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[CrispyChick]

Interesting thread ladies.

I'm having the peri from hell and it's very very upsetting when everyone around me just pops on a patch and feels good.

My one trial of hrt made me even worse. Now the estrogen in hrt or the pill poisons me. I think I'm like Angela - highly sensitive to all hormones, including my own.

I doubt I'll ever take hrt. But I'll defo remember the Blissel gel should I feel I eventually need E.

Because of all this - the only solution offered to me is chem meno. Which I'm considering. But then they would want to add back hrt. And I bet I still couldn't take it. 

[bombsh3ll]

"To be honest I think HRT should not be a choice"

Why should other people to be denied an option that is of value to them, just because you don't want it?!

Suggesting that treatment should be withheld unless someone is absolutely on their knees with "severe" suffering is cruel - we all deserve the best quality of life available to us, and who gets to say whether another individual's suffering is worthy enough and somebody else's isn't?

As women we should be lifting each other up and supporting each other and advocating for as much choice and autonomy as we can, for as many as we can, not wishing to see this diminished.

This reminds me of the covid vaccine where people who didn't want it were literally incandescent because other people/other people's children were having it.

To Crispychick - many years ago when I was having IVF, I took buserelin for a short time, which is a chemical menopause drug, and it was lovely - my skin cleared up too and it was like puberty had never happened. As long as you understand and consent to the long term ramifications of ongoing use in terms of essentially bringing your own menopause forward this may be a reasonable option, and if it doesn't work out you just stop the injections and it wears off.

[AngelaH]

"To be honest I think HRT should not be a choice"

Why should other people to be denied an option that is of value to them, just because you don't want it?!

What do you mean “I don’t want it?!”

When meno comes naturally, the body stops producing sex hormones in usual amount and balances rest of them. Imbalance, when body is not able to balance it properly, gives the meno symptoms. If you don’t have them or have very mild it means the body does great job and by adding HRT you make harder for the body to keep that balance. Imbalance very harmful for the body and can eventually destroy the body.

[Asher]

I don’t think AngelaH, meant it like that bombsh311, I think what she was saying was that a lot of women use hrt because they feel even though they have no menopause symptoms they only use it for the long term benefits of bone protection and often they end up feeling worse or that it’s just what some women do because people they know use it , I certainly have friends and work colleagues that use hrt for that very reason , I even have a friend who had no troubling symptoms in peri and used it in the belief it would keep her slim , young looking and youthful none of which it has done , yet she was prescribed it off her NHS GP , I think the point Angela was making if you have symptoms that affect you then yes try hrt but not just because others around you are doing it or for reasons that it’s not actually designed to treat.

[aj1971]

My point is that if you are ill, and HRT would make a difference, there should be a choice as to whether or not to take it. Too often, women are not even given the choice. Optimising hormonal health can help the body deal with the illness. I had to go private to be given that choice.

And I agree re. most women not seeming to need HRT - my great granny lived to 94, my granny to 94, and my other granny is 96 and still going strong physically (though she has a form of dementia). None of them took HRT.

To be honest I think HRT should not be a choice. It should be prescribed only for treatment ongoing meno symptoms, which are too severe and effect every days life, except early meno, when body experiences loss of hormones too early, which is not natural for the body and may cause problems in the future. For the rest of the women HRT should not be taking for treatment any other conditions or for “future benefits”.

Those who are 90+ years old didn’t have HRT available like we have now. That generation is example that genetic factor is too strong. HRT can not change genetics unfortunately.

I was not saying that HRT should be a lifestyle choice supported by the NHS. I was saying that if there is evidence to say it would help their symptoms, then a woman should be given the choice of having it or not. The problem is that many women are not offered that choice or given information that would help them make the choice. So I mean an informed choice in a specific context.

That would include the choice not to take HRT even if a medic recommended it.

[Bindi]

Hi sundaygirl
I totally agree i suffered for 3yrs postmeno is when my bad symtoms started didnt really want the whole hrt journey so started with ovestin and thankfully thats been enough im 18mths in i think ..but from the first month im so much better thank god ..i think sometimes less is more..start out with as less as possible and go from there.. i still get symptoms but thankfully no were as bad as they were..i feel im nearly at the end hopefully but we shall see i have days i think i will ask for more but ..i  then remind myself its a natural progression and take a extra  panmax lol..i shall see how i go

[laszla]

HRT can not change genetics unfortunately.

Gene expression and DNA are categorically subject to the influence of environmental factors, including, perforce, HRT.
The 'set in stone' model of genetics has long since been debunked.

[SundayGirl]

Well ladies, I seem to have started something of a debate.

Just to clarify, I was having symptoms that indicated HRT would be useful. I think I was finally swayed by the supposed long term benefits though. Having lost both parents to heart disease before I was 40, I thought I was doing the right thing in helping to protect my future health. On the flip side, my mother in law was on HRT for years after a hysterectomy in her 40's and now resides in a dementia care home and is on heart medication and powerful drugs for osteoporosis. Seems like you can't win either way.

