I am 57 and have just stopped taking HRT after 7 years a...

hi

did you go back on hrt or stick to being off them. i too was on them for 5 years. i came off around 2 month ago and am finding the hot flushes unbearable. i get out of bed and my hair feels horrible and i cant sleep. i am considering going back on them. could you tell me how you are now and did you go back on them or have you improved.

kind regards donna

That is why I went back on it. Hot flashes were killing me!

 

I did not stay off them. I went back on taking the pills every other day instead of every day. Gradually hot flashes went away and I think it took at least more than a month to get back to what I would call “normal.”  I would get occasional hot flashes when I went from the estrogen pill the first half of the month and took the combination pill of estrogen/progesterone   the second part of the month . And I started taking evening Primrose suppliment which I’m still taking in between the days that I don’t take the pill so every other day  alternating. 

 The last month maybe two maybe three I have not had any hot flashes. I’m not sweating like I did at  night when I was off HRT. I did go back on half of my other pill for overactive bladder and that is  better than it was.  Although  in menopause  apparently  bladder issues are  worse, So just getting older, and having MS also doesn’t help. I had come off the bladder pills because as s singer I did not want my vocal chords to be dried out and that might be happening but there are other reasons I could maybe say like they respiratory cold I’ve hanging on for weeks and aging of course is  a big problem For many female Sopranos.

I'm 55 and facing the same thing in two months. The doctor alread cut my estrogen patch dosage in half and getting bad flashes but not as bad as without taking anything. I posted a ton of info on here regarding my experience with different meds for flashes but two comments were deleted without an explanation.  I was offered Effexor when I come off the hormones after five years which will be in a few months. It's an antidepressant that they say works for flashes but I never took those types of  meds and terrified of the side effects of them so for now I started a Wild Yam tincture that a woman on this message board mentioned. It will take a bit to kick in.

Donna I was on hrt patches for one year as I was 48 when I had a full hysterectomy . On patches for a year and put on a sting in weight. I went swimming every day and gym twice a week. So doctor said wean off patch from 100 to 50 to 25 and then none from then on .what do you think of this plan and should I take anything you found helped with this

Hi donna, my sister takes Effexor and she has never had a problem with menopause.  A few flushes in the early days but overall an easy passage.

I take effexor and from experience started with 6 mgs. I open the capsule and each pellet is 1 mg. I add 1 to 2 pellets every 4 to 5 days. I am on 16mg now for anxiety and severe IBS during my perimenopause transition and works great during most of the month. I may add more mgs since my symptoms get worse right before and during my period.

Pharna companies and doctors do not realize some people do not need the 37.5 or 75 mg capsule. I had brain zaps skin crawling and weird dreams when I started with one 75 mg. This medicine works wonders but you just have to gradually work your way up and back down. A good doctor will be ok with that.

So, you can open the Effexor capsules and take out the tiny pellets which equal 1 mg each?  I never knew that could be done.  I've heard horror stories from friends taking "the low dose" of 37.5 mg of Effexor to get rid of severe hot flashes all night which affect sleep terribly. One said it made her feel like a zombie and she still got the flashes. The other said she had brain zaps, felt like a zombie and cut the flashes in half.  I am super sensitive to any kind of med most of the time. I don't want more trouble than I already have with these flashes. I'm off the HRT for the past four months and the constant sleep interruptions from the flashes are causing sleep deprivation of course.  I've tried a pure Black Cohosh which didn't help. I cut a 3 mg tablet of Melatonin in half and take it an hour before bedtime or just before. It helps a little to fall back to sleep after a bad flash. I still wake up but fall back to sleep most of the time with it and wake up tired every single morning. I'd love to go back on Estradiol with the Progesterone but the risks, I'm told, are no good. My primary said he has a patient that's 90 years old on the patch and progesterone.  I'm undecided on what to do at this point but I'd like a good sleep and feel rested and normal again.  

Yes you can open an effexor capsul. My doctor is aware I do this. Ten years ago when I went through my divorc I had to open a 75mg and only take 10 pellets. I did this for a year then weaned off 1 pellet a week. I originally took the 75mg and had brain zaps, skin crawling becauser it was too much for my body to handle. 

