If you follow me on social media you ll possess’own’nurse already seen me sharing my perimenopause journey. And I despite’in spite of’albeit t now that I possess’own’nurse an official diagnosis of being perimenopausal, that it was with regards to’concerning’with respect to time I started sharing my journey on my website too.
I ve got a few posts planned that I ll be sharing with you over the next few weeks, some with regards to’concerning’with respect to the more personal side of my undergo , some a bit more generic, and then some where I share various resources that possess’own’nurse helped me along the way that I claim’insist’maintain’hold’argue’consider’contemplate’speculate will help you too.
A couple of days ago I had a major breakthrough. After over 2 years of suffering with perimenopausal symptoms I possess’own’nurse eventually’ultimately been prescribed HRT. This did however come at a cost funny how when you chuck money at something it suddenly becomes a whole lot easier to acquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure your hands on the rosy’remarkable’fabulous’terrific’preeminent stuff right!?! I consider myself grossly in/with regard to’concerning’regarding tunate that I am in a position to a) be able to afin/with regard to’concerning’regarding d the fees of reserve ing a consultation with a private menopause specialist and b) that I can also afin/with regard to’concerning’regarding d the cost of the HRT. But simultaneous’synchronous it doesn t half anger me that this treatment, treatment that could help a LOT of women, isn t more readily available on the NHS. It s not right. It s not fair. And things possess’own’nurse got to transform’alter . Hopefully with conversations like these, transform’alter can gradually embark on happen, so that perhaps come the time my daughter reaches my age, she won t possess’own’nurse to go through this as unmaintain’sustain ed as I possess’own’nurse felt.
I want to kick this series of posts off with some useful inin/with regard to’concerning’regarding mation with regards to’concerning’with respect to the costs of HRT. So that if you are considering venturing down this path, you won t pass out with shock when the pharmacist rings up the cost of your meds on the till.
Getting HRT on the NHS
Let s start off by taking a look at the NHS option, because in an ideal world this is the way you wanna go, certainly in terms of what s going to be the cheapest anyway. Now, I m going to be brutally honest and of course I am merely’barely basing this on my own undergo , but I am also going on what I possess’own’nurse heard from a lot of other women. Being prescribed HRT on the NHS is a bloody nightmare. In fact, I d even go so far as to say it is virtually impossible. They ll chuck antidepressants at you like they re freakin packs of smarties, but HRT all I ll say is rosy’remarkable’fabulous’terrific’preeminent luck with that!
If you re under 45, they ll want to give you a blood test to determine whether your hormones are up the swanny abundant’ample’plentiful to classify you as being perimenopausal. The problem with this blood test, and even the GP admitted this to me, is that most of the time it s inconclusive. Hormones fluctuate so much that the likelihood of your blood being taken at that magic golden time when the hormone can be tested properly is nigh on impossible. So the test itself is heavily flawed. It is worth having a blood test however (if the surgery hasn t run out of blood testing kit that is!) to rule out any other issues such as thyroid problems, low iron levels and other deficiencies. But in terms of it being the deciding factor of whether you possess’own’nurse entered perimenopause don t acquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure your hopes up!
Your symptoms, how many you are having and the extent and extremity to which you are having them, are what counts so it s intensely’extremely’extraordinarily’enormously’awfully significant’essential’critical’vital’crucial’indispensable’imperative you make a note of these but that s a whole different post and I ll go into more detail with regards to’concerning’with respect to what those symptoms might be and how you can track them another time.
So, let s just say you are one of the in/with regard to’concerning’regarding tunate ones that possess’own’nurse been prescribed HRT on the NHS. The GP appointment is of course free, but what with regards to’concerning’with respect to the prescription itself. Well, the current prescription charge is £9.35 per item, which means if you take in/with regard to’concerning’regarding example my chosen in/with regard to’concerning’regarding m of HRT (gel and tablets I ll also do a different post on this, there is just so much to talk with regards to’concerning’with respect to !) that would cost £18.70 in/with regard to’concerning’regarding 3 months. I m also claim’insist’maintain’hold’argue’consider’contemplate’speculate ing you could potentially acquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure a 6 month or maybe even a yearly prescription once you ve been on it a while and you know it works and you ve got the dosage right. Which, if that s the case, then this would make it even cheaper, because you re charged per prescription rather than per item, right? Anyway, my point is it s not too enormous’vast’massive’tremendous a deal. Obviously, it s not great we possess’own’nurse to pay any money in/with regard to’concerning’regarding it, considering this naturally happens to all women, but then you could also say the same with regards to’concerning’with respect to period products too a whole other debate.
The Cost Of Going Private
If, like me, you possess’own’nurse had no success with your GP. And if, like me, your symptoms are affecting your life in such a way that you know you need more help than is being offered, then it might be worth investigating going private. As I m sure you already know, this isn t cheap. And I totally acquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure that not all of us are in a situation to be able to afin/with regard to’concerning’regarding d to go private. I feel incredibly privileged that I am able to. So, I guess I wanted to be utterly transparent with the costs involved, in order in/with regard to’concerning’regarding you to know from the off what you could be faced with.
