Menopause Matters Forum
Menopause Discussion => Postmenopause => Topic started by: Sue1 on August 11, 2025, 06:19:00 PM
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Hi
I am new here.I went through menopause about 10 years ago and was on HRT for 5/6 years. I am not on HRT now. In the last month my hot flushes have returned. My whole body thermometer seems to ‘be off’ and I don’t seem to be able to cope with heat in general either. I am exhausted to the point where I can’t be bothered with a lot of stuff and just
t want to close my eyes. My skin is itchy too and I am getting random shooting pains all over.I suffer from a debilitating health anxiety an£ this has all got me in a real panic. It feels jus5 like the menopause again. Can these symptoms come back like this? If someone could le5 me know if any of this sounds familia4 I would b3 so grateful. I am really scared
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Yes it can happen. The ovaries continue to do 'something' after meno and before they die completely. 10 years post meno isn't uncommon.
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Yes, it can happen. My symptoms suddenly got a lot worse 3 years post meno.
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It feels like I’ falling apart. Literally and my health anxiety is through the roof. Thankyou for your reply
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I also sometimes feel incredibly weak all of a sudden. I feel like I need to sit down and ea5 something sweet. Even though I know my blood suga4 is ok
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Anyone else. Feeling so low and frightened
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Anyone else. Feeling so low and frightened
Have you had your BP checked? I'm having hot flushes again, particularly with the hot weather. It's triggering them. I find this humid heat very difficult to cope with, I'm worn out and wet through all the time so hit flushes on top of it is awful. So presumably they do come and go over time. Is it worth getting a well women check?
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I poste£ a couple of days ago.I honestly feel that everything has come back 10 years after menopause. Hot sweats, exhaustion and itchy skin all over which is driving me insNe. My health anxiety is through the roof and am thinking something more siniste4 accounts for these symptoms - but they are exactly how I was before. please someone. Help
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I’m 64 and haven’t been on HRT for about 7 years. My hot flushes had all but stopped but are now back with a vengeance and I don’t seem to be able to cope with the hot weather aat all. I have a severe health anxiety and these coupled with fatigue and itching are leading medown the anxiety rabbit hole. Feeling pretty despetate
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Did U read the responses on your other thread? (threads merged - Emma)
It is possible that the ovaries continue to pump out enough oestrogen which may cause continuing symptoms. Itching is a symptom of low oestrogen. Keeping a mood/food/symptom diary is useful and a chat with the Nurse Practitioner about your symptoms would be in order.
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Hi Sue1
I’m also 64 and been on oestrodial gel and the mirena coil since I was 44. Got on really well with both.
Went to see a private menopause consultant about having my mirena removed as it’s due to come out and he suggested that I try coming off my oestrodial gel gradually to see we’re I’m at.
I agreed and did this in June, was fine to start with and then menopause symptoms came back all bar flushes & sweats.
My consultant put me back on the gel and gave me the progesterone tablet Utrogestan.
I wished I’d never come off HRT as it exasperated my MH too.
Don’t know if saying all this helps you but that has been my experience.
I’m starting to feel back to myself now.
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Sue1, I'm also 64! I became post menopause at about 46 and I've been taking HRT ever since apart from a few times when I stopped taking it in order to get baseline hormone blood readings but I'm not going to do that again. I had to increase my Oestrogel dose back up to two pumps earlier this year because my brain stem auras (which are caused by low oestrogen) suddenly kicked off again. The increase in my oestrogen dose together with Verapamil has worked well (by the way, I had to work all this out for myself) but it shows that you sometimes need increase your oestrogen dose even when you are many years post menopause. In my opinion, the last thing you need to do is stop HRT altogether, it doesn't makes sense if there is no particular reason for it.
Unfortunately the menopause never goes away, it's a permanent state of hormonal deprivation unless you replace the hormones like you would if you suddenly stopped producing thyroid hormones. Hot flushes and night sweats come in the first phase of the menopause but other oestrogen related health problems emerge in the second, post menopause phase which is where you are at right now. It's not unusual for symptoms to suddenly get worse post menopause if you are not taking HRT and often we have women on here who say they "sailed through the menopause" but then suddenly take a hit many years post menopause.
Why did you stop taking HRT 7 years ago? Can you restart now?
