Menopause HRT and sleep apnea

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
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Sclark08
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Menopause HRT and sleep apnea

Post by Sclark08 » Sat Aug 16, 2014 4:22 am

Ladies I know some of you have read the reports that suggest there is a link between menopause and sleep apnea. I have been on HRT for 1 month and my nightly events have disappeared! In all that time I have had total of 2 obstructive events and 1 CA event!
Maybe there is something to it. I thought maybe my machine was malfunctioning but my sleepyhead charts are perfect. I took it in to DME to check it out. No problems
And I feel wonderful!

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M'ohms
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Re: Menopause HRT and sleep apnea

Post by M'ohms » Sat Aug 16, 2014 3:21 pm

I was on HRT for 5 years before I was diagnosed with SA. After being on CPAP for a year, I decided it was time for me to discontinue HRT and my doctor agreed. I have noticed no change in my therapy as a result, although I have begun to experience hot flashes again...ugh!

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Re: Menopause HRT and sleep apnea

Post by Guest » Sat Aug 16, 2014 4:04 pm

Sclark08 wrote:Ladies I know some of you have read the reports that suggest there is a link between menopause and sleep apnea. I have been on HRT for 1 month and my nightly events have disappeared! In all that time I have had total of 2 obstructive events and 1 CA event!
Maybe there is something to it. I thought maybe my machine was malfunctioning but my sleepyhead charts are perfect. I took it in to DME to check it out. No problems
And I feel wonderful!
You DO know that HRT can lead to breast cancer, don't you? I would advise discontinuing the HRT ASAP.
My wife found it out the hard way in 2010. I had discovered the information back in 2005 and tried to get her to stop. She didn't and suffered the consequences. She had a lumpectomy in 2010 and everything seems to be fine so far, but the journey since then has not been without other consequences. It hasn't been a whole lotta fun for her in the last four years.

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Sclark08
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Re: Menopause HRT and sleep apnea

Post by Sclark08 » Sat Aug 16, 2014 4:19 pm

Dear Guest I am so sorry for your wives experience with HRT. Unfortunately that happens sometimes.
I have been on and weaned off HRT several times in the last 7 years and up to this point no issues. Yearly mammograms show no signs of cancer. I suppose some day I may run out of luck.
I have always suffered severe hot flashes ever since entering into menopause. I am now 64 and still suffering hot flashes. As you age quality of life becomes an issue. My estrogen was so low at one point my heart began to suffer. So you weigh your odds and take a chance. Right now I feel wonderful. I will take the HRT for 6 months and then wean off for a while.
I was not even aware of the apnea estrogen thing until my Dr informed me that the medical community is in agreement that there may be a connection for menopausal women.
As a former pharmacy student I am well aware that the least amount of medicine for the shortest amount of time should be the rule of thumb. Thanks for sharing in on my post and best of luck to you

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Julie
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Re: Menopause HRT and sleep apnea

Post by Julie » Sat Aug 16, 2014 5:10 pm

Susan, there were studies done a while back (sorry, links gone long ago) that said it's worse to go onto HRT, then come off it, and then start up again much (many years) later, rather than having stayed on it the whole time, but I'm not sure about the business of starting and stopping every 6 mos. I might do your own research (but lots!) to see if there's more out there about it.

Wulfman...

Re: Menopause HRT and sleep apnea

Post by Wulfman... » Sat Aug 16, 2014 5:23 pm

For anybody interested.......
Do a Google search on "hormone replacement therapy and breast cancer" and start reading.


Den

.

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Julie
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Re: Menopause HRT and sleep apnea

Post by Julie » Sat Aug 16, 2014 6:08 pm

Den, that's what we're (also) talking about - old news to women unless they've lived under a rock, but good catch.

PS - where've you been lately?

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Sclark08
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Re: Menopause HRT and sleep apnea

Post by Sclark08 » Sat Aug 16, 2014 6:39 pm

As I said before 7 years no problems so far I'm good!
The old link you lost is just that old info . Medicine is constantly evolving sometimes good sometimes bad .
Sometimes you have to weigh the odds in your own case. Maybe I have just been lucky . Far back as I can trace no cancer in my family so my Dr and myself consider me a good risk.
Hormone replacement therapy is just that , therapy. You monitor follow up and test on a regular basis .
I think 0 events for a month as far as my sleep therapy goes deserves noticing

Wulfman...

