Menopause Matters Forum
General Discussion => New Members => Topic started by: fran on June 11, 2015, 08:15:46 PM
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:D hi all, don't know where to start, the last 3 weeks have been so tough . My life is turned up side down... Hot flushes and night sweats have been severe, started takin phyto soya day and night , and sage 2 morning and 2 in the evening... Night and day hot flush have cooled down a lot.. Sleeping better.. Only problem now is I also have a thyroid problem which I take 25 microgram Eltroxin ...the last 3 evening s I've noticed I am getting totally exhausted ... Question is do you think these herbals I'm taking could be interfering with my medication ( Eltroxin ).. By the way I am 51 and half years old. I feel I ve been peri for the last 3 years ... Periods up and down, of late I haven't had them for 3 months... Been to doctorr a week ago waiting on blood results... May have to give her a call tomorrow... I just can't cope with this tiredness ... Any advice please :-X
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Hi and welcome fran
I'd go and discuss this with your GP - get your bloods checked to see how your thyroid is doing and look at oestrogen levels. Sadly I haven't found phytoestrogens do very much to reduce any meno symptoms so I doubt they would be effecting you or you medication. HRt would be the best option for you.
Read all the info on this site and get back to us with questions. DG x
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I know what you mean about the exhaustion, that's what I'm trying to cope with. I think the weariness is the most debilitating. I do use something called the Shakti mat to get some great sleep. It's based on the Indian bed of nails and is supposed to work on the acupuncture points. I have used it for years and it still helps me to sleep well even though I do get some flushes during the night.
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Thank you so much , just can't understand how I nearly have everything that goes with meno, dizziness , lightness in head , my hands loose circulation when I sleep which also wakes me up, stiffness , forgetfulness and now the hot flushes.. I thought the soya was helping but after 3weeks of taking them this fatigue in the evening sets in and I could just collapses with it ... My chest feels tightness , breathing etc... I ve read some where soya can't have interfere with tyroid problems ... I ll just have to chat with Doctor... Hoping to have blood results in a week or so... I work in retail on my feet quiet a bit so it's tough also I work with 20 to 30 year old s , who just don't understand or respect what a woman goes true at this age... Both my children are in Australia so that is emotional enough, but I do thank god for a great hubby... He's brilliant , would do any thing for me...
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:welcomemm: sounds like you are 'within normal limits' - sometimes symptoms are all or nowt >:( ::)
The tingling in the hands can certainly be hormonally linked, pregnant ladies do develop Carpal Tunnel Syndrom which goes a few months after delivery. Or similar symptoms could be the way you sleep or due to a trapped nerve in the cervical spine.
Sage can help for a while but in generally, due to the hormonal fluctuations being all over the place, regular dose to keep symptoms under control can be difficult to maintain. Blood tests can be here and there too, depending on when the bloods were taken in correlation to the 'time of the month' i.e. hormones altering 24/7 can give various readings ::). Go on symptoms!
Crashing fatigue is common. How is your diet generally, also keeping well hydrated is important.
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:D hi all, don't know where to start, the last 3 weeks have been so tough . My life is turned up side down... Hot flushes and night sweats have been severe, started takin phyto soya day and night , and sage 2 morning and 2 in the evening... Night and day hot flush have cooled down a lot.. Sleeping better.. Only problem now is I also have a thyroid problem which I take 25 microgram Eltroxin ...the last 3 evening s I've noticed I am getting totally exhausted ... Question is do you think these herbals I'm taking could be interfering with my medication ( Eltroxin ).. By the way I am 51 and half years old. I feel I ve been peri for the last 3 years ... Periods up and down, of late I haven't had them for 3 months... Been to doctorr a week ago waiting on blood results... May have to give her a call tomorrow... I just can't cope with this tiredness ... Any advice please :-X
Hi Fran
I am similar age to you (slightly older as i was 52 in March). So far I haven't had severe problems with flushes but they do seem more frequent now. I was Peri for about 5 years before my periods stopped early last year. I also have under active thyroid and take Levothyroxine. I am surprised to read that you take Eltroxin as I didn't think that one existed any more. I took it as a child. I haven't had severe fatigue but I do wonder how the thyroid interacts with menopause.
