Menopause webchat with Liz Earle

I’ve been on HRT for three years. I didn’t really want to take it but my partner has dementia and I couldn’t deal with the emotional side effects of menopause and the sleepless nights due to hot flushes. I still had my periods at this point (although irregular). My question is - because I’m on combination HRT I have a monthly bleed. How will I ever know if I’m through the menopause to come off the HRT?

I started the menopause in my early 50s & was prescribed HRT for the hot sweats & insomnia. I'm now 67 & unfortunately I still have the same symptoms if I don't have the HRT. I now apply half a patch twice-weekly which keeps the symptoms at bay. I dread the day the doc says I can't have it anymore as the sweats are so severe & debilitating. I really envy you ladies who have sailed through it!

I echo most of the above especially the weight piling on. Would welcome any advice regarding other symptoms.

Hello Liz, I started getting symptoms four years ago. They were not too bad so I assume I am one of the ones that has rather sailed through it. However since I hit menopause I have really struggled with my weight. I used to be able to lose a few pounds when I wanted to but now it is really an uphill battle and I am finding it impossible. Is this a temporary thing and what can I do about it?

Well I for one am glad to see this. I am 54 and only now beginning to experience symptoms so I am obviously the other side of the average. I have had no periods for four months. I've had a few flushes but no sweats. My main symptom is insomnia which I believe to be very common from talking to friends. I have no trouble getting to sleep but I wake often and can take up to two hours to get back to sleep and my health and most especially my mood are suffering badly. What can I do?

Yes all over for me 10 years ago.

I've a feeling that this topic may be a little too late to be of any help for us on GN. My menopause was 15 years ago .

anno thanks for that - it made me realise that I do have a question. Am I at risk of osteoporosis more so than someone who took HRT? (I have never smoked and I exercise).

Like grannyknot, I had an easy and early (43) menopause. AsI had no symptoms, my GP said I wouldn't need HRT, but, 30-odd years later I have a lot of joint problems - one hip and half a shoulder replaced so far - and this makes me wonder if thing would have been different if I had been prescribed HRT. What do you think?

I don't really have a question, but I always think that any Menopause Guide should also include a section (or at least a paragraph) about those who sail through it, just for the record.

My menopause was so unremarkable, I don't even remember having it, but I must have. Well, I did, in my early 50s because I had a hysterectomy. Took HRT briefly, it didn't agree with me at all, in fact that made me ill. I then took natural remedies for a while, read Gail Sheehy's "Passages" (and possibly a few other books) and one day realised that I'm just fine.

I'm not being unsympathetic to people who do have symptoms and for whom menopause can cause difficulty, I just think it's important to say that for some people, it simply doesn't cause any problems, nor do the symptoms last long