Menopause

[coccinelle]

This is getting me down now. Does Evening Primrose Oil work for anxiety and stress as they say it does and does Flaxseed (where the hell do you get that from?) help other areas as they say? I have never been like this in my entire life and just need to get back to something a bit normal. If they do, where is the best place to get them from?
Help!

[Huderon]

You can get flaxseed oil from Holland and Barrett - it's another name for linseed oil. Evening primrose oil you can get from most places which sell vitamins and minerals. Whether either or both work I can't say, being a male-type person

[Jemisa]

Get on HRT, see your doc, You'll feel wonderful, believe me...

J

[coccinelle]

Thanks Huderon but would like to know if they're any good. Jemisa, hoping not to have to take it as too many cases of breast cancer in the family... if only I knew how long all this would last.

[Jemisa]

Coccinelle... 10 - 15 years in my experience. I'm sorry to hear of the history of Breast Cancer in your family. But we are in 2009 now, all the worry about cancer was in the 70s and 80s things have moved on, HRT is so much more sophisticated today. Go to a 'Well Women' clinic have a chat about it, or chat to your doc about it, please don't dismiss the idea. Get all the info you can on it things are soo different today. Millions of women can't be wrong. Besides 15 years of taking herbal stuff hasn't been tested. Who knows what that will do to your body?
On HRT you are monitered all the time, they look after you.

J

[coccinelle]

Thank you Jemisa for that information.I have a check-up with gynaecologist next week so will get the info from her. I do know they now check what your hormone levels are before giving HRT so it is monitored whereas years ago it wasn't. When you say you feel wonderful what do you mean? and I've heard once you've come off it the menopausal symptoms come back (the HRT having just delayed things) will need to check this with gynaeo. too. I've been having premenopause symptoms for 10 years but this is very different and hard to live with as lots are symptoms are all present at the same time.

[ethandron]

coccinelle, you have my sympathy. how old are you and are you still having periods? you're quite right that symptoms will return if/when you come off hrt, the symptoms we get are our bodies trying to adjust to the change in hormone levels, so you have to go through it at some point. have you tried googling 'menopause' or 'perimenopause' or 'menopause symptoms', you'll find a lot of info out there. natural remedies do indeed work...for some. some things work for some ladies, it's a matter of trial and error really to see what suits you. you need to take anything for at least 3 months though, to give it a fair go, don't expect an overnight cure, it just won't happen. i take a boots supplement, an all in one thing called 'menopause plus' and have found it works well for me. i found it was a matter of living through it, and being kind to myself. i really started to think about my diet too, and over the last 6 or so years have made huge changes. the worst symptoms for me started after the periods stopped, although i had raging pms and some sleep problems for a few years before, and i would say right now, 3 and a half years later, they've all but gone. hang in there, it will get better.

[Jemisa]

eth&ron is right what suits one lady may not suit another, your body will tell you in the end. Yes you do get some symptoms when you come off HRT but nothing like what they're like to start with. I was always at the docs because I always felt soo ill. bad flushes all day, night sweats, I literally had to change nightdresses because I was soaking, lethargic,headaches,dizzy spells, my husband was sympathetic because too I went off sex.because of this I wouldn't go out, or join friends. My doc would not give me HRT because I'm a diabetic & it hadn't been tested for diabetics. I suffered for 5 years then my doc told me it was safe & he wanted to put me on it because I was so miserable.After a couple of months the flushes stopped, at last a decent nights sleep and because my mental state improved my social life got back on track, I was very happy on HRT. So coccinelle thats why I sing the praises of HRT, d'ya blame me? Good luck with whatever you decide to do. lol.

J

[coccinelle]

Thank you so much for being so sympathetic both of you. Ethandron, I'm 48 and after irregular periods for a couple of years they're now down to one in six months, as far as I know it could have been my last. I'll have a word with the gynaeco. next week, she'll no doubt have me checked for hormone levels and see what the results say. Problem is, I'm a bit young for the menopause so my friends don't quite understand - I think you need to go through it to actually realise what it is. I just thought it meant a few hot flushes and a bit tiredness but I feel like someone else has come to inhabit my body! Some moments are fine and I feel good but they're very few. I'm under a bit of stress at the moment so of course that doesn't help matters. Thanks again for your invalid support, it's very much appreciated.

[albaqwerty]

am only a couple of years younger coccinelle. Got fed up of being told you're too young for menopause. Found a great GP in my local surgery, however been told too young for HRT.
(T'was kinda nice being told that I'm too young!)