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Update.... Went to my doctor to day, purely because I was so exhausted , worried about the herbals ...(soya/sage) interfering with my thyroid meds.. Eltroxin...
We had a good chat about all .... My bloods results were back on some of my test, turns out my oestrogen was 650 in January and now is only 50...which explains why the severe hot flushes I was having 3 weeks ago.. She went true all my options .
I can stick with what I'm doing or go on HRT.
She explained she couldn't stand over the soya I was taking but she new exactly what was in the HRT... And couldn't assure me if the soya was interfering or not with mt thyroid meds... My results for thyroid hadn't changed...
Today is a good day... A few hot flushes depending on the temperature i m in.
My doctor gave me a prescription for Novofem low dose ... 3 months supply... I don't know what to do , to take or not.. Today is so good... But I don't no what to Moro brings... :o...
Worried about every thing Xx
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At least your GP seems on the ball with regards Menopause! As hormone levels fluctuate you will get symptoms. It depends on how well you can tolerate those changes as to whether you opt for using the medication, however, your GP has prescribed something …….. :-\
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fran - sounds as though you have a sensible GP. My only worry is that your GP has given you a continuous HRT when you probably would have been better on a sequential HRT at this stage. When was your last period? Something like Femoston 1/10 might have been better?? If would mean a monthly bleed but it gives you the chance to see if the progesterone suits you.
Why not wait and see how you feel over the next few weeks - keep a diary to look back on. The problem is you are possibly still peri meno and your hormones will fluctuate and possibly give these highs and lows over quite some time and then as you become post meno it can take years before meno symptoms subside or get better.
If, over the next few weeks, life becomes more of a struggle and you are not getting enough sleep therefore your quality of life is being impacted negatively, then try the HRT - you can always come off it.
You now have options. Keep us posted. DG x
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C L K D.. Thank you so much for all your help and advice... Yes mt doctor who is a lady , is just lovely... Very understanding... Explained everything even though she said I nearly knew more then her.. So important I think to do a certain amount of googling on our health , if it's only to understand just what exactly is happening to our bodies .
So back to my decision to take or not... I ll give it a day or two and decide how I'm doing. ....xx
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Hi. again... My last period was 3 months ago, just a small show brown discharge... I'll take your advice wait awhile see how severe or not I go ..
Thanks every 1 xx
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Hi Fran - I would check with your GP first as to whether you should have a sequi HRT - they sometimes make a mistake about which one to prescribe. You may just need to speak to her on the phone and ask if she meant to prescribe a sequi or a conti considering it's less than a year since your last period. DG x
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Hi DG ... I'll do that, I'll wait, at the moment I'm doing ok , hot flushes have calmed down, I'm still going to take my Phyto soya, and sage but I'm going to try leave a couple of hours between my thyroid tabs , hoping they won't interfere with herbals...
Just wonder do with such a drop in oestrogen from 650 to 50 , does that mean maybe my hot sweats etc may not get any worse... Like I've seen the worse of it or is this wish full thinking :)
When I say worse of it , I mean all the above moderate hot flushes... Confused again...oestrogen , progesterone All a puzzle xx
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You've hit it on the head: it's a puzzle ::) - only when you've been through your particular journey will you know ;)
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fran - when we are in the peri meno phase then our hormones can fluctuate quite dramatically so this will cause the flushes etc, to come and go as the oestrogen levels rise and fall. Sadly no one can tell you how long this phase will last or whether things get better once your periods have stopped altogether and the hormones levels have bottomed out. Sometimes it's well into post meno that the symptoms really get going and then some women find things settle quite quickly once they are post meno. So yes, it's a puzzle. DG x
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I found this.....not sure soy products are suitable for people with thyroid issues.
Maybe stop until you have seen an endocrinologist .
Your question on soy and thyroid function is a very good one, and involved a bit of research! The effects of soy on thyroid function in the medical literature are variable, and depend on which species is being studied, and which component of soy is being given.
Soy consists of a number of different compounds. The most well publicized are those compounds with estrogen like activity (hence the use of soy in the treatment of hot flushes). These are called isoflavones. In addition, soy contains protein, and other compounds as well.
