Hi Everyone,
This is my first time posting. I am 48 and very healthy for my age. I was diagnosed with premature ovarian failure at a very young age and was put on birth control indefinitely so I would menstruate. At the age of 40, I switched to HRT - 6.25mg generic Premarin and 2.5mg generic Provera continuous and stopped having periods altogether. I have been taking this successfully all this time without any issues.
However, in February of this year I started having really bad edema in my feet, ankles and lower legs. I have not been able to come up with the cause and I have tried so many things. It goes away completely if I go running, but anytime I take a day or two off I get the uncomfortable rather abnormal edema. I stopped taking my HRT for a week just to see if that could be the cause, but I didn't see any improvement whatsoever so I went right back on. Now I am starting to think maybe I didn't take long enough of a break and maybe I should stop for a few months. I am thinking maybe my hormones are imbalanced or something and maybe a little longer break would be good for me just to let my body naturally clear itself. I know I should probably have discussed all this with my OBGyn, but it is so hard to get an appointment and I just became really impatient with my edema.
I was wondering if any of you have taken breaks from HRT (especially if you have POF like me or you have a similar background). I am wondering what to expect. Should I have a period or break through bleeding? Will I have menopause symptoms since I've never really had a period on my own? Also, I'd just like to get different opinions on whether you think it's good to take a short break at this time and what your breaks have been like.
I would like to continue with the HRT again after a break if it doesn't help the edema at all. I know most people don't think edema is a big deal, but I am so healthy that it just doesn't seem right for me to have it for this long and to have it this bad. I would have thought that the edema would have gone away after a week break, but it didn't improve at all.
Thanks so much for your time!
Beaniebye