Oh my gosh Greentea that is too funny!

HN

This has been the best discussion.......it's great to know that I'm not alone in this. I am 41 and had a full hysterectomy almost 3 yrs ago. I have been on estrogen since. Well, until recently that is. LOL funny me thought I could handle weaning myself estro. Hahahaha. what a total joke. The problem is.....I have no estrogen in my body at alll without the hrt. I tried all the herbal stuff....black cohosh(gave me major stomach pains), soy(didn't realize that I couldn't take this because I am allergic to peanuts, until I talked to my allergist about why I was swelling up and couldn't breathe) notheing worked for those nasty night sweats and extreme anxiety I was having. I could deal with the hot flashes and occasional brain fog.....but I thought I was actually going crazy. My DH didn't know what to do with me. It actually was all very funny......now that I am back on my estro and can look back at the whole situation. I just decided that I am not brave enough to deall with the NO sleep and anxiety attacks.

I still have a few hot flashes and an occasional night sweat.... and I 'm not sure if the memory problem is from the lack of estro or just because I have too much going on.....but I do know that I have to laugh at myself to keep sane and enjoy life as it is.

Thank you all for posting and letting me know that I'M REALLY NOT GOING CRAZY AFTER ALL....LOL

hi tms....
you gotta do what ya gotta do....no shame....we're all different
yet soooooo alike on this passage....
glad to hear you found this a source of comfort...
it's not that it's all so bad ...just all so sudden...(in a long drawn out way..lol) you've already found the secret ...humor... some of us just start laughing a few years earlier than others....

gt

TMS

Estrogen therapy is a necessity to those who have had a complete hysterectomy. It's hard enough going thru natural menopause but when it is surgically induced it's unbearable, especially since "Mother Nature" never intended for us to go thru it so young.

HN

Thank you both for the reply.

I will have to keep an eye on this forum more often......maybe this will be my savior after all. Now I just have to do better on my low carbing....lol.

Thanks again
TMS

tms4161

To help with your LC journey you might want to start a journal.
Documenting each day helps.

HN

Hi Y`all. I am a newbie-have never posted, but read these lo-carb boards RELIGIOUSLY! When I read this thread, I just had to get my 2 cents in. I am 50 and thank God, my hot flashes seem to have disappeared, but still sometimes have the mood swings. The depression is the worst. I take Nutri-zac at the times it gets really bad. It has St. Johns in it, among other things, and it really does help-quickly. As far as the "celery", BBLONDIE, If I`m getting the gist here, I had just about lost all my desire. My TOM is starting to go about 4 months between, sometimes, too. But the celery part is getting better now. Whew! lol Sorry bout writing a mini-novel here, but this is a subject we all have questions about. Anyway, I am fixin` to post a poem I wrote a few years ago about menopause. Hope you enjoy it cause I know you`ll relate to it!

So HOT! Great suffocation!
Can`t hold my concentration...
Flashes at night, flashes by day
will they ever go away?
Gaining weight around my middle
(of course I`ve never been TOO little)
Depression settles like a damp rag
turning me into a grumpy old hag
I feel like a kid that sticks out her tongue wanting to "get back" at everyone
They say it`s just me, the mood I`m in
That can`t be true, why, just look at him- Sitting there as cool as a cucumber
watching me sweat, man it`s no wonder
Sometimes I want to pull out his hair!
HE doesn`t have this burden to bear!
HE just laughs, that old geezer
When I stick my head in the freezer
Sure, I`d be cool, were I in his shoes,
He doesn`t have these flashes and blues! Guess it`s Eve`s fault, her sin upon us
Doesn`t seem fair, WE got the bonus
Of all this misery in our mid-life
Adam sure didn`t control HIS wife!
He shouldn`t have let her eat the fruit
But no! He had to go and eat it too!
Guess they didn`t know it woud cause
this thing we call MENOPAUSE.
Brenda
~1999

mebeso

Love the poem, boy that says it all!

HN

Hi HerbNurse. Glad you liked the poem. I figure if you gotta go thru this, at least have some humor about it. Humor helps, and we need all the help we can get, right? lol

Welcome to the board...... the only place on the web where we can discuss menopause and lc at the same time! For me, the humor is the glue that holds it all together..... I'd much rather laugh than cry!

TMS..... greentea said it and I'll repeat it..... there's no shame in whatever path each of us takes to keep our lives balanced! The entire hormone scene for women is like shifting sands anyway. No matter what the situation is for each of us, it's likely to change after a period of time (hahahah.....or NO periods).

Sharing our thoughts, fears and concerns is one of the best ways to stay balanced and not so alone, so I'm glad you joined us!
Dee

Attached Images

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Thanks for such an great thread, it's good to know how others cope with PMT, TOM, and menopause in all its stages.
I am 43, and started peri-pausal symptoms a couple of years ago,
all the usual, disruption of TOM and night sweats to fill a bath, terrible depression during PMT. But I have noticed since starting LC eating, that my symptoms are reduced and my DH is sooo pleased, he hates seeing me messed up. Always does his best to cheer me, but I suspect like many of you, occasionally even that is just not enough! Have just started to include Agnus Castus in to my supplements, has anyone else used this? Any benefits at all?

Like some of you, I saw my lady GP who said it was far too soon for this to be happening to me, but I know it was the same for my mum very early 40's to start these symptoms,so it would seem to follow a trend, as we both started getting TOM around the age of 11.

Thanks again for all the useful info on this thread and keeping in touch with each other is going to help many of us!
CarolR

CarolR

Doctors mean well, and diagnose by clinical manuals.
Only you can know what is happening with your body, and only you can do something about it. No I have not heard of Agnus Castus but if it is working for you, hurray!!

I take a lot of supplements and I am happy to report that I have eliminated all of my symptoms, for now! As Minniepaus says, it will change just give it time. It's like our body goes thru cycles, and once it is happy with one thing then it will throw a monkey wrench into the works and you have to re-adjust what you are doing all over again. I think it's mother natures's way of keeping us on our toes.

In the last two years, I have had to do that about 4 times!
But now I have my guns loaded with Black Cohosh and am prepared for the next shoot out at the "Hot Flash Coral!

Take care ladies!

HN

Great poem Mebeso
Hi Carol...welcome
greentea

Hi everyone! I hope you don't mind if I ask a question that's probably already been asked 20 times on this thread.... somehow i'm just not in the mood to read through 18 pages of posts! (Guess what TOM it is!?!)

Here's my deal: I'm 44 and the only real perimenopausal symptoms I've had is irregular periods. But they've got me pretty confused.

Had a period around Dec. 20. Then had another one on Jan 2!! That's 2 weeks. The Jan. one I had no cramps or bloating, lasted 4-5 days, bright flow. (GAWD, I hope no guys are reading this!)... so I'm thinking this one is mid-cycle bleeding, right? So here it is, another 2 weeks have gone by. I've gained 3-4#, feel a little crampy, a little PMS depression (y'know: people make me sick!), etc.... but then I never started!! So do you think I had all the symptoms of a period except for the flow?? Is that possible?