Women Only, perimenopause?

[HeatherLynn]

Well, still no doctor yet. Even asking for suggestions from friends for a new OB, no one would recommend the one they were going to. Now that is pretty pathetic. If money was not an object I would go to a naturopath. I have one lined up but I need to have at least 300 saved up for the appointment. That alone sorta put me off. I started to make an appointment and chickened out. I really can't afford it.

So last month everything start roughly 10 days before a cycle and calmed down about 5 days afterwards. Thats been the pattern I could track for at least 6 months using my journal. So I know it is limited time. My heart has been checked so many times now and I had my physicals regularly and my yearly ob regularly. I am healthy and nothing really wrong, so I am focused on perimenopause and natural treatments. Part of what I meditate on and affirm is my health because anxiety can really make you doubt everything.

I started progesterone cream 8 days ago. I have 6 more days to go. I am not sure there is a difference. My husband says there is a slight one. From what I have researched I should at least give it 2 cycles before I decide if it is helping. I am doing the very lowest dose they recommend on the tube. I am trying very hard also to eat balanced and no meal skipping. Doing my meditation, listening to only upbeat music, only watching upbeat relaxing shows. Everything feel good. I am a tiny bit jittery today. Not bad just a tiny tiny bit. Granted its stressful so I think thats not too bad. A bit of pain from the adhesions thing but that doesn't seem as bad. i am taking evening primrose and magnesium because those are both supposed to help. Who knows if they really will.

My husband actually has sat down with me and come up with the perimenopause anxiety coping plan. We wrote out a list of everything that I am fighting and solutions that we can put in place to help with them. I have no doctor as part of this team but its nice having a team. I am looking at peri zappers also. We shall see how everything works out. \

Has anyone else gone through this and just had an easy time? Were you able to deal with it naturally at all? I react very badly to medications so I avoid them like the plague.

 

[herfrds]

Yeah been there done that. Dealt with an idiot male doc who kept telling me it was all in my head and when we tried to do these certain tests kept telling me we missed it.

I was 28 when it all started and 30 when I had the hystermectomy. I had switched doctors by then and tried premarin meds afterwards (Don't want to hear about it please) and that just made me worse. My DH threatened to whack me with a cast iron skillet I was so mean on that med. Tried the over the counter hormone replacement that did not work either. Just let nature take it's own course.

It has now been 10 years. Only time I have a hot flash is when I am stressed out. My moods are not too bad I started an iodine replacement pill right now and that has stopped the thyroid storms.

Had a friend tell me to check out dandelion root.

I know it is no fun going through this change. Hang in there.

 

[HeatherLynn]

Its honestly better today. I had gotten super busy and there was family fighting and my dad got sick and then he was having chest pains and kids were fighting. I also had forgotten all supplements for a day and a half lol and I think was dehydrated cause all i could do last night was drink water. I had a glass and it made me want more and more. I think actually considering the steps we have taken so far have helped. We also did make a plan and my husband is the sweetest thing ever.

So we have a quigong for beginners dvd that I am starting. Not sure the benefits yet but I am sure those will come with time. I am on magnesium and calcium supplements and evening primrose. I do 14 days of progesterone cream.

Also he has helped me make some changes at home to cut the stress. Not easy because we are here with my parents and they are aging and well they were grumpy before they were aging so you know how that goes. I love them dearly but its not always easy. We are buying a whole library of happy flicks for me to watch. I don't have cable on my tv. Only my parents tv has it and still nothing to watch. He has also promised to cut out time for me every day to unwind. I also have been learning emotional accupressure so I do tapping every morning too.

I am trying to be hopeful. My mom had a fairly easy transition so maybe with a little assistance i will too. I do have to get another fan because my husband has refused to let me sleep on the balcony in the winter. dang it.

 

[Carols Clucks]

No throwing rocks...but at 50 I think hitting the perimenopause has been the best thing! I stopped having the horrible hormone migraines. No more twisting cramps. And for a couple of months, I could wear tank tops and not be cold. Yes aunt flo makes a minor appearance at random times once or twice a year. But am looking forward to never seeing her again!

I think I am super lucky because for the most part hitting this age has stopped a lot of issues I had. I would get moody before and depressed after. That happens less and less. But I bet I was a "peach" to live with for several years before. I did use birth control for a couple of years, but because I got my period every 2.5-3 weeks, 7-8 years ago since I took any.

