Yay for Menopause

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  • ridiculous59
    ridiculous59 Posts: 2,817 Member
    SummerSkier wrote: »
    So I was reading a thread on facebook from one of my friends who is diabetic and another of her friends (male) talked about his symptoms when he is going thru a blood sugar crash.

    I have always attributed my night sweats to menopause but haven't understood what the trigger was. I now have a possible connection between why women get hot flashes and night sweats. Possibly due to a blood sugar dive which hormones no longer control. Esp since I tend to get a lot of my calories in the evening many of which are carbs etc... WOW. LIGHTBULB MOMENT!!! I wonder if we took a blood sugar reading during a hot flash whether it would show an extreme low? or maybe those type of sweats from low blood sugar dives and hot flashes are not similar at all.

    Just food for thought.

    I was going to add my 2 cents to this thread and then read the above. What I was going to say was that my hot flashes seemed to be tied somehow to my carb consumption. For example, I would eat my breakfast muffin at my desk and within 20 minutes I would be burning up. Treats showed up at work? Hot flash. Even though I was within my calories for the day (so not overeating). I never had a night sweat the entire time, but my dinners were usually low carb (meat, veg, no rice, pasta, or potatoes). So it all actually makes sense now. Its probably not the same for everyone, but for me, I'd say it was the carbs.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 31,935 Member
    Hot flashes: There's been some decent research in the last couple of decades, though there's lots more to do, especially on the etiology front. (I suspect this is another of those research areas that got short shrift until women started reaching influential levels in the research community.) For example:

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4612529/
  • youngmomtaz
    youngmomtaz Posts: 1,075 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    I understand how awful menopause symptoms can be: I went through it, with extra anti-estrogen drugs in my system at the time as a multiplier; and have had close friends in like circumstances who experienced substantially worse symptoms than I did. Mine included hot flashes, night sweats, sleep problems, brain fog, bone loss, etc. . . . most of which were not on my mind, because what was happening alongside was chemotherapy. I've had hot flashes that literally steamed up my glasses in normal indoor ambient temperatures. :lol:

    However, I'd like to encourage anyone considering HRT (for natural menopause) to look carefully at risk increase for blood clots, stroke, heart attacks, and breast cancer. I'm not saying no one should do HRT; I'm only suggesting that no one should do it lightly, without considering that dimension, and perhaps without trying other strategies.

    Some doctors seem suprisingly sanguine, to me: Consider that a major trial of HRT was cut short because of the increased incidence of those conditions.

    Long-term, all-cause mortality of those in the study was not altered, but incidence of those very life-altering outcomes was increased.

    I can't speak for blood clots, heart disease or strokes, but I'm able to say very clearly from personal experience that breast cancer treatment is a really, really bad hobby . . . way worse than the menopause symptoms. It may not happen, but risks are increased.

    Apologies for being a downer. :flowerforyou:

    Watching my mom go through just what you have described has me convinced that I will never use hormone replacement. What she is dealing with now(the extra anti estrogen drugs) is minor in comparison. And didn’t cause her much stress or lifestyle change. Thankfully my gp agrees. My gyn on the other hand is still pushing for me to get a mirena, which I refuse. I don’t want hormones for any reason, and that seems foreign to him.

    FWIW, my mom has also noticed a huge correlation to carb consumption and hot flashes, similar to the ladies above. She just times their intake for when she wants them. Eg: she brings a slice of cake home instead of eating it at work, maybe even saves it for breakfast the next day so any flashes occurs early in the day, at home where she can change, or go stand out in the cold, etc. She regulates carbs mostly in the aft and evenings so that her sleep is less likely to be interrupted.
  • Steff46
    Steff46 Posts: 516 Member
    I'm 54 and guess I'm looking at late onset menopause :( I took the pill until I was 50 and thought I would go straight to "no periods".......I was wrong. I'm so punctual that it's scary. Oh well, maybe next year..lol.
  • gladius173
    gladius173 Posts: 20 Member
    Welp let me tell you ladies... Jan 2019 was a turning point in my life. Never thought i would be faced with this terrible issue. However, I have grown in ways i can not imagine. From losing Myself to now finding myself. Working out, sensibly, eating sensibly and just enjoy life WITH VIGOR! I encourage all to enjoy life and GET YOUR *kitten* ON THE WEIGHT ROOM FLOOR.. and PUSH THEM KIDS OUT OF THE MIRROR.. CAUSE I DO! TRUST ME... I push these men and women out of the way! oxoxoxox. Now faced with removing my GIRLS.. oh lord. lol. I lift VERY HEAVY AND SQUAT HEAVY.. STIMULATE HORMONES TO KEEP ME MORE ALIVE.
  • saggyandbaggy
    saggyandbaggy Posts: 138 Member
    57yrs old and still peri..... Have had a reasonably smooth time, just the odd day of feeling murderous or like crying in a corner..... Can't wait til it is done!
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 31,935 Member
    gladius173 wrote: »
    Welp let me tell you ladies... Jan 2019 was a turning point in my life. Never thought i would be faced with this terrible issue. However, I have grown in ways i can not imagine. From losing Myself to now finding myself. Working out, sensibly, eating sensibly and just enjoy life WITH VIGOR! I encourage all to enjoy life and GET YOUR *kitten* ON THE WEIGHT ROOM FLOOR.. and PUSH THEM KIDS OUT OF THE MIRROR.. CAUSE I DO! TRUST ME... I push these men and women out of the way! oxoxoxox. Now faced with removing my GIRLS.. oh lord. lol. I lift VERY HEAVY AND SQUAT HEAVY.. STIMULATE HORMONES TO KEEP ME MORE ALIVE.

