Facebook Pixel
Q: 

Menopause with no hormone treatment?

By September 24, 2008 - 9:24am
 
Rate This

Has anyone gone through menopause 5 years ago or longer and done it completely without any hormonal help at all?

I am in my second year of menopause after about five years of perimenopause. I have not used hormones of any kind and seem to have gotten through at least the physical effects (hot flashes, etc) without tearing my hair out.

But I have noticed other changes -- in my skin, my hair, and my libido -- that bother me, and I know that our hormones affect all these things. I'm now wondering if my decision (almost by default; I just didn't have an extraordinarily tough transition) to go hormone-free was made in haste, and if I should reconsider.

Does anyone have the experience of 5 or 10 years post-menopause without hormones? Are you happy with your decision?

Add a Comment68 Comments

(reply to Diane Porter)

think it was from GNC. You just rub it on (I used my inner forearms).......I don't use anything now, and I am 53 ....started perimenopuse at 41 and was done by 47....night sweats were the worst and the vag itching .......the replens really helped that.

October 13, 2009 - 9:59am

I made it past menopause with only estroven reg strength and progesterone like cream (wild yam) by the age of 47!!

October 12, 2009 - 9:15am

Reta,

Wow. I am just so fascinated with this. Both your information about cholesterol and your experience with your cholesterol levels and your corresponding health isssues. I will do some research on this now and see if I can find out more.

Yes, all the pieces we have are interlocked in important ways. I recall when cholesterol first became the big bad guy and everyone started dropping fat completely out of their diet. Suddenly there was an explosion of fat-free products on the market -- that actually had the same or similar number of calories. As I recall, fat-free Fig Newtons even had more calories than the regular Fig Newtons! Anyway, now we know that you do need some fat in your diet, and that there are good fats for our bodies, especially the monounsaturated oils.

It seems that no matter what the health issue is, we can take it to extremes. And at some point we learn that the extreme is harmful, and we have to back off. So very interesting. Thank you, Reta.

October 12, 2009 - 8:16am

Dianne,
I would recommend that everyone have the genetic testing done for Factor V Leiden before HRT, it is a simple blood test. I am heterozygeous, which means I inherited one gene and the lower risk. My risk for a clot is twice the normal population. Also only 10% of this population clots, which is in my favor. I am doing things to prevent a clot like exercise. staying hydrated and awareness. What is working against me is the fact that my maternal grandmother, mother and maternal aunt have all clotted. Both my children have inherited this.

I took the soy and cohosh for about a year and stopped in early 2007. I have recently had 2 incidents of post menopausal bleeding (May/July). I had that evaluated and they could not find a cause, at least it wasn't hyperpasia or neopasia. I finally got my doctor to state this: "post menopausal bleeding from an unknown hormonal imbalance." My theory is that it is related to my cholesterol. This summer my doctor got to aggressive in lowering my cholesterol and it dropped my total cholesterol to 105. The next week I went hormonal, stopped sleeping and was depressed. Three days after stopping the Vytorin, I was a normal person again. My hormone levels also dropped from postmenopausal levels to perimenopausal levels. I had my levels tested 2 months later and there are back to post menopausal levels. I have had a series of health issues all arise this summer and are all related to cholesterol in one way or another.

Now you may be asking how is cholesterol related to menopause? Chloesterol is the basic building block for all your hormones.It is also necessary for proper functioning of your brain. When my cholesterol, which I suspect had dropped into the double digits, dropped so low it upset the natural production of my bodily hormones. Cholesterol is a very interesting topic and very essential part of our proper health, not the evil thing the pharmacutical companies would have you think.

Reta

October 9, 2009 - 10:32am

Dianne,
I am another one that has gone through menopause without HRT. I did not have a choice, I have an inherited clotting condition called Factor V Leiden and my chance of a clot is increased 39 fold with BCPs or HRT. That roughly translates to 1 in 250 chance of a clot, I did not like those numbers. Besides that gene passed down from my grandmother, the fact that my maternal grandmother, mother and maternal aunt have clotted creates more risk for a clot than the one little gene.

When my hot flashes/mood swings/insomnia got to be very bad, my primary prescribed Paxil for 3 months and it helped me very much. After that, I used a soy based menopause support and Black Cohosh. My GYN suggested them since HRT was out of the question. It was very helpful and life developed a new normal that was ok.

October 8, 2009 - 10:30pm
(reply to Reruho)

Reruho,

Thanks so much for sharing your story! It's interesting about your Factor V condition; my sister and her girls also have a clotting condition, though I did not inherit it.

So glad that you found help in the Paxil, soy support and black cohosh. Do you still take the last two, or are you completely over your symptoms?

October 9, 2009 - 9:31am
EmpowHER Guest
Anonymous

Yes, I did it , with estroblend from walmart and some lubrication for vaginal dryness. can't remember the name of the stuff, but it sloughed off dead skin cells that caused the itching. ewwwwwwwwww

October 8, 2009 - 5:27am
(reply to Anonymous)

I remembered it was called replense

October 13, 2009 - 9:56am
EmpowHER Guest
Anonymous

It's vitamins and herbs. Why can't we just do that without WtoW? I take most of those vitamins already. Still one big hot flash and as grouchy as ever. Does anyone know how much it costs? I saw there quotes, but real prices are better.

October 5, 2009 - 9:12am
(reply to Anonymous)

Anon,

You absolutely can! At EmpowHer we absolutely want you to take charge of your own health care, do the research and learn what's right for you and your own body, especially when you are working with doctors. But some women do not have the time to do all the research and would appreciate knowing that women's doctors with years of experience have put together a formula; in that case, we want that information to be available too. I don't object to any of that. I only object to such things as websites that promote "miracle cures" without sources or basis for their research, websites that take advantage of people who are suffering with symptoms.

Every woman is such an individual that no one combination or formula will work for all of us. I'm so sorry that you're still struggling with hot flashes and mood swings. Perimenopause and/or menopause can be at best confusing and at worst misery-making. Women who write to our site about hormone replacement therapy, diet, nutrition and supplemental ways to deal with their symptoms have many different experiences. We're all in this together, I guess is what I'm saying. And if we can help you personally with any questions or research, don't hesitate to ask!

October 6, 2009 - 8:27am
Image CAPTCHA
Enter the characters shown in the image.
By submitting this form, you agree to EmpowHER's terms of service and privacy policy
Add a Comment

All user-generated information on this site is the opinion of its author only and is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment for any medical conditions. Members and guests are responsible for their own posts and the potential consequences of those posts detailed in our Terms of Service.

Menopause

Get Email Updates

Menopause Guide

Have a question? We're here to help. Ask the Community.

ASK

Health Newsletter

Receive the latest and greatest in women's health and wellness from EmpowHER - for free!