To all ladies on this site - be prepared for a letter telling you that 4 weeks before the op you have to stop taking HRT and for sometime afterwards.
If you suffer sweats then a short course of antidepressants can help kill some of the worst of the sweating - fluoxetine worked for me (aka prozac).
Dont leave yourself with nothing as after the operation its hard to regulate your body temperature and with the stormy hot weather I have found it all a bit rubbish.
The reason for making us stop is HRT increases risk of DVT. If you dont comply then they will cancel your operation. Its all a bit serious.
I'm on HRT and they knew I was on HRT and I never had to stop. I had the Clexane anti DVT injections for 4 weeks and the horrid TED stockings but they were perfectly happy for me to continue with my normal low dose HRT.
It looks like it might be down to the individual consultant.
I'm on HRT and they knew I was on HRT and I never had to stop. I had the Clexane anti DVT injections for 4 weeks and the horrid TED stockings but they were perfectly happy for me to continue with my normal low dose HRT.
It looks like it might be down to the individual consultant.
Hi Laura - it was my GP who predicted they would stop me without knowing my consultant.
Its the overall policy at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital Birmingham which is a specialist centre. So I just did what I was told...They were really hot on it
Did you have to do the injections for 4 weeks as well? Everyone at our hospital has them. Two weeks for a knee but 4 weeks for a hip. I was quite proud of myself for getting on with it when told I'd have to inject myself for 4 weeks. Apparently some people refuse 😕.
I've been on my HRT for 21 years now and have agreed with the doctor that I will wean myself off it when I retire. My memory and cognitive abilities are horrid when I come off it.
Don't see it as rude see it as them lookiong out for you. I had a total hystorectomy only 8 months before I had my hip op. I was on HRT patches. Then I read the side effects and stopped using them. They are also a higher risk of cancer. After my hip op. I haven't had night sweats at all . It isn't only hrt and other femanine mrd they stop. This is why they do pre ops before your operation and need to know what meds you are on so you have the time to stop them in time for your operation. I was just put on new pain meds and I have to stop taking them 24 houyrs before my op and seeing my surgeon today I made him aware of this so all my records are up to date. Your GP may need to know what is going on with you at the hospital. But they never tell the surgeon what meds you are on. It is safer to stop any meds they tell you to instead of not doing so. Think of it as them looking out for you and only have your life as there best interest. you may like me find you won't need them after the op any way.
I've been on HRT for ll years and advised this at my pre op. I was never told go off them by either my gp or my surgeon or at pre op. When I went to get my prescription for my pills for DVT, it was my pharmacist that told me to stop taking them!!
Maybe it depends what you are on, but I'm 62 in excellent health (except hips of course), and take estradot 50 mcg patches twice weekly and prometrium l00 mg daily...what worries me is that some doctors feel so strong about HRT that they tell you to go off of them and others, like mine, don't even acknowlege them....so who is really at risk...are some doctors more cautious than others and just want
to cover themselves in case something happens? I think sometimes we just have to have trust in our doctors, but it certainly does not hurt to be educated on this or any other subject when having surgery.
I live in Canada and probably between l0 doctors you would get 3 different opinions on this subject.
i am a v fit 52 who had only been taking the lowest dose patches for 4 weeks before they crashed me off them - hospital policy and I was checked with lots of times that I had stopped as they would not operate if I was still taking it. As you say v different advice - maybe as they realise we talk to each other then the inconsistencies will have to be addressed.
happily on day 2 of gel and looking forward to feeling better on all fronts.
i am also being checked out for a breast lump and no one minded me taking HRT
thanks for your reply - my English tongue was in my cheek when I used the word rude. I was getting 15 drench sweats a day and 5-7 at night and it took 2 months to get my treatment sorted then 4 weeks later I was off HRT.
My GP is. Specially trained menopause and HRT expert. She recommended Menopause Matters site which is great..
ROH in birmingham does do thorough pre op assessment and hasn't had a case of Mrsa for over 7 years. So I fully respect their requests - just hard to have bilateral hip pain and all those sweats back. Especially as I will be getting my Dec13 new hip replaced in next few months and now know I won't get my HRT.
Spirits are up and I remain in the spare room 4 weeks on as I don't want my hubby to experience my bad nights. I def think the royal family have something going where king and queen have separate bedrooms 😉
xxx