Studies have shown that in animals fed soy protein, there is a lower energy utilization and lower protein utilization compared to milk protein fed animals. Circulating thyroid hormone levels (T4) were lower following soy feeding. Remember, these animals were rodents, and they were fed soy as their only source of protein. In another animal study, rats fed soy isoflavones did not demonstrate goiter formation or increased sensitivity to conditions that may lead to low thyroid hormone iodine deficiency). Finally, in another animal study, rats fed soy had lower activity of an enzyme implicated in goiter. This enzyme is known as TPO- which is responsible for making thyroid hormone.
Soy has long been implicated in diet induced goiter. Since the consumption of soy products is increasing dramatically (soy latte anyone?) researchers are trying to define the component responsible. While all the studies mentioned above were on animals, we do know that in babies who have hypothyroidism at birth and require replacement therapy, we need to increase the amount of replacement they are on if we switch their feeds to soy milk. Whether this is because of an absorption problem, or a direct interference of soy with the action of the hormone remains unclear.
There are dozens of studies out there that show more or less the same.
Surely your priority should be your thyroid function and not herbal or soy products.
Honeybun
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If your flushes are anything like mine, they come and go. I wouldn't have one for months, then they started again :(. I put up with it for about 3 years then I gave up and went on HRT. Not had one since.
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Ok D G. , so if I have no period for more then 6 months to a year , then hormones level out and then I should be post meno . And then I should start to feel a bit more normal :))) ha... Well this has been going own for more then 3 years . Last year periods were up and down , 3 months now since I had them this year... So I m hoping now that they may have stopped altogether ... I'm into my fourth week now with hot flushes.. Thank god there not as bad at night as they were... Last year I only had flushes mild for 2 weeks...
Seem to have takin a step up now... Obviously because my oestrogen levels are so low...
Oh I'm learning , keeping a diary etc....
Thanks guys for every thing so so helpfull.. Xx
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It would be nice if it was a case of periods lessening off then disappearing = cessation of symptoms ::) ……. however.
Even if a lady has been period free for 2 years she can still have ups and downs with various meno-symptoms thrown in >:( ::)
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CKLD is absolutely right - there is no real pattern to our menopause. Once your periods have truly stopped (you can get gaps of 6 months to a year between periods in the peri stage) I believe it then takes around 2 years for our hormones to bottom out - they don't level off. The meno symptoms are more about the lack of oestrogen so some women get the most severe symptoms a couple of years after their periods stop - whilst others sail through with barely a flush. I think it is more about our bodies adjusting to the lack of oestrogen over time so how long we suffer with flushes etc. will vary from women to women. Some women find their flushes will settle after a year or so and others will suffer for 10 or more years.
The peri stage can be particularly frustrating as you don't know how you are going to feel from one day to the next - I'm afraid trying to find a pattern will just add to your frustration. HRT could give your body balance if you choose to try it. As I mentioned before, as you are still peri meno, I do think you need a sequential HRT at this stage so you need to talk to your GP about this.
DG x
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Hi DG, my doctor is away on holidays at the moment , I ll wait till she gets back and I'll explain or ask about my prescription . See what she says.
Bad night sleep last , just couldn't sleep. Wrecked going to work today.. Off to Moro so hoping for an improvement in sleep to night, you know you'd nearly be afraid to go to bed :)) worrying about will I or won't .. The simple thing s in life a dame good night sleep you miss it when you haven't got it :) xx
Thanked every 1 xx
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Have you thought about cutting out the soy until you find out whether it could affect your thyroid.
You could be exacerbating the problem to be honest.
Honeybun
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Hi Hun bun, ya I was taking 1 morning and 1 night only taking 1 now, but I may stop, altogether. I did read some where , don't ask me where , 1 of my nights when I was trying yo find answers , that you should leave 4 hours after taking thyroid tab , to take herbals to give thyroid tabs time to absorb.. So I've been doing that... And as I said I'm only takin 1 Zion afternoon...
Oh I could be just wasting my time... All I want is a feckin nights sleep.
Thanks Hun bun for caring , xx
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Sorry ... I meant to call you Honey Bun... My head is too tired :))
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Hi every 1.
Just wondering has any 1 tried or know anything about Serenity cream from Well Springs.