Menopause Info

[Jane63]

Hi ladies,
I remember seeing a thread here awhile back about the dreaded "M" word {Menopause!} but couldn't find it so thought I'd start another.
I am 42-yrs old and have been told by my GYN that I was a candidate for early Menopause...that was about 7 or 8 years ago! Since then my periods have become increasingly sporatic {not lasting as long and sometimes don't have them but once every other month} and just recently I have begun having hot flashes which wake me in the middle of the night and early morning terribly hot and sweating, some mood changes { I have become even more sensitive then I ever was before} and really lacking energy/drive! OH, and I forgot to add that I was suppose to start my period on the 8th of Sept but nothing yet...except all the other symptoms such as moodiness and headaches! GRrRRR!! Basically, I am MISERABLE and don't see my GYN until the second week of October.
I was wondering if anyone here has heard of or tried something called "New Phase" which I found at good ol' WallyWorld and is some sort of supplement for menopausal women? Any other advice, info or help would be greatly appreciated so I will have alot to discuss with my GYN but hoping to get some sort of relief and SOON!!
Thanks all and have a great Saturday night!!
Jane

[cwohio]

i've used some of the over the counter stuff for hot flashes - didn't help all that much but maybe a bit. i was on prempro for about 5 years and went off when the new studies came out about all the risks involved. hot flashes came back but have now subsided. Try it, it might help you. i'm sure there will be more folks that will give you some great information on natural alternatives to help you. good luck!

[51anna]

I tried lots of natural alternatives from the drug store and found nothing that worked well at all. I've been having hot flashes for 12 years now! I also have tried soy milk. It didn't work, but you have to drink about 4 glasses a day and I could only manage 2 per day, so you might try that. I tried Premarin from my dr but got migraines from it so never continued with it. And, since then so much bad information has come out about it that I'm glad I don't take it. For the hot flashes, I've found that an electric blanket works well for me. When I'm hot obviously I don't have it on, but invariably the 'sweats' lead to a cool feeling and then I can turn it on for a little while. I have also acquired a cardigan sweater wardrobe. That way, when it's cool to cold outside, I can wear a sweater which I `can take off at work with a blouse or something lighter on underneath it.

[sunshinebluesky]

MINNIEPAUZ.COM is a terrific website with lots of info

[Ann]

Contrary to all the horror stories, HRT (hormone replacement therapy) is just fine (and works wonders, trust me) as long as you don't have a history of breast or ovarian cancer in your family or cancer of any kind yourself. HRT actually reduces the chance of heart attack, delays the possibility of osteoarthritis, and as strange as it sounds reduces the chance of bowel or colon cancer (my father had that and I thought it would disqualify me, but the opposite was true).

And the best thing is that it works, no more hot flashes, no more mood swings, I couldn't believe how much better I felt within just a couple of days.

From this to this :xmasu in no time.

Hugs
Ann

[margo]

Hi Jane - I started having hot flashes about two years ago and it got so bad I was having two or three an hour, day and night. My sleep was disrupted and I just felt plain miserable. I did some research on natural products and from what I could gather, going it natural could take time to work and there was no guarantee that it would. Some herbal products have to be used carefully because of possible hepatotoxicity. Anyway, I had to do something about my situation and I saw my GP and started on PremPlus (hormone replacement therapy). Within days the number of hot flashes started to go down and I was sleeping better, and now I don't have any at all. There's no way I would go without my hormones!

If you want further info about menopause, this site is wonderful - lots and lots of info about menopause in general and what to expect.

http://www.power-surge.com/sitemap.htm

Good luck!

[Ann]

Good site, Margo. And I forgot to mention that I tried every herbal remedy going and not one of them did a speck of good and they can do a lot of harm. Like Margo, my hot flashes were like labour pains,they came every half hour until I was almost crazy.

I too wouldn't give up my hormones for anything.

[splendra]

I am going thru menopause. I think it is wonderful that I know longer menstrate. I feel like things make more sense to me now I am glad of that.

I have used a few differnt natural products to help me with the symptoms of my hormones adjusting I used coral calcium blue green algae (as always) When I had hot flashes I used progesterone cream I don't use it any more because my hotflashes are few and far between now and I kind of enjoy them and I use the extra energy I get to do things I kind of wish I had not tried to control them I question if I did the right thing by trying to suppress my HFs.

For me menopause has brought me to a stage of celebrating my womanhood. I don't seem to take near as much cr@p as I used to which, I think has helped me so much.