This time I am on 18 pellets and have worked up since January. I sleep great and take melatonin when I dont feel tired before bed and never have trouble sleeping. I really do not want to be on this medicine but it really helps with the anxiety and irritibility. I also take HRT for ho flasshes and heart palpitations. 2mg of estradiol and 100mg of progesterone for 10 days a month. I never took birth control and will take this for the rest of my life if I have to because I had constant hot flashes that were relentless. I would rather have quality of quantity of life. But I still have funny head feelings from buzzing, to throbbing to dizziness and i cannot get rid of this yet.

Hi Donna, i saw your mention of melatonin for sleep and I would like to add that it was effective for me up to a point especially after trying the spectrum of natural remedies as well as a strong RX which had odd side effects . I found 1 mg to 2 mg of melatonin caused outrageous weight gain and hence looked it up online to see my experience was not unique then stopped . The two months I took it was enough to reset my circadian rhythm however and my sleep returned to normal after perhaps 4-5 years of blaming the lack of it on my hubby's snoring , purring cat in bed , airplane noise overhead . My menopause began about age 47 but didn't discover it till it was nearly 50. After that I've only been on bio dentical hormone therapy . The pellets inserted beneath the skin were great . But after a year I moved to Germany where BHRT is scarce to find and only comes in cream which I've read is better delivery anyway . Well flash forward 1.5 yrs on the creams and my weight gain has Been terrible despite that I am mostly vegetarian , hike more than an hour each day , and don't drink alcohol or sweets . I stooped weighing myself a few years ago when I saw that nothing I could do to reverse it was effective . At times I've stopped the creams cold turkey and some weight and bloating did improve . Then i went back and halved my dosage and then tapered off and stopped but the weight is still there despite that I feel rather good overall but scarcely recognize the rounder me in photos or even in some mirror reflections . I am 52 now and have an older sister who is 56. She has had her weight ups and downs in her youth but nothing drastic as mine. Yet at her age she refuses any hormones and is teenager slim and diets actually work for her . Since bio hormones are safer and cheaper and more easily dosed than synthetics I would recommend them . Not everyone gains weight on either method . With creams

( estradiol , testosterone and progesterone ) you can up or down the dosage or taper off more easily . When I did so my withdrawal symptoms were negligible . Best wishes

My mother said her symptoms lasted 10 years. I am 58, have never taken a HRT, and the only symptoms I have are vaginal dryness and lack of libido. 

I went cold turkey on it too.

Have headaches, I sleep loads, tummy pains sweats and feel hot.

It is our body adjusting to the change.

I stopped because they found a thickening of the cervix's endomitrium so I want to be sure all is ok. Due to have a hysteroscopy soon and will take it from there.

Hi Marcy and Sandy,

I'm turning 50 this year. I was also put on HRT at age 48 due to menopause symptoms including night sweats, prolonged period, severe migraines, etc. I felt great while on HRT. It's really life changing. I was happy and felt so grateful for it but at the same time I was worried about developing cardiovascular problems as both of my parents have heart disease so I've decided to stop taking Estrodiol and provera just a few weeks ago. Now my period came back and I'm experiencing horrendous heart palpitations. I have confusions and a little bit of anxiety. I don't have tummy aches but I have nausea pretty much everyday which is often relieved by taking Zofran. The heart palpitations have become more bothersome to the point that I sometimes feel my heart will explode anytime. poiI went back on HRT today. I hope it helps with my palpitations.

yes severe digestive problems. Post menopause combined with gall bladder removal has given me slow mobility. I used have a bowel movement 3-4 times a day now it is a constant struggle even on HRT. It effects my mind, makes me moody and is hard on my liver I think. Another one of those lovely symptoms that people rarelly mention.

Actually a really nice endocrinologist who sat and listened to me babble without thinking I was crazy explained to me about 4 years ago that what was coming out of the medical journals was that when women are low on estrogen that they actually have heart disease come on sooner. Low estrogen can increase cholestrol as well as bring on things like diabetes, etc. He wasn't a big natural hormone advocate or anything but a by the book careful doctor. He checked my pitiutary gland and found that it was underfunctioning which meant I needed to increase my estrogen. I told him I don't really like to get a lot of progesterone because it made me moody and angry. He told me that it isn't really a happy drug. I only take it because I have to. The heart palipitations are from low estrogen or low thyriod. My thyroid function actually goes down if I decrease my estrogen. When my estrogen has been low my heart has started beating fast in my sleep because my blood pressure was too low. Go to an endocrinologist or a good doctor in your area. You can really get sick from too low hormones or thyroid. take care. HRT is like taking insulin for a diabetic.

Interesting, thank you for this. Makes sense from what I know fo Estrogen.