    If I'm reading you right: I've been there, and did that . . . 19+ years ago. Life is good. It's a dark tunnel, but we can get through it, and emerge strong. Hang in there. :flowerforyou:
  • AliNouveau
    AliNouveau Posts: 36,287 Member
    Loved this post. I can't wait. I'm 46 and a friend who is 49 and I keep waiting. Every month were like where the heck is menopause I'm ready. She's just about there I think in peri I probably have a few more years to go.

    Keep fighting ladies we're all awesome
  • Katmary71
    Katmary71 Posts: 6,527 Member
    @SummerSkier I may have read it wrong, did you mean blood sugar goes higher at night because of eating carbs? I'm diabetic and get higher readings two hours after. I get hypoglycemic and when it's really low I'd wake up with shaking and chills. I'm no longer on medication and my blood sugar dips in and out of hypoglycemia but not with the symptoms it used to.
  • Katmary71
    Katmary71 Posts: 6,527 Member
    OK, peri-menopause and menopause is confusing! After years of medications for endometriosis I very happily stopped having periods. Two years later, surprise! Not only was it back early this year routinely but I spotted every day from Feb to August. Everything stopped and it's gone again. My OBG can't find anything wrong, but said it may not be menopause because I'm not having hot flashes. Next test is for thyroid but I was tested a couple years ago and no problem.

    The midsection gain is real, I've always been pear-shaped then this belly that wouldn't go away lingered despite being at goal weight. I was tempted to lose more to target it but my upper body is a bit too thin at this point.
  • SummerSkier
    SummerSkier Posts: 4,777 Member
    @Katmary71 yes - I think that is what i meant. However I am not diabetic just menopausal and searching for connections as to what causes night sweats. It may be completely unrelated but if eating carbs later in the day leads to a blood sugar spike in the night time I was think that was causing the sweats. Could be completely off base of course.

    AS far as peri I think I had one long long long period and then spotted a long time. I never had the hot flashes or night sweats when it first started. And the mid section fat thing did not start until I was about 10 years in either. It just goes to show how everyone's experiences are different. There is a bloodwork test for menopause also I think to check for hormones.

    Speaking of bloodwork I find it totally annoying that as we age things just go downhill no matter how healthy we eat or keep fit. It's all part of the body process of course because things start to wear out and recovery takes longer but it doesn't mean I have to like it! LOL
  • lporter229
    lporter229 Posts: 4,907 Member
    I am really glad that I found this thread. I am 47 and I think I am starting into peri-menopause. Instead of my periods stopping, however, I am getting them about every ten days. This is after many years of very regular periods. And the cramps are horrible. Also getting the night sweats, but I am not new to that since I dealt with them for years with Crohn's disease.

    One other thing I have noticed that is bothering me is how elevated my heart rate has become. My resting heart rate is usually in the low to mid 50s and it has been in the 60s for the past several weeks. Also, it is much higher than normal when I run, even though my perceived rate of exertion is not. I have tried taking an extended period of rest thinking maybe I was overdoing it, but it did not change anything. Has anyone had similar experience? Does this sound like menopause to you? A quick Google search confirms that all of these things can be indications of peri-menopause.
  • micki48
    micki48 Posts: 2,253 Member
    saggyandbaggy wrote: »
    57yrs old and still peri..... Have had a reasonably smooth time, just the odd day of feeling murderous or like crying in a corner..... Can't wait til it is done!

    Similar to you, I am nearing 56 and still not in menopause. Just came from my gyn and she said her oldest patient to go through menopause was 57, so I may be going for the new record. There are ups and downs, but overall not too bad. I really don’t want to gain weight after fighting to lose 25 pounds this past year. Now, I have to have an ultrasound to check my lining because I went 6 months with no periods then starting in October had 3 periods two-ish weeks apart. Dr. Said she has to take special care of me because of my age and weight. Mentioned possibly putting me on a progesterone only low dose pill? I was on bc most of my childbearing years. Has anyone had a similar experience? Any thoughts on progesterone only pill? Is that the same as HRT?
  • Megan_smartiepants1970
    Megan_smartiepants1970 Posts: 38,881 Member
    I just turned 49 in Dec.....I haven't had a period in years ....thank goodness....my daughter is 14 and she has had her period since she was 11 ....

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