Near or post menopausal group

I've been put into menopause for 2 1/2 years now for endometriosis, I'm 47 and still a few years away from "natural" menopause. Hot flashes, mood swings ( I didn'y even like myself!) and oh the weight gain! Would love a group to connect with for all our hormone related problems

I am there! Funny I tell my husband all the time the bible warns us of the pain of child birth but nothing about the hot flashes - I would rather have been warned about them! The hot flashes are awful, the lack of energy stinks and the eating everything that don't move is driving me crazy - other than that it's all good! Grrrrrrrrr

YES! Every winter. Insanely itchy legs! And for the hair? Waxing. It lasts so much longer.

Compared to what some of the girls here are dealing with I would appear to be very lucky.

My periods were normal and I felt fine. I had experienced maybe 1 or 2 hot flashes...but nothing major (and as it was October/November they just sort of warmed me up to normal as I feel the cold a lot). And I sort of thought...oh..oh..maybe I am starting on the road to menopause.

I went for my bi-annual smear test in mid December and it went downhill from there!

My doctor basically said...right...your ovaries are shrunk so I might as well take your coil out as your baby days are over.....(looking back now I remember feeling a bit like....well, what if I had wanted to have another baby..?...and ..he could have been a bit more understanding about it...or subtle ..but having lived in Spain for over 25yrs I have more or less got used to the Spanish way of being very matter of fact about life, death and bodily functions.!

I had one more normal period...then nothing until the March...and then......nothing since ! Now been almost 3 years with no period...as mentioned before have not really had a problem with hot flashes until recently when a couple of them had me really hot to the extent of having to go to the bathroom to dry off.. I have noticed the weight gain but it is really only this year it has proved hard to shift...however what has really affected my relationship with my husband the most has been the shift in my sleep patterns.

I have never been an early to bed type of girl....my usual sleeptime would be about 01.00am....while my husband is asleep by midnight...it wasn't a problem as i would just continue to read and eventually fall asleep but what started happening last year is that I found I was either was reading until 03.00hrs or falling asleep and waking up at 06.00hrs.
A couple of nights I have just got up as couldn't lie in the bed anymore twisting and turning...and over the last 4 months there have been at least 4 nights when I have just not slept at all....so hubbie not happy that I am not going to bed and going up late disturbs him so a couple of 4am mornings I have just laid down in the spare room...and all that obviously has it own side effects !

My GP is just not really helping...(and she is a woman in her fourties)....she said..it's just your age and gave me a six month perscription of sleeping tables..!!....I don't like to take them as I feel they knock me out and so I am not really getting a proper sleep.

Apart from the difficulty with weight....having a borderline thyroid problem...I have also noticed my memory is getting so bad that if i don't write things down I can easliy forget things...and just yesterday I had to take two detours to loop back to places I had appointments at as I just drove right by the exits... I have also noted i do not retain numbers as well as i used to...

So. can anyway advise on anything I can do that might help...

Thanks

Dear All, I've been trying to find some useful advice on this time of life. Since doctors weren't of much help, I tried the internet. I know, I know. There is a lot of nonsense on line, but there must be some credible information too. So far it hasn't been a gold mine, but here are a few tidbits I found.

Excess Hair Growth-yes, some people suffer more than others and some of the reason may be genetic, which of course you cannot change. But another possible factor is insulin resistance. Most of us who are overweight got that way thanks to sugar and refined carbohydrates. If your body is no longer able to manage insulin, then balancing other hormones will also become more of a problem. An additional factor is polycystic ovaries. ( I had never heard of this when I was young but it seems to be cropping up more and more as I read.) Obviously, if one's reproductive hormones are misaligned where ovaries are concerned then other symptoms are not a surprise. If you've really got a hormone malfunction then your doctor will be the one to detect it and suggest treatment.

Hot Flashes--caffeine, alcohol, sugar, smoking, red wine, chocolate, cheese and spicy food were listed as some common triggers. Those are things we personally have a choice about. Being overweight- okay we have a choice about that too, but the results aren't quite so fast in coming. Stress has also been mentioned. How do you escape from that one? We'd all love to avoid stress, but it's probably not realistic given the way society runs full speed ahead. Coming up with a few effective coping mechanisms are probably good for everybody, even those not in our age group!

