# menopause: only for the lady's.



## shagerman (Apr 10, 2008)

i have been doing some research on menopause.. but i am really wondering what everyone is doing.. i am at that age bracket and have some of the symptoms.. not to bad as of yet. except for my temper.. and that i don't care feeling. other things are working. but not like they should. so i believe its time to start doing something before it goes capoot, should i go back on birth control? or is there something better? i would rather go as natural as i can. should i make a appointment with my dr.? :sob:


----------



## happydog (May 7, 2008)

For the temper - try magnesium. That's the only unpleasant symptom I have and I can really feel the difference when I skip it for a few days. My kids and dh become incredibly annoying when I don't take the magnesium.  (Every time dh opens his mouth it looks like an invitation to batting practice.)

I like Cal Mag Fizz. I buy it at Vitamin World or any health food store. Some forms of mag are not absorbed as well, but CMFizz makes a difference almost immediately. 

Also, a good way to take mag is transdermally (through your skin.) Two cups epsom salts (mag sulfate) in a hot bath will make you sleep like a baby and wake up feeling like a million bucks.

Hot flashes aren't too bad yet, but if that gets worse this summer I've got some Promensil stashed.


----------



## shagerman (Apr 10, 2008)

thank you.. that's exactly what i need. i work long hours between the farm and bar-tending. i am fatigued. i believe i will be ordering this and soon. i don't know how much more i can take. hot flashes are minimal. monthly is really little. and me being mad all the time isn't doing me any good but keeping me frustrated, i do get night sweats once in awhile.


----------



## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

I use progesterone cream or progessence plus essential oil. The essential oil seems to work better at eliminating hot flashes as long as you use it liberally. I'm over 50, but still have monthly menses. I just have hot flashes at times. I do use more than the recommended dosages of either the cream or the oil. I am not going to suffer from hormone shortages. I just refuse to. I slather the stuff on until I have no hot flashes which means a lot of cream or about 6drops of the oil 2-3x a day.

oil image
http://alexandracandler.com/wp-content/progessence-plus.jpg

cream image
http://www.raysahelian.com/images/progesterone.jpg


----------



## acde (Jul 25, 2011)

Doing research on E A R T H . C L I N I C - Folk Remedies and Holistic Cures may prove helpful.


----------



## shagerman (Apr 10, 2008)

thank you.. everyone.. i am 51 and like i said im looking at some of the symptoms and i know whats going to happen. just when is it going to be full blown? and i have always had problems with the female horomone.. all my life... maybe now i can get relief.


----------



## acde (Jul 25, 2011)

My sister who is 2 yrs. older had bad hot flashes until she started taking b vitamins . now she no longer has any. I think it might be different for everyone. finding what vitamin or mineral we are lacking is the key to putting our hormones back into balance.


----------



## Chixarecute (Nov 19, 2004)

I second the evening primrose oil. My PA suggested it. I take 1300 mg, 2x/day. I read somewhere to make sure you use cold processed and cold...(something, can't remember what). 

I use the Royal Brittany brand, purchased at a local health food store, though I supposed it may be on line.

I've also found it helpful to make sure my diet is healthy - cutting back on sugars (candy, soda, alcohol, and sugar in my coffee), cheap fats (fast food), cheap carbs, processed foods, helps, as does eating more veggies.


----------



## shagerman (Apr 10, 2008)

ok there may be a point i missed i dont eat like i should.. not healthy anyways,


----------



## SageLady (Jun 10, 2008)

Cut out junk food, sugar, all caffeine, and alcohol. You will feel much better overall. I'm going through it now for the past couple years, I'm 54 now, and feeling fine as long as I watch what I put in my mouth. Diet is very important. Eat very nutriously....


----------



## Kazahleenah (Nov 3, 2004)

SageLady said:


> Cut out junk food, sugar, all caffeine, and alcohol. You will feel much better overall. I'm going through it now for the past couple years, I'm 54 now, and feeling fine as long as I watch what I put in my mouth. Diet is very important. Eat very nutriously....


I'd sooner suffer than to give up my coffee and occassional cocktails. :huh:


----------



## Kazahleenah (Nov 3, 2004)

happydog said:


> (Every time dh opens his mouth it looks like an invitation to batting practice.)


