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[Libby Babe]

Hi Chrissie
I hope you can get this sorted out very soon and that it starts to help you feel better very soon.
Libby
x

[Angelfusion]

Flushes are driving me nuts this weather 

[nimby]

I aye bin 'ere fer sum time bur I 'ave lurked in the past ter try an' pick up 'ints

I'm 53 <gulp> an' 'ave bin 'avin' 'ot flushes an' nightsweats ter drive me mad

I refuse ter tek HRT but used Menopace & Evening Primrose an' then I saw a post sumwhere abaht Black Cohosh an' sage extract. Started tekkin' BC first an' me night sweats disappeared<hurrah!> an' me flushes 'ave reduced an' all
I'm now tekkin' Menopace Plus which includes sage an' I doe 'ave night sweats at all - hot flushes rarely......

I 'ope I'm thru' the worst now

[marymouse]

HRT isnt for everyone, but my hot flushes and night sweats went within 3 days of taking Nuvelle.

[Alison62]

I stopped drinking alcohol and try and avoid hot spicey foods as found they made my flushes worse. I started taking black cohosh and started eating healthy, I eat burgen bread and introduced soya into my diet. I still get the flushes but they are not so bad and dont get so much in a day which is a relief long may it continue.

[Taz2]

My hot flushes and sweats have a mind of their own. They come and go so I don't take anything as it seems as if I would be really convinced that something had stopped them when, in fact, they might just be going through a "turned down" phase anyway. At their worst I have a full blown hot sweat every 20 minutes - ending up with soaking wet everything and steamed up glasses.  My periods are erratic - anything from 7months apart to 4 months apart and the flushes always stop like a tap being turned off about 2 weeks before one arrives. So, now paradoxically, I look forward to a period!!!!!   

HRT is my next step - am just gearing myself up for a "discussion" with my GP 

Love Taz x 

[sarah bird]

Hi Taz2 .
I know what you mean when you say there's no  pattern to the meno' symptoms.
That's why I decided to just stop trying all the so called "remedies"  and see what happened . I was convinced that Soy Isoflavones had "cured" me until all the usual symptoms came back with a vengeance   Now where have I heard that before ? !

I'm hoping I'm over the worst now ...still get flushes every hour but not quite as TORRENTIAL as they've been .No periods for two years now which is one GOOD thing. Its bad isn't it when you actually start looking forward to having periods    for the relief that goes with it .

Hang on in there

love Sarah b x

[hotmomma]

Well this is really just an update from my post back in March....
I told you I was having almost constant, painful flushes, which I felt was due to me stopping HRT after only 3 months......
The flushes gradually subsided over the next few months......and so did my periods LOL I got one on 6 Feb (the day my twin grandaughters were born ) and then not a sign....
until ...you guessed it! >:(I went on holiday in June and started....nuffink with me.....in hotel shop with teenage son...'wot you looking for mum'?.....'oh hair clips, y'know boring stuff'...(hoping he would lose interest and diasppear)....he brings me assorted packs of hairs clips...'Which ones d'you want Mum?'....bless

[Taz2]

Hi Sarah - I'm glad you know what I mean    and glad that your flushes are toning down a bit  ! They make you feel so horrible - overall I mean - tired and washed out and  Did you see my post called Flushes stopped and life began again? Well, period stopped and flushes beginning again!! Not as bad yet though 

Hotmamma - bless him - did you end up buying some as well as the sanitary stuff?  Maybe this one will be your last........ 

Love Taz x 

[sarah bird]

Hi again Taz , sorry to hear that your flushes have started up again  how VERY annoying. Its only when they and all that goes with them stops that you realise  even more how utterly crap they made you feel . Having had flushes etc on and off now for 5yrs ( ! ! eek can't believe it ! ) I am now very cautious about getting over excited  when things settle down for a bit.

suppose we just have to try to make the most of the " lull" and not get too down hearted when all the crap comes back again . keep telling myself that ONE day I WILL feel like ME again.

love Sarah b x

[chrissie52]

I am finally starting to feel better!  The only thng that seems to work is HRT, and now I am on period free patches, the hot flushes are really slowing down.  Now all I have to worry about is the side effects of HRT   - but I am having a mammography next week, so at least I will know where I stand.  I'm not sure how long I will stay on HRT this time, but maybe when I stop there will be something "new" to try, as nothing else has worked.  Best of luck everyone!

[mary wood]

