HRT

Herbal supplements never helped me. I just went thrumin in was miserable at times but eventually found ways to stay comfortable. OTC meds and lots or relaxing massages! 

Hi Julie,

i am so sorry to read your post. The first thing I would say is go and see your doctor as you should not be suffering / experiencing pain. Sadly, the weight increase is something that we women have to learn to accept and I know how difficult that can be. The best advice I can give to you is ..see your doctor, ask for help, change to a different HRT and forget the herbal remedies as I tried everything and the only thing that stopped the perspiration from pouring down my face was the HRT. I gained a lot of weight but I felt that I was alive and now hwas able to go into company without drawing attention to my menopausal state! Now, the best piece of advice that I can offer you and anyone else in the same overweight state is to go and buy some lovely new clothes. Wearing your own clothes that will not fit or flatter is the most depressing thing. Speak with your husband or partner and ask them to go along and help you to select some smart new clothes. Once you have some decent clothes to wear ,you will stop feeling so down and begin to accept that this is a woman's life. I am still taking my HRT and am now 67 years old..I have no intentions of stopping as any time I have tried to do without them was hell and I prefer not to live like that. Over the years, I too have gained so much weight and in particular in the bust..nightmare but at least I am healthy and well. Today, I had seen a top when out shopping,tried it on and was sure my husband would hate it on me. I decided to ask him to come along and give me his advice on it...I tried it on and came out of the fitting room expecting him to dislike it but instead, he loved it. I also tried the new very wide but fitted trousers with the top and bought both! I am so glad that I got his blessing as I have been buying more smart /dressy rather than glamorous! Now,I have something that will help me to feel good about myself even though I wear a size 16.

Growing older is a very tough experience and a shock to realise that you are no longer a girl. Accept it, get all the help you need and grow into a beautiful woman instead of a lovely girl!

i hope you get sorted out and work through this tough time.

Be positive and all will be well.

Just a thought, have you spoken with your mother about your menopausal problems? It is possible that she too suffered in the same way as you. My mother had a terrible time and like me, she went through the change at 40 with no such thing as HRT in those days. Funnily enough, both my sisters sailed through with absolutely no ghastly symptoms. 

Julie, You should talk toyour GP and think about changing your HRT (which HRT are you on?). It has happedned to me when I mess around with my HRT (I'm using Evorel Conti) I have recently increased my doseage and am having spotting and bloating. It takes quite a while for the body to get used to hormones and is a slow process.. They say around any where between 6 months to a year, so I think you have given it a good crack. If you are unhappy then change it, there are so many different types out there. I wish you all the best, keep us posted. It's the only way us women can find out the facts and help ourselves and each other. xx

I took Livial for a number of years and never put on an ounce from it. I don't have a tendancy to put on weight in general so maybe that helped, but it certainly did not cause any problems of that kind for me.

Some years ago, my doctor told me that I must stop taking HRT as at my age the risk of getting cancer had gone up to 2% . Faced with the fear of getting cancer, I thought and thought what zip should do and reached the decision that life would not be worth living if I went back to throwing the bedcovers off and on all night and heat building up all over my body at any moment and time, perspirations beads on my face, makeup ...gone, the decision was easy, keep taking them.  Last summer, the Livial stopped working as well as they had in the past. My GP changed my prescription and gave me Keflex ( think that is the name). Miracle of miracles, they work and my body temperature is perfect. Sadly, the weight did not change but as we get older,it becomes more difficult to lose weight anyway.  My GP decided to refer me to the hormone clinic. My appointment has arrived and I am to see a gynaecologist in early March....so, it will be interesting to see if There is anything that can be done to help me without HRT....doubtful!

HRT has been prescribed for many,many years and I expect that doctors everywhere realise that the dangers of being on it may not be as bad as first thought and may indeed be beneficial, so, let us all be thankful for the wonderful progress that scientists have made and given so many of us our lives back.

Yes I can definitely relate.  The Estradiol patch did take care of my hot flashes, but I experienced weight gain (eat 1500 calories or less per day), and the biggest problem has been stomach pain, bloating, and constipation.  My stomach issues got so bad that I went to a gastro doc and he diagnosed me with IBS.  Then I decided to try to quit the hormone patch cold turkey because it irritated my skin.  I did some research on quitting cold turkey and noticed "side effects of the patch".  Lo and behold, some common side effects are abdominal pain, bloating, constipation.  I quit the patch cold turkey and my stomach cleared right up, but I couldn't stand the hot flashes.  I put the patch back on and within a week, I'm bloated, haven't had a bm since that day and feel like I'm retaining water.  I'm going to take off the patch and try herbal remedies.  Like my hubbie says "only you know your body".  I'm going to keep experimenting until I find something I can comfortably live with!  Good luck to you!