:hysterical::hysterical:

Now, THAT'S funny!!!


----------



## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

Saw palmetto is a natural testosterone blocker. Not supposed to use it if you are pregnant or nursing because it can really mess up a male fetus. I've been taking it for a couple weeks and the urge to take out idiot drivers with a rocket launcher is a bit less.


----------



## fransean (Dec 21, 2002)

Isn't it fun 

There are three things that have helped me. Progesterone cream, Barleans "The Essential Woman" (omega 3, 6 and 9), and Vitex.
The Vitex I buy is a extract that I add to my juice in the morning. I have also tried the capsule form but found better results with the liquid.

Oh wait there is a fourth very important item ............a husband that knows how to recognize the signs and has learned how to duck! I sat him down in the beginning and explained all the possible issues and told him I would do what I could to contain it but that he needed to be aware.


----------



## SageLady (Jun 10, 2008)

Kazahleenah said:


> I'd sooner suffer than to give up my coffee and occassional cocktails. :huh:


Well, when you can get completely rid of hot flashes, mood swings, temper flares and feel content, relaxed and happy again, not to mention weight loss, it is worth it. I don't have any bad symptoms of menopause anymore since I changed my diet....I feel normal - so worth it to me. There are many other pleasures in life besides junk food, alcohol, sugar and caffeine.... :grin:


----------



## MelTX (Aug 25, 2009)

Kazahleenah said:


> I'd sooner suffer than to give up my coffee and occassional cocktails. :huh:


Amen to that!


----------



## Chixarecute (Nov 19, 2004)

When I first started hotflashes (surgically induced), I thought I was dry roasting from the inside out in a very hot oven. I quickly learned that bad food choices = more dry roast burning up hotflashes = agony.

I do still sometimes have coffee, which needs cream and sugar, and do sometimes still have a drink...but I try to balance it with my diet the rest of the day, and expect I will have some heat to show for it. However, since I'm more careful with my diet, an occasional treat doesn't cause the level of hotflash I used to have just 2 years ago.

I read somewhere once that 80% of women in developed countries experience symptoms of menopause, and that 80% of women in underdeveloped countries do not. I think diet and exercise may be the main reasons for that difference.


----------



## ljsedivy (Mar 30, 2012)

Great thread! Thanks for starting this. I think I'm on the verge of needing to pay attention here. I do have Progesterone Oil from Young Living but I never remember to use it on a regular basis. 

I'm going to be doing another round of HCG to lose my last 20 pounds. That always gets me in the right habit of eating healthy......21 days to make a habit, ya know?


----------



## Tabitha (Apr 10, 2006)

Good topic. I must have gotten a double wammy. After hysterectomy I hit the symptoms, but they did not last long and I was fine. Then for a checkup, and it dawned on the Doc that my mother has osteoporosis and had a heart attack. Because of that I took hormones for ten years. I quit cold turkey ten years ago and it hit hard. You just can not fool nature. I still get a "power surge" now and then, often around 4 AM, so I can wake up and not fall back asleep. I figured I had to get it over with, never thought it would take so long. I sure intend to get the magnesium. I thought my short temper was due to changed life circumstances. But why should it. I have been eating healthy most of my life, except I am hooked on coffee. Coffee makes hayfever worse, but I did not notice any difference in hot flashes. I can relate to the standing in the snow. 
Smooth sailing to all of you.


----------



## happydog (May 7, 2008)

Tabitha said:


> I still get a "power surge" now and then, often around 4 AM, so I can wake up and not fall back asleep.


OMG I get that too! Not a full on hot flash, I just wake up warm and can't get back to sleep. It's so annoying. I usually manage to fall back to sleep 15 minutes before the alarm goes off. gre: No freaking wonder we're grouchy, lol.


----------



## Sherrynboo (Mar 19, 2005)

Do any of y'all ever get the vibrations? I thought I was losing my mind until I read on a menopause board that it does indeed happen a lot. The first time it was inside my chest as I was drifting off to sleep. It was so intense that it woke me back up and I was wondering if my heart was in fibrillation! It affects other parts too. Sometimes it will feel like my brain is vibrating inside my skull. The hot flashes for me come in waves. It seems like certain parts of the month are worse for them. The first sign I have of an impending hot flash is a flash of anger and my heart starts beating harder then the hot flash comes. Hopefully it will start easing up soon as I have been in it for about 3 years now. 

