The first time I was prescribed HRT, I felt so utterly magnificent that – look away now if you are of a sensitive disposition – I understood how hormone replacement advocate Edwina Currie could have a torrid affair with John Major when he was prime minister.

At least I assume it was torrid; I felt so frisky, I might have booty-called him myself if I were single.

I was in my early 40s and was put on hormone replacement therapy due to chronically low levels that placed me at high risk of bone-thinning and osteoporosis; oestrogen is crucial for calcium absorption.

Because of this imbalance, I haven’t had a period since the 1980s. Both my children were conceived thanks to the miracles of modern medicine and, frankly, I had no way of knowing when the menopause would creep up on me.

So there I was, a gloriously content, purring midlife goddess. All good. Except I piled the pounds on. And on.

Now, the drug companies are at pains to “dispel the myth” that HRT leads to weight gain. It may not be a causal link, but the truth is that online message boards are full of anguished women trying to come to terms with this downside.

My theory is that I was so darn happy, I paid little heed to my diet, when I could really have done with some stern advice – or at least a warning about managing my calorie intake.

After a couple of years, I stopped taking the tablets and lost the weight. But then a few years on, nearing 50 and feeling unaccountably low, I went to see my GP again. I wanted the same magical HRT, but this time I would hang fire on the pasta and fill up on broccoli. Unfortunately, that brand had been discontinued – to a great many patients’ distress.

I was given a different brand. It made me sad and numb, instead of feline and flirtatious. I gave up after three months.

Very often, women complain they are fobbed off with anti-depressants rather than prescribed HRT. As it turned out, a high dose of antidepressants was exactly what I needed. Who knew? Not me.

And certainly not a pharmacist dispensing over-the-counter HRT without any inkling of my medical history.

I’ll take HRT for the rest of my life – it has been a godsend

By Meg Mathews