On Taking HRT at 35 and How the HRT Shortage is Affecting Me

A few days after my operation to remove my only ovary and tube last August I was put onto HRT so that I didn’t suffer the effects of menopause.

I didn’t know a lot about HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy) or the menopause then, and to be honest, I still don’t ⁠— there is so little information around, especially for someone going through it in the middle of their 30s. I do still plan to try and learn more about it all now that my life has started to settle down a bit more again. I had known, however, before all of this started, that I would try my best not to take HRT if I could help it when the time came.

I have always been someone who prefers not to take medication if I can possibly help it (which is why it took so long for me to start taking anti-depressants when I needed them), and I had really only read negative things about HRT. So I had thought that I would try to manage the side effects of the menopause more naturally if I could.

But then I had to have half my body parts removed (slight exaggeration) because of a Borderline Tumour, which could have been ovarian cancer for all we knew, and I was suddenly not left with much of a choice but to start taking HRT shortly after my op.

I could have said no, of course. But, I’m 35. I don’t want to be dealing with massive hot flushes, potentially huge hormone fluctuations and what could be worse than vaginal dryness (that’s a joke). I already struggle to sleep, get migraines, suffer from low mood and anxiety and feel like an old lady with my aches and pains constantly ⁠— I don’t want those things to get even worse thank you very much.

I’ve seen how much my mum suffered with hot flushes over the years and I started having night sweats before my surgery and then for a couple of nights after before I’d started on HRT, too. Plus these symptoms can be worse if you go through menopause suddenly as a result of treatment such as mine. I also still have two frozen embryos that I would hopefully like to use if possible (I still have my womb) and I don’t even know if I could get pregnant if I had gone through the menopause. Speaking of which, I don’t even know if I am officially going through the menopause now, and the HRT just manages the symptoms, or if it kind of postpones it until I stop. I’m annoyed I know so little about it still. I wish we learnt about some of this stuff in schools; I think it’s so important.

I’ve also read more positive information about HRT over the last year, and things that debunk the negative connotations that have been associated with it in the past, which has helped.

So, yes, for me, there was no decision to be made about going on HRT. I am currently using a patch called Evorel Conti, that I stick on to the top of my leg or bum (they have to go below your waist on a hair-free area ⁠— which limits the options for me because I am one hairy mofo (although, weirdly, my legs seem to have got less hairy and grow slower since my op/going on HRT ⁠— my face, however ⁠— holy moly gorilla-chops!). I have to change them twice a week on the same days, and if one falls off (which they sometimes do, although I’m better at putting them on so they don’t, now), I still have to change them on the same usual days, even if I just put a new one on the night before. Luckily I’ve had cancer (jealous??), so I don’t have to pay for my prescriptions anymore.

I would say it’s a relief to not get periods anymore, but at the moment I’m still bloody getting them (pun intended). From what I’ve read, this is quite common in the first six months on the type I am on, but it’s now almost 7 months and it’s still flowing going strong. One of the only benefits I was supposed to get from all this (apart from the no ovarian cancer part) and I’m getting more periods than ever.

The biggest issue I’m having with it all though, is trying to get hold of the damn HRT patches that I’m on as there is a shortage of them throughout the country, which started right around the time I started needing them. It is getting harder and harder to get them each time I have a new prescription, and it’s quite stressful and is causing me quite a bit of worry.

The other day I rang around 8 different chemists to ask if they had my patches in, and I’m so resigned to them saying no, that I start the conversation with “I don’t suppose you have any…”, to which the answer is generally no; sometimes they even laugh at the suggestion that they might have some in stock.

I currently have two separate IOUs for two different chemists for my last two prescriptions, as neither could fulfil the whole quantity at once, and it is pretty much a constant on my list to either ring a chemist to see if they have any, or visit the ones I am owed at to see if they’ve managed to get any.

It may not sound like that big of a deal, but to me it is. I have no idea what happens if I don’t get any in time ⁠— I’m guessing I might start getting symptoms of menopause pretty quickly ⁠— but can they be reversed if I go back on it, and will I still be able to have IVF with my frozen embryos ⁠— I’m guessing yes to both, but again I don’t really know. Plus I don’t want to be going through the symptoms suddenly, messing with my hormones even more by taking away the hormones I get from the patches and then getting them back again. Hormones can be a nightmare for us women as it is, without messing with them artificially, constantly.

And honestly, it’s taking up too much of my damn time. I was in hospital for a week after my surgery, and then the recovery from my surgery took a while too, so I missed a lot of time where I was able to work. I need to be working as much as I possibly can now, and ringing around chemists regularly and going to different ones is a pain in my arse that I don’t have time for.

I could, obviously, try a different type of HRT ⁠— the tablet form of the one I’m on, or something different, and I might have to at some point if nothing changes. But I’ve only been on this one for 6 and a bit months and I want to give it as much time as possible before I mess with my body again, and let it get used to this one before I decide whether or not it is right for me. I’d also rather use the patch (even though it’s pretty annoying and looks like shit as soon as it’s on because it has fluff from clothes all around it straight away) than remembering to take another tablet every day. I really, really want to give my body time to adjust before I mess with it any more.

I’ve met other women struggling to get hold of HRT too ⁠— in my local chemist I spoke to a woman who hadn’t been able to get her usual one (the same as me) for months, and so had already switched to tablets, which she was then also unable to get. I told her about another local chemist that I had managed to get them from once before, which she tried and then came back in to thank me because she was finally able to get some.

It’s affecting women’s lives a lot. The symptoms of menopause are no joke and can greatly affect women’s lives. Women going through the menopause often experience, hot flushes and night sweats (these aren’t just a feeling of being a bit hot, they make you feel really, really horrible), trouble sleeping, a decreased libido, headaches and mood changes, such as low mood anxiety, joint stiffness, aches and pains and lots more.

Not being able to get my HRT when I need it, and still struggling every day as it gets closer to me running out, makes me more anxious than I already am.

This HRT shortage is just another thing on top of everything else right now. It’s not the worst thing in the world, but on top of dealing with the surgery, the aftermath of that, the changes to my body and my scarring, the knowing I can’t get pregnant any more ⁠— it feels like a lot. I’m scared that without HRT my quality of life would be greatly affected.

I’ve heard different reasons for the shortage. Apparently, it’s a manufacturing and supply issue, but I’ve also read people suggesting Brexit is the reason or that there has been an increase in demand as there has been more publicising of the benefits of HRT. I don’t know the reason, but it’s shit for all the women affected and I really hope the issue is sorted really soon.