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Thankyou for your responses.I have felt so alone and it is so good to hear from people.When I came off HRt all those years ago I naively thought that was it.I suffered quite badly with hot sweats, crawling skin and an internal tremor. It is now 10 years later that my hot sweats have returned and I am exhausted.I have been trrrified of other explanations but it feels so hormonal.I am so focused on any bodily sensations and I am just not functioning at the moment but
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I can relate to all the comments above. My story is similar to yours but when my symptoms returned they were not as severe and I would have asked to go back on HRT if they were. I previously went on HRT to relieve hot flushes and stayed on it for five years, I suffer with GSM and take treatment for that but I wouldn't shy away from asking for HRT if I felt I needed it.
Just also to say, none of us can escape the ravages of the ageing process and not every condition can be blamed on the menopause, HRT is not the fountain of youth, oh but it were!
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Thankyou for your reply. Can I just ask if you had the hot flushes return as well. Most people talk about atrophy being the problem but for me it is the hot flushes that are worst of all
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Yes, mainly hot flushes but not as severe as before, they lasted a lot less than previously and were not as exhausting.
As time went on I became to realise that this was just another phase I was going through and it eventually passed, the only symptom that was never going to pass was GSM but that's now sorted with treatment.
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Hi Sue
I am the same as you and the same age my symptoms are worse now than they have ever been , I could have written your post. I wake up each morning and cry because I don’t know how I am going to get through another day. All my energy has gone my legs feel like they won’t hold me up, but I do somehow get through each day but I want to be me again not this crying wreck that I have turned into to . I feel i am ten times worse in the hot weather . No one seems to understand and that’s why I come on to the forum , more and more just recently so we can all support each other.
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Hi so sorry you are feeling like this too.it feels never ending Though hot weather makes it even worse .I’m not on HRT.Are you?
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Or ice packs .......... it's the surprising reaction to menopause reasserting itself when we believe 'it's all over' :o. HORMONES >:(
Sue1 - would U consider HRT? U R no longer alone!
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So good to have found this site.I have felt completely alone with all this. I would consider HRT but I have some atypical breast hyperplasia which will prohibit I think. Knowing* that other people have experienced this too is reassuring. I have a severe health anxiety and my mind has been going all over the place thanks to google
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Just ordered a neck fan too
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Why would breast dysplasia be a 'no' for replacement? Surely Quality of Life is important?
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Think the risk of breast cancer would be higher
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I think it would make chances of breast cancer higher
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Who suggested that scenario? I had treatment in the 1990s and it was never suggested that VA shouldn't be used, though my oncologist did mutter "No HRT for you in future my Girl " ........ but thoughts have changed a lot about what might be a risk and what should be treated.
It may take years with/without treatment for recurrence to show itself. Why suffer?
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Did U have breast disease treated?
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I hadn’t thought of that. No it wasn’t treated. I just have to have yearly mammograms. Last one was end of last momt( and all ok
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Just bought the fan.It’s great!
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I would be asking for a referral to a dedicated menopause clinic. There are recent ideas that even when women have been treated for breast disease, if menopause symptoms are unbearable that using HRT is worth the risk. After all, if HRT is so dangerous we should all be offered mastectomy !
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Hi Sue
No I am not on HRT and never have been , my GP doesn’t seem interested
Just offered anti depressants, I don’t want to take them either but I can not go on like this any more.
I have struggled through again today and am worn out. I am self employed and work from home but finding it difficult to even work. Today I felt like I was going to faint all day then I get anxious then I panic then I cry I just go round in circles, the only time I feel okay is at night in bed and I find I go to bed earlier and earlier just to feel safe. I feel scared in the house on my own because I always feel something bad will happen to me some nights I can’t even have a bath or wash my hair , as soon as my husband comes home the anxiety goes slightly he is no help and not supportive at all but I know he is in the house if something Ford happen to me. Sorry to go on but your posts just feel like it is me. I know it’s not nice for all of us but it does make me feel just a little bit better seeing it in black and white from someone else.
Glad you got a fan I have one too and it does help.
