Archive through July 31, 2003
TV ClubHouse: archives: The TVCH Menopause Rant Thread:
Archive through July 31, 2003
Babyruth | Wednesday, July 30, 2003 - 08:40 pm     Twinkie, did you know that the studies that found a possible link between dementia and Alzheimer's with HRT only studied estrogen plus progesterone, AND all the subjects were women OVER age 65. Here's a link with more info: WebMD report "Indeed, once thought to protect a woman from dementia and Alzheimer's disease, combined HRT -- estrogen-plus-progestin -- now seems to cause thinking and memory impairment. The three new studies -- all involving women enrolled in the Women's Health Initiative -- look at HRT's effects on disorders affecting the brain, such as stroke, dementia, and milder forms of impaired thinking. In fact, the addition of progestin to the HRT formula may create the detrimental effect, Yaffe writes. Progestin has been shown to modify the beneficial effects of estrogen -- possibly increasing the risk of heart disease and dementia, she states." Check out the last sentence of the article in the link. I also left a note in your folder.  |
Abby7 | Wednesday, July 30, 2003 - 08:49 pm     Karuuna: I was thinking the same thing about birth control pills. Hell, even if they are bad for me, nothing is worse than this period every 3-4 weeks for 7-10 days. At least I can regulate the period for when I want and won't need to be near a bathroom every 35-45 minutes. The pill will give me a light to normal period every month. I can still make plans and won't have to worry about my period starting. |
Juju2bigdog | Wednesday, July 30, 2003 - 09:14 pm     Abby7, I think birth control pills and HRT are just about the same thing. But I do know quite a few women who experienced the same thing you are going through. Now, add to that, trying to qualify with your gun at a firing range with a whole bunch of testosterone pumped men and it being 100 degrees out, and if you don't qualify, they will try to fire you, and you can barely stand up the cramps are so bad, and you have to run change your super-duper every 20 minutes! Girlfriend who had fibroids AND peri-menopause pulled out her tampon pack when she meant to pull her gun. LOL. Kar, maybe we could have a mod pull all of these out of here and make a tvch menopause rant thread. I do have a bit more ranting to do on this subject but BB is on right now. |
Karuuna | Thursday, July 31, 2003 - 07:25 am     Abby7, the same thing happened to me - extremely heavy and painful periods, shorter and shorter cycles (down to 20 days by the time I saw the doc); and 7-10 days of bleeding. My doctor said it was either advancing endometriosis or peri-menopause. Since the problem goes away once you complete menopause she recommended using birth control pills, either on a regular monthly plan, or taking 4 packs of pills (skipping the inert ones), going off for one week, and then 4 packs again. Laser ablation surgery can also be done to relieve this, but she felt the risks of the pill were less than the risks of the surgery. We've also gone thru a few different hormone levels to find just the right one. There are some very low dose pills out there that can relieve the symptoms you describe but still minimize the risks of side effects. |
Abby7 | Thursday, July 31, 2003 - 07:50 am     Thanks Karuuna: Good to know I'm not the only one. I'll look into it. |
Twinkie | Thursday, July 31, 2003 - 08:14 am     Hi Baby! Yes I heard that and Estratest IS estrogen plus progesterone and that's what I was on. What I hadn't heard was it was in women over 65. But given my mother's Alzheimer's and the fact that she showed no signs of it until she was 70 I wasn't taking any chances. That disease scares me to death. I'm terrified of getting it. But I will try the herbal estrogen that is soy-based. |
Babyruth | Thursday, July 31, 2003 - 09:00 am     (((Twinkie))) I certainly understand your fears of Alzheimer's, given everything you've been going through with your Mom. I hope the soy supplements help with your hot flashes. FYI, Just to clear something up, Estratest is estrogen plus testostrone, not estrogen plus progesterone. It's prescribed for women who have surgical menopause at a younger age (or early normal menopause) to help with libido and add help with hot flashes. This is not the drug/hormone combo that was associated with dementia and Alzheimer's. |
Juju2bigdog | Thursday, July 31, 2003 - 11:02 am     Estratest also gives you pimples. |
Twiggyish | Thursday, July 31, 2003 - 12:30 pm     Thanks Mods! I was going to start a thread on HRT. This is a good place to discuss it. My grandmother had Alzheimers. She died in 1991 at the age of 72. She was never on any type of HRT. My mother has been on estrogen for years because the Dr told her it might help prevent the Alzheimers. Now I see there are studies showing the opposite! |
Ginger1218 | Thursday, July 31, 2003 - 01:52 pm     I am going to be 50 in 3 weeks, and I think I am approaching menopause. I have always gotten my period every 28 days almost to the hour. Of course I have been tortured with severe PMS and cramps through all of this. This past year, it seems that for about 5 months my period started to come every other month, now, it has been coming every month but, 10 days or 2 weeks late. I am not having any other things like flashes, but how the hell would I know, I am always hot. I do notice that my memory is almost gone, but that could be all the years of smoking marijuana LOL (well worth losing my memory for). Well, anyway, I am seeing my gynocologist at the end of August, so I guess she will be able to do a test to see if I am at or close to menopause. My sister started to go through it at 54. |
Reader234 | Thursday, July 31, 2003 - 02:22 pm     runnin in late to the game! But trust me, I did go thru the same thing!!! After a normal (albiet spoiled) cycle, suddenly I couldnt stand up w/o soaking! I too went to the doctor, and she said I had 3 choices, the least evasive was the pill, my symptoms (thank God) subsided, but my cousin (younger than me) had the hysterctomy, as did my aunt (2yrs older than me!) Well, this week I've been sick, and watching too much tv, saw Dr Phil, his wife led a group, and they had an author on so I thought I'd list his website that talks about helping... Dr. Phil (hope the url works... I went to drphil.com and typed menopause in the search engine btw) Yeah it worked!! (Oh btw the author is a doctor) |
