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[Wrensong]

Karine, forgot to say that as your transition into menopause proper has coincided with the worrying & depressing circumstances of the pandemic I wonder whether that's making it more difficult for you to know how much your mood issues are down to menopause?  If you don't want to give HRT (or maybe antidepressants) a try at this stage, do you feel well enough to wait a little longer to see whether you'll feel better emotionally if & when our lives return to a more comforting & uplifting normality?  I think you were considering CBT &/or mindfulness in the past?

I had some a meno/thyroid combo blood test back in January this year.  My oestrogen level was 586 pmol and thyroid was ok.  With the 586 pmol oestradiol, it suggested that I had entered the menopause

  The ref range for the lab that does my bloods gives <189 as postmenopause.  But 15 months since LMP would class as post.

[KarineT]

Hi Wrensong and Robin,

I am relunctant to go on HRT and AD. as  I am worried of the side-effects and that I will end up drpending on them and there will come a time when my GP will stop prescribing these.  The way I'm feeling is manageable but troublesome as, although it's not 24/7, it's persistent.
This could be because the oestrogen has not yet reached its lowest level and therefore stabilised.  I hope that it won't take 10 years for this to happen otherwise I'm in for a terrible time.

[Wrensong]

Hi Karine, I completely understand your reasons.  As you feel your symptoms are manageable for now, maybe just concentrate on doing whatever you can that helps you feel the best you can & diverts you from the worry & uncertainty that can come at this time of our lives when we're changing so drastically. 

There is no reason to believe you will continue to feel unwell for a decade or more, there is just also no way of knowing for sure how things will pan out for any of us.  There are women on here who don't take HRT & who are coping well without it, so you may be lucky & find you are among them, given a little more time.  It's early days if you are only just postmenopause. 

If after a while you're still feeling under par to the extent it bothers you too much, you can always reconsider whether HRT might be worth a try.  I think we each need to be at peace with the decision though, otherwise it could just add to any anxieties.  I really didn't want to start HRT & apart from an unsuccessful short trial in early peri, I resisted for many years until I got to the point when I'd really had more than enough.  It finally felt sensible to give it a good go then & with the support & encouragement of specialist medics I was ready to take that step.  It did help me feel better to some extent & I needed even that partial relief because of the load from other chronic conditions.  So, looking back I wished I'd done it years earlier, but that doesn't mean it's been plain sailing or that I don't struggle with aspects of it now.

Try to tell yourself you are doing the best you can for now, give yourself time & don't put pressure on yourself to take any step you are really not comfortable with.

[KarineT]

Thanks Wrensong.  It can be tricky this meno thing.  As you said, it's early days for me in postmeno.

[Robin]

That’s a great post Wrensong. I entirely agree

[Loo53]

Menopause at 51. Now 68 and feel good. No hrt. Tried various creams but got fed up with them. Still have the odd hot flash but rare. Got my energy back, not as explosive as in my youth but enough for me to exercise and enjoy life. Mentally more stable but can still have the odd trough of feeling low. Still fighting that bloody muffin top but sure now that’s down to diet. Can see myself facially ageing but nothing one can do but get on with it unless I win the lottery. Am a granny to two granddaughters so acting like a granny and not trying to get my youth back but being active enough short of running for a bus to keep up with them. Trying to keep strong resistance training wise especially upper body. Doing walking videos. Got AV but don’t care. Got LS but just manage it.

[Hurdity]

I am relunctant to go on HRT and AD. as  I am worried of the side-effects and that I will end up drpending on them and there will come a time when my GP will stop prescribing these. 

Just to add that what might or might not happen in the future when you stop HRT is not a reason for you not to consider it now, if you think it might help. This is an argument that is often used as women are worried about how they might feel 5 years along the line. However the way I look at it is - whatever happens if/when one stops HRT, if you manage to get the dose and regime right so that you feel better for more of the time than when you were not on it - then you cannot take away those years of feeling good/better. Do you see? So if you go on it for 5 years you could have at least 5 years of feeling good rather than enduring troublesome symptoms?

Of course as you have read it doesn't suit everyone and getting the dose and delivery right for you might need a bit of persistence and tweaking.

Also nowadays, provided there is no health reason that precludes your remaining on HRT, the current thinking is that you can stay on it indefinitely so the GP should not stop prescribing HRT anyway. Pandemic aside,  if your mood issues have begin to bother you since becoming menopausal ie as your oestrogen levels have dropped then HRT, rather than anti-depressants, is the first line of treatment and personally that's what I would go for. Only you know whether you have other issues that could be impacting on how you feel but low oestrogen can make some women less able to deal with what life throws at them.

Hurdity x

[KarineT]

Loo53, you reached the menopause aged 51.  You're now 68 so that's 17 years.  How long did it take you to feel better?  Has everything settled just now and it took 17 years or did it happen a few years after you reached the menopause?  What symptoms did you have?  Would you say the perimenopause was problematic in comparison to the menopause? Of course, every woman is different but I still hold on to the thought that body eventualy should cope with less oestrogen. They say that after the menopause the oestrogen is low but stable so symptoms should subside.  By what you're saying,  it seems that you haven't really been on HRT.  Is that correct?  Sorry about all the questions but it's interesting to know.  I'm 15 months postmeno now, and although I might still have a long way to go, I don't want symptoms to linger forever and ever.

[Loo53]

Loo53, you reached the menopause aged 51.  You're now 68 so that's 17 years.  How long did it take you to feel better?  Has everything settled just now and it took 17 years or did it happen a few years after you reached the menopause?  What symptoms did you have?  Would you say the perimenopause was problematic in comparison to the menopause? Of course, every woman is different but I still hold on to the thought that body eventualy should cope with less oestrogen. They say that after the menopause the oestrogen is low but stable so symptoms should subside.  By what you're saying,  it seems that you haven't really been on HRT.  Is that correct?  Sorry about all the questions but it's interesting to know.  I'm 15 months postmeno now, and although I might still have a long way to go, I don't want symptoms to linger forever and ever.

Sorry I never really responded to this. I would say I’ve felt more stable only in the last 4 years. No I’ve not had HRT but was recently prescribed vaginal estrogen and testosterone but I’ve been on off with that and have decided to restart it again as I’m suffering with sarcopenia.
The worst thing for me during perimenopause was the internal rages I used to get which I didn’t know was menopause. I was terribly depressed back in 2016 and felt like taking my own life back then. It’s a long and difficult road.