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what's to lose debbyx by not taking AD's ? I didn't want to because I need/ed to know whether it was chemical, genetic ..... but no medics were interested in getting to the bottom of my depression. Which grounded me. Add to that panic attacks, sometimes I don't know how I survived :-\ :'(. Is there a Nurse Practitioner with who to discuss HRT? Why do U feel that your GP 'wasn't interested?
It took me 7-8 months B4 I realised that my brain was feeling better.
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I have been on citalopram for y health anxiety for a few years. I hated the idea but hoped it would help. I don’t actually know if it does or not. They may well help you a bit. perhaps have a talk to the gp( if you can get an appointment) and discuss it. It is so important to get a gp who you trust and can relate to - easier said than done sometimes.When I suffered through the menopause I had friends going through the same. Now they all appear to be ‘out the other side’ and that non.y serves to feel more isolated. I’m going back to my go next Friday and hopefully talk some stuff through. Debby - I know what you mean about the relief of getting into bed at night. I’ve gone past the point of thinking it might might be better in the morning but it is just a relief to know that I’m not going to feel faint. The itching doesn’t stop though. This site is a lifeline
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Taking a list to discuss might help at the appt.?
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Yes I’ve made one.Hot flushes,itching,exhaustion, fear,anxiety. Feel embarrassed about having such a list
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Hi Sue
You are not alone I am post meno about 7 years aged 59 . I never took HRT .The last month is horrible pelvic discomfort urinary discomfort and past week pins and needles feet hands and face and all over last night . It’s very frightening . I am seeking an urology review and then neurology but my practice nurse seems to think menopause related . I am trying St johns wart tea and red clover and eating soya flax seed and peaches to up my oestrogen naturally .
My b12 and ferritin are slightly high but they are not worried . My ldl cholesterol higher but that doesn’t worry me at all . No statins here.I feel your anxiety but it seems we are not alone
Hope that helps like this forum is helping me . We play the hand we are dealt and do our best . Maybe it’s our ovaries saying goodbye for good
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Hi
Your story is so similar to mine. I too have a lot of tingling in my hands and feet and even on my lips. I also get little electric shock type feelings sometimes. I am beginning to feel really desperate
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Hi Sue
No I am not on HRT and never have been , my GP doesn’t seem interested
Just offered anti depressants, I don’t want to take them either but I can not go on like this any more.
I have struggled through again today and am worn out. I am self employed and work from home but finding it difficult to even work. Today I felt like I was going to faint all day then I get anxious then I panic then I cry I just go round in circles, the only time I feel okay is at night in bed and I find I go to bed earlier and earlier just to feel safe. I feel scared in the house on my own because I always feel something bad will happen to me some nights I can’t even have a bath or wash my hair , as soon as my husband comes home the anxiety goes slightly he is no help and not supportive at all but I know he is in the house if something Ford happen to me. Sorry to go on but your posts just feel like it is me. I know it’s not nice for all of us but it does make me feel just a little bit better seeing it in black and white from someone else.
Glad you got a fan I have one too and it does help.
My worst symptoms were anxiety and insomnia so I know how debilitating it can be. You don't have to suffer like this just because you have an unsympathetic gp. Ask if the practise has a nurse or GP who specialises in it. Take the NICE guidelines that say that hrt not ads are the appropriate treatment for meno symptoms. Learn as much about hrt as you can, take a list of symptoms and don't be fobbed off. My anxiety has gone completely on hrt. If yours arrived with peri it's very likely yours will too. I was also offered ads instead of hrt, many others have been too. I refused them and insisted on hrt give they reluctantly gave me (bad temper was another symptom :(). You only have one life and you shouldn't have to spend it feeling like this when treatment is available. If necessary change your GP.
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I agree with Sheila, you don't have to suffer debilitating menopause symptoms, there is effective HRT treatment available.
I've been a member of MM for 10 years now and I've seen a lot of changes in that time. A few years ago there was a major breakthrough when those wretched, flawed HRT studies were finally debunked, the NICE guidelines changed and HRT was declared safe and there was no longer any time limit for taking it.
Now things are going backwards again and GPs are refusing to prescribe HRT or deliberately making things difficult and getting sniffly about doses. They seem to be putting hurdles in the way with unnecessary reviews too.
I was just talking to my partner about it and he thinks the same as me and that is the NHS no longer want to support women on HRT and they want women to seek help privately. It's probably about cost and prioritising different demographics. Women who are very straightforward cases can just about get HRT if they are lucky and their GP is pro HRT but others are just left to suffer.
