topic Menopause in Among Friends

Menopause

SurferWife — Sun, 13 Oct 2019 04:50:46 GMT

Holy ******! I think I have officially entered menopause. Hot flashes are for the freaking birds. For those of you who have gone through it, how long did menopause last? I've been doing a lot of reading on the internet and many of the things I love (wine, spicy food, caffeine) encourage hot flashes. I'm so ready to move to Alaska...LOL!

Please share your experiences if you'd like, but nobody please tell me to go to the doctor. I don't want to hear it.

Re: Menopause

Susan Louise — Sun, 13 Oct 2019 05:11:12 GMT

@SurferWife wrote:
Holy ******! I think I have officially entered menopause. Hot flashes are for the freaking birds. For those of you who have gone through it, how long did menopause last? I've been doing a lot of reading on the internet and many of the things I love (wine, spicy food, caffeine) encourage hot flashes. I'm so ready to move to Alaska...LOL!

Please share your experiences if you'd like, but nobody please tell me to go to the doctor. I don't want to hear it.

@SurferWife I had to have a full hysterectomy in 2005 due to a fibroid that grew to the size of a grapefruit within a year after I had lung cancer surgery.

Well, long story short, I still go through hot flashes 24/7 even now and see no signs of it slowing down. Some women can take estrogen supplements to help, but I can't because of the added cancer risks.

The worst part for me is at night when I try to sleep. Even with a fan on high directly on me, many nights I still have difficulty cooling down. DH will be wrapped up like an eggroll too since we have to keep the thermostat around 67 at night for me to have any chance of sleepng.

On the upside, remember every woman is different...some of which breeze through menopause with no symptoms whatsoever. I seem to be on the other end of that scale...oy.

BTW, omitting any foods or drinks didn't lesson the symptoms for me whatsoever, so I continue to enjoy them. The only exception is spicy foods...I never liked them anyway.

I'll be 60 in December.

I wish you luck

Re: Menopause

tedEbear — Sun, 13 Oct 2019 05:12:15 GMT

@SurferWife @Susan Louise ----Hystectomy at 42 on premrin after, until cancer was found (nothing I worried about. Mammograms since 18 because I knew I would get cancer eventually. Family blah, blah, blah!) Ripe old age of 64, BINGO, I got it. For the last9yrs I have been flashing like a red light in "THE" district. Keep begging for premrin since I have NO girl parts and at 73 I would rather be comfortable and back to 120lbs. This is just my opinion. Good thoughts to everyone with Any type of cancer.-------------tedEbear

Re: Menopause

sunshine45 — Sun, 13 Oct 2019 05:14:06 GMT

well, i hate to tell you this, but i have been HOT for probably 7 years now. there seems to be no end in sight. not much helps other than a/c, keeping the heat low, and wearing layers that i can peel off. i have been so happy that autumn finally has arrived and the cooler weather is here. sleeping at night is so much better with the windows open. i dont care for fans blowing on me.

it is pretty rare that i am cold. i dont wear heavy coats anymore, i dont wear leather jackets anymore, cannot stand turtlenecks or any top that is too constricting. my stash of tank tops has grown tremendously and i rarely need blush anymore. LOL

oh well, it beats the alternative.......

Re: Menopause

SurferWife — Sun, 13 Oct 2019 05:15:36 GMT

Thank you @Susan Louise for sharing your experience. I have read that another symptom of menopause is difficulty sleeping. I've noticed since I started taking magnesium before bed (I used to be good about it then got lazy), I'm sleeping like a baby.

I'm 53 and really just started noticing hot flashes within the last month or 2. I didn't think anything of it until I started researching menopause & a little light bulb went off in my head.

I never recall my mama complaining much about menopause so hopefully I won't have a rough road of it.

Thanks again for your input.

Re: Menopause

Drythe — Sun, 13 Oct 2019 05:23:56 GMT

@SurferWife wrote:
Holy ******! I think I have officially entered menopause. Hot flashes are for the freaking birds. For those of you who have gone through it, how long did menopause last? I've been doing a lot of reading on the internet and many of the things I love (wine, spicy food, caffeine) encourage hot flashes. I'm so ready to move to Alaska...LOL!

Please share your experiences if you'd like, but nobody please tell me to go to the doctor. I don't want to hear it.

@SurferWife

No information to add, just saw your nick and popped in to say HI, and wish you, Mr. Surfer, and sweet Toby all the best.

