What's Your Best Menopause Survival Tip?

pattynoonan

Lots of good tips out there, and I have followed many of them. I avoid alcohol, but cannot give up my coffee. and have certainly noticed a few hot flashes after my am fix. but I only allow myself my 2 (large) cups in the morning. I take supplements like black cohosh and primrose oil in spurts, really didnt see any improvement. Tried different concoctins from the Naturopath but they tasted so horrible I never gave them much of a chance. Tried accupuncture which worked perfectly for about 3 months then no longer worked even with weekly treatments. I take Clonadine (Dexorit) , a mild blood pressure pill morning and evening and it helps alot. I sure know it if I missed my dose...but my best aid is my bedside fan and the ceiling fan and the window fan, oh and my desk fan too. My poor husband says its like sleeping in a refidgerated room, his poor bald head. He says he needs to start sleeping with a touque.

CarmenSRT

I'm 45, menopause hit me at 42. Looking back on the last 3 years my only good tip is "Have patience." My hot flashes aren't as bad or as frequent as they were 3 years ago. Still get a dozen or so every day but my sheets aren't soaked every night. :-) My brain is still stuck on stupid and my libido appears to be gone forever but I CAN still lose weight.

Edited to add: Agree wholeheartedly on the fan on you while sleeping. Husband puts up with it to get a cuddle. :laugh:

Sabine_Stroehm

So I've been thinking about alcohol and hot flashes and ME. I cut out wine about 3 weeks ago, with one or two exceptions and my hot flashes are actually worse lol, I was up MOST of last night with them!

masirahmo

Anyone considering taking supplements - especially Black Cohosh - please be aware that some of them carry their own risks. When I first started taking Cohosh 3 years ago, the recommended dosage was 740mgs a day. A strange amount you might think, but the capsules all seemed to be 370mgs and to be taken twice a day so it appeared to be correct. It did help for quite a long while, but I kept on reading increasingly disturbing articles about it's side effects - especially on the liver. This was compounded by the discovery during a routine medical that I had NO natural resistance to Hepatitis C and would have to be immunised! Needless to say, the Cohosh was binned and I see that the recommended dosage has now dropped to 80mgs per day. A pretty big change in 3 years, so obviously a lot of these natural remedies are still on a learning curve. A lot of articles recommend soy products - but this is no use to me as I have a thyroid problem and have to avoid soy. I now take Neurontin to help cope with the hot flashes. Don't particularly like it but it is a necessary evil I'm afraid as I was getting no sleep whatsoever. People talk about them lasting 3 to 5 minutes, but mine were going on for 20 -30 minutes! I live in the Middle East where temps are regularly over 50oC - so sticking a hot flash on top of that ain't pretty. If sweating was an Olympic sport I'd be a shoo in. Walking upstairs involves a change of teeshirt. The bedroom a/c is on 15 degrees and I also have 2 fans on constantly. My husband has stuck a notice on the bedroom door "Abandon hope all ye who enter here" and refers to it as the bat cave. He comes to bed in a sweatshirt and tracksuit bottoms; and demands to know why I haven't got frostbite. I know that wine isn't the answer - but it helps to keep me sane!! I'm 3 years in with no sign of a let up and no idea how long it will last - so there's no way I am changing my entire lifestyle to try and remedy it. Life is too damned short to be ruled by your hormones!!

BlueJean4114

To Masirahmo,
i share your skepticism with any ground up plant sold over the counter as being "harmless".
Not everything from nature
is good for humans.
Nature is chockful of poisons, toxins, venoms, irritants and items that can be harmful to our species. And not all bottles sold on shelves
even contain what they say is in the bottle.

Most drugs sold through prescription were based on plants, as well, and only uninformed ppl see prescription drugs as having no side effects, yet, many ppl see ground up plants as not having any side effects. Not all side effects are easily noticeable by the humans, and some humans do not even identify the new unrelated issue IS a side effect.

I'm also very aware of the powerful placebo:bigsmile: effect that we humans are so so prone to experiencing. There's almost nothing as powerful as our minds. If humans hear something they really WANT TO believe, or hear something often enough, many humans will believe it.
If we think something works, it just might work.

btw, i never gave up wine
nor
caffeine,
i just noted both very much guaranteed an instant hotflash. (for me, anyway).
For those who can give them up,
it can help a bit for most ppl.

masirahmo

Yep BlueJean - I think it's like everything else in this world - one man's meat is another man's poison, and what works for one is in no way guaranteed to work for the next person. If something works for you then great - but I think there is a danger of people tying themselves in knots trying every remedy out there. I did it to begin with - I spent a fortune :- Black Cohosh, Dong Quai, Wild Yam, Red Clover, Evening Primrose, Kelp - you name it, I tried it. Also a couple of very expensive hormone creams which did absolutely nothing............!

I just feel that no-one has any idea how long their own personal hell is going to last; so is it really worth giving up everything that you enjoy in order to feel a little bit better? I love red wine, I love spicy food, and I am not worth a damn without my early morning tea or coffee, so there's no way I'm giving up my little pleasures!!

MamaDee2

Eat as clean as possible, low carb, avoid caffeine and dress in layers

sylrog

In order to battle night time hot flashes, I started taking a cold shower before I went to bed. It really seemed to help. It does not wake me up too much. I don't have any more trouble falling asleep than usual. So you might try it for a few nights and see if it helps.
Also, as others have mentioned, I avoid alcohol and exercise. I have always battled with my weight, but now it seems even more difficult to lose weight. I just keep chipping away at it.