Asugar

Have you tried natural alternatives? One such product, Estroven has Black Cohosh, Kava Kava and other necessary vitamins and minerals for menopause symptoms?

I take Estroven, evening primrose oil, flaxseed oil and wild yam capsules three times a day. And yes, I still use my trusty progesterone cream which has been a life saver since surgery in 1998. Exercise especially 20-30 min. aerobic also helps a great deal.

A great book with references to these products for symptoms is
"The Natural Physician's Healing Therapies" by Mark Stengler, N.D.

HN

Thanks, HerbNurse. I have heard of Estroven. If my symtoms continue, I will definitely give it a whirl. It's amazing how much my quality of life improved once I took matters into my own hards. One thing I have learned the hard way is that each of us has hormonal needs that are as individually unique as we are and many of us are making lots of noise so I think some of the doctors are finally coming around.
asugar

How right you are with that statement!

HN

Hi all

I only just found this thread and I am very interested. My mother went through MP when she was 53 (late starter with TOM as well) and had to have a hysterectomy at that age, because it was the "done" thing, I think, to alleviate symptoms in that way.

Recently (I've just had my 52nd birthday) I have been getting hot flushes around my face which turns bright red, but not much night sweating. My second TOM is now overdue, so I guess this is it.........

I need to quickly catch up on what's around - I don't really want to go on HRT.

A funny story about doctors - a friend aged 32 went to her doctor saying she had had no TOM for 2 months and wasn't feeling very well. Without hesitation, he said she was going through MP and prescribed HRT for her, which she didn't take. A week later she was back in his surgery to tell him she was pregnant, having done the tests herself

I will check out the websites, they sound very informative. Great reading this thread (and very funny).

Judy

Judy130

Glad you could join us.

There are several herbal remedies that you can start taking right now.

I prefer a product called Estroven as it has everything needed in one pill. I do not take the recommended dosage of 1 at night, I take 3 times a day as my hot flashes were driving me insane.
I also take Evening primrose oil, flaxseed oil and wild yam capsules as well three times a day.

I must tell you and everyone here that I have never felt better!!
The menopausal symptoms are gone finally and sleep like a rock and have more piss and vinegar then ever before. Exercise helps a good deal too! It is a matter of trial and error for all women.

Hope this helps!

HN

Hi all
I'm 40 and find that TOM is starting to jump around a fair bit now - stays with me for 10-12 days or more - heavy at first, then just a darn pest for the last days....arrives a couple of weeks late too, more often than not now - used to be regular as clockwork;could this be the start?
No other symptoms - but wouldn't mind the libido boost symptom!
Cheers
Lynne

I am through with the whole thing - had a complete hysterectomy two and a half years ago. Almost everything has mellowed out including terrible mood swings. What I am left with is horrible hot flashes that will not give up! This is the main reason I took up low carbing on 8/1. It's helped some but certainy not enough.

AngelaR - a little off the subject. Do you have muscle and bone aches with that mental fog? I did, they found I had a light dose of fibromyalgia, better now.

Katie

Hi HerbNurse

Thanks for the info. Do you get Estroven over the counter, or do you need to see your doctor for it? It sounds just what I may need to start on.

I am also going to add a glass of soya milk to my list of foods to eat/drink, maybe a small glass every evening. I thought soya may be high in carbs so I had been avoiding it, but the health benefits could be worth the extra carbs.

Judy

Estroven is an over the counter supplement. It can be found at most Wal-Marts, Health Food and Drug Stores. It took me approximately 2 weeks before I noticed the hot flashes subsiding.
After 4 weeks they were completely gone.

I have been struggling with whether I should cut the dose down to the recommended one in the evening. I don't want the symptoms to reappear, it takes forever to get rid of them. I may just cut down to 2 per day.

I also have been taking flaxseed oil (2 tbsp. a day) and evening primrose oil 3 times a day. I believe these might be helping too.
This works for me anyway!

Hope this helps!!

HN

Ladies: I have read these posts with great interest since I was going through them all too. About 3 months ago I purchased a product called Revival (www. Revival.com) and started drinking the shakes every morning. Within one week I had absolutely no symptoms and everything has disappeared completely. My cycles have straightened out, no night sweats, no mood swings, I have incredible energy and have lost 27 pounds too. Adding this level of pure soy protein has made a wonderful difference in my life and they actually taste good too. This in combination of LCing has made all the difference in my life and I recommend it highly. Even my DH and 3 teenagers have noticed a difference and remarked how much better I look and how less stressed I seem. I am so happy with the results I've received with these products. I am 46 and had been absolutely miserable with everything connected with being female, but now I really look forward to getting on with my life. This forum is so great and it's nice to know others face what we face - I am delighted I found it.
Jennifer

I am so glad to have found this thread. I am, as of last month, one year without my period. So I am in menopause, or am I post- menopausal? I guess it really doesn't matter, whatever....... I just have a question or two.
I had been taking a natural hormone perscribed by my doctor. It was a concotion of stuff I didn't know much about, untill I went to the drug store where they made the pill that I took. ( It is quite a distance from my home and they always mailed it) The pharmacist told me it had black cohash and wild yam and lots of other things.... and his pharmacy was the only one around that made this natural hormone. It worked like a dream! Within 2 weeks I was free from all symptoms. Including the anxiety and panic attacks the hot flashes seemed to bring on.

