Menopause and metabolism concern question?
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DawnCumm
Posts: 212 Member
Hoping some of you have done more with Hormone Replacement Therapy or other remedies you might recommend. I had a hysterectomy around seven years ago but to be honest I had hot flashes and night sweats even before that. I am a little afraid of HRT reactions, but I am getting tired of the lack of sleep, hot flashes and maybe even holding on to weight related to hormone imbalances.
Have any of you done something that worked really well for you? I did reach out to my doc but am sure they will suggest putting me on a drug of some sort.
Recommendations are welcome, I need to probably do something finally about it.
Dawn
Have any of you done something that worked really well for you? I did reach out to my doc but am sure they will suggest putting me on a drug of some sort.
Recommendations are welcome, I need to probably do something finally about it.
Dawn
1
Replies
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I'm 56, and still not in menopause according to my hormone levels from Nov 28. I had a hysterectomy November 3, but kept my ovaries.
I never had hot flashes. I have struggled with always being hot for years, getting worse. I think part of the problem was the progesterone I have taken off and on for 20 years, which I stopped taking on Nov 2; I seem to have less heat intolerance since.
One thing that might have prevented me from getting hot flashes was black cohosh with dong quai.
A family member takes 200 mg of gabapentin at night for night sweats. Works great for her, but did not help me sleep cooler, but I continued to take it as it seemed to help me sleep better. Now that I am off the progesterone, have more bladder capacity thanks to the hysterectomy, and switched my antidepressant to Remeron, I am sleeping comfortably and through the night.
Have you had your hormone levels tested? My endocrinologist said too little estrogen can cause women to feel hot. When my results came back, he said my levels were that of a young woman, so that's not the case for me, but could be contributing to your issue. Even if you don't want to do traditional HRT, it would be good to know if your hormone levels are causing issues. Also, you might be opposed to Estradiol but willing to take a bioidentical estrogen.
Spring 2022, we increased my previous antidepressant, Cymbalta, to try to help with my heat intolerance. That probably caused several super-heavy, go to the ER, get blood transfusions bleeding incidences, and is why we switched to Remeron. Now that I no longer have a uterus, I could go back, but I like the Remeron better. However, if you are depressed, that could be an option for you since you've also had a hysterectomy.
Note: if I were 45 minutes late for a dose of Cymbalta I would start to feel withdrawal, and was concerned about eventually discontinuing. However, tapering and discontinuing turned out to not be an issue. I think I tapered off over two weeks.
One last thing - what's the temperature in your bedroom and can you make it cooler? I slept comfortably fall-spring at my last house, where I controlled the thermostat and so turned it down to 57 degrees F at night. There is a wood stove below my rooms here, so I have to open the window to cool it down, and still don't get it into the 50s >.<1 -
Thanks for the advice. Yeah I am for sure in menopause per my doc but thought I would just tough it out. But the hot flashes at night are driving me crazy so time to regroup.
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I had horrible hot flashes esp at night for a while. I was put into menopause prematurely by chemo so they were a combo of getting it all at once and the effects of chemo combined (chemo can also give you night sweats). My oncologist put me on effexor - an antidepressant- which really helped for a while. I ultimately stopped using it though because I had to keep increasing the dose over time to get the night sweat calming effect and at the higher dose it made me feel bad in other respects and I gained a lot of weight (but this was also for a combination of other reasons). Coming off of it is unpleasant - you have to taper off and can get “brain zaps” that feel like electric shocks. I don’t take anything anymore and can manage it ok with the help of diet and environment management. I don’t drink alcohol at all (which helps a lot) and I only drink green tea and only in the morning as far as caffeine. I keep my bedroom cool (my husband sleeps in a hoodie!) and use silk or other cooling fabrics on my pillowcases.1
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I had pretty bad hot flashes for a while from a combination of chemotherapy-induced menopause at age 44-45, plus the effect of anti-estrogen drugs on top of that. No way I could do HRT, because my tumors were estrogen/progesterone fed.
Another thing that can help symptomatically with hot flashes and especially night sweats (besides suggestions from others): I kept some of those soft gel reusable ice packs in my freezer all the time, and would wrap one in a towel and put it under my neck when I went to sleep. It stays cool quite a while, but you can also keep a spare in a small cooler by your bed to swap in if you wake up.
