Menopause Support Group

Hi APeace, do you happen to have any good natural or compound pharmacies in your area? Or maybe a Whole Foods store? There are some great alternative OTCs out there. I know of friends who had success with soy, estroven (? I think this is what it's called) and there are homeopathic preparations as well. I have a compound pharmacist who is great. She will refer me to products that are safe and generally effective. Unfortunately, I waited too long and my body was a mess. I ended up going on bioidentical hormone therapy but I also have thyroid and adrenal issues.
Check out your local health food store if you have one. Also, lots of water, little to no caffeine, lots of vegetables (especially green), fruit, add in some meditation or relaxation exercises, cardio exercise, etc.
Sorry for rambling on...hope you get some help.
Caterina

Hi I am too suffering from these awful iggerular periods. I had one with a 5 day break its really getting me down. I am now trying to include soya in my diet and taking EP again but I am finding my mood swings are awful, I do not the patience that I used to have. In my house it is needed as I have a very unsympathetic husband who shouts all the time. i HAVE NO SUGGESTIONS for this I think we just have to try different things and hopefully get no stress. Good luck

Hi Apeace. yes, I am going through this peri-menopause again. Last year in Nov and dec I missed my periods and had hot flashes and got my hormones checked. The dr said I was not producing estrogen. So I thought I was done..nope. Things got better and then as of October this year I missed my period again, and had a horrible PMS experience! I have the hot flashes and horrible sweats ( from my head). I am just so miserable and uncomfortable.
I also had spotting in September so am seeing a GYN this week as i have other issues that need evaluated.
Like Caterina, I too have thyroid and adrenal issues so my system is really out of whack.
We recently did another batch of hormone labs and will see what they asy.
I tried Black Cohosh for the hot flashes but spoke to my endo and he seems a little reluctant about me using that since it is not exactly precise.
i have sleep issues as well..am up at 3 AM everyday and have been for about 2 months or more and it could be partially hormonal or related to my steroid dose.
Hope you feel better!

OH and how could I forget to meantion the mood swings! UGH!
They are HORRIBLE!

Yes, they are! I am doing this all naturally and it is HARD! I am to the point where I can't even hold down a job, too much pain and mental anguish! Did women have it this bad in the past, or is it all the hormones,preservatives and additives in our food supply? This is all just unbelievable, especially the length of time is lasts!

There might be some products that work for you and all you can do is experiment. I did that and found that I don't respond to anything but good old fashioned pharmacuticles...I've been on HRT for 10 months, and I feel better than I have in yars. Yes, there is the risk involved, but I had to look at quality of life vs. spending years ripping the face off of anyone who made the bad choice of getting to close to me. Insanity was painful too.

Jeeplibby, your doc said that black cohosh is imprecise? Oh of there were only something, ANYTHING that was "precise" when it comes to menopause!

I don't know of anything that works for everyone, and like Seashells said, unless you happen to get VERY lucky at the start, you may have to experiment to find what works for you.

I had the opposite experience of some of you - I started off with HRT last year after my hysterectomy. My symptoms weren't bad at first, but after about six months, the hot flashes, night sweats and MOOD SWINGS were driving me (and my family) bananas, and I was soon begging my gyn for relief.

I started on Premarin last August, and it really did help, especially with the hot flashes, but if anything, I became more depressed and lethargic. After about a month on the hormones, my breasts started to ache all the time, and my knees and hips felt like they needed to be greased. This continued to get worse until I finally quit cold last December. The pain in my breasts was just too much, and I really started to worry that something bad was going on.

When I quit, my hot flashes came back with a fury. They say you're supposed to wean off of HRT gradually - and I know that now, but at the time I was just too scared. Besides, I hear women who have been on HRT for years, only to find that they STILL have to deal with the symptoms when they finally do quit.

Anyway, I couldn't get in to see my gyn for over a month, and I had pretty much resigned myself to living in misery until a friend recommended a herbal liquid called Wisdom Menopause Formula. I ordered some, and haven't looked back since.

My night sweats were gone after only a few days, and the hot flashes soon disappeared as well. I still get an occasional flash, especially if I'm very stressed, or if I miss a dose or two, but other than that, I couldn't be happier.

But the best part is the difference it has made for my emotional well being. My moods are much more stable, I'm not worrying and stressing out over every little thing, I sleep wonderfully, and life just seems a whole lot friendlier.

I know that a lot of women have great success with hormones, and I am grateful that they are available, but for me, it almost seemed like I was allergic or something, and once I quit, all of the breast and joint pain has gone (thank goodness!)

If I have learned anything from this, it's that we have to be persistent. If one thing doesn't work, keep at it until you find something that does.

Lisa