Posted , 3 users are following.
I have been on HRT now for 3 months and recently my blood pressure has been very high. I've never had any problems before with it. My GP has asked me to come of the HRT for a few weeks to see if this helps. Just wondering if anyone else has had this when taking HRT
Thanks
Ann
0 likes, 4 replies
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lily65668 anne44931
Posted
Hi Ann, No - no personal experience with HRT and high BP though several friends have had this problem.
But maybe there's another way of looking at it. Is your HRT really necessary?
If it's any help at all, I went through a relatively early (45) menopause without HRT and am still in good health at age 72. I only had 18 months of hot flushes, and didn't find them too much of a problem.
On the other hand, all the women on my mother's side of the family had osteoporosis (all were bent nearly double by their mid-70s) which puts me at very high risk of the condition. My first osteodensitometry was done when I was 47, just two years after the menopause, and I was well down into the osteopaenia phase already at that time. That's the pre-osteoporosis stage, which usually progresses rapidly to the full-blown disease. However, in the intervening 27 years, my bone density has scarcely fallen at all and is still well short of actual osteoporosis. I've had no fractures in that time, nor have I lost any height or developed spinal curvature or back pain. I don't take medication for this either, but rely on a good diet plus daily supplementation with calcium, m@gnesium and vitamins D3 and K2, as well as plenty of weight-bearing exercise, especially walking.
Up to you whether you continue HRT and add in a BP medication, but bear in mind that many of the latter cause severe side-effects in some individuals. (Read up on some of the hypertension boards on this site.) HRT meds aren't without side-effects either.
You don't say how old you are. It's my understanding that you can restart HRT after one pause of about six months, but only below a certain age. (I'm a former nurse but things may have moved on since my time.) Have you asked your doctor whether this is an option for you? I'm thinking that if you tried coming off the HRT but your BP stayed high after a few months, this would indicate that the HRT wasn't the cause after all and you'd still have to take BP meds. In that case, you might feel you wanted to go back on HRT as well. But do check first whether your doctor is prepared to put you back on them if necessary at the end of the trial. If, on the other hand, your BP came down again when you stopped the HRT, maybe you might want to think about doing without it? There is life after menopause, you know!
anne44931 lily65668
Posted
Lily thank you so much for replying. I am a bit of a worrier at the best of times so anxiety levels not good at the moment.
I am 46 and was having prolonged periods for weeks and sometimes quiet heavy. I went to GP who prescribed the HRT and referred me to gynaecology. Have had ultrasound scan and all is good but I was to have a hyposcopy and an ablation and this was picked up at my pre op assessment. They also want to redo my ECG. I've never had any problems with heart or BP before so wonder if it's all connected. Op cancelled and I have to go back to the clinic on 26 Oct.
Saw my GP this morning and she has taken me off HRT to see if my BP settles down a bit.
You give me hope Lily!
Ann
lily65668 anne44931
Posted
Sounds like it probably was the HRT, Ann, but no guarantees of course. BP can start going up in mid-life anyway, particularly if you have a tendency to anxiety.
So sorry to hear about your troubles. I had exactly the same thing, but refused treatment, whether hormonal or surgical. (I know a bit too much!) I went through four or five tough years of heavy, painful periods (including two very public haemorrhages) but was always pretty certain things would calm down as my mother, grandmother and two great-aunts had had the same thing. In the event, my periods suddenly stopped a month before my 45th birthday. Mild hot flushes started immediately - only for the whole thing to start up again three months later. After four months of this, they suddenly stopped again - literally overnight. I still remember the morning of 31 December 1989. Suddenly there was no blood loss at all. I can't explain it but I just felt quite different. I remember standing in the bathroom and thinking: "This really is it". And it was! I never looked back from that moment. I think I was so glad to be shot of all the pain and bleeding, I hardly noticed the hot flushes this time round! My mother told me it had happened exactly the same way for her too.
I hope all goes well for you. Try not to worry about yourself too much.
PGtips11 anne44931
Posted
Hi Ann, I took HRT for 14 years to deal with severe hot flushes. It did not affect my blood pressure. I had to stop the HRT after breast cancer and a mastectomy from which I made a speedy recovery. Around this time I started BP medication, Amlopidine 5g which had no side effects. However the hot flushes returned with a vengeance. I tried citalopram which didn't work and now have been on Gabapentim for a few weeks. Hot flushes have lessened in severity and frequency and I am hardly bothered by them at all. So if you are bothered by hot flushes there are alternatives to HRT to try.