Some people in my situation were helped by supplementing B vitamins and E, but I didn't see much difference personally. Lots of us (other BC survivors, similar situation) carried a hand fan around with us, too. May look dorky, but helps in the day time. For sure, anything that makes me warm-ish could trigger a hot flash. I stopped wearing pullover sweaters as a single layer, went with multiple lighter layers and got more attuned to removing layers when I was barely warm. (Once the flash starts, it's going to continue until it's over, IME.)
I'm skeptical of a direct line between these hormones and body weight, but the poor sleep > fatigue > reduced activity potential, and the possibility of losing muscle mass (partly as a consequence of reduced activity, partly from aging without adding muscle challenge) could be a contributing factor in new difficulty managing body weight.2 -
@AnnPT77 on hormonal changes I think men go through menopause too but society calls it a mid life crisis and men are supposed to use it as an excuse to act younger than they are (and perhaps mask weight gain by buying a fancy sportscar?) … this is one area where perhaps we should take a lesson from that playbook and use the coming of menopause as a reason to focus on ourselves and how to ensure our health and happiness in coming decades. I had to trade in my sportscar in order to get a more comfortable car for transporting elderly folks, so i am trying to just take slightly better care of my own body in the hopes that it will see me through a few more decades. After a false start post-cancer I am now solidly back on course and can confidently say that IME hormones definitely did not prevent me from losing the nearly 80 lbs I lost during menopause.4
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I've been on HRT (pills) for 18 months and can say it was a blessing for me. The patches weren't doing a thing (and made a horrible rash). It took about 3 months and increasing the dosages to start noticing the difference. Hot flashes and night sweats disappeared. By 6 monthes my skin sensitivities 90% improved. Blood pressure went down and moodiness returned to a normal level. lol2
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I’ve been taking estradiol gel and utrigestan tablets as prescribed by Gynaecologist for 3 months. Sleep
Has improved and hot sweats at night are far fewer. What I’m taking is the standard NHS guidelines for perimenopause in England.2 -
I'm a natural person. I strive to find natural solutions for ailments if I cannot... Then seek medical interventions. For me.... Exercise, soy milk, and ashwaganda has helped.
These medical interventions are new. Menopsuse is not. What the ancestors did is how I plan to do it2 -
I understand where you’re coming from, and I personally hate drugs or medication. But - taking HRT is just replacing hormones which are natural. Death by 52 (average age of menopause I believe) was common in the 1500-1600s so women didn’t actually get to menopause. (Reference lifespans https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2625386/)I'm a natural person. I strive to find natural solutions for ailments if I cannot... Then seek medical interventions. For me.... Exercise, soy milk, and ashwaganda has helped.
These medical interventions are new. Menopsuse is not. What the ancestors did is how I plan to do it
I don’t think HRT is for everyone and I certainly hoped to just tough it out. But at nearly 49 I have totally had enough and am not coping. Like, REALLY not coping. So I’m about to start it and I cannot wait. Bring it on!
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I had really bad night sweats from a psych drug in my early 30s and my psychiatrist had me take Vitamin E and it helped a lot. But I was so young then and had no worries….now I take a hormone blocker as a breast cancer survivor and have a lot of side effects that I am trying to ride out or find solutions for. I find 100% cotton bedding over polyester/cotton mix has helped a lot. Dressing in layers. Like Ann said, start taking off the clothes as soon as you get hot. I ordered this roller thing from Amazon that I keep in the freezer and roll it all over my face and back of my neck during a flash and it helps. It was $5.00. That’s all I got for ya. I wish you the best!1
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claireychn074 wrote: »
I understand where you’re coming from, and I personally hate drugs or medication. But - taking HRT is just replacing hormones which are natural. Death by 52 (average age of menopause I believe) was common in the 1500-1600s so women didn’t actually get to menopause. (Reference lifespans https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2625386/)I'm a natural person. I strive to find natural solutions for ailments if I cannot... Then seek medical interventions. For me.... Exercise, soy milk, and ashwaganda has helped.
These medical interventions are new. Menopause is not. What the ancestors did is how I plan to do it
I don’t think HRT is for everyone and I certainly hoped to just tough it out. But at nearly 49 I have totally had enough and am not coping. Like, REALLY not coping. So I’m about to start it and I cannot wait. Bring it on!