[Jane63]

Thanks everyone who replied with info and the links which I have been reading and checking out all morning!
Splendra...very positive post and I can only hope that things will eventually even out for me because I am usually a fairly positive person but I don't do well with "change" and this is agravating to me!
I read a list of the symptoms and have alot of them...I guess I should be happy that I am not running around biting everyones head off...but sitting and crying at the drop of a hat isn't much fun either and sometimes hard to explain! LOL!
And these "phantom symptoms" of having a period except without the "most important part" are annoying! I mean I have the cramps, the bloating and tenderness, even the daggone headache I always get at the start/end...might as well have all the other yuckyness as well!! ARGG!!

I won't do anything until after I have a long talk with my GYN at my apt in Oct, but last year when my symptoms were not this "severe" she was hesitant about giving me anything to help. I do want to read more about the HRT therapy but still am abit concerned about putting anymore medications in my body and especially something I might have to wean off of. {eek!}

Thanks all!
{{HUGS}}
Jane

[KraftyGrrlAb]

Hello, LAdies
I have been going through "PERI-menopause" for I guess, about 3 years now. I just recently moved out of DENIAL, and have come to accept it for what it is. I've yet to figure out why anyone would call it "hot flashes", when for me it's exaclty like flash FLOODS. the sweat is phenominal!! I've always been a fairly free-sweater, but now it's just crazy. THANK GOD for places like this board where I can figure out WHY I'm having so many crazy experiences....
Anyway, Black Cohosh is all I've tried thus far.
Blessings
abbiegrrl

[Pony]

Yep, 41, and been having menopause symptoms for about a year....or maybe little over, but I know they have been increasing. time to see that Dr. again and let him on it...lol

Thanks for the link Margo.....info. helps alot! You know it wasn't that long ago that this subject couldn't be discussed in open public.....thank goodness that has all changed and we can all share our experiences together.

[FitChik]

Although many women do well on HRT, the risks are worth noting. I was on Premarin and then Prempro for a number of years (early menopause) and, despite the fact that I have no other risk factors, I'm recently diagnosed with breast cancer. Of course, there is no way of knowing whether HRT contributed to my developing the disease, but I would advise anyone considering it to try to find natural alternatives. If you do decide to take synthetic hormones, PLEASE get regular mammograms and gynecological check-ups!

[splendra]

One thing that has been noted about the progestirone cream is it seems to prevent weight gain in some and also it prevents bone loss. I could put that stuff on in the middle of a hot flash and it would stop it cold. You have to be carefull to apply it to fleshy areas of the body. The best creams are the net-work marketing products.

[Hopefloats]

Jane, Hi...I went through hell and back with menopause. I swear I was the new poster child for ALL natural remedies..and nothing worked. Something may work for a short while, but nothing held me. I finally met with a menopause specialist. She herself had such a hard time, that she decided that this would be her expertise. She is wonderful! I now wear my hormone patch and life IS once again good...
I think Mr. Hope spent a year's salary buying me anything and everything that I wanted to try.

Both of the recommended sites here are really, really good. Thank goodness I found my specialist and thank goodness I now know what a good night's sleep is about.

One interesting thing I did learn. I was on a hormone patch before I met this specialist. BUT I was still having quite a few flashes. They did my bloodwork and it was within the "normal" range for someone on HRT. BUT what I learned from this new lady is yes, I was within the normal range..BUT that still left me room for a higher mg, and she felt that was just what I needed. It is not a one size fits all. She nailed it. I have never felt better...honestly. And SHE is a blessing in my life for sure.

You have my compassion....Don't give up, there are answers out there for us. We become pro-active in taking care of ourselves.
(((((COOL HUGS))))) lol
Hope
Oh and the foods we eat CAN trigger a hotflash. I kept a food journal. Chocolate is still a trigger for me, patch or no patch.

[naturegirl]

Hi ladies,

I've been going through menopause lately too. I just turned 48. I too didn't connect getting hot in bed at night to menopause -- I called it temperature regulation problems :-). Other symptoms: insomnia (would wake up at 4AM and not go back to sleep), joint pain and depression (I had some good reasons for being depressed, but I think the hormone imbalance made it much worse). Then, when my periods became very irregular 2 months off/ 1 month on -- and night sweats became a little worse and moods were horrible -- I knew something was up.

I read two books on menopause: 1) A Marverick of Medicine Speaks to Women by Dr. Duane Townsend and 2) What Your Doctor May not Tell You about Premenopause by Dr. John Lee, Dr. Jesse Hanley and Virginia Hopkins. Both these books recommended natural progesterone cream and the first book recommends using a soy isoflavone, Genistein. I went to Whole Foods (health food store) and picked up both and I have been feeling much, much better. Night sweats are gone. Moods are still a problem but seem to improve alot when using the cream. And I sleep though the night now by adding anti-histamine and .5 mg melatonin. For joints, I take glusosamine, chondroitin and MSM.

In peace, love and joy,
Naturegirl