[ethandron]

i know what you mean, i thought exactly the same - couple of hot flushes, maybe a few months of dodgy periods, end. WRONG. i suppose it's like anything, you don't really take much notice until it's happening to you. i had my last period when i was 53 and a half, i was 57 this month and feel normal again, a different kind of normal, but more like my old self before this all started. the best thing is no more pms because there's no more periods, so every day is christmas day now :)
as for being too young at 48, that's not actually the case. the average age for that magic first year without a period (it's that year which is actually 'menopause') is about 52, but there's a wide margin either side of that. if your periods stop before you're 45 that's considered early menopause, but anything over that is just the early side of normal.
have a look at healthboards.com (i think that's what it's called) and go to the menopause section. it's an american site but there are a number of uk members, and the forum is great, all the ladies are very supportive but it's not sickly-sweet like some of the american ones can be (sorry america but i don't want angels on my body, or god's blessings). you'll have to guess which one i am, i have a different user name :)

[coccinelle]

Thank you albaqwerty for your answer. I've been surfing the net on HRT this afternnon and I read that HRT is better for younger women! less risk they say. Who can we believe?
Thank you again ethandron, you're a real friend, and that's what I need at the moment. I'm going to look into this site and hopefully stop seeing myself as some E.T. I'm even getting paranoid, something I've never been!!! Just been speaking to a woman who's come off HRT after 6 years and she's irritable, got the hot flushes etc so is it worth putting off? That's my dilemma at the moment. Anyway, thanks so very much again for your help.

[Jemisa]

coccinelle, It seems to me (reading between the lines) that what you are needing at the moment is a big HUG, better than all the HRTs. While all this change to your body is going on I reccomend one at least daily, works wonders.
(I'm coming back as a man)

J

[ethandron]

coccinelle, did you know that there are 35 symptoms of menopause? i didn't, until i started looking into it all. some of the symptoms are the ones we've all heard about, but many are ones that you may have been experiencing but haven't connected with menopause. heart palpitations, crawly skin, paranoia and feelings of doom, increased anxiety about EVERYTHING, tinnitus, bouts of total crashing fatigue......google up '35 menopause symptoms' and you'll find the whole list, and ways of helping you deal with it.
my sister had a hysterectomy at 39 and was immediately put on hrt. on the doctors advice she weaned herself off it when she hit 53/54. she got all the symptoms i did, and it all lasted for about the same time. my belief is that it's better to try and tough it out if you can, knowing that all us women have to go through it and just about all of us come out the other end in one piece. however, if you do decide to go down the hrt route, then that's fine too. some ladies feel a sense of failure if they eventually do go on hrt, but we all do what's best for ourselves and our own well-being. chin up, onward and upward :)

[coccinelle]

Thanks again to you both. I must say ethandron I'd really like to think I could get through this now while still that bit younger than say in 10 years time if I did take HRT as tiredness with age, aches and pains would just add to the symptoms. As Jemisa says i think if you've got support and hugs etc it'll be a lot easier as the stress isn't as strong. Oh, for the day when I find my patient, happy go lucky self again... Thank you.

[gina32]

go to your docs and get him to give you hrt, as others have said, you wont regret it, as with all drugs what suits one doesnt suit another your doc will help you until you find the right one

[lizzil]

Hi all...menopause should come with a health warning lol..god im going out of my mind....never did i think it would be this bad..i dont know who i am anymore..i feel like someone has taken over my body ...one min im laughing then crying then paranoid then shouting ..cant sleep my anxiety levels gone through the roof ..i have become so insecure in myself have jealousy bouts ...have no sex drive at all (i forget what sex is like )...been like this for at least 4yrs ,taking st johns wart ,soya isloflavones and omega 3,6 and 9 just started 4wks ago....must admit dont feel quite as stressed as i did so im hoping it will continue please god...thankfully i have a loving supportive husband..tried hrt two different types but no good for me to be honest made me worse ,so hopefully it wont last to much longer i 'll have to ride this out the thought of it lasting for another few yrs dosen't bare thinking about i will go off my head lol...infact think i allready have lol....who would be a woman?

[coccinelle]

Hi lizzil. You say you've been like this for 4 years, is this 4 years after your periods stopped? I've had premenopause symptoms for years off and on but all the symptoms are now present at the same time and I think my periods have stopped. Yes, I too feel taken over and generally yuk and as if I'm like an elastic band ready to snap. Hubby is very sympathetic too but how long will his patience last out??? Knowing your not alone in these situations really helps. Thanks for your support.

[lizzil]

HI COCCINELLE ..YES MY PERIODS HAVE STOPPED 4YRS AGO,LIKE YOU I HAVE BEEN UP AND DOWN SINCE I WAS IN MY LATE 30S.BUT THIS PAST 4YRS HAVE BEEN HELL IM TRYING TO MAKE LIGHT OF IT BUT SOMETIMES ITS SO HARD..AGAIN LIKE YOU I KEEP THINKING HOW MUCH LONGER CAN MY HUBBYPUT UP WITH ME BEFORE HE HAS ENOUGH...WE TALK ABOUT ITA LOT .. HE KEEPS ME GOING WHEN I HAVE A BAD DAY ALWAYS THERE FOR ME THANK GOD ...I COULDNT WISH FOR A BETTER MAN ..HE'S MY FRIEND AS WELL AS MY SOUL MATE ... WHAT I WOULD GIVE TO BE NORMAL AGAIN GET BACK TO BEING THE WOMAN I ONCE WAS (SOMETIMES I GET SO UPSET THINKING IT'S NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN) MY ONLY CONCELATION IS THAT IM NOT THE ONLY WOMAN OUT THERE LIKE THIS AND IT DOES HELP.... THANKS COCCINELLE TAKE CARE WOULD BE NICE TO KEEP IN TOUCH SEE HOW YOU ARE DOING XX