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[Nellynan]

Hi to all, I'm new here so hoping I don't get anything wrong.  I'm 56 & just entering my 2nd year without periods, menopause confirmed through blood test. I'm feeling so awful...floaty head, hot woozy, off balance, sickly hunger(like low blood sugar)weird body sensations & feelings of faintness, anxious chilly sensations....I'm so miserable Have tried, multi Bs, evening primrose oil, 2 different types of herbal menopause supplements at different times, Livial/Tibolone which I stopped after 3mths because my BP went up, I'm now starting a magnesium supplement again. I eat well & try to keep sugar & salt low, drink plenty water no alcohol & don't smoke which I gave up Nov 2013. Because I feel so terrible I'm almost housebound, seems if I'm sort of ok & go out I come over feeling so faint & deathly I have to go home. Maybe I'll have to see about HRT & run the risks...interference with my BP again & my mum is a breast cancer survivor. Will I ever be well again? Will I ever be me again? Thanks to those who read/reply. Take care.

[meno lesley]

Hi

Can really relate to all that you are going through. I'm 57 and was hit by all sorts at once 5 years ago. Have tried several types of hrt, seen the gp about a hundred times, visited so many specialists over different symptoms (all turning out to be hormonally linked) ending up seeing Nick Panay a meno specialist in London.  I now take Elleste Solo and Utrogestan and won't pretend that it's a miracle cure nut am in a better place than 5 years ago.  This site is my salvation and am not sure where I would've been without it.

You will get there, take each day at a time, and perhaps go back to your doc to talk about the options.

Take care

Lesley x

[babyjane]

hello and welcome nellynan 

unfortunately there is no answer to your question as we are all so different, it is like 'how long is a piece of string?'

That said I found things a lot better once I got into this forum because there are so many different ladies with different experiences you can always get a reply from someone who will empathise and share what worked (or not) for them.   Just hearing other ladies' stories helps you take the focus off yourself a little bit and realise you are not weird and not alone.

Sometimes you can even post something that helps someone else and that lifts your spirits like no drug ever can.

I hope you enjoy the forum, browse round and don't be shy about joining in if you feel you have something you want to contibute.

This morning I have woken up feeling a lot like you describe but I am weaning off anti depressants that I was given that I really don't think I needed but GPs only know a little bit about a lot of things.  I have learned that if you are not actually depressed then ADs are not a cure for menopause symptoms and can cause more problems.

I am sure someone will give opinions re HRT at some point but I have never used it apart from Vagifem, so I cannot and will not try to comment on that side of things.

[Kathleen]

Hello Nellynan and welcome to the forum.

I sympathise so much with what you are saying. I agree that a menopause expert is the best way to go if possible but the ladies on this site will be of great support to you in the meantime!

Take care and keep posting.

K.

[Mary G]

Nellynan, welcome to MM!

I'm sorry that you have been left to suffer in this way but my honest opinion is you need HRT, like yesterday.

HRT is the only way to reverse menopausal symptoms and nothing else is really going to cut it. 

I agree that you need to see a specialist and would personally recommend Professor John Studd who will probably prescribe bio identical oestrogen gel (Oestrogel) and a separate bio identical progesterone, namely Utrogestan.  I am sorry that you mother has had breast cancer but that does not necessarily mean you cannot take HRT. 

What has your GP got to say about all of this?  Are they sympathetic and would they be prepared to prescribe the right type of HRT for you.  You could try your GP as your first port of call but don't waste too much time if you don't get anywhere, life's too short.

I am on Oestrogel/Utrogestan and it is the best HRT regime I have been on by a very, very long way.  I am now 54 and feel completely back to normal and roughly the same as I did at 30 so that is recommendation enough for this regime I think.  There is no reason why you (or anyone else reading this) cannot be the same if you get the right medication. 

meno lesley, why don't you also try the oestrogen gel?  Oral HRT is not as effective and the transdermal variety and I think you will find a huge improvement.  The beauty of the gel is you can adjust the dose to suit your needs. 

[CLKD]

   have a browse round, make notes!

Each one of us is different - it's The Change.  Make a list of symptoms, keep a food/mood diary can also be useful.

HRT can help ladies - oestrogen can help heart and bones for example.

A good diet - eating little and often can ease those hunger surges = anxiety.  Exercise when you can.  Learn to say 'no' too often so that you don't become over-whelmed with stuff that you have agreed to but find difficult!  This is about you!  'me' time is important - we have a thread about that here somewhere 

It really does depend on which cancer your Mum was treated for.  Mine was oestrogen dominant but it was in the lump rather than the breast - Quality of Life is important, after all, the proverbial bus might be along before the HRT causes problems  .

Make a double appt with your Practice Nurse or GP and ask the questions that bother you about HRT.  There are recent guidelines that are more positive about the way HRT can support a lady through this time.  Let us know how you get on!

 

[Hurdity]

Hi Nellynan

I can't really add much to what's been said already but just wanted to say from me too and I agree that you might want to re-think HRT notwithstanding your mother's breast cancer, but you might want to seek specialist help about this.

I would say your GP is your first port of call - but you will need to find one who is sympathetic and knowledgeable about menopause and HRT as well as being open to suggestions.

I am almost 63 and I've been on HRT for 9 years -  like Mary G I use bio-identical HRT - in my case I have happily used a medium dose oestrogen patch together with the same progesterone (Utrogestan) on a two monthly cycle. Of course I am not like I was when I was 30 - and I doubt many of us could claim that - but it has enabled me to have a good quality of life for these past 9 years and continue to do so without some of the misery and the worst of the aches and pains that beset many women of this age.

Perhaps your blood pressure would need looking at and depends on what it is now? Having plenty of exercise and keeping to a healthy BMI certainly help in addition to what you are already doing.

Did your blood tests look at blood sugar and thyroid as well as reproductive hormones? The symptoms do sound strange  - the sickly, faint etc? I agree with CLKD about food - maybe you're not eating enough - perhaps too many carbs and not enough protein? Sorry if I'm way off here - just wondering about those symptoms and whether you should speak to the doc specifically about these - but maybe you already have?

Hurdity x