Squaredsc | Thursday, July 31, 2003 - 02:31 pm     ive started having some power surges. im 33. |
Reader234 | Thursday, July 31, 2003 - 02:32 pm     Oh, forgot something.. (my mind is working very slowly this past week) On the show Dr. Phil's wife also talked about getting tested (I noticed a poster talked about the saliva test) she said she got the hair test, the blood test, and the saliva test. Now, when I mentioned it to my doctor it was after a study (dont ask which study!! lol) that said since hormones are in continual flux, testing is a mute point!! (ok, so I paraphrased that!!) Anyway, it is totally disheartening to know that the tests can be taken at different times of day and will come out with different results. I do know that there was a show on the now Family channel with Christine Ferra (sp????) and she found the testerone cream, that totally changed her life!! So I put this out here, fwiw, and knowing, that for today, my symptoms disappeared.. (or the bad ones!!) with better nutrition and vitamins. BUT, beings how I'm only 44, this too will change!! thanks for listening |
Juju2bigdog | Thursday, July 31, 2003 - 03:06 pm     Here's something I found that I wrote out for a friend of mine who was just starting to get hot flashes and was already in the throes of peri-menopause: hopefully I have successfully removed all the swear words for posting on a public board 5-22-01 To [my friend] Hot flashes: Thin women get hot flashes worse than heavy women. At first they were just for a week, then went to four weeks on and then several weeks off, then they went to TEN SOLID MONTHS with no let-up. No sleep. I got tired of that and went to hormones. How I wish I had done that earlier and not gone through the ten months of hell. If they get to bothering you, try the soy supplements like Healthy Woman and Promensil first. 5-23-01 >>>[from the friend] Thanks for the info. I hope I can ride it out on my own. At present they are fascinating. [my reply] Famous last words. I was gonna do that too. Ha! Now I think that anybody who suffers hot flashes for TEN months with no stopping is extremely stupid. Mine went on for about two years on and off before the ten months. I was mentioning to an older woman at work (at some point) that I had had hot flashes for eight months. (or whatever) She replied that she had had them for TEN YEARS. You better bet that made hormones look real good. Women who smoked go through menopause earlier than women who never smoked. (I was 47 when the living hell of peri-menopause started, periods every two weeks, bad cramps, gushers. I was almost 51 when the periods quit and the hot flashes that never end began) If you are having mood swings, that is part of the whole thing. You are NOT going crazy or having a sudden personality swing. (I did not have those, but a couple friends did and actually thought they were going crazy.) Get a small fan for at work. Get another one for the side of the bed. You will need it. Hope your husband doesn't go from thinking all this is amusing to thinking it is damned annoying. You probably already have a gynecologist. If not, or are thinking of changing, try to get a female around 50. She will have some idea what you are going through. Don't get one under 30, like my last one. She didn't have a freaking clue and thought 53 was one foot in the grave. There is one other somewhat important thing, but I can't remember it right now. Maybe it is that they know VERY LITTLE about menopause right now because it only happens to women. I am serious. You will find out if you try to research it. Anyway, especially if you are having the mood swings, you don't have to go through that. The answer is probably estrogen. Have a nice day. |
Reader234 | Thursday, July 31, 2003 - 05:06 pm     Hey juju the small fan, that reminded me of Dr. Phil's wife, he bought her a fan with water in it.. so in the middle of the night she turned it on, sprayed and blew, couldnt find the button, the water was spraying all over both of them, it was a cute retelling. Personally my favorite hot flash was when it was 25 below zero, and I got up and went outside (dh wouldnt let me keep the windows open lol) and I stood outside thinking I would get frostbite BEFORE the dang hotflash ended, so I turned back in feeling sorry for all those that flashed in warm climates, thinking maybe I should move to Alaska!!! So I've bought a lot of those gel paks and keep them in the freezer,if (when) I wake up flashin, I get one-- it helps a little,(I esp. hate HOT feet!!) and it feels like I'm doing something positive!! |
Theowl | Thursday, July 31, 2003 - 06:32 pm     OK!! That's IT!! I can't STAND it anymore!!! I've been staying away from this thread, but now I'm really getting pissed at myself!! Has anyone else just sat and cried for hardly any reason at all??? I did bad on the AR games, and just started to cry cause I feel soooo stupid!! I've been doing that alot lately. Anyone else?  |
Myjohnhenry | Thursday, July 31, 2003 - 06:38 pm     My dear, sweet Owl....when I tried going off my HRT a few years ago I was like that. It was terrible...even worse than dealing with depression. I felt like I was in a fog all of the time too. I tried several natural mixtures, lots of soy, black cohosh....nothing worked for me at all so I stick with my HRT now. |
Theowl | Thursday, July 31, 2003 - 06:55 pm     MJH,I have a natural cream concocted by a pharmacist that is a prescribed by my gyno. It is only about $45 and lasts about 6 months. That's opposed to pills which were 30 a month. No ins. It really worked great at first with the hot flashes and night sweats, but now it seems like everything is going to hel- in more ways than one!! It really isn't making my depression any better either. But crying over a stupid thing like a game!!!!! Geez!!
