‘I’m scared’: The menopausal women whose lives have been catapulted into chaos by HRT shortage

‘By the time I got to 46, I felt 60 or 70. I was like a shell or a shadow of my former self,’ woman tells Maya Oppenheim

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) estimates more than one million women in the UK are currently dependent on some form of HRT (iStock/The Independent)

The acute hormone replacement therapy (HRT) shortage has wreaked havoc on menopausal women across the country.

From being forced to substantially reduce their dosage to make it last longer, to ringing around dozens of pharmacies to find no one has the product needed, the crisis is leaving many feeling increasingly desperate.

Lucy* is one of those struggling as the HRT – which is used to alleviate menopause symptoms – has emptied pharmacy shelves around the UK.