Women: Hot Flashes, mood swings & weight gain... not havin' it!

I started peri menopause back in my early 40's.... My mom (who is now 76) was also an early bloomer and back in the day they did long term HRT. Fast forward with new medical info, they took her off in her late 60's and she picked up where she left off so we got to commiserate over our hot flashes together. Ultimately she ended up with a rare form of breast cancer a couple years ago directly related to the long-term hormone replacement. My gyn reassured me he could safely do a short term HRT (something like 2 yrs) , but I opted to just power through.

I did, however, get a mirina iud to stop the ridiculous menses I was experiencing (super heavy flow 2x's a month) . It releases a small dose of progestin and a little known (or rather untouted) side effect was helping me with the mood swings and hot flashes. When I went back 5 yrs later for it to be replaced, my gyn just smiled because they definitely don't tell you it might help in that department, but it would have been worthwhile regardless just to stop the crazy periods

I also tried a hormone cream recommended by my MD you can get at Natures, but I really didn't notice much help from it so I stopped. I had friends do black cohosh but they didn't seem to really see much benefit either.

I'm turning 54 in a couple of months and rarely get them now. My friends and I noticed wine was also a trigger in addition to some foods.... My worst always seemed to be in the morning, after I showered and was doing my hair and make up. It was crazy... I would just be drenched and feel like I needed another shower LOL. And of course waking up at night on occasion having to change the sheets and shower.. Uugh!

This is definitely something everyone needs to make their personal informed choices about with the help of their doctor.(be it an M.D., gynecologist or naturopath ) .... But I will caution you if there is ANY history of breast cancer in your family I would try really hard to avoid the HRT route (including black cohosh supplements), but your doctor will be your best ally to help you make good choices. Good luck

I believe I will be in official menopause a year from now. I've experienced parimenopause for years.

I lost a stepmom to breast cancer and my dad blames the years she was on hormone replacement therapy. He does not want me to follow suit. When I did my research about ten years ago, the nurse explained that if I did hormone replacement I would still go through menopause symptoms when went off them. So I decided to endure the symptoms while I am relatively young.

So I take Black Cohosh which has a barely noticeable effect.

For the hot flashes I dress in layers and toss off the blankets several times a night.

Oh! I forgot. A glass of cold water can stop a hot flash in it's tracks.

jgnatca wrote: »

If I were a brat I might suggest to the clean eating crowd to eat more tofu, soybean curd, and edamame.

Careful with those if you have a thyroid condition, though!

I was a very early starter, and I was diagnosed as being perimenopausal at 30. Mine dragged out for years. If I make it to the end of May, I will officially be menopausal finally this year at the age of 52. I stopped having hot flashes last year.

I did it without medication (l lost my mind in the process, though!) and just dressed in layers. Sadly, the cold water trick didn't work for me.

I did put on weight and my middle did thicken. The good news is that at this point, I am losing weight just fine. I exercise when my health is up for it (I have a few medical conditions that play up now and then) and eat at a reasonable deficit, eating foods I enjoy, and things are progressing as they should.

I do tend to keep my carb intake moderate (150g max) and protein intake high (100g) out of preference. I don't know if that impacts anything. I doubt that it does, but thought I'd throw that out there.

jgnatca wrote: »

@mamapeach910 learn something new every day: Soy products and underactive thyroid. The food interaction I always remember is grapefruit. Again a nod to the natural eating crowd, this is a case where a natural enzyme can interfere with blood pressure medications, for instance.

To be fair, you have to eat a LOT of soy to impact an underactive thyroid. I'm a vegetarian, and before I became intolerant to it, ate a LOT of tofu. I have Hashimoto's and was just fine.

It's just something that it's best to keep an eye on.

@myheartsabattleground do you mean grapefruit or menopausal symptoms?

I'm 60 and on 7 years of hot flashes. I just read that they can last 14 yrs----sigh. I must admit that they are not as bad as before. I had hot flashes from hell--every hour for 5 min. Sometimes I think maybe I'm just used to them. I take Back Cohosh and have tried to stop, but I get so irritable, and just mean, so I take it and it keeps me on an even keel. I'm always amazed that my head, and trunk get sweaty, but not my arms and legs. Another oddity, one always starts when I lay down in bed. My doctor refused to let me do hormone therapy because she considered it too dangerous, so I'm still muddling through. I still think that if men had them, we'd have had a cure long ago.

myheartsabattleground love your avatar, reminds me of my 20 yo son the all things Zelda worshipper lol.....

BTW OP I just turned 47 and have had symptoms for the past year that are getting progressively worse. I lost 44 lbs in my 30s only to gain back 50. Working on it, but now I have to work much harder.
My sister had breast cancer and my dad had pancreatic cancer, so I am careful with soy.
I take a Ladies Formula herbal tonic from Nature's Answers. It helps.

I'm 43 and have had pre menopausal symptoms off and on for 3 years. At first mynatuopath figured It was wacked out hormones due to either being pregnant or nursing from 32-39. But my mom had her last period when she was 42.

I find Fematrix had really helped with all the symptoms, hot flashes, headaches, sore joints, trouble sleeping and mood problems. I haven't taken it in a while and seem to be symptom free lately except that I gained 8 - 9lbs in a month. Some I'm sure is over indulgence in December but my naturopath said some is for sure hormones. And the weight is not coming off, or is incredibly slow. Though I'm very impatient too. It's in my middle it seems I've gained which is unusual, normally is the caboose I gain in first.

snowflake954 wrote: »

I'm 60 and on 7 years of hot flashes. I just read that they can last 14 yrs----sigh. I must admit that they are not as bad as before. I had hot flashes from hell--every hour for 5 min. Sometimes I think maybe I'm just used to them. quote]

Funny story about "just getting used to them" ~ I'll never forget standing in line at the grocery store when suddenly the woman in front of me turned around and just said "I'm sorry!" One of my things was flushing and turning bright red on my neck and chest before one hit! HAHAHA... Thankfully THAT hasn't happened for a long time............

Have you looked into Macca Powder? Google it, there's plenty of info re; helping with hormones etc

I did chemical menopause at 26 for 6 months with HRT (to treat endometriosis), and never did figure out a solution to hot flashes, but I did learn that natural fabrics are amazing, and bamboo-cotton blend bedsheets are your friend when you have hot flashes at night in bed (they wick sweat, breathe well and don't leave you feeling "sticky"). I did manage to lose weight then, because the fear of osteoporosis had me walking long distances and doing weight bearing exercises, so maybe that had something to do with it. I definitely noticed some of my fatty tissue areas shrunk for those 6 months (ie : my boobs and my butt).

I'm 37 now and just starting to probably go into perimenopause (that or the growths on my ovaries are messing with me) because I've started to have hot flashes again, intermitently. My mom said hers lasted about 15 years before they went away and started about when she was 40. I have no real suggestions other than to wear layers you can strip off as needed, and drinking cold water helps a bit. Also, I discovered that standing outside in shorts for a few moments at a time in the winter felt amazing during really bad hot flashes. I probably won't be using hormones unless my doctor recommends them at this point, but I'm very interested to know about the various creams and natural products out there for when I'm ready to go that route.

I am turning 50 on Friday.

At the moment I am doing OK with the perimenopause thing.

My OBGYN wants me to take progesterone if my TOM has gone over 90 days. I had to have a D&C last yr due to having "issues".

I do feel so tired though. I really hate that part.