Each woman's body, no matter the size, shape or colour, is individual, beautiful and totally unique .

To be honest I think HRT should not be a choice. It should be prescribed only for treatment ongoing meno symptoms, which are too severe and effect every days life, except early meno, when body experiences loss of hormones too early, which is not natural for the body and may cause problems in the future. For the rest of the women HRT should not be taking for treatment any other conditions or for “future benefits”.

Sorry Angela, I wholeheartedly disagree with this. Especially as it's slightly contradictory. As long as there are no contra-indications and the medical profession is amenable, a woman should have the right to choose what she does or doesn't put into her body. It's known as patient autonomy.
As for experiencing menopause early, maybe those women's bodies are doing the right thing for them at whatever age that is. As I said, each woman is unique. And why should one woman be offered HRT to help prevent future issues, but another woman, who happens to be a little bit older, be denied it?

Just to say, I'm really enjoying this discussion

[Dotty]

HRT is a very personal choice. I never wanted to go on HRT due to all the scaremongering, but I became very ill both physically and mentally and HRT was the only answer for me. I’ve been happily on Oestrogel and Utrogestan now for 6 years.

However, I would never tell someone that they should go on HRT or pressure anyone to go on HRT. I actually hope  that no one ever gets to the stage that I got to. I wish that I didn’t need HRT.

I’ve always found everyone really kind and helpful on here and I try to help ladies who I think I can help with my experience. xx

[AngelaH]

I was not saying that HRT should be a lifestyle choice supported by the NHS. I was saying that if there is evidence to say it would help their symptoms, then a woman should be given the choice of having it or not. The problem is that many women are not offered that choice or given information that would help them make the choice. So I mean an informed choice in a specific context.

That would include the choice not to take HRT even if a medic recommended it.

NHS offer HRT to those, who have severe meno symptoms and it’s up to them to take it or not.

[AngelaH]

Gene expression and DNA are categorically subject to the influence of environmental factors, including, perforce, HRT.
The 'set in stone' model of genetics has long since been debunked.

Questions like “do you have someone in your family who had stroke, heart attack, blood clots, cancer” still are usual during doctors appointments and sometimes it may affect their decision to prescribe certain drugs and even some types of HRT.

[AngelaH]

Sorry Angela, I wholeheartedly disagree with this. Especially as it's slightly contradictory. As long as there are no contra-indications and the medical profession is amenable, a woman should have the right to choose what she does or doesn't put into her body. It's known as patient autonomy.
As for experiencing menopause early, maybe those women's bodies are doing the right thing for them at whatever age that is. As I said, each woman is unique. And why should one woman be offered HRT to help prevent future issues, but another woman, who happens to be a little bit older, be denied it?

A woman, who has severe meno symptoms has a choice. What I said that women, who don’t have severe meno symptoms, HRT should not be prescribed.

If a woman becomes menopausal too early, estrogen deficiency may affect her bones the same too early. There is nothing unique in becoming menopausal at the age of 35, it just something went wrong in the body. This is why for those, who goes through early meno HRT is offered.

[AngelaH]

I don’t think AngelaH, meant it like that bombsh311, I think what she was saying was that a lot of women use hrt because they feel even though they have no menopause symptoms they only use it for the long term benefits of bone protection and often they end up feeling worse or that it’s just what some women do because people they know use it , I certainly have friends and work colleagues that use hrt for that very reason , I even have a friend who had no troubling symptoms in peri and used it in the belief it would keep her slim , young looking and youthful none of which it has done , yet she was prescribed it off her NHS GP , I think the point Angela was making if you have symptoms that affect you then yes try hrt but not just because others around you are doing it or for reasons that it’s not actually designed to treat.

Thanks Asher, this is exactly what I was saying. HRT is a treatment and not a “beauty supplement”.

[AmandaJR]

I hope that HRT is available to all women whether in crisis or used for “future benefits” or as a “beauty supplement”

I hope it continues to be developed so that it can help more women especially those who currently can’t access it due to risks and those that have bad reactions to it. I want to see safe medications designed to help everyone so that they have more choices.

Perimenopause almost destroyed my children, mental/physical health and career. It horrifies me hearing how many women have to fight for  HRT in 2024 and/or are subjected to years of jumping through hoops on other medications that address certain symptoms opposed to the cause.

HRT wasn’t magic for me, I doubt it ever will be for everybody but I’d rather aim for more choice and development than making access to it harder.

Interesting debate ladies, have a good weekend!

[AngelaH]

For those, who want to use hormones as a “beauty  supplement”, you don’t need to use 100 or 200 Utrogestan orally/vaginally/rectally on top of 100 estrogen patches sticking to the bottom, just to make yourself look younger, there is a choice of cosmetic hormonal products online, but be aware that they are real hormones too.