I remember the first Great HRT Shortage. The menopause removes hormones, HRT replaces them – up to a point. Twice a week for the last six years, I have applied two oestrogen patches – Estradot, manufactured by Novartis – to my abdomen. Every night, I take 100mg of micronised progesterone. This is meant to stabilise the upheaval that the menopause causes, which has included, so far, profound depression, panic, anxiety, weeping, tinnitus, peeling skin, posterior-tibial tendonitis and bloating, increased clumsiness, impaired memory and brain fog. Upheaval? I’m a different woman now.
I know that HRT is not a lifestyle choice but a lifesaver. Women in England and Wales between the ages of 50 and 55, or prime menopause age, had the highest rates of suicide in 2021, and if you have ever sat in your car sobbing, or wondered how it was possible to feel so bleak and numb and still be living, then you will understand that awful figure.
