The Emotional Rollercoaster of Menopause

[keepclimbing]

I was diagnosed as fully menopausal at age 42. Ten years later, I still am treating hot flashes and sleep difficulties. My mood swings have clearly been related to the times when I couldn't sleep. Sleeping pills made me very groggy all day, so that didn't help. I now take 5 mg of melatonin every night and it really does the trick. An ice pack on the back of the neck makes my hot flashes go away instantly.

Two years ago I went on low-dose HRT and felt immediately better. Every symptom disappeared. BUT...after only 5 months I landed in the hospital with ischemic colitis...a very rare condition for someone my age. It is basically like a heart attack, except in the colon. The doctors immediately took away the hormones and I seem to be fine now. I'm grateful it happened in my gut and not my heart.

Everyone is different, but please do take the warnings about HRT seriously. If you have a family disposition toward arterial diseases, you're taking a big risk.

I also agree that hormonal symptoms are impacted by other things going on in life, so it's important to treat the whole person.

Good luck! You're entering a bold and wonderful time of life!

[DebTX]

No hot flashes for me (yet), though I'm still menstruating at 48. Definitely in the "Perimenopause" though. My symptoms include sleeplessness, night sweats, worsening menstrual cramps, moodiness, and hair loss

The hair loss bothers me a lot. I've diminished the number of washings, diminished/nearly eliminated use of heat products, use good conditioners, etc... But each time I wash it I'm surprised at how much hair circles the drain. I'm not balding, by any means - but my hair is probably half as thick as it used to be.

I told my GYN and we checked thyroid levels (normal). I was reassured when I watched "the View" about a week ago and saw Barbara Walters lean over, exposing the top of her head. I could see her scalp, plain as day, under some very thin teased hair. I've read changing hormones can do it.

I've also followed the recent Oprah shows where they talk about it, including bioidenticals. I have my "beefs" with Oprah, but I have to admit I liked her idea of "starting a national conversation about perimenopause/menopause". This shouldn't be a secret that catches all of us by surprise.

[emily_in_nc]

No hot flashes for me (yet), though I'm still menstruating at 48. Definitely in the "Perimenopause" though. My symptoms include sleeplessness, night sweats, worsening menstrual cramps, moodiness, and hair loss

The hair loss bothers me a lot. I've diminished the number of washings, diminished/nearly eliminated use of heat products, use good conditioners, etc... But each time I wash it I'm surprised at how much hair circles the drain. I'm not balding, by any means - but my hair is probably half as thick as it used to be.

I told my GYN and we checked thyroid levels (normal). I was reassured when I watched "the View" about a week ago and saw Barbara Walters lean over, exposing the top of her head. I could see her scalp, plain as day, under some very thin teased hair. I've read changing hormones can do it.

I've also followed the recent Oprah shows where they talk about it, including bioidenticals. I have my "beefs" with Oprah, but I have to admit I liked her idea of "starting a national conversation about perimenopause/menopause". This shouldn't be a secret that catches all of us by surprise.

Deb, we sound very similar. I'll be 48 in April. I'm still having regular periods (sometimes closer together than they used to be). I have the same peri- symptoms you do, along with some forgetfulness.

I definitely have the hair loss as well. I've been noticing it, mildly for several years. Thyroid tests have been normal, though I haven't had it tested for a couple of years - need to repeat it this year just in case. This past year, the hair loss seemed to accelerate. Everything I've read says that it can be a very common part of peri-menopause/menopause. My mom also has thin hair -- definitely not balding, but thin. My hair looks a lot like hers now, where it used to be a lot thicker.

I found this article on hair loss on the Power Surge website posted above by ccnyc (thanks!) We are not alone...but it still sucks!

[bmccasland]

So now I'm wondering, by being on HRT, am I post-poning the inevitable? Still have a head full of hair, or what goes towards the drain is replaced by gray and no extra hair on the upper lip... although I don't recall my grandmothers have much (then again they may have been tweezer queens). My last bone density was good too, and I am taking calcium supplements.

[itself]

Thanks all of you for the great information. BleekerST Lisa, you got it, I am not depressed, but just burst out in tears!

Now the question, is the bioidentical the same as HRT? I set up a visit with my gyn for sure.

Ok, thank goodness, I'm not losing my mind! Us poor women!

Lisa

[Tokie]

Oh also, my friend at work was put on Effexor (anti-depressant) to treat her hotflashes/night sweats that were keeping her awake, rather than HRT. It worked for her, but after 2 or 3 years, she figured she probably could go it alone, and get off of the Effexor. Well, she failed at that - quitting the Effexor caused her to have crying jags, so she went back on it. I've read about other unpleasant symptoms people have had when they try to get off of Effexor. (Joel Graedon, newspaper column "The People's Pharmacy"). Weird stuff! Tokie I too will be "weaned" off of my estradiol when I turn 56. (yea!) I tried to cut back to quit on my own a year ago (every other day dosing, then every third day,etc) HOT FLASHES! Next time I do it, Doc says I'll cut back to 3/4 pill for a few months, then to 1/2 pill for a few months, etc. I don't take progesterone (no uterus to protect from cancer). by the way, the woman I see slathering on her bioidentical hormones after her shower at the gym is now complaining of middle aged belly fat, just like many ordinary menopausal women. (and she is staying just as active as ever!) (and I saw the belly fat too, it's not just her) So it's not necessarily the fountain of youth that I believe Suzanne Sommers promotes with the "Wiley Protocol". ( kind of scary that a breast cancer survivor takes hormone replacement anyways, even if her cancer wasn't estrogen receptor positive, which I don't know, but doesn't it just seem like not a great idea?) Tokie

[Brandi]

Now I am scared!
I think i have had off and on symptoms for years. I am 40. And it seems to me I have had this for a while. Night sweats sometimes. Moodiness beyond belief. Now what i have found that has helped me is magnesium. "Calm" is the name of what my certified nutrionalist friend has me on. And My Dr knows I am on it as well. And says it is a great remedy for a lot of people. And that after I talked to him he would probably recommend it for about a week then go back to his old ways. More so cause a lot of people want a pill. I take the calm with calcium. It helps you sleep and does help keep me calm. Calm is the best on the market. You find it at a healthfood store.

