What's Your Best Menopause Survival Tip?
MenopauseLady
Posts: 8 Member
Please share what your best tips are for surviving menopause. Let's help each other get through this. I exercise 3x per week with weight resistance, also walk on the tread mill, I eat a very clean diet - as organic and non processed as possible, I do yoga 2x per week for any built up stress or anxiety, I take vitamins and supplements specifically for menopause for symptom management. All these together have worked for me very well - what's working for you?? Please share : )
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I've cut out most all alcohol (just the occasional glass of wine if we go out for dinner and, of course, a beer when I golf!). Alcohol seems to trigger hot flashes, and it's just not worth it! Also, sleep with a fan blowing on you. That helps a lot!0
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I know alot are against them but.....HRT. It makes a huge difference for me and the benefits out weight the risk. I take the oral so that I can control the dosages and don't take any more than is necessary.0
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My best survival tip is exercise, walking and yoga. Eating healthy and watching portions, particularly carbs has also been huge in reducing the number of hot flashes that I get thru the day. I will be interested to hear what the rest of the ladies on this blog say.
Thanks for posting!0 -
Educate yourself and learn what all of the hormones in the body do and the lack of them, learn the symptoms. There are so many and so much going on during this time. I have not had trouble with the traditional ones like hot flashes. For me it is the odd ball stuff....excessive gas, tingling hands, anxiety out the roof, really dry itchy skin. After reading and studying this, most can all be more added fun with menopause due to the declining hormones. The medical text book says you don't need progesterone after a hysterectomy that there is no benefit. I added a dose of OTC and it has made a difference in how I feel.
Oh yeah.......develop a since of humor, you will need it.
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Making jokes about it..I have to or I'd be msierable to be around!
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The alcohol definitely causes hot flashes and I still love it. I am peri-menopausal and my doc prescribed Prozac because it is the REAL version of the lady drug my insurance wouldn't pay for. Low dose daily, works like a charm but only deals with some symptoms, not all. SSSSOOOOO helps with PMS which got vicious. I feel better but still need to deal with flashes. Other than that, I'm good!0
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I'm still trying to discover those as I've only been pre-menopause for about a year and just recently the hot flashes have gotten to be a daily occurance so I am trying to find natural things to help with that0
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Making jokes about it..I have to or I'd be msierable to be around!
^^^^ This.....and repeating over and over and over again "It can't last forever, I'll grow out of it!!"0 -
Ditto on the alcohol and the fan:). Chocolate and sweets also do it me as did calcium with magnesium. I am not sure if the alcohol and calcium/magnesium is because of my arthritis medication (Vimovo). Anyway a good reason to cut calories...0
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Running.
I kid you not. I was having the worst PMS/menopausal symptoms one week (month?) and thought I'd go through the roof. I was at the gym and thought: I must run. And I did. Very forrest gump like.
It helped. It continues to help (bizarre).
Natural (bioidentical) progesterone helps me with the night sweats and hot flashes.
Wine does NOT help with the hot flashes, but helps me not kill my kind, gentle, loving husband. :happy: Poor guy.0 -
Hello All!!!
I just turned 50 and Allegra has become my best survival tool. I suffer from incessant itching and extreme skin sensitivity. The hot flashes are sporadic and I sleep with the fan on low to medium. I also believe that I will be going from a summer season person to fall season person. LOL.0 -
I have suffered with nasty hot flashes, especially at night. I started taking Black Cohosh (found in the natural supplement aisle) a few weeks ago, and I've barely had any hot flashes. It hasn't helped with the forgetfulness, weight gain, etc. but at least I don't feel like I'm going to explode from the heat anymore.0
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Avoid alcohol or caffeine like the plague, both were guaranteed hot flashes for me. but your mileage may vary. some ppl say for them, spicey foods or beef also increased hotflashes.
Avoid silk tops, wow, those will display your 10am sweaty hotflash for entire rest of the day....yuck.
Dress in lightweight fabrics, and even on freezing days, dress in removable layers.
Find a way to pleasantly answer the question, "Aren't you COLD?" forty-seven times each day, for about a year. Be creative.. Best answer gets a prize...
Take deep breath and count to ten prior to replying to anything annoying.
Stock up on great books for the insomnia, and try putting a tube-top over your eyes at night.
If you are at work, and can not strip naked for a hotflash, run your inner wrists under freezing cold water, it seems to help.
If you DO strip naked, have your resume ready to go for next job.
