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[peegeetip]

You can have your view and I'll have mine 

The lower amounts of HRT options are not certified for bone protection anyway.
And if you cutting in half again then you'll reduce the efficacy of the patches even more.

As for the stats not sure where you get percentages.

The NHS site gives statistic in the 80% getting flushes and 84% for painful sex problems (normally a follow on from dryness, urinary and va related symptoms).
The figures are further skewed as a lot of us don't like admitting we have a problem either.

http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/menopause/Pages/Menopausehome.aspx
http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/women4060/Pages/sex-after-the-menopause.aspx

 

[BrightLight]

I just wanted to wish you all the best and hope to find something that suits you. Your thread has been really interesting. X

Thanks for your well wishes,  I am sorry that you experienced such a struggle, sounds like you have what you need at last x

[BrightLight]

Besides my GP hasn't shown any interest in considering perimenopause, and because I suspect she is anti HRT from something she said, I have opted to go privately and see a women's health specialist, Dr Annie Evans.
She apparently does not go by blood tests, but listens to a women's medical history, background, symptoms etc.
I think whatever path one takes, the most important thing is to be able to trust implicitly the person in whose hands you place yourself - from all that I've read about Dr Evans, she is that person in a lot of women's s case.

This is really positive news and I agree that trusting and feeling good about the support and guidance you get is really important.  I watched all Annie Evans videos last week and the link you posted further up about dosing.  I like her approach and style, she explains things in a scientific/biological but very real life way.  Wishing you well with the consultation.

[BrightLight]

Wow - such a lot if interesting discussion and points being made!

Also great post Dancinggirl by the way (the long one a few posts down)

Yes BrightLight, as already said I think you have been scared into your current thought process by the GP and your blood test.

The only major change at menopause is the cessation of the menstrual cycle and the extreme reduction in oestrogen which is why attention is focussed on this - because its loss has such a profound effect on women's health and well-being.

Another ramble which I hope isn't too disjointed - there is a lot in your post I wanted to pick up on and sorry if I've repeated myself!

Hurdity x

ha ha - yes I have been scared into a panic - but it's subsiding   I won't know until after the blood test and even then it all might change but it has been suggested that yes, this is a situation where my ovaries have stopped (for whatever reason). Saying that the rise in fsh is indicative of long term rising and not a surge, so although I guess it doesn't matter that much where I am on the continuum, it sort of does for me. Maybe because I am unsure as to whether this means I am not producing ANY hormones from my ovaries at all - this I guess is why I am waffling on about testing levels. 

I didn't go to the doctor for a missed period - I went for bad pain and burning in my lower back, hip and cocyx that accompanied the weirdest period with awful migraine, nausea, cramps and spotting afterwards for 10 days.  They tested my thyroid and FSH to rule this out as the first step in diagnosing the cause of abnormal bleeding - the levels for FSH were 85 and the diagnosis is suspected menopause and the second blood test is to confirm this.   I missed my first period after the blood test and my last cycle started 8 weeks ago.

Ovarian Failure is different from natural menopause, the ovaries aren't functioning properly, there are either no eggs or dysfunctional ones - ovulation can occur again spontaneously but unlikely at my age.  This is why the second GP suggested progesterone only to see if they started again, she was referring to the strong possibility after a very stressfull few years that my adrenal function was indeed interfering with the metablosim of sex hormones.  By that she meant very low progesterone, either due to adrenals using it for cortisol or low because of dysfunction and both having a part in ovulation.   I am trying to say that if my ovaries have failed the hormones are not fluctuating in the same way as described in natural menopause.  It makes sense of my symptoms over the past year and why since having no periods I feel very different indeed.

Thank you for the explanation about the hormone levels and testing - it is as much for my own interest as anything else that I think about what has been going on, for instance if my periods returned with some prompting from HRT I would continue perhaps in a natural declining menopause for another year, which is good for my overall health.  Can you appreciate why it seems to me that I must do my best to ascertain if there are any avenues to restore my own balance naturally and that I might not be dealing with a 'natural menopause'.

Either way I have definately learnt so much about HRT and the risks/benefits etc from all the comments, advise and help on here and I feel clear about all that now.  I just need to decide whether to let nature take it's course or use the HRT to attempt to restore cycles or to use it anyway.

I know it might seem overthinking but really I see it as learning about the possibilities of treatment while I wait for the full diagnosis - at the end of the day in conventional terms my ovaries have failed which is menopause and I either take HRT or not.  I really don't have symptoms of major discomfort anymore, but if my system is not going to re-blance and operate on the low levels expected in natural menopause because of a different kind of 'failure' then it might tip the balance for me to take HRT for definate.  Am I making sense?

.

[Dancinggirl]

Brightlight -
Spotting, migraine type headaches with your period, aches and pains are typical meno symptoms.  It will be interesting to know the results of your next blood tests.
I must just tell you that HRT does not restore your natural periods or trigger them to start again.  If you are on sequential HRT it induces a withdrawal bleed which ensures your womb lining remains thin - your own hormones will continue to subside in the background.  The HRT is simply maintaining a constant level of hormones so replacing what your body would produce naturally. This is why many women need to increase their oestrogen levels as they go deeper into menopause. 
If you were still producing enough oestrogen then adding some progesterone would trigger a period but if you are not producing enough oestrogen it won't. 
I hope that helps.
DG x

[Dandelion]

I started perimeno at 42 but did not use HRT till age 47 because I did not know I was menopausal and mistook the symptoms for other things.

