I certainly feel much, much better post meno. My last two years of peri were pretty bad but as I have never taken HRT I can't comment on how that makes anyone feel.
What I would say though is that there is an awful lot of women out there that don't take HRT and I have seen no evidence that they are disadvantaged by not taking it (post meno wise).
It would be interesting to read any evidence, both research and individual experience, if there is any.
Blossom60 - I am glad you are feeling well post menopause. However - you ask for evidence/research - the possible consequences of oestrogen deficiency are well documented as Stellajane has said. You can start by looking at the information on this website eg
Osteoporosis
http://www.menopausematters.co.uk/osteoporosis.phphttp://www.menopausematters.co.uk/benefit.phpVaginal and bladder problems
http://www.menopausematters.co.uk/vaginalsymptoms.phpHeart disease – possibility
http://www.menopausematters.co.uk/cvdhrt.phpIn addition there was a paper produced for World Menopause Day in October and published in Climacteric. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to be freely available as full text any more – well I can't seem to get it - but the abstract is here:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24969415 There is a vast body of evidence about the role of oestrogen.
Here is the abstract in full:
Women may expect to spend more than a third of their lives after menopause. Beginning in the sixth decade, many chronic diseases will begin to emerge, which will affect both the quality and quantity of a woman's life. Thus, the onset of menopause heralds an opportunity for prevention strategies to improve the quality of life and enhance longevity. Obesity, metabolic syndrome and diabetes, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis and osteoarthritis, cognitive decline, dementia and depression, and cancer are the major diseases of concern. Prevention strategies at menopause have to begin with screening and careful assessment for risk factors, which should also include molecular and genetic diagnostics, as these become available. Identification of certain risks will then allow directed therapy. Evidence-based prevention for the diseases noted above include lifestyle management, cessation of smoking, curtailing excessive alcohol consumption, a healthy diet and moderate exercise, as well as mentally stimulating activities. Although the most recent publications from the follow-up studies of the Women's Health Initiative do not recommend menopause hormonal therapy as a prevention strategy, these conclusions may not be fully valid for midlife women, on the basis of the existing data. For healthy women aged 50-59 years, estrogen therapy decreases coronary heart disease and all-cause mortality; this interpretation is entirely consistent with results from other randomized, controlled trials and observational studies. Thus. as part of a comprehensive strategy to prevent chronic disease after menopause, menopausal hormone therapy, particularly estrogen therapy may be considered as part of the armamentarium.The issue about just taking HRT for symptom control is a whole different matter – many (lucky?) women just get a few flushes and sweats during the peri-menopausal years and then they disappear so they have “got over itâ€. However the long term health implications are completely separate – as Stellajane says – and especially now as life expectancy continues to increase and we are spending a large proportion of our life post-menopause and in an oestrogen deficient state - as the paper recognises.
As I've said before - I am actually pleased that I had really bad flushes and sweats which meant that I found out about menopause and decided to take HRT – because from the evidence that I have seen so far – this is likely to be better for my health overall, despite the possible small increased cancer risk – which I try to mitigate through lifestyle factors.
Of course it is an individual choice - but needs to be made in full possession of the evidence we have for and against - benefits vs risks - which we each need to weigh up. Your third reason, blossom60, for women not taking HRT - they just don't need to - cannot be answered except in retrospect. Personally I don't want to do the experiment on myself - because once you have found out - say age 80 that you needed to - or it would have been better if you had - it's too late!
Hurdity x