Well lo and behold ~ over a month or more ago ~ out comes the news "that hormone replacement" is not safe for us girls....
Sooooooo I weaned myself off the pills and now I am back in the furnace again, feeling more agitated anxious and periodically panicky!

What I would like to know is ~ were the researchers referring to "Natural Hormons" as well as "Synthetic"? Are they all unsafe?
Because I am about ready to go back to taking my perscription of natural HRT.
I have never used a creme before... Are they natural and are they safe? At this point, I am feeling desperate and looking for some safe relief!

Also has anyone out there experienced the "anxiety and panic" feeling, that I seem to get just before the hot flash sets in?
I have a history of panic disorder, but I have not had any problems for a few years and now they are back... I seem to recall them dissapearing a few years ago when I started taking the HRT....I never connected the theory that maybe the hot flashes had a lot to do with the anxiety, which then in turn turned into a panic attack! But now the feeling I get right before the Hot flash is sooooo similar to anxiety, I am beginning to wonder......Any information on this will be SO appreciated. Osuzana

I'm glad you posted because I've been wondering about incorporating the soy protein into the low-carb program, but haven't been able to figure it out.

I have been working with the owners of Revival for 5 years to promote their product to my subscribers. My sister had the same results as you did when she started drinking the shakes....her hot flashes stopped and she started sleeping through the night. Unfortunately, she couldn't afford to continue using it.

It's only recently that I decided to take better care of myself (by low-carbing) so I wasn't any good at taking anything on a regular basis, but I do have some of their protein bars and the amount of sugar in them is waaaaaaay to much for our woe. I do know they have unsweetened shakes, but I would have to add Splenda to that. So how many carbs are you getting with it? The bars have 30g carbs.....1g dietary fiber and 21g sugar!

Here's the good news though...... they will have some low-carb bars coming out very soon!
Dee

Glad you found us! I know it helps when we have others to talk to about common issues we're dealing with....I was especially happy to find a group that was concerned with the hormonal things along with the low-carbing!

To answer one of your questions.... anxiety/panic attacks are very common with many women going through the change. Since our "changes" fluctuate dramatically from one person to another, it's rare to find someone who has the exact same symptoms, at the same age, for the same duration, etc. as what we each experience individually. The main thing is to be aware that it's not uncommon with everything else that is going on in your body...especially since you have a previous history with them.

It sounds to me that you were very lucky to have someone who recommended that you take the natural hrt instead of automatically putting you on the synthetic! The only hrt that was involved in the study was Premarin and Prempro....... the Prempro part of it was stopped. This study had nothing to do with what you're taking (does it have a name?) You can read more about the study on my site http://www.minniepauz.com/whi_report.html
You should call your doctor and I'm sure he/she will tell you that what you were taking was not part of the study.

Don't be surprised if what works perfectly for awhile seems to not be as effective down the road. The entire journey is one of ups and downs and curves......the best thing you can do is become educated about what is going on with your body and then be prepared to make adjustments when you realize that your hormonal make-up is shifting once again. It sounds like a pain in the butt, but the tradeoff is that you become more in control of what your body requires and more confident because you're not fearful.

Hope this helped instead of confusing you more! And, yes, you would now be considered post-menopausal if you've gone a full 12 mo. without a period. For me it's been 14 years, and I'm only 54. We're all so different!
Best wishes,
Dee

Thank You for the note Dee,
I appreciate your input. I checked out your Site and I really liked it! I e-mailed it to my sister and also to a good friend of mine. They will appreciate the humor.
I am going to contact my doctor tomorrow and ask what I was taking. I have a book around here somewhere, that the pharmacist sold to me, all about natural hormones as opposed to synthetic. It was quite interesting. I was so Thankful that my doctor put me on naturals, (she never even told me).
I am 53 so we are close in age.
My sister was 44 when she stopped her period. So I know where you are coming from. We are all so different. Even those of us who are related.
I will continue to keep up with this thread untill it wears out, I am learning a lot here. Thank's to all who contribute!
O'Suz

I'm so glad you liked the site and shared it! It has been my pleasure for 5 years now to help women realize that they are not alone out there! We really isolate ourselves as we start getting older and need to keep having these "girlfriend" talks about all the things we're dealing with.

The menopause issues have been in the forefront for me for most of the time, but when I started getting serious about losing weight and getting healthy, I didn't have anyone to talk to about what I was learning or eating or ???? It's kind of like where does the psychiatrist go for therapy, right? hahahah.... that's why it's cool to be able to come here where people understand.

I doubt if this thread will wear out with so many of us babyboomers wanting to figure it all out!

Where are you from? I'm in Michigan.....
Take care!
Dee