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[sue bot]

Hi keep getting awfull hor flushes really bad anxiety sleepless night I ask him about h r t but  he keeps saying that Prozac are very good for hot flushes because I am nearly 60 he says it not wise to go on it but it's driving me mad I feel I don't want to mix with people I had a chocking do last year could not shift the food and really scared me now I do not want to eat out I have just cancelled abroad holiday I just can't face it  I am lucky I have a understanding husband
Anyone taken Prozac for memo problems

[Dancinggirl]

HRT might be appropriate but it may not be wise to start HRT at your age. When was your last period?
Prozac may not be ideal as an alternative to HRT but some SRRIs e.g. Citalopram can be helpful for reducing flushes.
Look under TREATMEMTS on this site see your options.
DG x

[babyjane]

Citalopram and its sister drug escitalopram are good for reducing flushes.  Mine have reduced considerable for over a year now.  I am also on it for anxiety primarily.

[Hurdity]

Hi sue bot

Depending when you reached menopause HRT is not definitely out of the question - especially as you are under 60! Unless there is a medical reason why not, your doctor is quite wrong to dismiss HRT out of hand. Under the age of 60 if you are still experiencing symptoms then the benefits of HRT are thought to exceed the risks.  See the info on this website:

https://www.menopausematters.co.uk/balance.php

The updated recommendations on HRT produced by the British Menopause Society suggest a transdermal method is preferred for late starters to HRT and especially if it is started for the first time over 60.

I would definitely not be pushed towards Prozac nor any anti-depressants as the first line of treatment, if you are able to take HRT.

How sad that you cancelled your holiday because of how you feel. Please do ask for a referral to a menopause clinic if there is one in your area, or try a different doctor in the same practice - and if we can help any more please ask.

I suggest you do lots of homework and read as much as you can on this website (look at top green tabs!).
Good luck and let us know how you get on/what you decide. Your doc should be helping you to make the choice that you want as well as what is best for you, using up to date information!

Hurdity x

[remittancegirl]

Hello,

I'm a newbie, and spend most of my time in Vietnam, but am UK based. 53, almost two years without a period.

A year ago, my GP in Saigon flat refused to give me HRT and put me on Prozac instead. I warned her that I had been on anti-depressants in my youth and found they completely killed my creative thinking functions. I was in the middle of a doctorate and could not afford to be blunted. But she asked me to give it a three month trial, so I did. It didn't help with the hot flashes or with my insomnia and only made the brain fog worse. I stopped taking them after 3 months, and just suffered the physical symptoms because at least I had my intellect back. When I returned to the UK, I visited my UK GP, and he put me on HRT FemSeven Conti patches, and they worked a treat. They don't deal with all the symptoms completely, but it's way better. It's manageable. Perhaps the Prozac works for some women, but it didn't work for me at all. I lost three months of academic work suffering the intense mental apathy. So, I'm 100% with Hurdity on this. Moreover, the militant part of me suspects that this craze for proscribing Prozac for menopausal symptoms may be like a 21st century version of the Victorian 'hysterical woman' treatments of the 19th Century. Clearly they do wonders for some women, but definitely not for everyone and, for some people, the creativity blunting can be more devastating than the physical symptoms of menopause.

[CLKD]

  both!