Re: Menopause

x Hedge — Sun, 13 Oct 2019 05:45:08 GMT

@SurferWife

I started peri-menopause in my late 30s. By the time I hit the early 40s I constantly alternated between hot flashes and being freezing cold. At night I'd wake up soaking with sweat in the 2 o'clock hour every night.

I developed migrains, which thankfully ceased after hormones stabilized at their new level. My skin appearance and texture changes were typical.

And my mother's words came back to me.

She said if you ever need to lose a few pounds, do it while you still have your hormones, so your body will cooperate with you. It seems to be much harder to reshape your body after menopause.

I went into a fitness phase, wanting to lose 20 to 30 pounds, while adding more underlying muscle.

Yes, it worked, and the unexpected bonus was as soon as I started being aerobic every day, the hot flashes and night sweats abruptly stopped, and never returned.

Edit- my mother's started in her late 50s, and I recall she developed acne in her 60s!

Re: Menopause

Naturesbeauty — Sun, 13 Oct 2019 05:42:54 GMT

Look into Andrew Lessman “Positive Passage” supplement. It has really helped me with my hot flashes. Go to HSN and read all the reviews. Also his “Womens Wellness” supplement.

Re: Menopause

DottieBlue — Sun, 13 Oct 2019 07:49:02 GMT

Hot flashes are horrible. I wanted to buy a freezer chest, drill a few air holes in it, crank it up and sleep in it!

All cotton bedding - sheets, blankets, quilts, etc., and cotton nightwear, greatly reduced night sweats.

My doctor wouldn't put me on hormones so I had to just muddle through. Couldn't sleep, (wish I knew about taking magnesium), and gained a horrible amount of weight that absolutely will not come off.

It lasted more than 15 years for me. Finally is subsiding.

I hope your discomfort subsides soon.

Re: Menopause

iwrite — Sun, 13 Oct 2019 07:51:44 GMT

symptoms

in the beginning, i was way too busy to realize why i was sweating all the time. looking back, i think it was best that i was so busy.

after about 5 years, the hot flashes decreased and the hot, then cold thing, has stopped . . . at least for the time being.

thank goodness for my dyson fan/heater! won't be without one. i've had the first one for over 5 years and bought one as a back up, a week or so ago, when it was a tsv.

i have a friend that is 70, and she still has hot flashes. i don't know if being on what i call life long meds, contributes to her hot flashes or not.

i'm not on any meds.

i don't have a problem going to sleep, could be because i'm up doing something for close to 20 hours a day, so by the time i lay down, i'm sleep or as my mother would say, 'i'm in a coma'.

like your mom, my mother didn't complain either, but she was also the person that would have eye surgery, then drive herself to work, eye patch and all, so i learned a long time ago, that i was not made of what she was.

i haven't complained about it either. i just bought more light weight clothes to wear <smile>. there have been more days then i want to remember, that i would change cloths 4 or 5 times a day. i don't know how women that have a lot of hot flashes make it through the day at work sitting in the same clothes all day. fortunately, i work from home, so i can change clothes whenever i want. but that was a plan i had for years.

i think the fact that i am busy the entire time that i am awake, helps because i don't have the time to sit around and think about how annoying the hot flashes can be.

it's a rare day, where i will even just sit and watch and hour of tv. the tv is on, but i am doing something else at the same time.

i know some people have a hard time getting their day started. i haven't had that happen either.

how long does menopause last? hmmm, until it stops. i don't think that there is a general cut off date. you may have some symptoms, for lack of a better word now, then those go away and you get different ones down the road.

i think a key thing is to eat and be healthy and do what you need to do to take care of your immune system. if that goes bonkers, i suspect more issues will appear. by that i mean, don't become deficient in vitamin d for example. your insides start to slow down and not produce things on their own, like they use to.

Re: Menopause

Pook — Sun, 13 Oct 2019 10:18:17 GMT

@SurferWife I started around 40 and it took 10 years. I got migraines and crying for no reason was common for me. The hot flashes and night sweats were horrendous. My doctor gave me a 2 page list of symptoms related to menopause that most doctors just dismiss. She also told me to eat a yam (not sweet potato) every day and the hot flashes and night sweats were nearly all gone. My mother had only a few hot flashes and within a year was through it. Hang in there - for me the end result was freeing!!

Re: Menopause

ID2 — Sun, 13 Oct 2019 10:13:01 GMT

I actually only had only one horrible hot flash when I began menopause. I can remember the time and place. But all the rest were minimal. Mine lasted for a good ten years. I now don't experience any type of hot flash symptoms.

