitting worrying about it doesn't help.

[Uptick]

Hi jeannie, I have exactly the same thing! High BP out of the blue and this mass, mine is a pea sized lump, but it doesn't move, so it's not lipoma. Have your skin changed colour? Mine is purplish. Oh and my tongue has a smooth red patch surrounded by white stuff, dentist said it's called Median Rhomboid Glossitis, and it's caused by chronic thrush! I've never been diagnosed with thrush before!

[jeannie960]

Hi

No the mass at the top of my thigh is a lot bigger than a pea.  It's firm to touch and not painful or discoloured.  I only notice it when I stand up and even then I have to put my hand over it. I noticed it in the shower.  It's at the very top of the inner right thigh just opposite the groin.  I don't know if it's in any way connected but the high blood pressure is concerning to say the least.  I'm not massively overweight although like most folk I could lose a stone.  I don't smoke or drink.  I still work which might be a factor.  It might just be that women of my age get high blood pressure and maybe age is catching up with me.  I don't know but I feel like I will be saying goodbye to a good friend when I stop taking my HRT.  I have to face facts that something has changed.  I don't know that my nurse/Gp will have all the answers as very often we do more research than they do. You need to see about your lump and I can't emphasise that enough.  When you have something like that your doctor needs to be informed.  I went straight to mine that day and I've been referred for an ultrasound scan.  You need to do the same if you haven't already. I have no idea about the thrush problem but I hope your problems get resolved. x

[Taz2]

Hi Jeanie. Could the lump be a hernia? This is especially likely if it flattens out or disappears completely when you lie down. There are two types you can get. It's good that you've been referred for a scan to get it checked out.

With the blood pressure problem then HRT can usually be continued if the blood pressure is controlled but tablet HRT is not recommended over 60 and you should be changed over to patches or gel to minimise the risk of stroke. The advice now is that it is not necessary to stop HRT at 60 as long as there are no relevant health problems. I hope your GP is knowledgeable on prescribing HRT in older women. Let us know how you get on.

Taz x

[Uptick]

Hi jeanie, thanks, lump is shrinking, so I think it could have been something like folliculitis or a varicose vein? I have stopped shaving so let's see if it doesn't come back. Anxiety can trick the mind! How are you? I agree with Taz2, it sounds like a hernia and transdermal hormones are much better than oral for BP. My own experience (have just been investigated for high BP) is that breathing properly has a huge effect on BP. I often forget to breath, it should be an unconscious thing, but with anxiety and stress, I can stop breathing without noticing. I'm trying to stop whatever I'm doing from time to time to focus on my breathing. It's working, BP is back to normal.