Does HRT help with menopause digestive issues?

Posted , 7 users are following.

Hi ladies,

I am 54 years old and 3 1/2 months post hysterectomy with ovaries left in.  For a few years I have suffered with digestive problems which I'm sure are menopause related.  Some times I feel like I have too much stomach acid and other times like there isn't enough.  My stomach feels full easily and it feels like the food just sits there in a lump.  Had some tests done which were normal about 1 1/2 years ago.  Finally found a GI doctor who actually acknowledged gastro problems exist in menopausal women!  My family doctor and gyn Doctor both say they don't recognize the connection.  Next week I'm havin a gastric emptying study and in two weeks an endoscopy and colonoscopy.  I hope and pray these are all ok.

Anyway...sorry about all the info.....my question is...does anyone know if taking HRT helps with the digestive issues?  I am one of the lucky ones who doesn't really have hot flashes.  I do suffer from anxiety, tiredness and when I don't feel well I start feeling such doom and gloom...like my life is over.  

This whole "to do or not to do" HRT is very confusing to me.  I do know that if I do, it would be bio identicals.

thanks so much for your help with this concern.  These message boards are a lifesaver!

 

0 likes, 20 replies

20 Replies

  • Posted

    Since there are many Dr's who don't seem to connect the dots, I would go to a good Naturopathic Dr and see what they say. It seems in conventional medicine, you ask 10 Dr's the same thing, you get 10 different answers (unless they're in cahoots)lol but it seems like Naturopathic Dr's for the most part are on the same page. Gut health is a tricky and complex issue and sometimes you just don't get the answers you're looking for but unlike meds, you don't get a lot of adverse reactions but it does cost more.
    • Posted

      Thanks lyn...I've thought about trying a naturopathic Doctor.  Depending on how these upcoming tests go, that may be my next route.
    • Posted

      Good luck! I know this can all be frustrating, but hang in there. It just takes time.
  • Posted

    Hi,

    I used to suffer with acid reflux and very slow digestion with the feeling food was still sitting in my stomach hours later. I also became very constipated with meno.

    I found ginger tea made with fresh ginger and two ginger capsules before food really helped.

    I'm on a bio identical HRT I still drink a lot of ginger cordial because I love it. I no longer have to take ginger capsules.

    My constipation has improved quite a bit although it's still not perfect.

    It has also helped loads with anxiety and depression.

    I've been on the HRT 14 weeks.

    • Posted

      Thanks for your response Zigangie.  I too drink ginger tea and it does help some with the indigestion.  How long did you suffer with the digestive issues before they improved?   I am getting so tired of not feeling like my old self and it is starting to get me down.  It would be so good to see some light at the end of this long, dark menopause tunnel.  
    • Posted

      Hi,

      I've had a sluggish digestion and constipation for 10 years. I have had to take a laxative for ages.

      I had about a year of acid reflux, the year after my periods stopped.

      My constipation has got slightly better, it's not great but I can manage without a laxative since being on HRT, it got better within a month if being on it. I was hoping by the end of 3 months that it would have improved further. It can only be the HRT as I have tried a lot of things during those years, eating more fibre drinking more water etc. Nothing really helped except laxatives.

      I did try eating as much as much as a whole can of prunes and their juice.

      I used syrup of figs rather than the ones prescribed by my doctor as I felt that was more natural but I had to take double the amount recommended.

      I was just dry so thirsty checked out fine for diabetes so all I could do was keep drinking, but it seemed everything I drank just went straight through and out the other end within half an hour.

      I got fed up with getting up for the loo at least 3 times a night and each time drinking a glass of water, knowing that would have me up again within an hour or so.

      Although I'm still horribly thirsty I don't seem to have to get up as much since starting HRT, lately I have a drink before I go to bed up once a few times I haven't had to go at all. I don't have such a sudden urge during the day to go either. So I think it must be hanging around a bit longer inside me and maybe that's why I'm less constipated.

      I've never suffered with digestive problems in the past always regular and good digestion before peri.

      Hope yours is better soon.

  • Posted

    Tmpearce................menopause causes digestive probs in two ways, first it slows digestion down, so you will feel like your food is stuck high up in the abdomen, so you then also get constipation, so you become bloated and full of gas, with slow digestion when you come to stand your tummy may feel very full as if its pulling you to sit, or, lie down, what i was advised to do for slow gastric emptying is, drink half glass of water 30 mins before eating, try not drinking during your meal, or, only sip if your too dry, keep main meals small when your digestion is slowed as little and often is best,  only drink water an hour afterwards if you can, then lie flat for about 30 mins immediately after eating until food has gone through better, you cant always do this if your working, but in the evening after your main meal try it, ginger tea can also help with slow digestion.

    On the otherhand if your trouble is indigestion with acid reflux which, are symptoms similiar to the condition of hiatus hernia caused by a weakness in the opening of the food pipe, and the menopause can cause this weakness, you wont be able to lie flat, if you try to  your food will come back up your food pipe, it will burn and you could end up bringing all your food back up in a mass of foam the foam will be white but coloured by your food,you will have to sit up in bed for this to ease it, some of the ladies on this site have used over the counter ant acid remedies, and medication from their gps, not sure if HRT would help both problems, pretty sure nothing will show in your tests.  I had a barium meal many years ago, and it did show after the drink they give you for the test, that my food was going through too slowly, since menopause it has been made worse, so menopause does have affect on gastric emptying, and muscle weakness, lots of ladies on this forum suffer with either slow digestion, or, severe acid reflux, but because the menopause affects all our systems in the body, so, it wont affect your digestion all of the time, sometimes it will be anxiety, depression, you get a worsening of your pms symptoms, some days it will be sugar problems, then maybe blood pressure, another day fatigue, lethargy, neurological symptoms, or, temperature extremes, but if you had all these areas tested, they will be normal, as its the hormones they should be testing, not the organs there not the real problem, its just how their being affected due to fluctuations and declining of hormones during menopause, if your test shows nothing, then take it, its the menopause because, otherwise you will go mad having goodness knows how many tests when it starts in another area,everyone on this forum has been doing that, you cant get off the merrygoround of tests, because when your very into your menopaiuse your symptoms can get worse, and you develop more and more, and we just cant accept that hormones can make you feel this bad, but believe us when we say, it can!! but, to put our minds at rest, which is what you will have to do is, take the tests to be sure, but one day you will have to let the tests go.

  • Posted

    hi ya, went into an early menopause after an Ablasion. Was ok on the Menopause support plus from Boots and evening Primrose for a fair few years. Hasd mild IBS before but got a little worse in Menopause. now using combi patches and it has made digestive issues, cramps and lower bowl ache worse! Advised to try Peppermint tea.

    hope this helps a bit!

    • Posted

      Hi Lisa, you could also try ginger capsules (2) before meals and ginger tea made with fresh ginger for digestive issues.
    • Posted

      Yes, I got very hungry right before going to bed and I ate some chips and salsa (oh what a no no) and my stomach started hurting and I took a ginger capsule and within 30 minutes, all was well.

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