I buy golden flaxmeal in the health food section in my local grocery store. Needs to be refrigerated or can sour. I actually make a blend of flaxmeal/almond flour for muffins, crackers, etc. Some people grind the flax seeds in a coffee grinder to make the meal or flour.
Recently at a hospital cafeteria it was on the salad bar to sprinkle on salad or greek yoghurt.
A friend of mine cut her hot flashes in half when she started eating flax muffins. Once I got back in my whole food low-carb routine with flaxmeal every couple days my hot flashes stopped completely.
The best to you....

I was 55...had a symptom filled peri-menopause, including fibroids. At age 54 took an herbal remedy/tincture from a shaman in Belize...this was from a woman who owns a reputable herb shop. Made it to menopause w/o a hysterectomy and have been symptom free ever since, up to current age of 65. Never had more than a few hot flashes or other symptoms.

Interestingly when I lost weight following atkins 10 years ago, my periods stopped and I began getting menopausal symptoms. I went to the doctor who did a blood test and yes I was in menopause. He said that the reason it was starting early (39) was because estrogen is stored in fat cells and when you lose your fat cells you lose estrogen and that can kick start the menopause - if you're within the range anyway!!!

I had the hot flashes, mood swings, etc, I took HRT for a week, which brought my period back (DOH!) and I put on 10lbs, so stopped it. Now, I'm over it all!

Jo xxx

I'm just really getting into menopause but I haven't had hot flashes. I have bad cramps constantly and a one day period every couple months and then 1 day on, 2 or 3 nothing, then another day on. it's driving me crazy! Dr. said this is all normal but not the "typical" symptoms that people talk about. by this age in our life, don't we deserve a break here??

54 years old. I think it has been one year now without a period. I had a few hot flashes for a while, but cutting down on caffeine got rid of them. Also got rid of my palpitations too.

So far, it was been an easy, breezy menopause.

Whoops I wish there was a delete button

I hit menopause at 49. After a lifetime of really regular periods 28-30 days or so, I had a couple of periods that were spaced at about 17 or 18 days, then the last one in which I just kept bleeding quite heavily....to the point where I became so severely anemic that the doctor almost gave me a blood transfusion. I was white as a ghost and didn't have the energy to walk up the stairs. The doc said I probably had two choices: a hysterectomy (no!!!) or a D&C procedure to scrape out the uterus, and that would hopefully end the cycle of bleeding. So I chose the latter, it ended the bleeding, and I never had another period.

I didn't realize it for a long time, but I now know I was in perimenopause for most of my 40's. No big problems, minor bouts of feeling a bit warm, but no major sweats or anything. I did have migraines in my 40's. I remember reading up with Dr. Lee etc. and did use progesterone yam cream for awhile, although I was never sure it really helped. After my periods stopped, I have felt pretty darn good and no problems at all, and this is 15 years later (I'm now 64). Wow...that's a shock to read that...I've been in meno for 15 years. Yikes! But I'm still occasionally reminded that having no periods is lovely. Early on in my early 50's my gyno kept pressuring me to take hormone replacement pills despite my total lack of symptoms...thank goodness I refused.

My mom had a hysterectomy at 46, so I don't know at what age she would have gone into menopause naturally. My sister is 55 and still having periods. I always thought I was kind of early, but maybe not. I was never a smoker, by the way, or much of a drinker, and most of my life a good weight. My modest weight gain really took off a few years before menopause. I used to maintain weight perfectly, could really eat what I wanted. After I had my son at 36, and from menopause on at 49, it has been obvious that my metabolism changed quite a bit, particularly involving insulin....I believe I am very insulin sensitive. This is why Atkins suddenly worked so well for me and continues to do so. I don't believe I could lose or maintain my weight without an Atkins or basically paleo type of eating. Carbs, sugar, starches all take me down. I feel lousy and I have fairly quick weight gain any time I deviate from Atkins style eating.

I'm fairly sure the disappearance of my 10+ year struggle with migraines coincided with my dietary changes...doing Atkins for the first time in 2003. The migraines disappeared just like that. Recently I found an old expired box of Imitrex (for migraines) in the back of a kitchen cabinet...with several pills still in the box. I used to be panicky at the idea of my Imitrex running out, but obviously I just stopped needing them suddenly.

I've basically felt better AFTER menopause than before, a lot of this due to a lack of symptoms and how I now eat and exercise so much better than before.

Hi CMCM. All the bits of your post that I quoted apply to me too, although my periods stopped at 48. It's just wonderful to feel - and look - this good at 64 years of age. I honestly believe I'm healthier now than I was in my mid-forties. And certainly slimmer! I wish all the women who are worried about approaching menopause would jump on the low carb, whole food bandwagon and experience for themselves an even better quality of life than they had before.

Well, low carb hasn't been a magic pill for me with menopause. I'm gaining weight on low carb. Granted, my appetite has increased and battling it has become much harder. I think estrogen really helped my appetite regulation.

I can't take replacement hormones due to blood clots and progesterone makes me even hungrier anyway.

Other than that, my menopause symptoms haven't been too awful. Some palpitations and now hot flushes from time to time, but no night sweats. Phew!

I have no idea when I went through menopause! At age 49 my doctor decided to see if I had started. She called me few days later and said Congratulations! You made it through menopause! I never had a single symptom that I noticed!

I was about 45, I had a rough time. They finally pulled me off HRT at age 50. I think HRT helped me to stay heavy, Low Carb didn't do a thing for me. I read somewhere in an Atkins book that some of the medication they put you on can make it difficult to lose weight. It sure happened that way with me. Of course now I know how to eat and exercise so I am hoping to achieve and maintain a healthy weight

I was 55, almost 56.

Wow - FatIsGood - I wish I had continued with my cycle until 55 or 56. If I only knew what I know now I would've never have wished it away.

I'm 56 and had a period last month. My blood work shows that I'm sputtering out and in menopause. Honestly, other than hot flashes, I am doing well. I supplement with bio identical hormones and I think that's why I feel so good. I don't know that Bhrt works for everyone, but for me it has seemed to.

Yep that's my story too. I had my last period April 2012 and I was 53 at the time...