First up, the consultation. I went through Bupa who offer a menopause package that includes a consultation (mine was a video call with a specialist), a 3 month follow up appointment, and access to a phone line in/with regard to’concerning’regarding help along the way. This package cost me £250, which not gonna lie I baulked at when I first heard. It was my husband that convinced me in the end, telling me that the cost didn t matter, that my health was the most significant’essential’critical’vital’crucial’indispensable’imperative thing, and that he could see I needed help. Bless him, he s a rosy’remarkable’fabulous’terrific’preeminent egg. And do you know what? I realised that I m quite happy in/with regard to’concerning’regarding king out money in/with regard to’concerning’regarding fitness classes. Spending money on the dog, the kids, other individual . So why on earth would I hesitate on spending it on something that is eliminate’remove ly needed right now!?!?
I claim’insist’maintain’hold’argue’consider’contemplate’speculate us women are all too quick to focus on how the other individual in our lives are caring in/with regard to’concerning’regarding kids, partners, parents, friends etc. So much so that we position ourselves right at the intensely’extremely’extraordinarily’enormously’awfully bottom of the pile, our needs going intensely’extremely’extraordinarily’enormously’awfully much unnoticed. To the extent that it often hits crisis point bein/with regard to’concerning’regarding e we acknowledge we need help. One thing I try and remind myself of is the oxygen mask analogy that you must put your own oxygen mask on first bein/with regard to’concerning’regarding e you can help others. How can you be expected to a) set a rosy’remarkable’fabulous’terrific’preeminent example, especially to your kids and b) even be capable of helping others if you can t help yourself first. Anyway, I digress. The point is, it was time in/with regard to’concerning’regarding me to chuck some money at the problem and reach out in/with regard to’concerning’regarding help.
And oh my rosy’remarkable’fabulous’terrific’preeminent ness how quick you acquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure results when you DO throw money at it. One consultation later, I suddenly found myself with the elusive HRT prescription. Off I trotted to my nearest Boots pharmacy and when she came back with my prescription and started putting it through the till she said, It s a bit hefty, you might want to acquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure your GP to prescribe this in/with regard to’concerning’regarding you next time. Um yeah, no shit Sherlock!
It cost a grand total of £49.01 in/with regard to’concerning’regarding the same items that would possess’own’nurse cost me £18.70 on the NHS. That s a difference of £30.31. For the exact same drugs. I ll just let that sink in in/with regard to’concerning’regarding a bit
But don t misgiving’fret , all wasn t utterly lost, because I was able to use my Boots card and collect the points in/with regard to’concerning’regarding it. Well, that s what the pharmacist told me. So there I was, all proper chirpy claim’insist’maintain’hold’argue’consider’contemplate’speculate ing I d somehow screwed the system over in my own understated way, merely’barely in/with regard to’concerning’regarding me to acquire’obtain’attain’procure’secure home and read the receipt, which inin/with regard to’concerning’regarding med me all items marked X are exempt from Advantage Card points . And you can guess which 2 items had X s .. Noooooooooooooooo!
The Decision Is Yours
As I ve said, I ve now got 3 month s worth of HRT to keep me going. I am under no illusion that this is now it in/with regard to’concerning’regarding me. There will inevitably be some tweaking required the dosage might need upping, I might need to introduce some testosterone if say in/with regard to’concerning’regarding example I m still feeling utterly and utterly fatigued, and gosh it might not even work at all. But you know what, it feels rosy’remarkable’fabulous’terrific’preeminent to be at least trying. It feels rosy’remarkable’fabulous’terrific’preeminent to possess’own’nurse been listened to. To possess’own’nurse been heard. To possess’own’nurse been taken seriously. And in my opinion that was worth eintensely’extremely’extraordinarily’enormously’awfully single penny.
What Are Your Experiences Of Getting HRT?
Do you claim’insist’maintain’hold’argue’consider’contemplate’speculate you ve hit perimenopause? Have you been to your GP with regards to’concerning’with respect to it? Have you decided to go private? I would absolutely love to hear with regards to’concerning’with respect to your undergo s if you d be willing to share it with me. Let s keep this conversation going. Let s maintain’sustain one another. Let s help make a transform’alter .
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Author Bio
Becky Stafferton is a full time blogger over on her website The Art of Healthy Living, mum of 2 and certified Queen of the hashtags. She continually strives to promote a realistic, sustainable and positive image of how to lead a healthy life. When she’s not writing or reading her teenage diary she can be found swigging Prosecco from the bottle, running through muddy puddles, making lists of lists, having a rosy’remarkable’fabulous’terrific’preeminent old moan, scoffing flapjacks and crouchting like her life depends on it.
