OS menopause memories?

beecher2

Hi Hester, I did give up caffeine at one point but have gone back on it now. Palpitations come and go, as do all of my symptoms. I thought giving up gluten had solved my stomach problems but I've been able to eat it again with no problems.

My strangest symptom is when my right ear and side of my neck burns - got that one just now.

Flooding's obviously something no one would be happy to talk about too much but a wee heads up from someone on what to expect would've been good as it would've stopped the 'oh my god I'm dying and need to go to A&E immediately' panic.

Thank god for internet forums and Holland & Barrett.

Hard_Up_Hester

beecher, I get burning too along with the creepies, feeling like a lot of insects crawling over my back and shoulders.

suki1964

Beecher, do try cutting out the tea and coffee - well all caffeine really ( and fresh orange as it mimics caffeine ) it's really helped me big time

I tend to drink milk now ( full fat) and diluting. I do have a diet cola addiction but try to not advise on that

Right now I'm doing cold turkey from the fags ( again) and this time round it's feeling a lot easier without the palpitations and feelings of panic which I'm sure are largely down to the caffeine. Last time I quit fags I was pre mnopause and was on a large jar or two of coffee a week, plus those I had when out and about

Mind menopause and quitting means hubby is getting short shift this week

beecher2

I will if my palpitations come back again but I'm trying to do without sugar at the moment so don't think I am able to ditch both at the same time, especially when I've ditched beer and pasta (my two favourite things) in the last couple of years.

I sometimes wonder whether any of my tactics make any difference at all or if everything would just be exactly the same if I did nothing. Symptoms can change from hour to hour, day to day! Holland and Barrett would be making less money, that's for sure.

Good luck with giving up the cigarettes suki, glad you're finding it easier.

moneyistooshorttomention

Beecher

There are lots of other things pasta is made from - apart from wheat. I'm trying to recall - but I think corn and rice for instance are amongst them.

I've also found courgetti to be a perfectly acceptable substitute for pasta personally - and occasionally use my spiraliser to make myself some courgetti to go with my pasta sauce (instead of using pasta). Fortunately - I have no problems with dietary restrictions - but I choose to do that anyway sometimes.

Re flooding - oh boy = I remember that and occasionally had to wear panty liners as well as tampons if I felt "at risk". I basically coped by just going to the loo rather frequently in order to ensure I was okay and just adding sanitary towels at night as well as tampons. But I did have a few embarrassing incidents and would sometimes deliberately wear skirts (despite having decided on jeans/trousers/etc myself that day iyswim). I did feel very sorry for female employees that had a job that didnt allow of them going to the loo whenever they decided to - but, fortunately, had an office job so could do so the instant I wondered if it were necessary.

Still - I suppose it could have been worse. I was reading an online newspaper article this morning re hot flushes/night sweats tending to be a lot worse for women who had had the type of hysterectomy that involved removal of ovaries. I was just so grateful that I was cynical enough to borrow a book from the library about womens experience of hysterectomies when my doctor suggested I have one to deal with the period problems. By the time I had finished that book = there was NO way I was going to have one, ie as the odds of side-effects from it struck me as much too high to be worth risking it. So I gritted my teeth some more and waited for time to bring an end to it all.

I must admit to wondering how come my periods were so much worse than "the norm". As I understood the norm was they came regularly, lasted 3-5 days each time, never made one feel ill and were pretty light - until I found they weren't like that for me personally and wondered what was wrong with me.

moneyistooshorttomention

I'm just remembering back to "those days" now and it would be "mixed blessing" imo if other women were more open about their experiences. On balance - I think it would help a lot.

One does have to bear in mind the women that don't seem to have any problems at all and therefore don't understand that other women can and do. I've come across three that pooh-poohed the problems I had - presumably because they didnt???

Two of them were supervisors at work and I had to just ignore their comments and "do what I had to do" to deal with it regardless (ie extra loo visits and time off work if I were feeling ill) and then keep my mouth shut when both of them subsequently had hysterectomies and both of them ended up with permanent side-effects from those hysterectomies. I guess you'll understand why I didn't contribute to the bunch of flowers some colleagues sent to one of them at the time....

The other one was a female doctor I visited about it all and who didnt seem to understand the problems I was having. I have no idea whether she subsequently did come to understand or no - as I just swopped to a male doctor deliberately (as I knew men wouldnt be sitting there thinking "I dont have it personally - so it cant exist" and would believe me).

Tipsntreats

Hi everyone. I think that HRT was ok for me to get over the worse at the start. The daytime hot flushes, and all the irritability was impacting on my life. So after trying everything else, I gave in. I will say that it never really stopped the night sweats. When I came off HRT the daytime stuff NEVER returned.
I think that nine years on the night sweats are either getting less, or I am just used to them.

My main problem is vaginal dryness, it is not always a problem, but more and more frequently it is. Anyone else suffer from this?

I am going to look at some research on the facial hair growth for all of those suffering.I will let you know what my findings are.
Tips

moneyistooshorttomention

I believe there is some sort of ointment one can use for vaginal dryness that lasts for 3-4 days after being applied?

I've no experience of that remedy personally - as I'm single and was absolutely fine about not having any "urges;)" in that direction any longer as from about that time personally. If I'd been married/otherwise coupled-up then I might have checked it out. As a single person that basically regarded no longer being "interested";) as a blessing, rather than a problem, then I cant vouch for whether it works or no personally.

There's probably someone on here though that is either still "interested" or decided they had better deal with it anyway and could tell you what the name of that ointment is. Vague idea it might be called "Replens" offhand????

candlelight_2013

Menopausal dryness is nothing compared to taking Tamoxifen for 5 years after breast cancer. I thought I would end up as a dried up old woman.

There are lots of remedies on the market, I tried Sylk to start with, which is said to be a natural lubricant made from Kiwi fruit, but it didn't agree with me, so I used KY not YK jelly, and that was fine.

During the menopause your oestrogen dimishes, but Tamoxifen actually blocks it. Looking on Am*zon there are quite a few remedies for such a problem, so it might just be try and see.

Candlelightx

Hard_Up_Hester

Replense I think is something from the chemist that helps with dryness, /I've not suffered with that and my Dr thought it could be something along the 'use it or lose it' lines.
To be blunt hubby and I rarely go a day without s e x, and before the loss of his mother and the added stress of work problems it was usually 2 or 3 times a day.
Coconut oil is also a good lubricant but you do end up smelling like a bounty bar!