Off HRT for 14 yrs and no sign of hot sweats ending...

Posted , 5 users are following.

I am 65 yrs old and have been off HRT for 14 yrs and have felt unwell ever since. I've had no sucess in getting any number of GPs to understand my frustration. I took Prempak C for 7 yrs and decided to stop it aged 51 and try a HRT which had no break (can't remember the name) but I panicked when I couldn't stop the bleeding. The bleeding stopped instantly when I stopped taking HRT, but then I started hot flushes and feeling unwell, so I tried again and the same thing happened. My doctor told me that I can go back to Prempak C or have nothing. I chose nothing. Now, 14 yrs later, I still have unbearable hot flushes, plus constant muscle fatigue and no bladder control. I've tried Seratonin and Clonidine without success. I take a prescription co-codomol to help with my muscle fatigue, which helps me get some sleep, and have gone back once again to get my doctor's advice. She has asked me to do an online search to see what I might be interested in taking. This sounds, as many have said, that even doctors are confused by all the information there is about post menopausal symptoms. So, here I am, deciding what to try and then asking her if she agrees....

1 like, 15 replies

15 Replies

  • Posted

    Hi Linda

    just read your message... I am 50 now, been peri for 9 years, cant take HRT as family history but took the natural route...  ( last period Aug 13) 

    I can tell you that Vit B6 150mg a day will help you no end, changed my life, also I took Natural Estroven for years ... but over the past two months i have had umpteen hot flushes a day,, so have changed to natural Menapol plus off amazon orsimply  supplements, and also Magnesium is fab for hot flushes, funny as i took magnesium and calcium for years never had hot flushes since earlly peri, then i changed my magnesium and calcium mix to Natecal, which is Calcium and D3 mix , then I noticed the flushes OMG they were terrible, 12 or more a day ,  so... I got the magnesium tabs that you can put in water orange flavour and take daily and the hots and the for e of them are almost gone now, only been on them a few days, also we lack Vit B6 in peri and menopause and post meno, and I take it daily 150mg,, my anxiety gone, aches and pains gone, energy back and feel like a new woman ... hope this helps... the menapol plus is fab too. i take two daily at the moment... ... 

    take care Jay xxx

    • Posted

      Thanks for your reply, Jay. I already take a B Complex tablet daily but was assured that taking B6 as well was ok. The ones from H&B are 100 mg. Will look for soluable magnesium tabs and look into Menapol. My doctor advised me to try a diet with lots of Soya, so stocked up on that today.

      Having already gone down the HRT route it's a case of trying to see what's out there to combat the damage, so to speak.

    • Posted

      Hi Lynda.. ( spell it correct this time) 

      yes B vits are all good, but its B6 that makes all the difference, i take 150mg B6 daily... as for the effervescent Magnesium I live in Spain, so not sure where you are or what is available, but they have stopped my day flushes amazingly, wow what a difference... they are orange flavoured... 

      i too take an iron tab every other day as here they are quite strong 80mg but helps alot... 

      Menapol plus is by simply supplements either their web or amazon 11.99 for two pots of 60 and i also got a free pot of Vit C... brill...

      back to hot flushes day time, I didnt have any for year only in early peri, ( in ninth year of peri) but i took magnesium daily and stopped, not knowing they were amazing for flushes, and i twigged that the return of them was when i stopped the magnesium, so back on it, but different type that you drink and wow amazing difference... spent nine years trying natural and vits so learnt alot 😃

      wishing you well

      Jay xx

       

  • Posted

    You seem to looking for a miracle answer and quite simply there isn't one as individually there are so many factors involved.  Your doctor is effectively asking you to take some responsibility and stop seeking confirmation from her.  You need to look at all aspects of your life and the symptoms you are experiencing.  

    For example when I started with the menopause I had hot flushes, tiredeness, and monopausal arthritis.  The first thing I looked at was minimising the symptoms as much as I could by changing my diet to be fish, vegetables, and cutting out carbohydrates a little, and putting a complete ban on meat products so as not to aggravate my problems.  For the hot flushes I started taking evening primrose oil and for the arthritis I researched things to reduce joint inflammation and found out that parsley worked.  I tried eating fresh curly parsley and within ten mintues my balloon hands were normal again.  They grated a little but at least I could type again.  For the tiredness eating all the fresh fruit and vegatables increased my iron and vitamin C to give me enough energy to continue.  It was tough at times to motivate myself.  

