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Stopping taking HRT

Posted , 5 users are following.

heather40361
heather40361

I have been on HRT for 9 years and am aged 57. Today my doctor advised me to stop taking my tablets due to potential health risks. However, I am fit and healthy, weigh 9stone 7 so am not overweight, go to a gym 3 times a week as well as garden most days. I feel HRT keeps me well and my lifestyle keeps me healthy and fit - surely I am a minimal risk. Nothing I have read on this website convinces me to give up and, I should point out, my GP told me to look at this, can anyone convince me giving up is a good idea and, if so, what is the best way to do so .... Gradually?at the end of the packet?

0 likes, 7 replies

7 Replies

  • frankie63934
    frankie63934 heather40361

    Posted

    My suggestion would be to give it a try going off of it and see how you do.  I just started 6 weeks ago but plan on eventually (after a couple of years) giving it another try of not being on it.  If it is as bad as it was before, I would go back on it!  I think your doctor would tell you that  you need to just stop taking it and hold on.  If you could do it at a time when you have less stress, I would try that.  I think there is still a lot unknown and if you don't need it, that is the best.  Give it a shot and let us know!  I'm curious to see how people do after being on it and if life can be back to normal after you stop taking it.  Maybe enough has changed that you won't even notice it!  In the mean time, keep working out and eating right!
  • marilyn64827
    marilyn64827 heather40361

    Posted

    Hi Heather,all I can say is i`ve been on HRT for about 25yrs following a complete hysterectomy when I was 31.I have no intention of ever coming off it and not had any doctor or gynacol tell me I have to.either,different doctors have different opinions on HRT.I am 56 and been on Premarin 1.25mg daily for all this time,I do have mammograms etc as you probably do too as you`re also over 50.If you feel you dont want to come off it maybe try talking to you`re doctor or see someone else to get their opinion on it.Hope this helps....Marilyn...
    • sheryl37154
      sheryl37154 marilyn64827

      Posted

      I am with you Marilyn.  I have also been on HRT for 25 years, now 63 yrs old and I am never, ever going off HRT.  There is no known reason that we should.  Google Teresa Gorman, she is now 83 and still on HRT.  The medical field on this is full of myths, they have not read the real scientific research.  However, I do keep to bio-identical hrt, e.g. oestrodiol, which currently means patches.  They stopped making the implants which were so much better, letting the body take whatever oestrogen it needed when it needed.

      Everyone is different and the 'natural' way will not work for all of us, and will cause us very bad health not having enough oestrogen in our bodies.  Women with big hips and thighs seem to be able to retain oestrogen in their fat but those that don't have fat in those areas, need oestrogen supplements to keep healthy.

      If 'natural' works for someone, please don't expect it to work for all.

    • marilyn64827
      marilyn64827 sheryl37154

      Posted

      Hi Sheryl.nice to know other people feel the same way I do about HRT,for me the benefits for outweigh the risks.I do understand it`s not for everyone especially women with high risk of breast cancer but it gave me my life back.Imediately following hysterectomy I was given nothing as 25yrs ago doctors were very reluctant to prescribe it,within a month I could hardly move my joints was so bad I was permanently in bed and unable to do anything.I couldn`t even pick up a cup of tea had to use straws as my joints were so painful especially my hands.After 4 months I asked my mum to send me some hormone patches and within 3 days of puting one on I was up and jumping up and down clapping my hands.It completely changed my life.I must add I ended up with osteoarthritis as I was left for all those months without any hormones.I would have got osteo later in life following menopause had I gone through it normally instead I had surgical menopause and was just left to suffer consequences.Also found out my arthritis was genetic but wouldn`t have it as severe as I do had they prescribed me HRT immediately after hysterectomy.I now have 25yrs of degenerative disease and now it seems it`s surgery every year now as my joints are so bad and painful too.For some of us it`s crucial to have it and I can`t begin to imagine what my life would`ve been like without it.Was a life saver for me and will continue taking it as benifits really do outweigh the risks in my case anyway....Best regards,Marilyn..
    • sheryl37154
      sheryl37154 marilyn64827

      Posted

      I was lucky in that the gyny surgeon put in a HRT implant immediately but yes, my current gp is anti hrt - she is not yet menopausal plus she has ample hips and thighs!  However, I insist and will go elsewhere if necessary.  Unhappily for the rest of us, there are those who have no problems as all and wonder what all the fuss is about.

      However, after 6 weeks when I should have recovered from surgery I felt I was getting worse with fatigue and aches and pains.  9 years later, I stepped sideways and one of my hips broke up.  I was finally diagnosed with Haemochromatosis.  I started loading iron as soon as I stopped menstruating.  I ended up having both hips replaced and now have lots of medical issues because of the iron damage to my organs.

      If it has not already been done, ask your dr for an Iron Studies test and get a copy so that you can examine it yourself.  If your ferritin iron level and your TS% is high you most likely have haemochromatosis (a genetic test is then required to confirm) - that is usually the genetic disorder which causes arthritis (among other things).  Trouble is the treatment won't reduce the arthritis now that the damage has occurred but it may stop any other problems from getting worse.

      I wonder if your dr even cares about what their personal opinion did to your life.  There is still no research that confirms definitely that hrt causes breast cancer.  When one study says there is a risk, another says there is not.  There are many young women who do not take hrt who get breast cancer. You are more likely to die from heart disease without oestrogen.

      So Heather, do what is best for you, not what others reckon you should do.

  • Chrisy
    Chrisy heather40361

    Posted

    Hi Heather,  I took HRT for 9 months following a total hysterectomy.  I was frightened to be on it as I feared heriditary breast cancer, (my mother had it twice), but the doctor insisted for a short while until my body accustomed itself to the lack of oestrogen.  I came off the HRT and ended up on anti depressants for 2 years as I became very anxious, but I reckoned that was the lesser evil to breast cancer and the anti depressants definately helped with the anxiety.  I was able to come of the anti depressants easily as I followed the doctors advice and reduced the dose slowly.  It is totally your choice what you do!  I just thought I would share my experience.  As long as you keep having health checks, mammograms, smears etc. whatever you decide any problems should be picked up early.  There are no guarantees in life.  Last mammogram all clear.
  • BellaRubia
    BellaRubia heather40361

    Posted

    Hi Heather.  Only thing I know for sure is that we can not live on HRT for ever or it is going to make worse than better.  I heard some lady complaining she stopped at once and she had severe menopausal symptoms.  Ask him to help you out slowly.

    Best wishes

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