Re: Menopause

SouthernBee — Sun, 13 Oct 2019 10:19:06 GMT

@SurferWife : Well everyone is different. I was a premature baby born 1954 and by age 2 diagnosed with cerebral palsy and all my health issues were different. At age 35 had to keep a written journal to convince doctor that I was in memopause. So bad put on medicine. The hot flashes and cold horrible. Had breast cancer that didn't run in my family but caused by hormones- blessed because found early. Breast cancer in 2002. The cancer medicine caused the menopause to be worse and of course can't take anything and weight increased and very difficult and slow to lose plus still dill with the hot and cold issue at 65. Dealing with food cravings sometimes is very difficult and frustrating.DH is very hot natured but because of my issues he is in his recliner bundled up. Does memopause stop- apparently not for me and because of medical history just can't take a lot of medicine or over the counter stuff. Not bitter just Blessed to still be alive. Don't like my weight and previously always underweight. Southern Bee

Re: Menopause

AngelPuppy1 — Sun, 13 Oct 2019 10:32:30 GMT

I had horrible - I mean horrible hot flashes - for a very long time. I would get sick to my stomach and feel like I was burning up from the inside out! My face and neck would get hot and red and I would even feel light-headed. The back of my neck around my hairline would perspire. Awful! Doctor wanted to put me on hormones but - nope -- not for me. Hot drinks did seem to make it worse, as well as spicy food and alcohol. I always had to have plenty of ice water and this seemed to relieve it somewhat. Wore clothing in layers so that I could remove them when needed. Hang in there --- it's no fun!

Re: Menopause

CalminHeart — Sun, 13 Oct 2019 10:41:14 GMT

@SurferWife wrote:
-------------------------

I went through menopause without hormone replacement etc and am glad I did. I found a few tricks to help.

I kept a wet, cold washcloth in my desk at work. I'd wet it and put it in my lunch bag each morning. If I forgot one, I'd keep a handful of cold, wet papertowels from the restroom in my desk.
I had to stop taking super hot showers as they triggered hot flashes. I still do a cold/cool rinse at the end.
I wore lighter clothing. I even quit wearing layers because I'd have to take a layer off by the time I got to work. I avoided wool and polyester fabrics and still don't wear them. Cotton is the best for me.
Keep a small fan on your desk at work. (After I retired, I worked in customer service at a grocery store and they let me have a small fan there too.)
Find the foods and drinks that trigger your hot flashes. For me, I had to avoid wine and spicier foods.
I used to go outside in 20 below zero weather when having a hot flash. It felt so good!

For me, my body temperature never went back to normal after menopause. I'm hot most of the time now. It does save on heating bills in the winter though.

Re: Menopause

Liverbird1 — Sun, 13 Oct 2019 10:47:55 GMT

I found switching to soya milk helped . I take multi vit and minerals .

Have a fan at night as the flushes come and go .

Mood swings and being tired gadually diminish .

Re: Menopause

haddon9 — Sun, 13 Oct 2019 11:55:36 GMT

I'm 65 and never really had a hot flash...so not everyone gets them. I did however used to suffer a LOT with very bad PMS and cramps which sometimes were so painful that I had to go home from school. Occasionally I would also get bad menstrual migraines in my 30s & 40s.

I was either 48 or 49 when I got my last period and for me menopause has been liberating!

ETA: I want to mention that I don't take any meds for menopause.

Re: Menopause

ukbutterfly — Sun, 13 Oct 2019 12:17:24 GMT

My doctor told me to take Black Cohosh for the hot flashes. It works! Twice a day. I use Spring Valley because the pills are small.

Re: Menopause

ALRATIBA — Sun, 13 Oct 2019 12:25:38 GMT

I was well over 60 before onset of menopause. It was a total non-event. No symptoms- nothing. It seems to be a trait for the women in my family. Both my mother and grandmother had late menopause.

Re: Menopause

CrazyKittyLvr2 — Sun, 13 Oct 2019 13:17:57 GMT

In my early 40's I started skipping periods. I'd have 1 and then for 3 months nothing. No hot flashes. During the non-period months I felt like I would start any minute, kind of cramppy but that's all. Period would start I felt great. At 49 had a period one month and I was done.

DH had 2 hormone shots for prosate cancer, he had awful hot flashes. He said he felt bad for women because he knew what they went thru.