No doctor has ever told me my heart and bones may be compromised.

[BrightLight]

I started perimeno at 42 but did not use HRT till age 47 because I did not know I was menopausal and mistook the symptoms for other things.

No doctor has ever told me my heart and bones may be compromised.

Hi there - I just wanted to clarify that it's possible I have early menopause, which is classified as stopping periods before the age of 45 and some women stop even earlier in their 20's and 30's - in these situations the loss of estrogen hormones so young can increase your risk of bone strength and heart disease.  So you don't need to worry as it sounds like you are experiencing a natural menopause at the usual age

[peegeetip]

Hi Brightlight

just to confirm.

There is risk to our heart, circulation, bones etc for both early and usual age menopause.

My own doc mentioned nothing about bone health or any other benefits.
Doctors tend to concentrate on the the older negative WHI points imho.

As Silverlady mentioned she uses her patches to try and help prevent bone problems. However that has to be balanced with a dose that helps maintain bones sufficiently.

[BrightLight]

Peegeetip my post above was written to avoid misguiding about increased risk in early or premature menopause. I know that risk factors for certain things shift after menopause at any age when the body functions differently.

I've checked my current risk factor for osteoporosis and its very low which is reassuring, I think it's good to remember that risk is made up of many factors and we can only hope and try to maintain low risk with the choices we make and be aware of the risks we can't change that impact on us personally. Hrt can lower the risk factor menopause brings and seems sensible if your overall risk is high.   

[honorsmum]

I'm confused now.
If you have symptoms of perimenopause, does that mean you require HRT to protect your bones and heart, regardless of age - because the symptoms show your oestrogen levels are declining?

What about women who sail through peri/meno? Should they take HRT, even if they have no nuisance symptoms?

Sorry if this has all been said, but every time I read a new post, it seems to suggest something different.

[Rowan]

I started the patches after A DEXA bone scan, it was back in the day when there was money for them, my then Doctor( not my present one) suggested one because I was slim with fine bones and coming up to menopause and my grand mother had broken a hip or so my mum told me, the result was normal for my age.

I started the patch as a precautionary. Since then I have read all I can about bone health and its known that it takes lot less estrogen (only one of the protectors, and even then that has been challenged) for bone health, hence Menostar.

HRT is a personal choice it is not necessary for women's health after menopause to take it. If you do have risk factors you can decide for yourself  but it is not mandatory.

There is even controversy as to whether HRT does protect you from heart disease.
 

 

[CJ-sleepless]

Goodness what an interesting thread.  I just wanted to add my own experience.  I had a hysterectomy in 2003 and was told then I might experience menopause earlier, but that was the only advice I was given.  I suspected peri menopause a few years ago (age 45) - tried a small dose of HRT at that point and found it didn't suit me - so I stopped.  Now I'm 48 and the symptoms have hit me like a sledge hammer - the worst of which being the sweats and the sleeplessness and associated tiredness/brain fog.  I'm now trying HRT again - and have to say 2 months in that I'm just starting to feel some benefit.  I guess what I'm trying to say is its worth keeping an open mind (which you all seem to be doing!) - trial and error seems to be key - weigh up the pros and cons and make an informed choice - this has been my approach.  I like to know as much as possible with most things, and menopause has been no exception.  I do sense that it is an emotive subject, most probably because it does seem to affect our emotional health so much - as with most feminine health issues there will always be a "for" and "against" camp.  I have found this discussion really useful, and am really pleased to have found this website and got a lot from it - at the end of the day we are all individuals and have to make our own decisions based on our circumstances and our own health situation.

[Millykin]

Honorsmum this one is all confusing to me too!
From what I've read recently ( can't remeber the article) they are suggesting that you start HRT as soon as peri meno symptoms start to give a better chance of protecting in later life. It said that from around 40 even if you don't have symptons we should look at protecting through diet or HRT. I suppose it's up to the person themselves to think of this. Lots of things affect bone density, coeliac diesease not just meno x

[BrightLight]

I'm confused now.
If you have symptoms of perimenopause, does that mean you require HRT to protect your bones and heart, regardless of age - because the symptoms show your oestrogen levels are declining?

What about women who sail through peri/meno? Should they take HRT, even if they have no nuisance symptoms?

Sorry if this has all been said, but every time I read a new post, it seems to suggest something different.

It's a minefield Guidelines for menopause under 45, meaning end of periods, post menopausal suggest increased risk of osteoporosis and heart disease. All women after menopause have new risk for these things, I don't know the exact science but estrogen maintains bone density and is thought to play a role on cardiovascular health and by that they mean things like cholesterol and BP can change. HRT for menopause after 45 is only prescribed as per guidelines for menopausal symptoms not as preventative medicine, but you would get the added protection that they suggest HRT gives.

I think I've got all that right

[Millykin]

Brightlight I keep reading over the posts but getting confused. Are you peri or post menopause ? I think you said you are 44? X