Look over various types of small fans to buy to keep around you at the next job.:laugh:
Admit,
and warn your loved ones,
you may not be yourself right now. do reassure them it is temporary, probably for the bulk of a year.
Ask them to be patient, and to let you know if they have anything they want you to hear them on.
Hear them.
~As well as you can, take your own self, with a grain of salt for now. Mentalpause is similar to puberty, only in reverse....
Don't tuck in your bedding anymore.
Try a small fan pointed towards your bed. If this does not help, try a larger fan.:bigsmile:
Use cotton sheets only now.
Dress in cotton.
Get a footboard, in case you get the jumping legs thing which occurs juuuuust as you almost fall asleep/half asleep. Sleep on stomach, and press feet into footboard. this takes less time than standing up each time. Having sex or orgasm is supposed to help reduce jumping legs, but, one has to fall asleep soon after, before the endorphins fade away.
For walking, try walking right after a shower, with your hair already wet.
Some women say sleeping with one's head/upper body propped up a bit more higher, and a fan on, can help reduce the heart palpitations at night.
Be prepared to reconsider/throw out/replace any customs, habits, or products, from the shampoo you once used, to the type of fabrics you once liked to wear, to the type of lotions that used to work........ be open to realizing,
stuff or customs that once worked great,
like how much you get away with eating without gaining weight,
no longer work for you now.
for some of us, it's like waking up in a whole new body...
and we have to sort of learn how to 'drive' the new body from scratch.:laugh:
Invest in icepacks of all types. I recall, sitting on icepacks, or stuffing them into my waistband, or bra, or wherever,
to use a curling iron or a blowdryer, determined i would stay cool enough to complete the task. Eventually, i gave that up, and wore a bun for a while to avoid any heated items. Having slightly damp hair also helped me stay a bit cooler as i rushed around getting ready for work, and for first hour or so of the day.
Write notes to help you remember things. Use calendars, buzzers, notes, whatever it takes, to counteract mental fuzziness. It passes. Near the toilet might be good place to keep to-do lists, at least, it will give you something to do til all that urinary frequency subsides.
LEARN about the dozens of symptoms of mentalpause so you won't feel nutz for noticing these things.
find supportive ppl who will both understand, yet, not let you whine too much nor use excuses too too much, and instead, help you refind your inner strength to cope with suddenly having a whole new body to drive....
and remember,
it is temporary, it does not last forever,
and for most ppl,
the worst of the full-on rager symptoms is over in less than a year.0 -
OH, AND BE PATIENT with other women who scoff, "ah, my mentalpause was no big deal"
and be aware,
like puberty,
it is not the same for each of us.
Your concerns are valid,
even if no one else admits this IS really going on.0 -
Hello Group! I went into mental pause after surgery 7 years ago and after almost killing my ex husband and divorcing him, now we are back together. I have learned through a lot of exercise that peace of mind is the MOST important thing. I put myself first now which means I exercise and eat right. What keeps me calm (er) is Boxing! I feel so happy when I punch the hell out of the bags and pads. I just wish I could lose weight, but I know that 5 am getting stronger and fitter. I am the boss so I do control the AC at work and insist on it to sleep. It helps to like reading and writing. I want to add yoga an supplements to the mix. I think it would help.
best to all.
R0 -
BLue jean I just fell in LOVE with you and your writings.
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and smile when men in their 20s and 30s say "it's just a matter of self control and calories in and calories out".:drinker:OH, AND BE PATIENT with other women who scoff, "ah, my mentalpause was no big deal"
and be aware,
like puberty,
it is not the same for each of us.
Your concerns are valid,
even if no one else admits this IS really going on.0 -
Hello Group! I went into mental pause after surgery 7 years ago and after almost killing my ex husband and divorcing him, now we are back together. I have learned through a lot of exercise that peace of mind is the MOST important thing. I put myself first now which means I exercise and eat right. What keeps me calm (er) is Boxing! I feel so happy when I punch the hell out of the bags and pads. I just wish I could lose weight, but I know that 5 am getting stronger and fitter. I am the boss so I do control the AC at work and insist on it to sleep. It helps to like reading and writing. I want to add yoga an supplements to the mix. I think it would help.
best to all.
R
Hope you dont mind but this did make me laugh, love the idea of Boxing and punching the .... out of something. Violent me!!!!!! Nah!!!!!! not yet anyway0 -
If laughter is the best medicine then I think I just got my daily dose!
Lots of good advice there - my only addition is to give up on the idea of ever wearing a nightdress ever again. And consider camping in the Uk as a holiday option - it was definitely cool enough to sleep in our tent last weekend!
