Menopause Matters Forum
Menopause Discussion => All things menopause => Topic started by: GypsyRoseLee on April 01, 2018, 10:23:01 AM
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Overall I have pretty much returned to normal since starting Prof Studd's regime. I am now going a few months between 'dips' when all my old symptoms come back for a week or so. I assume these dips are when my HRT fails to totally suppress my own cycle, though I don't know why it fails sometimes?
Anyway, I am experiencing my first 'dip' since before Xmas, and I'm getting some weird new symptoms. I keep getting waves of real sleepiness, followed by nausea. I keep getting nasty pangs of panic. Then last night I suddenly felt very thirsty and had to drink a pint of water immediately. Then a few minutes later I suddenly felt ravenous and broke out in a clammy sweat and devoured two big bowls of cereal.
It's really weird? Does anyone else recognise these symptoms?
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Low blood sugar?
How is you diet over-all?
Get your thyroid function tested, sugar levels tested and VitD levels tested. Keep a diary of what you eat and when. I had similar feelings throughout peri, would feel suddenly sick to the point that I had to ask in a Chemist to use their loo ....... they directed me to the town one which was 15 mins. walk away and I pointed out that I needed a loo pronto! I wasn't ill ..........
How is your urine output?
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Hi CLKD
It's only happened once before. My urine output hasn't changed. I'd eaten fairly lightly yesterday, but no lighter than many other days? I wonder if I suddenly become more sensitive to differing blood sugar when my hormones are fluctuating.
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My symptoms hit in the 10-14 days B4 a bleed. For about 3 years in all. NAPS told me to eat every 3 hours to stop that awful nausea when the body got suddenly hungry. That is, every 3 hours, 24/7 ;)
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Hi GRL
Good to hear from you.
I'd either say your symptoms were from blood sugar issues or it was a hot flush! I've had what you describe, never had them before peri.
I had it checked out at GP's for diabetes but it all came back clear.
I'm also with you on other thread! My arms and legs seem to jerk around involuntary from time to time. I think it feels worse than it looks, or hope it does - take care xxx
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Hi Mis71Mum, lovely to see you again.
I don't think it was a hot flush, because it felt like a cold/clammy sweat. I'm thinking it was much more to do with blood sugar issues. Nowadays, when my cycle is being properly surpressed I can drink coffee, eat sugary foods and go all day not eating, with no side effects. But when my cycle is breaking through I think I become much more sensitised.
As it had been 4 months 'symptom free' I had convinced myself that I was 100% cured, and through to the other side permanently. But looks like my cycle is still strong enough to break through and cause misery. I am so, so, so, so very very sick of it.
How are you doing these days?
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I think the brain can be quite clever at overriding what we try to suppress after a while. Not sure if it's possible with your regime, but could you take a weeks break from it every 6 weeks or so? It may help to reset things and trick the brain.
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Can I ask a little more about Professor Studd's regime? I'm interested as I'd heard good things about him before?
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That could perhaps work DM? But I was assuming that my own cycle will be getting weaker and weaker as time goes on?
I'd love to compare notes with anyone else suppressing their cycle with 4 pumps + Utrogestan, and if they think it's totally successful. I might start a new thread and see if I get any replies.
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The suppression won't weaken the volatile cycle, it just dampens it down whilst the exogenous hormones are being taken. It would be ready to rear back into action after a few weeks of no HRT.
At some point your natural cycle will all calm down but none of us know when that will be as there's such a variation in how long before periods stop and, even after that, there can be sudden spurts of activity.
Having short breaks may be enough to keep resetting it without it causing you any symptoms.
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If you don't eat then you *will* get weird symptoms :-\
Every 3 hours Girl, every 3 hours ;D - not that I've found that it works for me but it was suggested by NAPS. Stops that sudden lurch of hunger etc. which can be caused by hormones.
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GypsyRoseLee - the feeling ravenous followed by clammy sweat are classic hypoglycaemia symptoms which I have had on and off all my life and two of my children ( males) also get it sometimes. You may have also noticed trembling. When it happens to me the tremor is noticeable in my hands and I absolutely POUR with sweat. It is quickly relieved by eating something sweet (or nuts - takes a while longer). If you've been tested for diabetes and thyroid function and all is well then as CLKD says you need to control your blood sugar levels by reducing sugar and refined carbs in your diet and eating more slow release carbs and lots of lean protein, nuts, fruit and veg. There is definitely a hormonal link - I used to get it worse in the second part of my menstrual cycle as I neared and during peri eg I would just have cereal for breakfast and go out somehere and if not careful would get the low BS symptoms mid morning. I have gradually changed over the years so that for me - I need to eat a big breakfast in the morning and that generally stops it from happening. When I was in my 30's I could get by on a couple of slices of toast for breakfast and fruit and crispbreads for lunch.
It is definitely not a good idea to go a long time without food but also eating every 3 hours is no good if you eat sugary foods as this leads to greate insulin spikes and ultimately even insulin resistance.
