Wellness

[wagirl]

On 1/2/2015 sidsmom said:

On 1/2/2015 wagirl said:

On 1/2/2015 sidsmom said:

My BFF wanted to know what hot flashes felt like...I told him, for me, it's like having a high fever for about 20 minutes. Nothing external, like a fan, ice on the neck or less clothes, will lower the heat until it dissipates naturally.

wagirl: I started taking Prempro 1.5-2 yrs ago since I wasn't getting an ounce of sleep. The detriment of no sleep was outweighed by any other condition. My hormone/cortisol levels were @ their peak of 'wonkiness' (!!) then, but it's getting better now, I'm slowly trying to wean myself from Prempro this year...every 2 weeks reduce a day. Hopefully my sleep won't be affected. Does this sound like a do-able plan?

You know---I can't give you any advice about that. I was taking the lowest possible dose of estrogen and progesterone in 2 tiny pills as my sleep was affected too. I had NO family history of breast cancer. Had a normal mammo in June of 2011 and then April 2012, I found a pretty big lump that turned out to be stage 3a lobular cancer. Had surgery, chemo and radiation. My advice is to take as little as you can for as little time as you can, with sound advice from your dr. My symptoms of menopause were so totally benign compared to others that I should have just toughed it out. I started meno-p at age 45 and by 50 I was over it and at 58 had cancer. And I have been religious about mammos since age 40. Never missed one. Horrible!!!!

Wow...that's quite a story. Even tho' I don't have the history of breast cancer, you've convinced me to start weaning myself off these icky hormones. Wish me luck!

sidsmom--just talk with your dr too. Let him/her know what your concerns are. No one can predict who will get cancer, you know? It's a c(r)ap shoot!!! Of course I wish you the best!!!

[sidsmom]

wagirl:

[Fifi1]

Honestly, I don't think men can understand what a woman's body goes through! I had early meno, all done by 46, not too bad, controlled with BC pills when needed. Fast forward to 49, major cysts developed on my ovaries, had to have them removed, and the next year was he....ll. uncontrolled hot flashes, not stop, anxiety and crying jags over everything, dryness that hurt all the time, insomnia for days, hair loss, bone loss.. I could not function and work! I was very slim ate carefully,exercised but nothing would take away the major issues naturally. Finally switched dr and she did put me on the lowest dose of BHRT. I didn't want to, but felt so much better quite soon, I'm still on the low dose, check yearly, and hopefully next year ease off. I do worry about BC, doesn't run in family,but aware it can happen to anyone. I don't think you're a hero for not using meds when they can make life feel normal again!, and you truly need them.

[Donnalona]

Thanks heaven for the estradiol patch. I will NEVER give it up it keeps me normal. I've told my Dr. that and he just lowered my dose, he says a lot of his patients feel the same way.

[wagirl]

On 1/3/2015 Fifi1 said: Honestly, I don't think men can understand what a woman's body goes through! I had early meno, all done by 46, not too bad, controlled with BC pills when needed. Fast forward to 49, major cysts developed on my ovaries, had to have them removed, and the next year was he....ll. uncontrolled hot flashes, not stop, anxiety and crying jags over everything, dryness that hurt all the time, insomnia for days, hair loss, bone loss.. I could not function and work! I was very slim ate carefully,exercised but nothing would take away the major issues naturally. Finally switched dr and she did put me on the lowest dose of BHRT. I didn't want to, but felt so much better quite soon, I'm still on the low dose, check yearly, and hopefully next year ease off. I do worry about BC, doesn't run in family,but aware it can happen to anyone. I don't think you're a hero for not using meds when they can make life feel normal again!, and you truly need them.

You just HAVE to be vigilant about your body!!! If you think something is not right, you NEED to check it out!!! I keep wondering how in the world could I have missed this huge lump in my breast and what if I found it a few months earlier---would that have made a difference in my treatments, maybe just radiation and no chemo? I was off all hrts for 5 years at least before my dx of breast cancer. I have a very good prognosis and am cured of any cancer right now.

[willdob3]

I have no advice regarding husbands.

But I can tell you what got rid of my hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms - after years of living with them.

Drugs for this are not my idea of "healthy" options. Prescription bio-identicals are expensive.

With my doctor's approval, I tried a few products I first heard about on this board, then spent a lot of time reading rave reviews about on Amazon.

Smoky Mountain Naturals is the brand. The three products I have been using with wonderful success for over a year are Paraben Free Estrio-Life (Estriol, the best/healthiest estrogen to be supplementing) cream, Paraben Free Progesterone cream, and DIM, a capsule taken once per day. The only time I have experienced any symptoms was when I tried reducing the suggested amounts or when I ran out.

I highly recommend anyone interested in a safe, healthy solution to menopausal symptoms go to Amazon & spend some time reading about these products.

[Fifi1]

On 1/4/2015 wagirl said:

On 1/3/2015 Fifi1 said: Honestly, I don't think men can understand what a woman's body goes through! I had early meno, all done by 46, not too bad, controlled with BC pills when needed. Fast forward to 49, major cysts developed on my ovaries, had to have them removed, and the next year was he....ll. uncontrolled hot flashes, not stop, anxiety and crying jags over everything, dryness that hurt all the time, insomnia for days, hair loss, bone loss.. I could not function and work! I was very slim ate carefully,exercised but nothing would take away the major issues naturally. Finally switched dr and she did put me on the lowest dose of BHRT. I didn't want to, but felt so much better quite soon, I'm still on the low dose, check yearly, and hopefully next year ease off. I do worry about BC, doesn't run in family,but aware it can happen to anyone. I don't think you're a hero for not using meds when they can make life feel normal again!, and you truly need them.

You just HAVE to be vigilant about your body!!! If you think something is not right, you NEED to check it out!!! I keep wondering how in the world could I have missed this huge lump in my breast and what if I found it a few months earlier---would that have made a difference in my treatments, maybe just radiation and no chemo? I was off all hrts for 5 years at least before my dx of breast cancer. I have a very good prognosis and am cured of any cancer right now.

Thankfully you did find it, sought treatment and are well. I'm sorry you went thru this. May 2015 be a year of blessings and continued good health. I wish I would have sought treatment and switched dr earlier after my issues. I trusted my then dr till she tried to tell it was mostly in my head! Many woman are lucky to sail thru these times with diet change and exercise, I wish it would have been that easy, but yes listening to our body and intuition really counts. Best of luck to all who struggle thru menop, looks like many here did not, and yes listen to your body, ask questions and don't be afraid to switch providers when you need to.

[Love4cats]

HRT!!!!! I could not deal with no sleep, hot flashes, panic attacks, no energy. I did HRT for 10 years and risks or no risks I would do it all over again. Without HRT my quality of life was horrible. I felt great on HRT. My husband has always been very supportive but, I think HRT saved my life and his.LOL

[mousiegirl]

On 1/1/2015 Clover29 said:

I'm 53. My last period was in June (went from normal monthly to just stopping dead). I haven't had any other symptoms. I don't have anything to explain

You will, eventually.

[Azcowgirl]

I had a GYN. Say to me ,....."I believe in BHRT because I believe quality of life is even more important than quantity of life..if it takes a few years off your life, at least you lived well" I thought , great ! That's really comforting !!! ):