Not to disagree with med interventions in the slightest, since we collectively have that luxury** . . .
But in the 1500-1600s, I'm guessing that the average (i.e., peasant) women who lived until menopause had much more difficult, challenging issues in their lives than menopause symptoms. Famine, invasions, civil wars/insurrections, plagues/pandemics, widowhood-induced poverty, all that kind of stuff.
That's not a criticism of modern women who're seeking improvements, not even a little bit: Just an encouragement to remember that we're historically and geographically very fortunate. Without intending to minimize the difficulty at all, minimization of menopause symptoms is a thing that we can pursue when already on the higher levels of (for example) Maslow's hierarchy of needs. We are fortunate.
If you can safely take the drugs, and need them: Take them.
** Like @joans1976 above, I had breast cancer that was estrogen fed, so HRT is off the table for me, unless I want to increase my odds of metastatic breast cancer. Even at 20+ years out from stage III (60% 5-year survival odds, so good), I don't want to do that. Breast cancer is one of the types that can show up metastatically even decades later, not 5 years and home free. I'm comfortable-ish with that, but HRT is off the table, even given the hyper-menopause that happened with the 7.5 years of anti-estrogen drugs and the osteoporosis they brought me (among other side effects). Happily, I'm past that drug regimen, still no evidence of metastases, but wanting to keep it that way. Alive is a really good start on my day.4 -
claireychn074 wrote: »
I understand where you’re coming from, and I personally hate drugs or medication. But - taking HRT is just replacing hormones which are natural. Death by 52 (average age of menopause I believe) was common in the 1500-1600s so women didn’t actually get to menopause. (Reference lifespans https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2625386/)I'm a natural person. I strive to find natural solutions for ailments if I cannot... Then seek medical interventions. For me.... Exercise, soy milk, and ashwaganda has helped.
These medical interventions are new. Menopause is not. What the ancestors did is how I plan to do it
I don’t think HRT is for everyone and I certainly hoped to just tough it out. But at nearly 49 I have totally had enough and am not coping. Like, REALLY not coping. So I’m about to start it and I cannot wait. Bring it on!
Not to disagree with med interventions in the slightest, since we collectively have that luxury** . . .
But in the 1500-1600s, I'm guessing that the average (i.e., peasant) women who lived until menopause had much more difficult, challenging issues in their lives than menopause symptoms. Famine, invasions, civil wars/insurrections, plagues/pandemics, widowhood-induced poverty, all that kind of stuff.
That's not a criticism of modern women who're seeking improvements, not even a little bit: Just an encouragement to remember that we're historically and geographically very fortunate. Without intending to minimize the difficulty at all, minimization of menopause symptoms is a thing that we can pursue when already on the higher levels of (for example) Maslow's hierarchy of needs. We are fortunate.
If you can safely take the drugs, and need them: Take them.
** Like @joans1976 above, I had breast cancer that was estrogen fed, so HRT is off the table for me, unless I want to increase my odds of metastatic breast cancer. Even at 20+ years out from stage III (60% 5-year survival odds, so good), I don't want to do that. Breast cancer is one of the types that can show up metastatically even decades later, not 5 years and home free. I'm comfortable-ish with that, but HRT is off the table, even given the hyper-menopause that happened with the 7.5 years of anti-estrogen drugs and the osteoporosis they brought me (among other side effects). Happily, I'm past that drug regimen, still no evidence of metastases, but wanting to keep it that way. Alive is a really good start on my day.
It’s a really good point and I’m lucky that I can take the HRT (final meeting with my oncologist on Friday to confirm) and that I live in a first world country, with free at the point of need healthcare. I’m incredibly privileged and sometimes it is good to remember that 👍
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To be honest the study on HRT did a whole lot of injustice in the 90s. Have you researched bioindenticals ? Worth your time. Unfortunately, peri- menopause is my jam0
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I was part of a menopause message board on another site and many women recommended cooling sheets to help with night sweats.