I can relate to moms that do not want to talk about it, I think it is their generation.

 

[Bitterroot]

I just want to offer a hug.

I can't say I know what you're going through, but it sounds like pure hell. I hope you can get some answers and solutions soon.

 

[HeatherLynn]

Ok, maybe its not as peachy as I was thinking last night. My daughter got up and jacked up the heat and I swear I am fighting the urge to just dump her out of her bed and begin my rant. I am deep breathing with a door open right now hoping to calm down and go back to sleep. Its so hard to feel loving when your so dang blasted hot. I really think a twin size bed on the balcony is the only solution. Well that and breaking the thermostate. Just smash that puppy up. Ok done ranting, gotta go get some ice.

 

[HeatherLynn]

Ok so in treating for the perimenopause my anxiety is down a ton. Without me having to affirm, deep breathe and hit pressure points all day. Maybe this has been a problem for longer than I thought. I will admit I am still a bit anxious but just sorta in general. You know i'm busy, kids are yelling, parents fight ect. It would be nice if I killed 2 birds with one stone.

My disclaimer to everything is when I'm hot its different though. My husband has always complained I keep it too hot. The last couple years he complains of sleeping in the fridge. I admit, it might be a tiny bit cold.

 

[Ali707]

Okay so I am no professional at all but have done a bit of research because I have to tell you the "traditional" doctors such as the family doctors and OB's don't seem to know a lot about this. I am replying to your post quickly before I take my exhausted 6 year old off to bed after all the Christmas excitement this year. BUT I feel so strongly that we just don't have much knowledge about any of this that it is sort of sad to be in 2012, almost 2013 and don't have many answers that I want to write it out now to hopefully help someone else.

I am 42 and have finally figured out that my problems started when I was 37 about a year after I had my daughter. I thought honestly that I was still just adjusting to the hormonal ups and down after having a baby. I dealt with various issues for several years and can honestly trace them back to what must have been the Perimemopause cycle. I apologize if I repeat anything here anyone already said but I didn't have time to read every post before running off to bed.

To sum up what I have found on various forums and in books, every person is different and every person experiences different effects of fluctuating hormones. One thing that seems to exacerbate the symptoms is having a lot of stress in your life before and during. It depletes your bodies natural resources and defenses in keeping your body in tune. Also people that have had fast food diets tend to have many more issues with Perimenopause. I had both of those things. One book that was really helpful, if a little dated, is Anne Louise Gittleman's, "Before the Change". Gives you a lot of information and a lot of natural things that help with various symptoms. Makes you feel a little more sane in that you are not alone and not going crazy. This book really does help a lot by giving you some tools to try that are natural based.

I had searched for doctors looking for someone that may know how to treat my particular symptoms and came across Bodylogicmd.com. They are a group of physicians that specialize in treating women's issues such as this. Unfortunately they do not accept most insurance, but you can TRY to be reimbursed by your insurance. I also did not like that you had to go back every 6 months to get refills on your prescriptions. I can't afford that.

What I did learn is that there are Bioidentical creams that work topically for any dryness issues,Estriol and Estradiol, as well as some more natural things such as Vitamin E suppositories. One thing I noticed with the Progesterone cream is that it does work on a subtle level. There is also pill form bioidentical Progesterone and that helps me a great deal with not biting peoples heads off and appears to be stronger or maybe just works faster for me. I slowly start taking it towards the middle of the month when I notice an impatience and then taper of after Aunt Flo starts her visit. I noticed that if I just stopped right after the start of my period like they said to do I would get a migraine the next day, so I taper on (?) and taper off. I start with the cream in the middle of the month when I start noticing my patience level dropping and then work up to 50 mg of the progesterone pills before bed and then up to 100mg if it still doesn't do the job, then I taper off You have to find what works for you. I went back to my primary care physician who is awesome and listened to me and what I had learned from the other doctor. Showed him the prescription and he wrote me a refill so I can continue taking it without having to go back to the other doctor every 6 months who isn't covered by insurance. He was expensive too, but I learned a lot.

The bioidentical progesterone pills are filled by a compounding pharmacy, not covered by my insurance but only about $40 a month. Well worth being able to stay sane and keep my friends and family.

