If you choose not to take HRT, you may experience many of the symptoms of menopause. Remember, not all women experience every kind of symptom and some women ‘sail through’ menopause with hardly any symptoms at all.
For some women, menopause symptoms are mildly inconvenient, for others they can be quite debilitating. Many menopause symptoms are not a risk to your health – such as hot flushes and forgetfulness. But there are more significant risks too, such as a loss of bone density leading to osteoporosis and an increase in risk of heart disease after the menopause.
You may also experience changes to your libido and sexual response, such as vaginal dryness and reduced sex drive. There are many non-hormonal options to help though.