6 months ago I was in bed with depression and anxiety and actually wanted to die. Then I went on HRT and I was better not good but I was managing and back at work…now I have BC and have to come off the HRT,
stopped HRT on Friday the day of my official diagnosis and the last 3 days have been getting steadily worse last night I was gripped with acute anxiety in bed for 3 hours, irrational anxiety linked to my specific health anxiety and I had no reason to think about it but got it into my head that it might come back I was lead there “tuned in” to my body feeling every little sensation Today im depressed crying and burning up.
I want my HRT back… it was my crutch…it DID help I just didnt realise how much till I stopped it.
I rang the nurse and asked if I should not have tapered off rather than going cold turkey and was told basically it did not appear to matter whether I came off all at once or gradually reduced it …I sensed she wanted me to stay off it now…I cheated and used one pump of Oestrogel 2 nights ago.
May sound odd but breast cancer is the least of my problems my mental health is. I can’t live like this. Its a livig nightmare. I cant work and have zero motivation to do anything constantly crying and anxious
The worst thing is I dont know if how im feeling now will ease up as its a result of the sudden withdrawal of estrogel or if THIS is how I will always feel…
I am at home all day alone which doesnt help (self employed)
Will it get better??/
I think you need to discuss this urgently with your Oncologist and GP .Maybe for you " going cold turkey " is not the right way .You are also dealing with the shock of diagnosis and all that comes with that so additional strain on your mental health is very hard. I’m sure there have been other threads about this topic .I will have a look for you .You could also ask for some advice in the Ask the Nurses section or speak to one of the nurses on the helpline about this .
I have just seen your post, and Jill’s helpful replies - and yes, I agree that you do really need some help and advice with your current situation.
I am 64, and was diagnosed last year - and I completely understand your mindset, because your quality of life is your priority as opposed to the length of your life, which is pretty much the way I have always viewed my life too. I have been blessed with general good health up to this point, but probably made some bad decisions along the way, maybe as per diet and lifestyle, but it is what it is.
I too have found - and I understand it of course - that when dealing with all the healthcare professionals (multi disciplinary team) in the BC domain, that side effects and ‘downsides’ of treatments and advice seem to be secondary considerations. Of course that makes sense when we are talking about a possibly life-threatening diagnosis of cancer - but it is a journey, and I believe that every aspect has to be weighed up.
I have found that the consultant (who did my surgery) and the radiotherapy specialist doctor have let their guard drop once or twice, in understanding that a lot of BC treatments are a ‘trade-off’ - and that those are important considerations - but they are discrete about that, because that is treading on the toes of the oncology department.
You need medical advice as well as ‘caring’ and ‘counselling-type’ advice. As you say, the BC Nurse says it doesn’t matter if you stopped your HRT gradually or instantly - but that sounds more like an off-the-cuff response as opposed to actually looking at the whole person that you are?
Or if you have a Maggies Centre in your locality, maybe you would get a little bit more balanced assistance as opposed to the formal BC advice. I wish you well. Please don’t neglect this.
So…I apologise. My period started 2 hours ago which explains a lot. My periods are all over the place so I never know whats causing my mood and anxiety until AFTER I start and then it all makes sense
PLUS im in the wrong place as I dont have DCIS I have invasive ductal carcinoma ! HER2 negative Oestrogen receptive.
Ive been dealing with perimenopause for 10 years but they got very bad in Oct last year and I ended up in a bad way. For obvious reasons I dont want to end up like that again so it scares me coming off HRT
That said I am not even sure HRT was whats helped me as it never solved the vaginal atrophy symptoms I started with in Oct nor did it stop palputations hot flushes or PMT anxiety and depression for each and every period which can come on as often as once a week, this one was 17 days since my last.
I handled the breast screening - ultra sound biopsy and then being told “Its probably cancer” quite well. I was rational. Then on Friday I got the official diagnosis and it was a huge relief to know that the one lymph node they biopsied came back normal.
But now Ive learned it can all change after the operation and thats the only time they truly know exactly what size it is and grade (I was told grade 2 and 23mm) so I have 3 weeks to wait and on one level I wish it was yesterday on another level Im terrified! I asked if I could have local instead of general for the lumpetomy but was told “no” :(
I’ve just been diagnosed too and been told to stop my HRT immediately. I’m actually convinced it’s the HRT that’s caused the breast cancer as I have no family history and I’m only 43! I’m actually dreading what I’m going to be like without it. I hope your symptoms settle down soon. Here for you if you need a chat as I’ll prob be going through the same symptoms soon enough!