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[Cassie]

Hi Ladies, so with all the chat recently about ideal levels of Estrogen, I was reading an article by an American lady, granted she promotes her compounded creams and she was saying how bad it is to still be stimulating ones uterus to have"fake periods" post menopause. I know there are ladies who stay on HRT into their 70s and later, but my mom and many others of that era stopped at around 60. Really dont know what the right way forward is, I love my HRT but not sure what will happen to me physically if I taper off and am I doing myself an injustice by carrying on using it cyclically and getting these bleeds, at a later stage of my life. Any input or advice would be appreciated. 

[orrla]

From my own experience..?

HRT props body, including your spine. You cut them down or get off and your body will age faster than when on them. Your back will curve. Energy level will go down too so you'll also feel 'old', lose interest in life..
You'll be in and out of your GP practice, your life will about hospital appointments..

[bombsh3ll]

You don't need to take it cyclically, you could switch to a bleed free option.

The ONLY concern with cyclical over the long term is a very small increased risk of endometrial hyperplasia.

The majority of women would not have any problems if they continued to take it this way as long as the progestogen dose is adequate.

This can be further mitigated by having periodic scans to check your lining remains thin - unlikely to be provided by the NHS but can be arranged privately.

If you do decide to taper off HRT, make sure this is a well informed decision based on your individual needs and not influenced by someone selling a product.

[Ayesha]

From my own experience..?

HRT props body, including your spine. You cut them down or get off and your body will age faster than when on them. Your back will curve. Energy level will go down too so you'll also feel 'old', lose interest in life..
You'll be in and out of your GP practice, your life will about hospital appointments..

Absolute nonsense and scare mongering. I am not on systemic HRT, I am 75 with a very straight back, I am not back and forth to the GP, my energy is fine, I don't have lots of hospital appointments.
I lead a healthy lifestyle, perhaps that's the reason why I am not falling apart because I don't take systemic HRT.

[orrla]

Are you trying to tell me that my experience is different?!

Doesn't it prove you did not need any..?!

Those who are on it took it because their bodies needed it! ..not as some nonsense youth elixir some seem to perceive it as still. ..

..and regard prolapse, VA and incontinence as normal...

Stay glad!

[Ayesha]

Your statement above is scaremongering, you are predicting a very bad future for women who don't take systemic HRT. It is not the holy grail for all women.

[orrla]

Can you read?!

What does the sentence 'from my own experience' mean?!

[Mary G]

I've been on this forum for years now and we often end up having a heated debate on HRT.

I'm not sure why it gets so emotive, I see it as purely mechanical.  Most people have a choice so either take HRT or don't.  I made the decision long ago that I would use HRT for life because I view the menopause as a body fault like having an underactive thyroid for example. I saw how my mother deteriorated post menopause so obviously I didn't want to go the same way as her with endless bladder problems and dreadful insomnia.  Like it or not, oestrogen acts like a control centre for vital many bodily functions and without it, things start to go wrong.  A lot of women don't even realise some of their health issues are caused by oestrogen deficiency.

For the sake of bunging on some oestrogen and progesterone gel every day, I can't see the point of risking it and NOT taking HRT.

[Emma]

Please remember:
Anyone striking matches on the powder keg will be given a good talking to.

[orrla]

Thank you Mary!

Same here!

..except that I trusted, took my eye off during pandemic, and look where it got me..!

I do not wish anyone same,

🤗

[Cass63]

Hello Ladies,
I had a complete hysterectomy in 2011 due to severe endometriosis, I was 48 years old. At that time I was told if I chose to take oral HRT I could only take it preferably 3 years, 5 years at the longest due to the risks of cancer, that was protocol with most doctors here in the USA. So I opted to not take oral HRT, didn’t see the point for no longer than I would be allowed to take it. I was prescribed topical estradiol at that time and still use it the at present, don’t see myself ever not needing it. I am soon to be 61 years old and still dealing with many menopause symptoms. I tell myself, now I have to accept aging as part of the way I feel also, but I will always wonder if would still be experiencing some of the craziness if I would have been given oral HRT for life. Protocol still hasn’t changed much in the USA, oral HRT is still not given to women over 60 and advised to use topical estradiol only 2x weekly. This younger generation of women seem to be making much more noise about menopause as they are now entering into it. Maybe there will be changes in the years to come, but that’s not gonna help me out any
I guess every ladies experience with this change in life is different, but to be honest, I didn’t think I would still be dealing with this at this stage of life. Take care ladies 

[Cassie]

 Thanks for the replies ladies, did not mean to open a "can of worms" by my question. I went through an exceptionally early menopause at 38 so have been on the HRT for over 20 yrs and wondered if it was time to start tapering down. I do know that I needed it up until the 50s when one would normally go through meno, but really I dont want to end up with unnecessary aches, pains and osteoporosis so am looking at sticking to a low dose regime but possibly going onto a daily dose of Progesterone. Thanks for your input.

[orrla]

..this used to be a site where one could find empathy and advise..

[Ayesha]

From my own experience..?

HRT props body, including your spine. You cut them down or get off and your body will age faster than when on them. Your back will curve. Energy level will go down too so you'll also feel 'old', lose interest in life..
You'll be in and out of your GP practice, your life will about hospital appointments..

I must apologise for completely misinterpreting this post. When you said in your own experience you didn’t mention the word ‘personal’ you also didn’t use the word ‘I’ but instead the use of the words ‘you’, ‘you’ll’,  came over to me as a lecture that this is what will happen to women if they don’t take HRT.
I am sorry, orria,  that this is your story and obviously not a great place to be and I wish you well.
I will always call out and defend a woman’s right to choose but it’s obvious that this time I misunderstood the meaning of your post.