Despite what you say about it sometimes being OK (to go without food) I would change your eating habits permanently and try to identify a time of day when this might occur or after a certain time. What happens with me - if this is going to happen - is that I go from normal hunger to the hypoglycaemic symptoms within minutes - whereas at other times I can becomne hungry and carry on for ages without needing to eat. Apparently called reactive hpyoglycaemia as blood sugar doesn't fall to dangerously low levels as with diabetics but it sure makes me feel desparate when it happens. Also important not to be tempted ( as you were and as I used to be) to eat tons of carbs because it takes 10-15 mins or so ( depending on what you eat) after you've eaten before the shaking and sweating and cravings go away, and by that time you could have eaten a lot of sugary foods which are not good for you!
When it first started happening to me and I didn't understand it I used to carry dextrose tablets but don't now because I know what to do but I always have a muesli bar in my bag and eat half on the occasions I am caught out!
I've gone into great detail here in case this is what is happening to you and might be helpful. :) If not - sorry and just ignore!!!
This is different from the nausea and sleepiness - and can't help with that....
Hurdity x
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NAPS advised eating every 3 hours, high carbohydrate diet ......... fruits/nuts, bananas, Dextrose tablets, sandwiches ......... even through the night. Rich Tea biscuits and I were great friends.
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Whatever NAPS advised you to do I'm sure that was fine for PMS and looking at your specific situation if that is what you were advised, but GypsyRoseLee was talking about her (what sounded like) low blood sugar symptoms in relation to HRT and maybe even suppressed cycle, and to stabilise blood sugar levels as I understand it, then it is currently accepted that you should not eat high sugar content foods and not refined carbs. Depending on your own metabolism - slow release carbs would be fine, as would fruit within limits, but if you really want to control blood sugar then not Dextrose and biscuits as a general rule. The idea is to eat foods that prevent that rapid spike in blood sugar - and this is better achieved by protein, and slow release carbs supplemented by fruit and veg. I don't hold with the need to eat throughout the night - we are not designed to do that and I would be interested to read any research/recommendations which suggest we should - I did read that our blood sugar levels are highest in the early hours or last part of the night. Perhaps different if you suffer from extreme pms but most people - surely not? Have just looked it up and this is what I found re diet from NAPS and no mention made of eating every 3 hours 24/7 but little and often - also it lists the right kind of foods. http://www.pms.org.uk/about/aboutus4 .
GypsyRoseLee - bit of a digression but if it is the cause of your symptoms (low blood sugar) I hope you find it helpful :)
Hurdity x
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That's really interesting to read Hurdity, and it does sound like it's probably the reactive hypoglycemia you describe. I can vaguely remember back in my teens sometimes going too long without food and coming over very tearful and trembly. I definitely need to take better control of my diet. My eating habits are really bad if I'm honest. Very studenty and too many refined carbs.
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My problems were hormonal. NAPS know a lot more than anyone on here! I was personally advised that when I got out of bed in the night that I must eat a biscuit or sandwich to keep sugar levels even. Otherwise I was very ill.
Good Luck GRL
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Sorry what is NAPS?
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Hi! National Association for Premenstrual Syndrome - Dr Dalton did lots of research considering how hormones affect women and why we gets dips etc. throughout the month. Some ladies are driven to murder at 'certain' times of the month and she was able to prepare evidence that for the remainder of the month, these women were normal. That was in the mid-1980s.
I know that I had rages at certain times of the month :'( ........... so advice was given to eat regularly to stop those highs and lows which can cause anxiety, sudden feelings of hunger, anger.
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Back in my teens and twenties you could guarantee I would pick a fight, at the same time of the month, with my boyfriend at the time. Some months were worse than others, but in the week before my period I would be irritable, tense and often a bit paranoid. At times it felt like I was going to burst into smithereens. Yet for the rest of the month I would be easy going and laid back. Looking back, I don't think taking the BCP helped at all, now I know I am progesterone intolerant, especially to synthetic progesterone.
Infact, when I started at university I changed my brand of BCP and within 3 weeks felt incredibly low and despondent, to the point of feeling quite desperate. It was horrible. I just felt totally disconnected from everything and everything seemed so negative.
Then I'd occasionally get a run of several days when I felt totally normal again. Looking back it was cyclical. ADs weren't nearly so common back then so I just suffered through it. But I do vaguely remember the depression quickly lifting when I came off that brand of BCP (wish I could remember which brand it was).
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We certainly suffered even then :-\ >sigh< but I put up with it all.
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I will certainly ask my daughter to think very long and hard before trying the BCP in the future.
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The first Pill made me sick so Mum sent me to the GP :-\ ::) oh it was such a strange feeling under my ribs.
The next 1 I took for 11 years. The only way to ease those dreadful pains. As well as the fact that I didn't want children. Then I was sterilised.
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I wonder if the anger thing is linked to the liver? I was watching a programme about how liver disease causes anger issues and maybe when our hormones all plummet and hit the liver, it causes the anger at PMT time? The liver also holds the pill for 24 hours whilst it metabolises.
Milk thistle could help but would empty any oral meds (and some transdermals as think that enters too during the second phase?) too soon.
It would explain alcohol aggression too!
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Don't know other than the liver is the only organ that can regenerate itself ::). In general, the body heals itself. It's a superb system, when it works. I can't tolerate pain though :D