Re: Menopause HRT and sleep apnea

Post by Wulfman... » Sat Aug 16, 2014 7:03 pm

Julie wrote:Den, that's what we're (also) talking about - old news to women unless they've lived under a rock, but good catch.

PS - where've you been lately?
Mostly just reading the posts. Was out of state (Idaho & Washington) and away from a computer for about the last half of July.

Regarding my wife's experience......
She was put on HRT in the late 1970s (before I knew her and following a complete hysterectomy) and continued on it till 2010 when it finally caught up with her. After the lumpectomy surgery in 2010, she was put on Tamoxifen to remove any remaining estrogen from her system. One of the possible side effects of that drug is blood clots. She got one in her thigh in late 2012 and then had to be put on Coumadin for nearly a year to dissolve the clot, along with wearing compression stockings. It was finally gone early this year, but it damaged some of the veins in her thigh.
If she would have just dealt with the hot flashes for awhile, she would probably have avoided those problems.
Sometimes the medical establishment learns from their mistakes.......and sometimes they don't.

But, some people live under rocks. Lots of people don't know about sleep apnea until it hits them over the head, too. We've all read about the horrors of some of their dealings with the medical establishment in this field. We live and learn.


Best wishes,

Den

.

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Sclark08
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Re: Menopause HRT and sleep apnea

Post by Sclark08 » Sat Aug 16, 2014 7:10 pm

When was the last time you had hot flashes Wulfman. .
As far as living under a rock you obviously are not one to engage in conversation without having to be insulting in some way.
But that is what the uneducated do!

Wulfman...

Re: Menopause HRT and sleep apnea

Post by Wulfman... » Sat Aug 16, 2014 7:31 pm

Sclark08 wrote:When was the last time you had hot flashes Wulfman. .
As far as living under a rock you obviously are not one to engage in conversation without having to be insulting in some way.
But that is what the uneducated do!
I've been on the "receiving end" of the hot flashes while she was getting over the experience of having the remaining estrogen removed from her system (a couple of years). That's bad enough.

I have no idea what the rest of your post means. I was NOT trying to be insulting.......just trying to make a point for those who may be reading and didn't know.

Den

.

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chunkyfrog
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Re: Menopause HRT and sleep apnea

Post by chunkyfrog » Sat Aug 16, 2014 8:28 pm

I took HRT for over 15 years after a total hysterectomy in my mid 40's.
My doc took me off cold turkey when I turned 60. (before cpap)
I never had a hot flash-ever, but it did eventually destroy my gall bladder.
Everything has a price. In my case, it was affordable.

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Julie
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Re: Menopause HRT and sleep apnea

Post by Julie » Sat Aug 16, 2014 9:12 pm

Susan! Den is one of the oldest and nicest and most helpful people here... please don't misread his stuff (and anyway, he was responding to something I said). Sheesh.

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Re: Menopause HRT and sleep apnea

Post by Janknitz » Sun Aug 17, 2014 1:35 am

No HRT here, I had enough monkeying with hormones for infertility. I've had hot flashes for 15 years or more before menopause and during certain phases of infertility treatments before that. Miserable, yes, but the alternatives don't sound much better.

I eat a lot of natural fats on my low carb high fat Paleo diet and I've found that hot flashes are more common when I slack off the fat. Fat is a precursor to the hormones our body makes, so it makes sense to me.
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Re: Menopause HRT and sleep apnea

Post by sleepblahslep » Thu Dec 18, 2014 10:56 am

Hi,
Just wanted to add that while HRT is definitely not without risk...neither is untreated sleep apnea. Both carry their own serious health risks.
My night sweats/hotflashes are so bad right now that I cannot use my cpap .... It is a risk/benefit decision a menopausal woman with sleep apnea need to make.


PS>
The WHI (Womens Health Initiative) study gave us a lot of good data BUT the study was inherently flawed because the average age of the women studied was 60+...while the average age of menopause is 51. Women with moderate to severe symptoms seem to need HRT the most during peri and the first year or two after true menopause ( IF...big ***IF *** they need it at all).. Recent data extracted from WHI and KEEPS has shown that 5 years of low dose HRT , for women between 47-52, has a lower risk than previously thought.

Nothing is risk free......***talk with your gyno and your sleep doc***, do your own research...be your own health advocate! Choose what is best for you, based on an informed decision.
Kindest regards to all