Dumbest question ever asked

I am 50. I was not put on hormones. My decision. Really having few symptoms. My question is that in the old days, people did not know about hormones. They went through menapause and that was it. If you have gone through menapause (surgical or otherwise) why do you need to take hormones? Seems like God made us this way and nature would take care of itself. All the hype about HRT pros and cons makes no sense to me. I have heard many more reasons why not to take them than to take them. I know this seems like a dumb questions but my mom asked me this and I could not answer her. She said she never took or was offered any hormones and her mother sure did not take them either.

Hi
I really don't have an answer to your question I don't think dr is going to put me on hormones I'm 4 weeks post op and starting to have symptoms but I guess the hormones are a medical breakthrough that makes quality of life okay for some. Some people will never have a problem with them. I guess it is like the birth control pill I'm sure my mom didn't have those either and some people have a hard time with medical problems with them. I guess it is a decision each individual person has to make. Some people do get major symptoms and hormones may just make their quality of life tolerable. I never took any type of major medications, watched my weight never smoked and have had cancer twice, so go figure who knows.

Hi sgm,

I'm no hormone expert by far, but from what I understand, surgical menopause is a bit different than natural menopause. With surgical menopause, you are suddenly in menopause, with the sudden drop in hormones, whereas with natural menopause, you're gradually losing estrogen levels (over years) and even then, ovaries produce small amounts of estrogen for many years into menopause. So, since it's so dramatic a change for our bodies, many women take hormones after a hyst for a transitional period, and some for long term replacement. Hope this info helps, and if you have any other questions, visit the Hormone Jungle Forum, as there is so much info on HRT to be found there. Good luck in your recovery! s

Marta

Hi,I am 43,Had the works on 5-16-03 and I have chosen to get through my surgical menopause without the help of hormones too.I feel better than I have in 10 years at least.I do have Hot Flashes and NightSweats( I use herbs to help that and They Do!!) but nothing I can't handle SO FAR!!!!I am hoping I will continue my journey without the help of hormones.I have been told by Drs and others that taking HRT has cons but it will reduce the chances of osteoporous and thinning of the vaginal walls and such but...I can't try them because of the chances of bloodclots.My Mother and Grandma never used any either and say they never had anything they couldn't handle.For now I have chosen try the old way.I have Only time will tell whether I will survive menopause!!LOL

I think if you and your mother have no symptoms that take you to your knees or your doctor, you are very lucky! Menopause is natural but so is a heart attack- this is how I justify hormones. People take heart meds to avoid heart trouble, I take hormones to avoid mental instability and night sweats. Be very greatful if you don't need them because if you do take them, you hear a lot of scarey stuff every night on the news and horror stories from people who "know someone" who had a bad experience with them, and the insert that comes with them is enough to make anyone wonder why anyone would take them. My sisiter never took a hormone in her life and had uterine cancer, I've taken some form of estrogen for over 20 years and don't have cancer. I hope I never do but I know the last 20 years would have been miserable for me and anyone who would stay around me had I not had my hormones. If I felt I had a choice I would not take anything but I am one of those people who can't sleep, think, or function without them. When I first had to take HRT I was very young and also thought hmmmm God is allowing this so I should be able to handle it - now that makes about as much sense as not taking meds for chest pains. It's maintenance for some of us. Debra

Hi,
I started going through premature menopause when I was about 42. I did not want to take HRT. I figure I would just go with nature and let it be. I suffered through years of hot flashes (I'm 48 now and still getting them). A couple of month ago I was diagnosed with a prolapsed uterus. I had my tvh on 6/24/03. I wonder now if it was a mistake for me not to take hrt. Maybe if I took it my uterus would not have prolapsed as it would have kept my insides stronger. I am going to ask the doctor if I should start taking it now, before anything else starts to fall. Hopefully, it's not too late. I'm scared to death of a vaginal prolapse. I don't know if it would help, but I'm going to ask anyway.

I discovered an herb called Black Cohosh 1 1/2 years ago. Eclectic Herbs has one that has a controlled amount of the herb in it. I took 370 mg twice a day for the past year and a half and it took away all the hot flashes, anxiety and night sweats. There has been a lot of research done in Europe on it and it is widely used there.

It blocks estrogen receptors so estrogen cannot bind to them. I just had my TAH, BSO and lymphadenectomy on 7-1-03 and I had stopped taking the Black Cohost the day before the surgery,thinking that without my ovaries, maybe I would not need it, but the hot flashes have come back so I will start taking at least one capsule a day again.

There are too many unknowns for me re HRT. A few years ago, I tried some DHEA and some pregnenolone for my terrible PMS, now I wonder if that promoted my endo cancer. ???
Alana

My mom had a TAH in the 1960's, including ovaries. She was in her late 40's. Her doc put her on birth control pills for a few years. There were not other HRT options at that time.

I remember we had a good laugh. We were both on the same pill at the same time!