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Morning Mary G - also many patients have problems sourcing appts., at least my surgery has advised about the on-line triage form which has worked well a couple of times this year.
It has been known too that the NHS won't pay the 'going rate' for many drugs across all specialities, whereas mainland Europe makes them available . Hence apparently 'shortages'.
No one living legally in the UK should have to pay for NHS treatment .........
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CLKD, I take your point that nobody should need to pay for medical treatment in the UK but sometimes they either have to or in some cases want to. There's no point in sitting around suffering because you don't think you should have to pay for treatment. Equally, directing women on here to NHS menopause clinics is pretty much a hiding to nothing because they have to wait for over a year in many cases. How much time can someone with debilitating symptoms realistically wait?
I know it's a political hot potato in the UK but I think the time is near for an honest conversation about what the NHS can fund and how.
You are right about the drugs shortages being linked to costs but some of the medication the NHS refuses to buy isn't very expensive to purchase over the counter ie Cyclogest. Don't you have a different version of the EMA in the UK now? It so, that could make a difference re access to medication and purchasing power.
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Agree: the NHS was a good idea initially but no one could 4C the rate of technology that appeared so that more conditions can be treated, often earlier. When I left the NHS in 1983 hip replacements were common, elbows, shoulders, wrists were dreamed of. Now it seems that they are 'usual' and as with many specialities costs will rise the more patients quite rightly demand treatment.
It was muted that speciality hospitals should be built, i.e. for joint replacements. This fell by the wayside because patients didn't want to travel away from families ::).
A lot of our facilities should be cross Party, i.e. education, medicine, highways ........ a lot of time is lost with the government of the day arguing across the floor rather than getting 'on with it'!
It seems that there are waiting lists for Clinics due to demand because too many GPs don't understand how hormones can affect women. Etc., etc., etc..
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Debby - I know what you mean about not feeling so alone when others are sharing symptoms.It helps.I had over 20 hot flushes yesterday.They make me feel so anxious.I’m sure the hot weather is making them worse
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Does the anxiety pre-cede the flushes Sue1?
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Debby - I know what you mean about not feeling so alone when others are sharing symptoms.It helps.I had over 20 hot flushes yesterday.They make me feel so anxious.I’m sure the hot weather is making them worse
I think it's the humid weather. I'm constantly melting then it triggers a hot flush. I'm wet through all the time and find it embarrassing when I'm out. I feel like a big wet lettuce.
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A big wet lettuce ........ love it! Well, not the feeling wet all the time, obviously ::)
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Equally, directing women on here to NHS menopause clinics is pretty much a hiding to nothing because they have to wait for over a year in many cases. How much time can someone with debilitating symptoms realistically wait?
I know it's a political hot potato in the UK but I think the time is near for an honest conversation about what the NHS can fund and how.
I think there has been a change in NHS meno clinics too. They used to give higher doses to those that needed it but now they seem to the party line just as much as GPS. For my uncontrolled va instead of letting me have it more often than twice a week they said I could have it daily for 2 months. Then presumably back to twice a week and another 2 year wait for the meno clinic. And for meno symptoms not controlled by 100 estradot they thought I should halve the dose to 2 sprays lenzetto. So I did what they'd probably been trying to do all along and went private. Yet to see if they'll give me the increased dose on the NHS but I can guess...
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Big wet lettuce sums it up nicely. The anxiety buffers the hot flush before and after. I panic that I am going to have one because I have pit all my symptoms together and made some awful illness, then I get a hot flush, then I am anxious and panicky again. The pins and needles are bad at the moment but the itching has calmed down a bit. I am a complete wreck. My husband has always been really suppportive - and my health anxiety and peri menopause took its toll on him - but understandably I think he is getting beyond it now. I just live in a state of fear
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Sue1 - U need 2 visit your GP. There are medications that can ease anxiety which will work quicker than HRT. What do U fear the most?
