Menopause HELP Please!

I HATE Menopause!! I thought puberty was bad, this takes the cake. I haven't had a TOM since October (on my birthday, actually) and now I'm getting cramps and feeling bloated and cranky and then NOTHING.

For those of you who have more experience than I do, do you still get the monthly symptoms and then nothing happens or do you NOT get the symptoms and nothing happens or do you get the symptoms and something happens?

I'm sick to death of the mood swings, the power surges, the night sweats, etc. I'm not taking any HRT because I'm scared to death to. The only thing I take is a compounded progesterone, which is a cream.

I'm open to any and all suggestions (and yes, I do have an appt. to see my doctor next week).

Is Premarin really that bad and does it help???

Thanks!!
-Becky

Becky - I am so lucky - don't have any of the ususal menopause issues but I know that my xMIL & friend both take it - my xmil is 72 and gf 51 - they are fine - I really think it is a personal choice and what you can and can't live with. Talk to your doctor and see what you & him/her cam come up with to help.

I started menopausal symptons a few years ago. Before that my period was very regular and then my hormone levels must have just plummeted.

I was having hot flashes like crazy. Some would last 10 minutes and I had up to four an hour! I wasn;t sleeping well and it was just really interfering with my life.

I was also afraid to get an RX. I finally went to see my Dr and got a Prescription for a patch. I read the side effects and freaked out, so the RX sat on my desk for two weeks or more. Well, I had a really bad night and lots of hot flashes and just decided to try the patch. I knew I could stop it if I wanted to.

Well everything improved and then I lowered the dose of the patch. That went well, too. At the time of my band surgery, I didn;t want to have a patch on, so I left it off and it's been off since. Seven weeks!

I still get some hot flashes and I still have more trouble sleeping. If I feel it gets really bad, I'll get back on my patch. At my next GYN appt, I think I might ask about a low dose pill instead. I'll decide based on symptoms.

It is not fun...I to have your same problems have all the symptoms
and then nothing and if I do get it it is soooooo painful...Next life I want to be a dog....

You might try herbs--there are some that seem to be effective in relieving the symptoms of menapause. I'm taking some and they seem to be helping--although it's too cold here (Wisconsin) to have hot flashes--actually, I'd welcome one today!

Ladies, my journey down this road was a bit different. I started at age 47! I am now 50. Anyway, I used the pill for a number of years for regulation (in my 30's at the time) and I started to have hot flashes on the pill! I noticed my period would last 1 maybe 2 days. Well a few painless blood test later and it was confirmed. I went off the pill. I did do an HRT for a while but then that study came out and I went off and toughed it out. I used a fan 24/7 since all I would is sweat, and when I sweat its not a nice picture! LOL. Just have to persevere. I also used herbal remedies for a while. The over the counter type. Estevan.

I use bioidentical hormones. They are supposed to be closest to what our body produces. My patch is called the vivelle dot. It's estridol.

I also take Prometrium, which is progesterone.

Those studies were all done on an HRT that was made from a pregnant horse's urine.

I went through a couple of years where I was getting absolutely no sleep and decided the quality of life is worth the risk. My gyn says that the bioidentical hormones are safe. I hope she is right.

ok ladies,
not menoposal but PMS is a b---h. my friend recommended evening primrose and I am a new person. I take one 1000mg capsule a day. been on them for about 6 months. My sister (57) now takes them and she feels 100% better. Dr. approved.

I suppose everyone has different symptoms. I was hot all the time!! I had four fans in my classroom. I did that so I wouldn't freeze the kids. During the winter I still used the fans and could only wear light blouses. It was awful. My periods got farther apart and then left all together. I do not remember having cramps but still feel I have a touch of PMS. About once a month I have a few days of depression. This is the first winter I have felt the cold in a long time. I do not know if it is the 31 lb. weight loss or coming out of menopause but it sure it nice. Hang on. It will go away.

Me too, I am now becoming "normal" to the temps of the winter and I have not lost a single pound yet! Last winter I was walking around in 65* rooms and very comfortable while the house-mate was freezing her tiny butt off. LOL! What a difference form last winter and now.

I am having a really hard time losing weight and I keep thinking maybe it is due to menopause... trying to find something what is Primrose is it natural so much cancer in my family can not take much

I started having the hot flashes about 3 months after I turned 50 this past May. They were happening about every 45 minutes. They were driving me crazy. I also didn't want to take a prescribed drug for menopause either. I asked some friends for advice.... I started taking the Walmart brand of Estrogen for menopausal symptoms - it is called Estroven. It took about 1 month to work, but it did and still does. I would highly suggest trying it out. It is an all natural herb. Good luck to you and "stay cool". :-) Sorry, couldn't help it. lol Blessings, Dianne

I'm dealing with periods that last weeks, sometimes with heavy flow and severe cramps, and then periods that last an hour and I just happened to catch it. I'll be seeing my gyn next month and plan to talk to her about hormones to help me regulate things. With the way things are going, I have to wear protection every day!

Fortunately, no other symptoms yet.

The best defense is an education. Go naturalradiance.com at the bottom of page there are 3 books to read. I use estriol cream and natural progestrone and that is what I recomend.

Soy is good for menopausal symptoms and I have used it for several years, it works! I think we will all need to watch ourselves closely because fat produces estrogen and as our bodies loose the fat we will also lose another source of estrogen. I wonder if that is what is happening to you. A young girl who is overweight will develop earlier and begin to menstruate earlier, due to the estrogen her body fat produces. So it stands to reason that as we lose that fat… we lose the estrogen.
[FONT='Calibri','sans-serif']Try drinking a bit of soy milk or put it in a shake[/font]