Menopause Matters Forum
Menopause Discussion => All things menopause => Topic started by: Dorastar on May 02, 2024, 08:34:21 PM
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Been peri for ages but now not had a period since Feb this year, the longest time apart from a 3 month gap after a family bereavement. Hot flushes & night sweats have ramped up a lot & today I've had 18 so far, none dreadful or debilitating but it's only May & we've not hit any real hot weather. Do they get worse in hot weather and do they increase as you go through menopause or is this already a high number? I am generally well & Dr avoidant but wondering if it's worth the 7 circles of hell phone call to mine?
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My DH is a warm Guy ;-). Other than his feet.
'too many' - how long is a piece of string. I've never fortunately had any heat issues with any of the ADs prescribed since the 1980s. I had cold flushes down my back when I was prescribe Tamoxifen which I was unable to tolerate. The drug made me feel 'fluey and my sense of smell/taste was very heightened.
merryground: did U eventually get an HRT regime that helps? Sorry if you have other threads, I'm a bit menopause-muggy headed this morning ::)
Dorastar: mayB keep a mood/food/symptom diary for 3 months to see whether there is a pattern and decide which symptoms U would like to ease first? Let us know?
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I would say when hot flashes start effecting your everyday life it means you have too many of them.
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Do they get worse in hot weather and do they increase as you go through menopause or is this already a high number?
I felt worse in summer, because too hot inside and too hot outside, hard to cool myself down.
Depends on your body, we all different.
My hot flashes stopped in post meno, the body itself sorted them out eventually.
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Definitely as others say if they have a negative effect on your everyday life. Mine got so bad that they disturbed my sleep and during the day left me drenched. I couldn't go on like it.
With regards to summer, far far worse in some ways, but at least if you can get in the shade or have doors and windows blowing air through (or my newly installed aircon!!).
Remember last September we had that really boiling hot period? We were in Central London for a conference I an old building with no aircon and it was murder. And that is on HRT.
So keep a diary and see how much you are being affected. In my experience the flushes got more frequent and 'hotter'. I'd walk the dog in a vest top in winter! If you start to struggle, it is definitely worth the call to GP. But in the meantime read as much as you can here so you learn what you might need and also how to insist you get what you need and not brushed off by your GP. Some are OK, some are useless. Maybe consider starting the ball rolling now in case things get worse and if they don't, wonderful.
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Thanks for the replies, been trying to track stuff a bit but then today's been way cooler & had a lot less hot flushes. Surrounded by colleagues all on HRT and all telling I MUST be on it "by now" as I'm older than most of them but only really just starting the year up to menopause iyswim despite being older. I don't feel like I need it yet, and am also fairly healthy, but then I don't want to hang on & then turn into an actual puddle of sweat a few months later 🤣
Agree with the post about burning hot husbands too. Forgot to mention the nasty chills I have after each flush too, proper coat on to warm up (until next hot flush then repeat!)
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I used to get chills to in the early days of flushes. Looking back they were better than being hot! A friend told me that chills are also a symptom of low oestrogen, not sure if it is.
It does sound like you are managing well. Don't be pressured by those around you. You really don't want to be on HRT unless you really absolutely have to be.
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Thanks, I do feel under a lot of pressure to go for HRT from work colleagues but I also feel like I'm a way off needing it yet. Working on eating better & getting a bit fitter in the meantime which has only got to help.
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What does it actually do? Make your body make its own E and P???
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What does it actually do? Make your body make its own E and P???
Yes, it does E, P and T.
I was looking to that option too. It is considered to be synthetic type of HRT.
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Could it make too much of one hormone though. Or does it cause balance?
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Could it make too much of one hormone though. Or does it cause balance?
I think the body decides what it needs. Who knows what body’s decision can be.
My body used to make too much T, I think it used my progesterone to convert it into T. This is why I am not in rush to try Tibolone, I don’t know what my body will make from it.
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Interesting merrygoround what you say about timeline. I took it a few years ago and found it easy to manage, except for initial acne. It caused bleeding which stopped when I stopped tiblone. Got scared so have only been on local hrt since. It did sort out hot flushes. How long have you taken it as I want to try hrt again and maybe go back on tiblone. I thought it was advised for short periods of time and banned in USA? Dorastar, hope you don't mind me asking on your thread.
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I can think of two reasons why it's less commonly prescribed;
As far as I know the reason why it’s not so popular as bio/body identical HRT is because Tibolone has high risk of stroke, so it’s prescribed usually under the age of 60. Those, who take bio/ body identical HRT they can continue with it to the rest of life, it’s considered to be lower risk HRT and so no age limit for using it.
In younger women, the risk profile of tibolone is broadly similar to that for conventional combined hormone-replacement therapy (HRT). For women older than about 60 years, the risks associated with tibolone start to outweigh the benefits because of the increased risk of stroke.
https://www.gov.uk/drug-safety-update/tibolone-benefit-risk-balance#:~:text=The%20LIFT%20study%20identified%20a,tibolone%20increases%20with%20older%20age.
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So not wanting to hijack someone else's thread but with regard to bio indentical HRT, I bought some online a few years back. It was pretty 'proper' HRT for me and it cost an arm and a leg. I persevered for about 6 months and apart from having less money it did nothing for my symptoms. Seeing as those on here who have tried it report success, I wonder should I have sourced it somewhere else or from a different manufacturer. Maybe what I had wasn't the genuine article being online.
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So not wanting to hijack someone else's thread but with regard to bio indentical HRT, I bought some online a few years back. It was pretty 'proper' HRT for me and it cost an arm and a leg. I persevered for about 6 months and apart from having less money it did nothing for my symptoms. Seeing as those on here who have tried it report success, I wonder should I have sourced it somewhere else or from a different manufacturer. Maybe what I had wasn't the genuine article being online.
Hi Mrs Mitch
Have a look at the compounded hormones thread started by Mary G on here, it's really interesting and definitely the route I'll be going down if I ever go back on hrt. If you want to do it under supervision you could look at the Marion Gluck Clinic or the London Hormone Clinic as they both offer this option.
Penguin x
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tamoxifen - prescribed to lower oestrogen levels - caused cold flushes down my back. >:(
Dorastar. Do U have a plan?
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I was given it initially because the GP was scared to give me hormonal HRT so gave me steroidal HRT instead.
Sex hormones are steroids anyway.
Sex hormones, also known as sex steroids, gonadocorticoids and gonadal steroids, are steroid hormones that interact with vertebrate steroid hormone receptors.[1] The sex hormones include the androgens, estrogens, and progestogens
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_hormone
But Tibolone is classified as a synthetic steroid. Bio/body identical HRT is plant steroid.
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To the person who asked if I had a plan, erm no not yet, still working out what on earth it all means.
Trying to shift some weight with sensible eating & exercise and jotting down symptoms & severity for now. Some days I feel fine, others not so much & some nights I'm losing too much sleep with waking up hot. I don't sweat much (never have) so I don't know if that's why my flushes atm are really dry/burning rather than pools of sweat iyswim.
Going to monitor it all for now & do what I can but if that's not working/manageable get knowledgeable about medical options so at least if I go to doctors I have some idea of what they're on about & I can say exactly how I am/what I've tried.
That does sound suspiciously like a plan though 🤣
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Thanks for the suggestions. Having a read through things, it's obvious that what I got online was body identical HRT not bio. Possibly why for me it didn't work.
Sorry, in my ignorance I didn't even know there was body and bio ;D