Sherry in GA


----------



## countrysunshine (Jul 3, 2008)

You all make me glad for genetics. I opened this thread to see if anyone had anything to say about the dry skin that is the only symptom I have. I think I will now put my fingers in my ears and sing "La La La La" and forget about this! My mom and her sisters all said menopause was no big deal and I am going to work under that assumption until proven otherwise!

I am sorry for those that suffer so.


----------



## Tessynae (May 13, 2006)

SageLady said:


> Cut out junk food, sugar, all caffeine, and alcohol. You will feel much better overall. I'm going through it now for the past couple years, I'm 54 now, and feeling fine as long as I watch what I put in my mouth. Diet is very important. Eat very nutriously....


So what you're saying is....Cut out all happiness and you'll feel much better. I think I'll stick with my hot flashes. When the hot flashes start to melt my candybar then I'll switch hands with the one holding my daiquiri.:nanner:


----------



## RedDirt Cowgirl (Sep 21, 2010)

I had the benefit of chat with UC physicians that did a study on symptom relief that included soy products. Nothing, even hormone replacement, surpassed a high level of soy consumption. I don't have the numbers, but I changed from cow milk to soy milk, ate tofu in as many forms as I could find, and that was it. Some anthropologists think this "period of alertness" in the night served us well in cave man days. And when you think of how cold it gets right before dawn, having a heat blast then must have made for some pretty happy campers! :nanner:


----------



## Chixarecute (Nov 19, 2004)

I've read about the vibrations, and brain static, but haven't experienced it myself. Sometimes my ears feel like a wide open funnel to the brain, (Victrola style), but that probably isn't related to menopause.


----------



## Mooselover (May 4, 2009)

my weird symptoms....it's like i have all the signs of starting but i don't. in the past, i felt tremdenous relief once i was actually bleeding (sorry to be so graphic but it's the only way to explain it). is this common?? i refuse to 'buy' into the thought that menopause is a 'life-altering-negative-end-of-my-life' experience. could this be the beginning of menopause? if so, i'm totally fine with it but right now, i just need a little relief...many moose-thanx ~ML~


----------



## Saffron (May 24, 2006)

hmmm, taking notes for the future


----------



## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

ljsedivy said:


> I do have Progesterone Oil from Young Living but I never remember to use it on a regular basis.


I love progessence plus. I use more than two drops a day like they suggest though. I was taught to put it on the carotids and around the neck/throat area. But it does stop the hot flashes if you use six or eight drops a couple times a day. I just love the stuff.


----------



## happydog (May 7, 2008)

Mooselover said:


> i refuse to 'buy' into the thought that menopause is a 'life-altering-negative-end-of-my-life' experience. could this be the beginning of menopause?


Sounds like it might be. 

I have to say, it certainly hasn't been life altering for me. I don't have hot flashes hardly at all in winter when I could really use them. I've had very mild "warm flashes" last summer and this summer. I'm not drenched in sweat or anything like that, just a warm feeling that lasts a minute or two.

The only difference is I don't have to worry about carrying "supplies" everywhere I go, and I can buy pretty sheets now.

I think I have more energy now because I'm not losing all that iron every month.


----------



## fffarmergirl (Oct 9, 2008)

Sherrynboo said:


> Do any of y'all ever get the vibrations? I thought I was losing my mind until I read on a menopause board that it does indeed happen a lot. The first time it was inside my chest as I was drifting off to sleep. It was so intense that it woke me back up and I was wondering if my heart was in fibrillation! It affects other parts too. Sometimes it will feel like my brain is vibrating inside my skull. The hot flashes for me come in waves. It seems like certain parts of the month are worse for them. The first sign I have of an impending hot flash is a flash of anger and my heart starts beating harder then the hot flash comes. Hopefully it will start easing up soon as I have been in it for about 3 years now.
> 
> Sherry in GA


Every once in a while I get a very strong vibration in my lower abdomen or upper thigh - so strong that it feels like my cell phone is vibrating. 

I had a complete hysterectomy (they took the ovaries) at age 37.


----------