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I have an appt on Friday. I have an over riding fear of cancer.I have had CBT and a lot of support for my health anxiety but it never leaves me. I know that these symptoms are hormonal but they are not only making me physically wrecked but mentally too
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Sheila, that's interesting. This is a long shot but I'm wondering if the NHS are reluctant to hand out HRT prescriptions for women over 60 because they are free? This sounds like a definite cost cutting exercise. They are probably also hoping women are scared off by the long wait for menopause clinic appointments too.
Sue1, you definitely need to get some help. Health anxiety and panic attacks are common with the menopause and we've had a lot of women on here with cancer anxiety too. I think the two go hand in hand. Pins and needles are also common and low oestrogen does affect the nervous system.
Looking back, I started to get anxiety and panic attacks just before the menopause. I suddenly became very claustrophobic in lifts, planes, driving on motorways and on the tube and I felt like I was turning into a basket case. Fortunately that's all completely gone now but I was totally unprepared for it and it was only after I joined MM that I realised what it was.
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My Gp didn’t even call me today for my telephone consultation so have to wait till Monday now to book another appointment I have had such a bad day again I feel like I have had a complete breakdown.
I am taking it out on my family because no one understands how bad and useless I feel. Another day spent crying and I am worn out. I just want a little break of feeling normal again .
How was your day sue.
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I can’t believe you didn’t get your call. When you feel so anxious and low it feels like just another kick in the teeth doesn’t it? I don’t think anyone can comprehend how it feels unless you are or have been there yourself. More hot sweats today and lots of pins and needles. Just seems never ending doesn’t it
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I am so grateful to everyone who has replied to me. Just to know other people hav3 been there and understand helps so much
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Can i ask if any one has lost weight during all of this. My daughter told me I looked really slim yesterday and rather than taking it as a compliment it freaked me out thinking all these symptoms were something sinister.
Even though in my mind I know I have completely changed my diet for the better and some days I hardly eat because I am too anxious.
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That could be me! My daughter said exactly th3 sam3 to me last week. Both my husband and I dieted for about 4 weeks back in May/ June. Although I wanted to loose weight it bagan to freak me out and Zi started eating normally. It was 4 weeks later she said it and it freaked me out completely. Th3 weight is not going back on
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I found this article which is interesting and it describes how I felt when driving on motorways:
https://www.getthegloss.com/health/menopause/menopause-fear-of-driving/
Menopause anxiety comes in many different forms.
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This time last year I was wondering when I would get through menopause.
I was 58, was on very low dose HRT and was considering coming off as I could not be bothered relying on pharmacies.
I hadn't felt right since 2009 and I was beginning to feel vandals had moved in to my body, and messed up my mind, and getting worse.
I then found out from a friend that menopause is for life.
I went online and educated myself.
I thought I already was educated until the friend said menopause is for life.
My oestrogen levels were poo.
I absorb it poorly so I use 3 patches twice a week and no longer feel like my body is being vandalised or my mind going to mush.
I hate to say it but until you get HRT you won't feel any better.
HRT will take away your health anxiety.
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Sue1 - what is the worst that could happen? Many cancers can be surgically removed and with appropriate follow-up treatments will be gone. Many people 'live with' rather than 'die of' cancers dependant on which has been diagnosed. At a late age breast disease is usually slow growing so women live with it rather than opting for intervention.
Is there a history in your family regarding chronic illness?
My worry when diagnosed in 1995 was that panic attacks would take over so that I would not be able to attend my appts and radiation sessions. Adrenaline saw me through.
Fear can be all controlling. I have a phobia ......... since age 3 and it overwhelms me at times :'(. Logic flies out the window, fast :-\.
debbyx - although losing weight may be a symptom of disease if U have altered your diet drastically then your body shape may well alter.
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Hi Sue
Just wondering how you have been.
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Hi Sue 1, I just read your post. I am 11 years post menopause and not on HRT and still having symptoms.
I have constant flushing and night sweats then every so often they will get worse and I’ll get heart flutters which might keep me awake all night.
After a couple of days they die down again until the next time.
I’m 71 and think I’ll have this forever.
I agree with the other ladies on the forum … the only thing that will help is Oestrogen because it’s the depletion of it that is causing all the symptoms.
I was always frightened to go on HRT because my sister was on it and got breast cancer but it was the old HRT not the Bio Identical HRT ladies are offered now. It’s all so debilitating and the anxiety that goes with it is also brutal. 🤦🏼♀️