HRT SWAPS: DOS AND DON’TS

♦ DON’T share medication with friends or others. Put simply, what is right for them may not be right, or safe, for you.

♦ DO ask your GP if they can prescribe you an alternative. For example, many patients will have the oestrogen part of their HRT delivered as a transdermal gel, but equivalents are available as spray or patches.

♦ DO enquire about a Mirena intrauterine system (IUS or Mirena hormone coil) as the progesterone component of HRT. The advantage is that it can also act as contraception and helps with heavy bleeding which can occur in the perimenopause.

♦ DON’T get HRT abroad without at least discussing with your GP. You won’t have personalised prescription information or necessarily be able to check that it won’t interact with other medications or conditions.

By Dr Philippa Kaye, author of ‘The M-word, Everything You Need to Know About the Menopause’