I get heart palpitations and no real night sweats of any kind. The heart palpitations are annoying but not going to kill me. You will get a lot of the same information I received from the doctor from the Before the Change book. Less expensive that way too. The anxiety I get comes and goes, but I know what it is caused from and that tends to help me stand it better.

I am a firm believer in not everyone has all the answers but together, (like on this forum about Chickens) we are stronger. Without forums like these I probably would still be suffering a lot of the more troubling issues of perimenopause. I haven't fixed them all by any means but I am working with it and making them better.

Most of the blood tests doctors do to test hormones do not indicate if you are or are not experiencing Perimenopause because they are just not sensitive enough. They will draw blood and it will come back in the "normal" range and they will say you are fine, go home and see a psychiatrist. IMO the problems are that everyone is different and "normal" for one person may not be for another. In addition, if you have not had any hormone tests before now you do not know what your typical baseline hormone level is before this one. Many of the hormone "specialist" doctors now use a saliva test and you will see that even those tests are not perfect. Many traditional doctors say they are useless and the doctors that do use them really like them. However, my ranges were fine on those tests and I am clearly having hormonal fluctuations that are affecting my quality of life. No.... I may not die from them, but it sure isn't fun living this way. Many doctors are trained to keep you alive, and I think that is why so many of them don't know a thing about this topic. I am not going to die. Only feel like poo for the next ten years.

They may also talk about running a Thyroid test. Many of the Peri symtoms are similar to thyroid issues as well. I have had mine tested several times over the years and they all came back normal too.

One other thing that I have not tried yet because I just haven't had the time is to try an herbalist. My daughters teacher (she teaches Kindergarten so she NEEDS patience) goes to one and she gets a "tonic" which is basically a tea. When she feels her anxiety levels rising she says she takes the tea and it stops it almost instantly. I am going to go to her herbalist and see what I can find out.

Good luck! (Sorry about the long post. I have been researching for years trying to find answers. My disclaimer here is that I am not a doctor and everything in this post is my personal opinion and experience, not to be taken as fact or final. I live by the credo take what you can use and leave what you don't personally like, or can't use.)

 

[Cknldy]

Destress! Sounds like family situation is a huge matter in itself. Economy sucks and family logistics sometimes don't jive well but I think half the problems come from those. Would some/most of the anxiety and stress be reduced or gone if it was just you, your husband and your kids? As for perimenopause- yep. I'm 29, have 3 kids w/ youngest being 5yrs old and husband that says I'm not old enough for "that" yet! I did have my tubes cut, burned, tied and a piece taken out immediately after giving birth to my last child. Regretted it as soon as I got home from the hospital less than 24 hrs after birth. (3rd baby-I was a pro by then and can't stand hospitals. Home was where I needed to be!) Found out a few yrs later that being fixed in early to mid twenties can throw you into early menopause. Yeah, that hit home this year. Entire past year I only menstruated every other month sometimes only for 2 days, no more than five. Then before thanksgiving I had a week and a half of it. Okay, fine. Good to go til january right? Nope. A week later I menstruated more heavily than ever and for 20 days straight. By the end of that time I was sleeping on the couch cuz the hubby had had it with me. Really? Who WANTS sexual satisfaction when their wife is stuck-pigging it?!?! I can deal with me and my body but the man that isn't understanding about it is the hardest part! Lol

 

[HeatherLynn]

Honestly I think balancing the hormones will make dealing with everything much easier to handle. We are also finishing the walk out basement so that will add another 1500 square feet of space that is just my little family( well not so little but you know what I mean). Eventually our house will sell and not just be rented and we will buy but for now that cannot happen and even if it did we would have to wait for something super close to my parents. Honestly they cannot be left alone too much or their health would suffer. For now this is what we have to work with, so I am focused on what I can change. My husband says he sees and improvement already and he is all for giving it a couple months to see what will happen. The basement work has been started and part of the plan we came up with gives me an hour or so away from the house every day. Much needed. lol

I am very sorry how you husband is acting, that would make it much harder. I think I would just bash mine over the head if he did that. Lord knows I have enough pent up frustration to do bodily harm at times. I think I would tell him where to shove the sexual satisfaction and he could sleep on the couch.