Regular exercise was suggested as a coping mechanism. Several herbs have long been associated with hormone regulation. If one is comfortable with hormone replacement therapy, that is an option. For those who would rather not, some diet changes were encouraged. Eat flaxseed-sprinkle a tablespoon on your oatmeal or salad. Eat more soybeans. You can drink soymilk, eat tofu, crunch on toasted beans, and so on. How much soy ice cream would you have to lick before the hot flashes cooled off? ahhahhaha :-) Broccoli, cauliflower and celery are said to have a chemical that can mediate flashes. Of course, each individual will react differently to various foods so don't expect an overnight cure.

Sorry to say there is no sure cure that will solve everyone's discomforts. One recent approach getting some attention is acupuncture. You might think that is just adding to your pain, but for some people it seems to be effective.

I'll give some references, so you can do some searching on your own.

womentowomen.com
Nutrition Action Newsletter July/August 2004
menopauseinanhour.com
abcnews.go.com/...curb-severity-hot-flashes-menopause
menopause-remedy.org
womenhealthzone.com

I hope you can find some options that make your life easier. Good health to you. :-)

I'm way post-menopause. I had a full hysterectomy 6 years ago. It affects my body shape, energy levels, and my difficulty losing weight...I'm in!

I'm in the same boat. I'm in.

Count me in .... I am 42 (i think) and have an almost 19 yo daughter. I have had irregular periods my whole life (yay lucky me) and was in my 30s when a doctor told me I was most probably entering early menopause and basically told me to live with it. Fast forward a couple of years and my new doctor finally ran hormone tests which found both my oestrogen and progesterone at almost nil while testosterone was raging - no where near menopause (according to him) but was getting lots of symptoms anyway.

Thankfully he is not only a GP but a natropath who specialised in womens hormones and the effects they have on us (not just in menopause, etc). Basically, oestrogen plays a natural role in regulating our metabolisms - thus when our levels drop so does our metabolism. He showed me a very interesting study out of the US and basically, all those sticks that can eat anything they want and never gain weight (no matter their age) have higher than normal levels of oestrogen ... lucky them.

So, I took my meds for about 3 months and felt great and lost heaps of weight. Then divorce, stress and very bad anxiety attacks and I stopped taking them. I have just started taking them again and the weight is again falling off very easily. I think it is a combination of reasons for me so am not letting the pills and cream take all the credit.

Anyway, I have read all these posts and for many of them my sympathies were with you and my head was buzzing with so many suggestions but i will limit it to this one ....(well, maybe more).

1. Low carbing - this is the link to one of the Atkins dieters (please don't shudder). It has loads of low carb recipies and ideas of things you can do with vegies instead of using pastry, etc. All those naughty things we love but remember Atkins is also relatively high in fats so I would use low fat products in most of them. http://blog.pittsburgh-diet-guru.com/

2. Missing your bread and cakes and want a really yummy replacement. This is a really quick and easy recipe that you can use instead of the bread. http://pittsburgh-diet-guru.com/wordpress/?p=112 It is one of my favourite recipes and you can chop and change it to suit yourself - it is so versatile. I add some nuts to mine and have them when I get that pre TOM munchies feeling. You can also cook it in the regular oven if you wish. Make a larger batch and do it in a loaf tin, then when cool slice and use as bread (it is especially good toasted). Note: If you cannot get flaxmeal use linseed (it is just called different depending on where you are).

Finally, for the sleeplessness - my doctor got me on a natural anti-hystamine (not just your normal over the counter stuff) which I take every night. Helps me sleep better and no drug hangover in the morning. Has the added benefit of not being all clogged up in the morning when I wake up and apparently I don't snore so much when I take it (says my partner ... lol)

Well, that is my 2 cents worth so I will go back to lurking in the background... lol

Bumping for a proper read later.