While I believe I'm perimenopausal, I haven't encountered hot flashes (yet) but I've read that HRT can prolong the perimenopausal process - can anyone confirm that? I'm not for or against HRT, just wanted to mention that was something I had read. I believe in everyone having all the information possible to make decisions.0 -
Your body will go into menopause when it’s time regardless of HRT. Now the HRT may lessen the symptoms of menopause so you likely wont feel like all of a sudden you are now in menopause… it can be a gradual transition for many. The hot flashes can still be intense and can still have occasional periods.. it doesn’t all happen at once. I took HRT while still perimenopause with occasional periods and definitely helped with symptoms and sleep.0
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kshama2001 wrote: »I'm 56, and still not in menopause according to my hormone levels from Nov 28. I had a hysterectomy November 3, but kept my ovaries.
I never had hot flashes. I have struggled with always being hot for years, getting worse. I think part of the problem was the progesterone I have taken off and on for 20 years, which I stopped taking on Nov 2; I seem to have less heat intolerance since.
One thing that might have prevented me from getting hot flashes was black cohosh with dong quai.
A family member takes 200 mg of gabapentin at night for night sweats. Works great for her, but did not help me sleep cooler, but I continued to take it as it seemed to help me sleep better. Now that I am off the progesterone, have more bladder capacity thanks to the hysterectomy, and switched my antidepressant to Remeron, I am sleeping comfortably and through the night.
Have you had your hormone levels tested? My endocrinologist said too little estrogen can cause women to feel hot. When my results came back, he said my levels were that of a young woman, so that's not the case for me, but could be contributing to your issue. Even if you don't want to do traditional HRT, it would be good to know if your hormone levels are causing issues. Also, you might be opposed to Estradiol but willing to take a bioidentical estrogen.
Spring 2022, we increased my previous antidepressant, Cymbalta, to try to help with my heat intolerance. That probably caused several super-heavy, go to the ER, get blood transfusions bleeding incidences, and is why we switched to Remeron. Now that I no longer have a uterus, I could go back, but I like the Remeron better. However, if you are depressed, that could be an option for you since you've also had a hysterectomy.
Note: if I were 45 minutes late for a dose of Cymbalta I would start to feel withdrawal, and was concerned about eventually discontinuing. However, tapering and discontinuing turned out to not be an issue. I think I tapered off over two weeks.
One last thing - what's the temperature in your bedroom and can you make it cooler? I slept comfortably fall-spring at my last house, where I controlled the thermostat and so turned it down to 57 degrees F at night. There is a wood stove below my rooms here, so I have to open the window to cool it down, and still don't get it into the 50s >.<
Well, it was strange reading my post from 10 months ago!
Turns out both the Remeron and Gabapentin increase appetite so I am off of both of them and back on Wellbutrin.
I kept my ovaries and strongly suspect I am still ovulating. I'm visualizing my little eggs lost in space...
If I didn't have ovaries and had symptoms I would definitely look into HRT, with bio-identical hormones such as Prometrium for the progesterone.
Almost 57 and still no hot flashes!0 -
I was part of a menopause message board on another site and many women recommended cooling sheets to help with night sweats.
While I believe I'm perimenopausal, I haven't encountered hot flashes (yet) but I've read that HRT can prolong the perimenopausal process - can anyone confirm that? I'm not for or against HRT, just wanted to mention that was something I had read. I believe in everyone having all the information possible to make decisions.
I took Prometrium, which is a bio-identical progesterone but not considered traditional HRT unless you are also taking estrogen, for many years and after I turned 50 with still no end in sight I wondered if it could be prolonging peri but never saw anything definitive one way or the other.0 -
My poor sister in law has been in menopause for over 20 years.0
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CrazyMermaid1 wrote: »My poor sister in law has been in menopause for over 20 years.
Is she still struggling with symptoms after all this time?
I've been in menopause for about 23 years. Many of the acute symptoms are significantly reduced or entirely gone. Not having periods or period symptoms/side effects is a plus.
I don't feel particularly "poor". Others' experience may differ, of course.2 -
Just found this thread while looking for something else. Been dealing with lack of sleep due to night sweats that woke me up 4-5 times a night. My Dr. suggested that I try a supplement that has Soy Isoflavones + Sage to see if it worked before starting HRT. Dr. said to take it for at least 2 months. The first few weeks there was no change at all and I was just about to give up, but around week 4 the hotflashes and night sweats started to get less. After 4 months they are only 1-2 per week, except when I forgot to take it for a few days. Seems to be working.0
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