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Babyruth | Thursday, July 31, 2003 - 07:01 pm     Here, Owl, help yourself! Chocolate always helps. And hugs, too. (((((The Owl)))))
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Egbok | Thursday, July 31, 2003 - 07:03 pm     I've been peri-menopausal for the last 3 years. About 2 years ago the hot flashes at night were keeping me from getting a good nights' sleep, so my MD put me on Prempro. Just this past January, she had me begin tapering off the Prempro because she didn't like the updated reports on Prempro. Well, as of June 1st, I've been completely off Prempro and just recently, I've felt the hot flashes during the day but they are pretty lightweight so far. I haven't had any night sweats and I'm hoping that maybe, just maybe I'm heading toward the finish line for menopause. I did experience depression within weeks of stopping the Prempro, so my MD has me on a lightweight antidepressant...and I must say, it's made a world of difference in all aspects of my life...I'm very pleased. |
Scorpiomoon | Thursday, July 31, 2003 - 07:06 pm     I have a question for all of those who have experienced Menopause. At 33, I am looking at exercise in a different way. Rather than just for vanity sake, I want to become healthier and more fit so my body will be ready for Menopause. Going solely on feeling and no research, I get the sense having one's body in great shape will help make Menopause easier. Did you find this to be true? Do you look back and wish you had taken better care of your body before Menopause? Did you start working out more and did exercise help you get through it? If the symptoms of Menopause are at all as bad as PMS, I am in big trouble and want to do whatever I can to prepare my body. |
Karuuna | Thursday, July 31, 2003 - 07:16 pm     Scorpio, as I understand it, nutrition has more of an effect than just being fit. The more junk food you eat (white refined products), the harder menopause will be on you. |
Babyruth | Thursday, July 31, 2003 - 07:16 pm     Scorpiomoon, I've read that eating soy as your main protein, and little or no hormone-pumped animal meats (beef, chicken, pork), makes a much smoother transition into the hormone level drops of perimenopause. Apparently women in Japan who eat primarily fish and soy proteins do not have the symptoms we on American diets do. I have no idea if this is true or not. Not sure if exercise affects symptoms, but it's always a great thing to do regularly for many health reasons. And I know it won't make the symptoms WORSE! |
Cathie | Thursday, July 31, 2003 - 07:25 pm     I had a hysterectomy due to extended HEAVY periods at age 44 and it was the best thing I ever did! I took oral estrogen (Premarin) for a few years and then my doc reccomended trying to go off of it to see if I still needed it. I had some night sweats and went back on a lower dose for another couple of years. Meanwhile my gyn (for 25 years) retired so my regular doc again reccomended going off of it. This time I didn't seem to have any bad menopause symptoms, but did have an increase in "bladder attacks", despite a bladder suspension procedure when I had the hysterectomy (three pregnancies had apparently stressed my bladder way out of position.) My primary doc (male) said it was just something I would have to learn to deal with. I found a new gyn (female) and told her about the bladder attacks and she said that there is a relationship between estrogen levels and bladder activity and suggested I needed a little estrogen to calm the bladder. She prescribed Estring, a clear medicated "rubber" ring that is inserted into the vagina for three months, then replaced with a new one, etc. She said I wouldn't even be aware it is there. Well, the first one felt like a tampon inserted sideways, but after a few days it made itself at home and was really not noticable. The estrogen is released slowly just to the pelvic area and not into the bloodstream, so the possibility of side effects is supposed to be nil. I know it may not be the answer for everyone, but a hysterectomy was a godsend for me! |
Goddessatlaw | Thursday, July 31, 2003 - 07:34 pm     Hey, Cathie - you sure you don't have a male primary care physician in Indiana? When I told mine I was experiencing breakthrough bleeding on my pill prescription, he told me it was a "laundry problem." That was the same time he told me to stop caffeine when I described the symptoms later diagnosed (by a neurologist I hired independently) as familiar tremors. Needless to say, I dumped the SOB as soon as my health insurance would permit. |
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