If you are under about 45 and have just had a hysterectomy, and especially if you have just had an oophorectomy, you will probably be prescribed HRT straight away to overcome possibly quite severe menopausal symptoms. Don’t be tempted to give up after a few weeks or months, because your risk of developing osteoporosis is higher than average. If HRT doesn’t seem to agree with you, ask your doctor about changing the dosage, or about changing to a different type. Unfortunately, many doctors suggest that women with an early menopause (surgical or natural) use HRT for only a few months to help hot flushes, etc, and do not mention the long-term need to prevent osteoporosis and arterial disease. A survey of members of the National Osteoporosis Society discovered that less than 2 per cent of sufferers who had had a hysterectomy or oophorectomy in the past had been offered treatment with HRT it is highly likely that if they had been able to receive HRT during the years immediately after the operation they would not be suffering from osteoporosis now.
If you are some years past the menopause you may be being troubled by vaginal and continence prob¬lems so this is a good time to consider HRT to overcome these tiresome and embarrassing consequences of the menopause. You can start now, regardless of whether you ever took it in earlier years. If you tried it some years ago and didn’t get on with it, you may find that one of the newer preparations will suit you better. If, in the meantime, you have had a hysterectomy, you will no longer need to take progestogen.
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