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[Emm225]

Hi all
I have actually done this the wrong way round and posted in forum before introducing myself...blame brain fog!  Always though menopause would be a breze...no periods..although due to coil not had any for 20 odd years (not same coil!) and a few hot moments..which I welcomed as tend to feel the cold.
 Ohhhhh noooo?.not so!

Aged 54, recently had Mirena removed and not replaced, hot flushes now hitting me ..one an hour really although not over noticeable.  Reading through I have been "managing" for a few years...low mood, anxiety, crying, feel flat etc.  Am fit, not overweight and eat healthily.  Eat v little meat these days, take Red Clover extract (started a few years ago when mood v low and did help at the time) I know my is womb lining thin as had all sorts of scans recently. Have in my possession HRT patches and pills and anti dep (different doctors....I am v scared of HRT...cancer risks and also thought symptoms just came back when stopped taking) Haven't taken anything yet.  Main concern is flatness/sadness and anxiety...although I don't feel like this every day, just some days...wake up like it and that's that for the day.  Hot flushes also a pain..thinking of taking sage to see if helps.

Cannot understand why there is so much conflicting advice, and also little knowledge in the public eye/workplace etc...it has amazed me , and I dont' think women always like to talk about menopause as they are seen as past it by some people (esp younger!) ..it becomes a joke....

[Perinowpost]

Hi Emm

Sadly your story is not unusual. it's important to say that first line treatment for the symptoms you are describing is hrt not anti-depressants. I know from my own experience nothing works like oestrogen. How I justify it to myself is hrt is just replacing the hormones that have fallen off, whilst anti-d's are a drug. Although some women have such a hard time they end up taking both, I would definitely try the hrt first.

You can put keywords in the search box on this forum, and do your own research regarding risk etc. Wishing you well x

[CLKD]

Firstly - you don't have to 'face it out'!

Make a list of which symptom you would like to ease first.  HRT is safe.  For most ladies it won't be a problem.  Any reference to 'cancer' has been dismissed in the main.  Quality of Life however, hasn't been.

Is any depression related to hormones?   Have you suffered with depression previously? 

[Hurdity]

Hi Emm225

 

Like Perinowpost said!

You should not have been given ADs for menopausal symptoms including hormonal anxiety!

How long ago did you have your Mirena removed and have you had any periods since then? Like CLKD said - the previous scares relating to HRT are outdated. Breast cancer risk is far higher by being overweight (ie over the normal BMI range for your age) and drinking too much. Do read the information on this website about HRT and risks. You will see that under aged 60 the benefits of HRT on average exceed the risks if you are having symptoms, and also it gives you added protection for heart and bones.

As for the idea that symptoms will return. Well for some they will but nothing to do with the HRT. For those in whom symptoms return, they may well have experienced symptoms all the years if they hadn't taken HRT if you see what I mean? Some women get symptoms for years and years. The main thing is quality of life for all those years that you have taken HRT compared to if you did not take it? No contest in my opinion if you are suffering. You have the added bonus of health protection too. Also you don't need to stop at 60 unless there is a personal medical reason why not.

Keep on keeping on with the keeping fit and healthy, good diet and decent weight - and start that HRT! Might get a bit of pms and the regime might need a bit of tweaking but your flushes should be banished and mood lifted!

Which patches have you got and what type of regime have you been prescribed?

What's to lose? By the way I would throw away the ADs! I have thrown away meds I have been prescribed and then decided not to take later ( I know it's a waste but somehow the doc has prescribed things before I'm really aware).

Good luck and do let us know what you decide and how you get on....

Hurdity x

PS I've just seen your post on the other thread in All Things Menopause and see that I answered that one a week ago. I can never remember who I've "spoken" to or welcomed - sorry but hope both replies make sense!

[CLKD]

Do not throw away medication!  Some ladies find that they require HRT along side apprporpiate anti-anxiety/depressant medication.  HRT isn't always the 'cure' one would hope for.  As someone who without ADs and an anti-anxiety emergency drug wouldn't be sitting here ...........

Which symptom would you like to ease first? 

[Emm225]

My main problem is the sadness and hot flushes, and the anxiety which sometimes I get as a huge ball in my stomach.  Oh..and the migraines which are definitely cyclical. ..my mum had them when she got to my age too.  I haven't suffered from proper depression , I  know a fair amount about mental health and although I get sad I don't have the full blown can't get out of bed depression.

 I had the mirena taken out in late November and haven't had any sign of a bleed since.  I didn't ever have periods on the mirena.  I have had the Mirenas for about 16 years as I had very heavy periods which were impacting on my life and the Mirena saved my life.  The last one I had in about 5 years ago didn't seem the same, although I now wonder if it was because of my age, and I did get slight spotting with it.  I also started to suffer from the sadness/ and anxiety about 5/6 years ago but thought some of it was life at the time...several friends/non related family dying young (40s/early 50s) of cancers....which is probably why I am so paranoid about the big C, very difficult teenage daughter times etc, changes in life etc.  I got so I cried a lot even at things I wouldn't normally and couldn't listen to any song which even tugged at the heart slightly ..even now I find it difficult and couldn't seem to manage.  Also thought I was getting Alzheimer's or something as I forgot names/words...I now know this is a symptom of the menopause.

I hate feeling like this as it sometimes feel I am reverting to the anxious teenager I was and don't want to go back there.
 

[Perinowpost]

Sounds like classic meno symptoms to me. As the others have said studies linking hrt to cancer have been proven to be flawed and in fact there are lots of benefits to hrt, it protects bones, heart and mood. I would try the hrt, it worked for me and I wouldn't be without it, you? have nothing to loose x

[CLKD]

Morning!  I think sadness is common during The Change.  We can see where we've been; what we didn't do that we might have wanted to; that we are nearer old age than our teens.

Acceptance is difficult.  But this is The Change: does what it says on the tin.  When hormones are up and down we can experience all types of emotional upheavals. 

Also as we age we do have more sorrows to deal with and sometimes, although we think those have been put to bed as it were, emotions can cause them to come back.  I get a lurch at night as I drop off to sleep when memories flood in, at my most vulnerable time.

Many people recover from cancer and heart disease: why if diagnosed, wouldn't you be one of them ;-)

Also sit teens down and explain!  We have a thread here about doing stupid things ;- and some on memory loss.

HORMONES