[Irulan]

Thanks all of you for the great information. BleekerST Lisa, you got it, I am not depressed, but just burst out in tears!

Now the question, is the bioidentical the same as HRT? I set up a visit with my gyn for sure.

Ok, thank goodness, I'm not losing my mind! Us poor women!

Lisa

ususally the bio identical refers to progesterone ( at least in my case) which is another hormone that gets out of whack. According to Dr Lee, and by my experience, bringing the progesterone back into balance with estrogen will smooth out the ride. Think about it. Mother nature intends for you to have reduces estrogen as you age, why would you want to change that?

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Now I am scared!
I think i have had off and on symptoms for years. I am 40. And it seems to me I have had this for a while. Night sweats sometimes. Moodiness beyond belief. Now what i have found that has helped me is magnesium. "Calm" is the name of what my certified nutrionalist friend has me on. And My Dr knows I am on it as well. And says it is a great remedy for a lot of people. And that after I talked to him he would probably recommend it for about a week then go back to his old ways. More so cause a lot of people want a pill. I take the calm with calcium. It helps you sleep and does help keep me calm. Calm is the best on the market. You find it at a healthfood store.

I have read findings that calcium not only calms the nervous system but helps you sleep and regulates the heart rhythm. Also helps prevent muscle cramps (in that muscle cramps can be a symptom of calcium/mag deficiency). Magnesium and calcium & vitamin D work together for best absorption by the body.

Mother nature intends for you to have reduces estrogen as you age, why would you want to change that?

Not saying changing it is either good or bad, (there are definitely pros and cons to this touchy topic) but one reason might be because 'mother nature' did not design the human race to live such long lifespans that we enjoy today, thus we now experience women-specific aging issues that people of long ago did not deal with as much.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/in...1231053AASrjsO
In the 16th-17th century, "a man or woman who reached the age of 30 could expect to live to 59". (This eliminates the distortion of the statistics by infant and child mortality.)
A woman back then didn't have to worry as much about osteoporosis in her 70's and 80's, for one example. She was likely already dead of something else! It is shown that bone loss accelerates once estrogen levels drop off. So, just one example of why some women might be considering extending their hormone levels a few years more to take her through the menopause years. And yes, of course there are various ways we can all help prevent bone loss aside from taking hormones.

[Norse]

I always had major PMS issues (heavy bleeder, mucho "I think I am dying" kind of pain and crazy mood swings). I am 44 now and have been in the peri-stage for a little over three years. The worst symptoms are the extreme anger I can feel and the horrid night sweats. I also did not appreciate that my periods started coming more frequently. A few months ago, I entered year three of the low hormone (birth control) pills my female OB/GYN put me on. I like not having periods and it helps my feelings of anger tremendously. I still have night sweats though - temp outside can be well below zero, temp in the house is 66 and I am kicking off the covers.

As this is year 3 of the pills, and based on the new study that came out, I would like to quit the pills or at least taper off after this year. In any event, my dr. has indicated she would not put me on them for more than 5 years. Assuming I might still be suffering the symptoms then, I hope to find a more natural way stop the sweats and not get so darned angry. Hard exercise has always helped and I do yoga, but my body needs more than this.

[bikerHen]

I'm just coming of a period of intense hot flashes. I've amazed and amused co-workers by suddenly turning bright red and dripping sweat right before their eyes. Then five minutes later, back to normal! This lasted for about three months. While the hot flashes were coming and going, no period. Now they have stop and my period started again. Go figure. I would almost take the hot flashes over my period.

I have been having less intense hot flashes for almost 10 years. I tried the bioidentical hormones last year. They did help with sleep loss and hot flashes but made me gain weight. So that was the end of that!

So add me to the list, of those with thinning hair, losing sleep and an internal thermostat stuck on high. bikerHen

[malkin]

My hair is thinning too, but the hair that's left seems to be running wild in the wilderness up there. The grays are crazier than their predicessors!

[emily_in_nc]

HRT scares me because in addition to the recent studies, my MIL ended up with endometrial cancer three years after starting on Prempro. It was kinda strange to me that her doc even put her on it because she was very much post-menopausal (late 60s) at the time and was not having hot flashes or any other symptoms. She stated that her doc prescribed them because of the osteoporosis risk from being a woman, and yet, she was not in a super high risk group for that as she ate plenty of calcium-containing foods, drank milk, didn't smoke, was overweight (which does keep the bones stronger, despite the negatives of it), and did weight-bearing exercise as well. Fortunately the cancer was found early, and after a hysterectomy and discontinuing HRT, she is just fine now in her late 70s.

Fortunately my mom says that she had a relatively easy menopause transition and did not use HRT, so hopefully mine will be the same.

[bikerchic]

"What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Menopause" by John R. Lee.

Using the natural compounded progesterone cream really helped me with all my symptoms of menopause and it's something you really need to use throughout the rest of your life to prevent many cancers. Read the book it's all explained better than I can begin to.

[Irulan]

"What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Menopause" by John R. Lee.

Using the natural compounded progesterone cream really helped me with all my symptoms of menopause and it's something you really need to use throughout the rest of your life to prevent many cancers. Read the book it's all explained better than I can begin to.

one of my docs loaded me the audio of some of his lectures... very informative, mesmerizing. No wonder big pharma hated him.