Briefly, I'm glad to have found this thread - I'm 37 and went through the menopause in my late 20's/early 30's and was misdiagnosed as PCOs. I'm on the pill at the moment while the Quacks try and work out what to do....long term...

Hope all you ladies are having an awesome day! Let's keep this group alive; love hearing all your stories!!

Hope all you ladies are having an awesome day! Let's keep this group alive; love hearing all your stories!!

I'm having a great day! Hope you are too! It's lovely in Chicago....Indian Summer! It's supposed to be nice through the weekend, Yay!!!!!

I love this thread. I'm almost 47 and in peri-menopause......the sweats....the urge to kill anyone around me. I started myself on Promensil.......it makes a HUGE difference. I stopped it as a test to see what would happen, and all my symptoms came back, so I stay on it. It's all natural so there are no synthetic hormones etc. Has anyone else here tried it with good results? I don't know what I found worse.....the hot flashes, sweats or the urge to murder everyone and go into a blind rage. I don't have that with Promensil, so it must be working.

Lauren,
I'm 44 and having the worst sweats and hot flashes throughout the day. I'm interested in learning more about Promensil. I've always been concerned about taking hormones but am ready to do anything to alleviate these symptoms. Did you need a prescription to get it? How long have you been taking it? Any side effects? What are the natural ingredients? Any info you could share would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Opal

I love this thread. I'm almost 47 and in peri-menopause......the sweats....the urge to kill anyone around me. I started myself on Promensil.......it makes a HUGE difference. I stopped it as a test to see what would happen, and all my symptoms came back, so I stay on it. It's all natural so there are no synthetic hormones etc. Has anyone else here tried it with good results? I don't know what I found worse.....the hot flashes, sweats or the urge to murder everyone and go into a blind rage. I don't have that with Promensil, so it must be working.

Lauren,
I'm 44 and having the worst sweats and hot flashes throughout the day. I'm interested in learning more about Promensil. I've always been concerned about taking hormones but am ready to do anything to alleviate these symptoms. Did you need a prescription to get it? How long have you been taking it? Any side effects? What are the natural ingredients? Any info you could share would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Opal

Promensil is in any drug store or grocery store, with the vitamins. I had originally tried the Swiss Herbal menopause but it did hardly anything for me. Promensil comes in a box, the regular strength is red and white, and there is extra strength, which I've tried but didn't find much difference between the two. Promensil :
"promotes estrogen balance, reducing menopausal symptoms and the risk of osteoporosis due to lack of estrogen. Supports bone and cardiovascular health." (yes i'm reading from the box, lol).
It does NOT cause weight gain. Says so on the box. It's main ingredient is Red Clover. You can go to promensil.com and even sign up for the newsletters and get all the info. I have had NO side effects. The suggest you ask your doctor first if you have ovarian/uterine cancer or endometriosis. I didn't want to go on HRT because my mom was on it for 10 years, got cancer and died. I'm paranoid because I was on the pill for 10 years, to control my heavy bleeding and cramps, and at the 10 year mark I got cervical cancer. I really do believe that synthetic hormones have a link with cancer. Apparently this Red Clover is what the Asian women have in their daily diet and they don't suffer as we do in the West because of this. It's just one pill a day. Gawd, I sound like a spokesperson, but I'm not, I just find the product does what it says and has made a huge difference to me.

Lauren, thank you so much for the information on Promensil. I will check out their website. I certainly hope it works for me as it has for you. It sounds wonderful.

Thanks again.

Opal

Wow, really, really glad to have found this thread.

I'm 47 and I'm perimenopausal. My doctor told me a year ago that my ovaries are shutting down.

The hot flashes come and go for me and I haven't had to try any medication - natural or otherwise - yet. The only problem I have is that when I get hormonal, I REALLY don't want to work out or eat. This is the time when my chocolate/sugar/junk food cravings are intense and impossible to resist.

I think I just need to power through these difficult times - allow myself some chocolate - and keep exercising. That seems to level things off for me and keeps me more even keeled.

Oh, one thing I forgot - I had a surprise baby three years ago so yes, I have a toddler around the house. Just when I thought I was close to being an empty nester. My two older kids are 21 and 18.