Jane0 -
Could you all post the supplements you are taking, and what symptoms they address? There is so much out there - and I suspect a lot of it is crap - would like to get some good advice on specific brands/vitamin/supplements that really work...0
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Could you all post the supplements you are taking, and what symptoms they address? There is so much out there - and I suspect a lot of it is crap - would like to get some good advice on specific brands/vitamin/supplements that really work...
great question.
I took nothing. at all.
Maybe i should have, but, my family has huge risk of breast cancer, (it's a birthright in my family)
so i am leery of anything hormonal,
and skeptical of stuff the FDA hasn't approved (almost all over-the-counter items, anyone can sell anything and say whatever)
and just as skeptical of stuff the FDA has approved, lol.
The worst of my symptoms passed or greatly lessened in a year.0 -
even if no one else admits this IS really going on.
and smile when men in their 20s and 30s say "it's just a matter of self control and calories in and calories out".:drinker:
And smile & nod when those 20-30 yr old DOCTORS, who appear to have NO life experiences & look like they're too young to even be outta high school, tell you to keep working on losing that weight..... ahh, yeah, right away you brainaick child ( or may I call them "****tards" now that I am older?) ohh, & keep smiling!!!!0 -
For Hot Flashes: #1 - Giving up all Alcohol - for sure has helped. Ice water all day, every day, Ice pack to the back of the neck when I'm hot, and finally, Cotton Only Clothing as much as possible.0
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Wine. Yeah, the hot flashes suck, but wine keeps me from flying into homicidal rages and fits of exaggeration. I can deal with changing my Pj's a couple times a night to keep my friends. 0
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I agree!! Alcohol brings on my flashes too. The best thing to keep the flashes under control is 2 Tbsp. of ground flax seed daily. You can put them in your yogurt, a protein shake, on cereal, even tossed on top of a salad. They are a phytoestrogen and really work wonders. I've tried a million other supplements specifically for hot flashes and nothing worked until I incorporated the flax in January. Now I feel like a human being again!0
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I have taken supplements and I have limited my drink alcohol to only a glass of wine on special occasions. I am not great friends with a fan that sits right next to me while I am in bed. LOL My husband keeps asking me if I am trying to freeze him out or kill with the cold. I told him if I wanted to kill him I would do it quickly so I wouldn't have to listen to him complain. Does it ever really stop0
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I am at work right now and have a fan blowing directly on me, even though the office is air conditioned. Fans are our friends!0
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Could you all post the supplements you are taking, and what symptoms they address? There is so much out there - and I suspect a lot of it is crap - would like to get some good advice on specific brands/vitamin/supplements that really work...
I have been taking Starflower oil but I'm not really sure its doing much. I did check with my breast care nurse before I started them (to make sure they were not contra-indicated with my other treatment) and she said they wouldn't do any harm but she didn't expect them to work....
Jane0 -
I use Evening Primrose oil for breast cysts and fish oil for dry skin and whatever else its supposed to be good for - 3 capsules a day of each. (I take them all at once, I don't know how efficacious that is but I'd forget otherwise.
You have to be choosy about the brand you use due to low and uneven dosing during the manufacture.
Also when I remember I take a vitamin B compound (Berocca)
The Evening Primrose oil definitely works, if I don't take it every day within two days the cysts are back.
The fish oil seems to help my dry itchy skin. I have come to appreciate that the skin is an organ and needs to be treated with respect, something I often neglected previously.
Other than that, a coma would be nice until the whole phase passes, or just a quick reincarnation into a new younger, healthy over-privileged Western body would be good!0 -
Definitely agree on the evening primrose oil. My OBGYN recommended it for breast pain. If I run out and can't get more ASAP, I feel it.I use Evening Primrose oil for breast cysts and fish oil for dry skin and whatever else its supposed to be good for - 3 capsules a day of each. (I take them all at once, I don't know how efficacious that is but I'd forget otherwise.
You have to be choosy about the brand you use due to low and uneven dosing during the manufacture.
Also when I remember I take a vitamin B compound (Berocca)
The Evening Primrose oil definitely works, if I don't take it every day within two days the cysts are back.
The fish oil seems to help my dry itchy skin. I have come to appreciate that the skin is an organ and needs to be treated with respect, something I often neglected previously.
Other than that, a coma would be nice until the whole phase passes, or just a quick reincarnation into a new younger, healthy over-privileged Western body would be good!
It's amazing.0