Hello Everyone
I am new - just registered today. I am absolutely fed up with the hot flushes and night sweats. I moved house in April and we are still having the bathrooms fitted so only have a bath at present and no shower working. I was in the shower up to five times a day and also during the night in our old home. I now feel dreadful most of the time. I never get a nights sleep, at most I get three hours and this has been going on for months now.  I started with really bad hot flushes about ten  to twelve months ago and went straight to my GP. As an ex-GP practice manager I thought I had only to ask for HRT and be given a prescription....I was wrong! My GP said that as I had not had a smear test for some time he would not be prepared to prescribe HRT for me.  (I am not going to have a smear and will not change my mind so I am trying to find something that will work for these sweats.) My doctor gave me some tablets called Clonidine 25mcg   I took two in the morning and two in the afternoon. I started these last November and the sweats almost stopped straight away - I felt wonderful Then after six months or so, the pills stopped working and the flushes came back - although it has to be said they are not as bad as initially. When they first started they were about every half hour and I was literally wet  through in minutes - all my clothing and skin- I felt dirty all the time hence the showers!  I luckily work from home so I can take time out to go under the fan or walk outside when they happen but if I was going out to work I don' think I could cope. I dread even going shopping as it is so embarrassing when I feel a sweat coming on and there is absolutley nothing I can do about it as I am sure you all know only too well. I am not particularly well off, but I tried buying herbal remedies like Red Sage and Boots Chemists menopause remedy, in addition to Evening Primrose Oil. I kept these up for a few months but they made no difference at all to the sweats and cost a fair amount. I am now considering Starflower oil after reading this forum....can anyone else say that it works with any confidence? I am not being mean but have just moved to a wreck of a bungalow and my husband and I are spending all our time and spare cash on the renovation costs so I can little afford to try yet another herbal remedy unless I have some hope of its working. I have upped the dose of my Clonidine tablets from 4 daily to six daily after asking my GP. He actually told me that the time will come when nothing will work for me  - more or less just to get on with it. I also asked him about pain in my left shoulder. I am right handed but the pain in my shoulder can be excruciating. I first experienced it in March of this year when getting out of the car. I mived my left arm backwards to close the passenger door of the car and ended up lying accross the bonnet tha pain was so bad I was almost physically sick....my husband couldn't understand what had happened. Since then I have sort of learned to guard my arm and not use it so much.... howeverI still get the nauseating pain when I forget. I can only just manage to get dressed but fastening my bra is now impossible and I have to fasten it at the front and pull it round! Or I ask my husband for help if he is around. I wondered if this was menopausal but my GP just said its probably arthritis - gave me some Diclofenac tablets to take 3 times a day and that was that. I have since been back and told him how bad the pain is and how it is interfering with my life....I cannot blow dry my hair properly as I can't get the hairdryer- in my left hand - high enough up to do the job. Likewise, I can't use my hair tongs as this is a two handed job. Anyway my GP is not so helpful and just says its arthritis - he hasn' actually examined me but I don't know whether that would make any difference.I really feel the pain is so very bad that it can't just be osetoarthritis but I am not a doctor. I have always been a very healthy person and this stuff is getting me down. I feel sorry for my husband because I try not to moan too much but its inevitable sometimes, especially when I can't pick things up or take my own coat or jacket off. I am unable to lie on my left side in bad and fell about 90 instead of 52.  Can anyone identify with me and offer any advice?  I have had to stop whilst writing this to go and mop myself down - even the computer keyboard is wet! I go to the loo for a wee and my knickers are sticking to my skin making pulling them down difficult and then I can't pull em up again because of my left arm. Try pulling yours up with just your right hand - its not as easy as it sounds. Surely life shouldn't be this difficult just because of a natural process like the menopause? I am a great reader and have read in lots of novels about ladies in the past - 1800's and so on, being indisposed or suffering from undisclosed weaknesses and having to remain prone on settees and suchlike  - I wonder were they suffering from hot flushes and  the menopause in general? God help them - they didn't even have showers let alone Clonidine or HRT  -  makes you wonder how they got through life!  I may appear to be making light of all this but I am getting quite desperate - my email address is [email protected] and I would welcome any advice or help from any of you out there.  Thanks in anticipation. MARY

[sarah bird]

Hi Mary, you poor thing ! what a sorry tale  Thing is though as I'm sure you are beginning to realise there are many of us here with similar tales of woe . it really is awful isn't it but at least we can just support each other the best we can .

As for what you have tried so far to help yourself...... i have been going through this for severel years now and have tried all I can think of and most of what everyone else can think of. i'm now more or less convinced that actually nothing REALLY works LONGTERM. You'll see from others as well...things seem to work for a while then everything just comes back...this leaves me wondering if thats how meno' symptoms are anyway. Plenty of ladies on here will vouch for the fact they can be fine for a while and think they are through it all when WHAM  the symptoms return with a vengeance !

we all wish we new how long it all goes on for but there seems to be no answer to that one .

Sooo... if it works for you then great .....there's no harm in trying though it can end up being rather expensive.
(Haven't used HRT (lots of reasons) so can't comment on that)

I just now try to focus on dealing with the practicalities ....such as carrying a fan and moist wipes etc.

you mentioned your shoulder...sounds painful...I had a frozen shoulder 2yrs ago ..AGONY and was also prescribed Diclofenac which did help .I also had some massage therapy from a Sports Masseur which really helped . Was told it would take a year to fix and it just about did !

hope some of this helps ...someone else will be along soon as well I'm sure.

love Sarah b x

[toastie]

Hi Mary and Welcome to the forum- As you will see - there is loads of information here - re. your shoulder pain- did your doctor examine the shoulder- before he  said it was arthritis- I too suffered from excrutiating pain a few years ago- my G. P. told he he did not know for sure and so referred me to an orthopaedic surgeon- who did an x ray and sure enough diagnosed a frozen shoulder which does sometimes occur around the time of the menopause- like you - I was absolutely helpless- I could hardly get dressed but the worst thing was the pain- I could not sleep even with really strong pain killers - it was absolute agony-  I had to have the shoulder manipulated under anaesthetic followed by a course of physio. over three months or so-but the pain was gone immediately after the manipulation so it is worth checking out.

Mary, it is better if you don't give out your email address on the forum- we can also send personal emails through the forum itself-if you go to the profile -I  hope this helps


toastie xxx

[charlies angel]

I was advised by my GP to try antihistamine tablets - I have been taking a daily tablet for the past 4 months - AND I HAVE NO MORE HOT FLASHES!