Getting hot flashes for a few weeks now- help
Posted , 5 users are following.
I am pretty sure I am in perimenopause. Had 2 periods in a year and the last one was Sept. 47 years old and lately been feeling the heat BIG time for about 2 minutes a few times a day. My sleep pattern is changing and I feel exhausted after work but pick up after a 30 minute nap in the evening. Libido is low but that may be due to the "dryness" making "intimacy" quite uncomfortable.
Otherwise I feel fine. Been looking into natural remedies but worried about the oestrogen type supplements (red clover and black cohosh)- I thought they would be ideal until i read about increase risk of womens cancers;-( Now I am just confused. I don't know if I should take anything but I just started Menopace to see if it helps.
Any advice or comment would be really appreciated. I feel quite lost in all this and my friends all think i am too young for it as they have not started and are all late 40s. Help?
1 like, 12 replies
jayneejay pmc1709
Posted
I was age 39/40 when my peri started i am age 50 now and post meno.
Ask your doc for a FSH blood test see where your follicle stimulating hormone is at, if your down to two periods a year it should be pretty accurate result.
Post meno is 12 months no peroids following peri.
Have your periods been declining over the years down to two
Vit B 6 is helpful
Jay x
pmc1709 jayneejay
Posted
Thank you for the reply. I will look at this link in a minute.
Yes, my periods have been a bit out of whack since 2013 after being very predictable and straight forward all my life. Even after having my kids my cycle returned to a normal quickly.
It got shorter (from being 28 days, went down to 24 days in 2013- then last year it skipped a month then made up for it the following month etc until May- then nothing until September and now nothing since....will get this FSH test done to double check though.
Thanks again
Pip x
jayneejay pmc1709
Posted
Well it certainly sounds like peri alright,
If periods are erractic in early peri then the FSH blood test is nearly always in normal range.
But if your down to a couple in a year then should be a menopausal range result.
Always good to get full bloods checked to, glucose, thyroid, etc
Jay x
kristi63 pmc1709
Posted
pmc1709 kristi63
Posted
Diet and exercise are featuring a lot in menopause articles and I am convinced they are key to getting through this with a sound mind:-)
Thank you. All the best. X
pmc1709 jayneejay
Posted
It is really good to know folk out there are on the same page.
Will sort out some tests.
Pip x
jayneejay pmc1709
Posted
https://patient.info/forums/discuss/vitamin-b6-benefits-during-peri-menopause--273579
Also Vit E 400mcg is helpful for flushes and meno
I take Maca ' rain forest food' 2500mg
Have for years, i dont take hrt but for dryness i do use ovestin estriol vag ovules via my Gyno and non hormonal pre meno duo vag ovules, sometimes too .
Good luck
Jay x
jennifer01077 pmc1709
Posted
When I read this, it took me back to when all these symptoms started out for me, and how bewildering it was. Honey, you are fine, everything that is happening is really normal. Your age is normal, your symptoms are really normal.
I learned to control my hot flashes through controlling my carb intake. Carbs enter the bloodstream as sugar three or four hours after you eat them (the rice or bread or pasta). I would get a hot flash then. I learned to space out my carbs, eat smaller amounts of them, and then eat lower glycemic index carbs (they enter the bloodstream more slowly and over a longer period, so your blood sugar is undisturbed). You can google glycemic index to find which carbs are lower.
As for the information on the Internet, it is also pretty bewildering! It used to make me pretty nervous. But I reflected that my mother went through this without ANY information, and that wasn't pretty! I guess you have to gauge the severity of your symptoms and what you are willing to put up with, and what is better to treat. It seems that HRT is good if taken after the periods stop for a period of five years, and then stopped. I try to be thankful about what I can control, and kind of give it up to the universe about what I can't (which, for me, is a lot.)
I am in NO position to be telling anyone about how to deal with sexual relationships, as I am single. However, I have heard and read that intimacy with your husband is really important for your relationship in the long run. Of course it is case by case. And of course he has to be patient right now, and maybe needs to understand what is going on with you in order to do that. But yeah, if you have dryness, I would seek a solution to that. I don't think it will go away. There is a wonderful movie with Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones about an older couple's intimacy. It's called Hope Springs. Their problems turn out to have started during her menopause, although that's a bit of a spoiler.
I hope I haven't run on too long. I just want to wish you the best with this transition, and not to worry too much. Get lots of rest and do much less.
Big hugs,
Jennifer
pmc1709 jennifer01077
Posted
Thank you so much for your post. It was encouraging and uplifting-(just what I need today).
I will take on board the dietary comments -something I can control:-)
So glad I joined this forum.. I appreciate your input, it is good to get comments from someone who has been there (got the t shirt).
All the best. X
maxine87456 pmc1709
Posted
Am 56 and going right through all of this. Not easy. However, I am doing this all naturally. Try and have a blood test to see if you are deficient in any minerals. If you are getting the night sweats, there is a strong probability that you are deficient in potassium. Try and have a banana every day and eat green leafy veg, black grapes, raisins. It will help. Even a small deficiency in a mineral can make all the difference in how you feel.
Just eat well. Eat dark 70 percent choc if you feel the need and do some yoga to relax. I always have a camomile tea at bedtime to sleep.
Good luck and hope this helps. Not an easy time I know.
Best wishes,
Maxine
pmc1709 maxine87456
Posted
Many thanks.
susan21149 pmc1709
Posted
no you are not to young I am 46 and i am in menopause. It can happen at any age anf you a month youger than me I turn 47 on August 2
The natural remedies are better for you than the synthetic ones I would go natural that way you won't have a lot of side effects.