HRT OR NOT?

Hi Ladies

Now knowing hysterectomy is booked (no choice really!)  I have made the decision to have my ovaries removed too.  My main reason for this decision is age risk etc is too high.

I am fully aware this will bring early menopause on. Consultant was all for HRT automatically but I am just not sure.

Should i go for it or wait and see how i am and deal with symptoms as they arise? Am i living in cloud cuckoo land and gonna end up begging for HRT after all??

Questions questions I know but nothing is ever black and white :(

Best Wishes to all

Kathx

 

 

 

 

Hi Kath

I've been on HRT now for 2 months and it has helped me no end.  I have had chemoradiation though, so I'm not sure if the symptoms are different following a hysterectomy.  I had the hot flushes but severe joint aches and pains too which can also be due to chemorads.  The HRT is helping with aches and has stopped the hot flushes.  I was advised HRT was good to protect bones against osteoporosis.  I'm 42 and was advised I can safely take HRT for at least 8 years, until what would have been natural menopausal age.  I feel much more my old self on HRT so can say for me its a godsend.

hope all goes well with your surgery and recovery x

I had chemoradiation and decided against HRT. Had a bone density scan to check my bones, but now eat soya and linseed products and take calcium/vit D supplements. Have the odd hot flush, but generally OK...

Hi, I have had a rh & chemo rads so also had severe aching joints. I assumed it was just down to my treatment but since starting HRT it is an incredible improvement so I think it was more menopause related. The HRT has helped me feel so much more my old self in every way & I no longer have any soaking sheets or any hot flushes at all. I am 36 & my GP was nervous at prescribing it to me so young. It would appear that was due to ignorance in the main as they are more used to prescribing it for women without my history. The consultant specialist I saw at the Jos Trust “Let’s Meet” in Sept however said there is absolutely no increased risk as it is a medically induced menopause & all the statistics relate to women going through a naturally occurring menopause & mainly involving women in their 70’s or with other medical issues. I am due to have a bone density scan as a base line however because of my age it is even more imperative that I take HRT to preserve my bone density. I chose not to start it though until my treatment was over & I was 6mths clear as I wanted to recognise what my symptoms were relating too before rushing in with HRT. It may b worth waiting to c how u respond to treatment before deciding but ultimately it’s each to their own! Good luck with it all.x

Hi there. It's been many years since I last came on here but popped on to have a look at the new-look site and saw your question about HRT. I had a radical hysterectomy 8 years ago when I was 31 and my ovaries removed a year later because one of then twisted and they were causing no end of problems. My BMD scans have been fine and I rarely get symptoms of menopause. I've had implants, patches and gels (oestrogen only) since 2005 and am about to request tablets to see if I'm any more compliant!! The thing is that different people cope differently with menopause - some people have an awful time, others - like me - have the odd hot flush but apart from that barely notice. HRT isn't all about symptom control though. Without my ovaries I have no libido - have tried testosterone replacement - made me feel angry all the time. HRT will also help to protect your body from heart disease and osteoporosis in the long term. Even though my BMD is fine now, I might live to regret not being compliant with my HRT in 20 years time, especially as I now have spinal arthritis that puts me at increased risk of spinal osteoporosis. All in all, if you're under then 'normal' age of menopause I'd go for the HRT as you might regret it in the future if you don't. Oestrogen only HRT us not associated with any increased risk of breast cancer so you've got nothing to lose and alot to gain in the future. I'm spenfing alot of time wishing i'd been taking it properly over the past 7 years bit you cant turn back time. Alison x

Hi Alison, could u tell me how you got Testosterone treatment from your GP? It was also recommended to me for my libido which is rubbish but my GP is struggling to prescribe it as aparantly it isn’t licenced for women? Great post by the way with lots of insight. Sorry to hear of your back problems :0( x

Hi Kath

I'm in exactly the same boat as you. I'm having my hysterectomy next week and am unsure about taking my ovaries out. I'm 39. My mum had a very late menopause (aged 55) so the prospect of HRT for 16 years is a scary one. Does anyone have any advice?

 

Sarah 

Hi ladies,

 

i was like you, not sure which way to go.

3 days post op, feeling rubbish, I went into full menopause. I was also still on morphine IV so I begged for hrt.

i have been on it since. 7 years now, I have had tablets, patches, implants. You name it I tried it. The implant for me was brilliant. The team that controls prescriptions NICE have since deemed it a non plausible expense on the NHS so I have had to go back to tablets.  

i wasn't ready to deal with the menopause at 33 years old and 7 years on, now with teenage children I am still not ready and due to having ovaries removed and most of my vagina as well as my cervix/womb my oncologist recommends I stay on HRT until I am 55. I have yearly  mammograms too, until I am 55 then I will go on then usual screening every 3 years.

 

we are all different, what you decide today maybe not what you decide tomorrow. Take each day as it comes. See how you feel.