Sex, menopause and HRT

Sex

Advanced liver disease can reduce your sex drive (as can some of the medications used to treat it) and make it difficult to have sex. This is a sensitive area but one you and your partner should not be afraid to discuss with your doctor. Counselling, for you and your partner on the impact of liver disease on your relationship, may be helpful.

Serious illness can bring people closer and hugging or cuddling can be very comforting, especially if you don’t feel up to talking

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Menopause and HRT

Menopause affects women in different ways. Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) can help to manage symptoms. There are several different types of HRT depending on the hormones included. As well as different ways of using it such as tablets, skin patches, or gels. There are benefits and risks to using each type of HRT and these will be different for everyone. So whether to take it and which type to use is an individual decision based on medical advice.

If you have liver disease and are thinking about using HRT, the first step is to speak to a healthcare professional who can advise you on menopause and HRT – this could be your GP, a gynaecologist, or a specialist menopause clinic. Then ask them to include your liver team in recommending the best ways for you to manage symptoms of menopause.

There are also things you can do to help manage menopause symptoms. Some of these can help with liver disease too, like eating well and taking regular activity. Find out more on the NHS website.

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