Why I chose not to have hormone replacement

I recently had bloodwork done to determine if I was post-menopausal.  And, yup, I am.

The reason I had the tests done is due to the night sweats.  Waking up 3 or 4 times a night feeling like I was laying in a puddle was wearing me down.  It had been going on long enough that I finally decided to talk to my endocrinologist about it.

I also made some changes to my sleeping environment - I got a wicking mattress pad from cool-jams and pajamas from cool-jams and Amazon.   And a friend of mine made me some cooling packs out of rice.

It was amazing to be able to only have to wake up to pee!  It made a huge difference in my demeanor at work as well.

Today I saw my GP in the morning and my endo in the afternoon.

My endo explained to me that if I’ve been post-menopausal for 10+ years, that’s 10+ years my body has not had these hormones.  And giving them back to my body can be a bit of a shock.  Even in the lowest dose.  It also would increase my chances of stroke, breast cancer, brittle bones, and a list of other stuff.

And hormone replacement isn’t meant to be for life.

I asked her flat out if the only real benefit would be to relieve the night sweats.   She said yes.  So I risk all that other stuff, just to relieve something that I’ve already pretty much taken care of?

Yeah, negative on the hormone replacement.

Had I found out earlier - like years earlier - that I was post-menopausal, I would have probably opted for the hormones.  And had I had a full hysterectomy it would have been a huge benefit to get the hormone replacement immediately.

But my situation it would be more negatives than positives to do it now.

Menopause and what I did not know

The definition of menopause is a woman that has not had a period in 12 months.

I didn't know that.  I thought it was the whole hot flashes, etc. stuff.  It can or cannot include the miserable stuff.  And if you've had a hysterectomy, you're considered in menopause.
CONGRATULATIONS!

Postmenopause - interestingly enough has the same damn definition.  However, bloodwork can also determine whether you're post or not.

I'm post.  FSH, LH, and Estradiol tests were done on my blood.  I'm not even wavering on the border.  I'm definitively post.

I see my doctor in about a week.  I'm hoping to get some relief from my hot flashes.  They haven't been as bad since I made some changes to my bed and the pajamas I wear.  But I'm not looking forward to summer at all.

My hot flashes/night sweats started out very mild.  I'd get warm at night, wonder why the AC didn't click on, and throw a leg out from under the sheet.  Then they started feeling like this flush of intense heat from my waist, creeping up, my skin would feel prickly, my back would sweat, and then it would go away.  Or if they happened at night, I'd wake up feeling like someone peed the bed because my back was soaking wet.

I'll update this after my doctor visit to see what she does with me.

The good thing about hot flashes/night sweats is that they normally go away after 2 or 3 years.  I'm hoping that I'm at the end of that and that they will go away before summer.  :-)