    I am no expert at all but it sounds to me that you have prolongued your problems by using HRT.  Remember it works like the pill and with the pill you can prevent menstruation by keeping on taking it.  Women often do this if they are going on holiday and don't want to be on.

    You need to start experimenting to find out what works for you and a lot of research.

    • Posted

      Hi Victoria, absolutely agree with you regarding taking HRT but 21 yrs ago when my doctor prescribed it to me it was seen at the time as a miracle drug. Now I know differently, as do my family and friends who have gone down the same route. To think that now, at age 65, I could be well and truly over the menopause by now....

      I'm revamping my diet. I've bought B6 to take with the B complex tablet I've taken for yrs. I did take Omega 3 regularly and will go back to it. And I'm going to eat much more Soya protein. Jayneejay mentioned Menapol. I've not heard of it, so will look into it. I've not heard of parsley as an anti-inflamatory plant, but will give it a go.

      I'm a vegetarian and I'm always trying to keep the carbs as low as possible. But that's be a hard task with all the confusion I've felt over what to do to combat these hot flushes, muscle pain and migraines for so any years. I'm an active grandmother of 3 under 5's and I yearn to have more energy and less frustration with pain to be able to enjoy them more.....

    • Posted

      I read a book years ago called the Natural Health Bible and in it there were all the health benefits of eating all sorts of foods.  It was from that where I learnt the power of diet to overcome a lot of problem, (not all).

      I buy the curly parsley from Morrisons and then graze on a packet a day. The effects last for a few hours so I have some at breakfast and then lunch and tea.  It works for me but I have found that flat leaf parsley does not have the same effect.

      Keep experimenting until you find what works for you . . .  and change yoru doctor.

  • Posted

    forgot to say linda

    the doc can actually prescribe vit B6 too, you can also buy it from Biovea Uk site..

    my doc years ago gave me some early peri, but didnt stress the importance so i didnt go back for more, if only i had of been more clued up then..

    anyway after much research and trying the natural options so to speak, i find the beat things that personally changed my life.. before B6 i was achey, sad, depressed, unintersted in anything, feelings of doom, no energy, no sex drive, now after a few months never missing a B6 I feel fab.... and others have too after taking it ...

    Jay xx

  • Posted

    Hi Lynda

    i have been on Evorel Conti patches for 12 years with no problems .I am gradually cutting down but felt terrible when I came off for a short while .I could cope with the hot flush but found that had a terrible trouble sleeping and feeling anxious.

    As I am generally very healthy for 62 and have no history of breast cancer or any cancer in my family decided to stay on it although very very slowly reducing patches so that my body can adjust.

    All my friends who aren't on HRT of similar age seem to have problems sleeping.

    It is a risk to,stay on it but I have read of many benefits too so I suppose it's a gamble but I think worth it for the quality of life I have now .Will keep on with half a patch twice a week until I have health problems .

    • Posted

      Hi Jane, it's nice to speak to someone in their 60s and I'm interested in that you are on Evorel Conti patches. Since coming off HRT 14 yrs ago it's not occurred to me to look at what's new out there with regards to HRT. I've just put up with the way I feel, hoping that the hot flushes are going to diminish any day soon. I just assumed that my muscle pain was down to ageing, but having done some research and read the comments on this forum I've had a rethink about that and believe now that I could have had more relief from the pain if I'd realised I could take another look at HRT. Can't wait til the 10 July to talk to my doctor again.
    • Posted

      I also have a friend who came of HRT and has been fine after 6 months of hot flushes but she said they weren't as bad as the ones she had before HRT. 

      There is a great book by Theresa  Gorman and she has been on it for 30 years and sings it's praises .I think there are so many different opinions that it is hard to know whether one is better on HRT or off it?

      I think the research is not clear as there are so many variables .

  • Posted

    hello Lynda,

    I agree with Jay and Victoria on many of the points they've raised. my mum took HRT and she suffered for many years after with hot flushes and other problems. victoria's diet is almost identical to mine (except that I incude white meat) and it really works. My mum found that eating sugar or carbs increased the hot flushes dramatically. I don't have any (despite having had virtually all the other symptoms, pain, anxiety, muscle fatigue) but I stick to the diet religiously and I feel great; Like Jay I also take supplements. D3, Omega 3 and zinc. It's hard doing it this way, sometimes I could die for a slice of chocolate cake or a vodka and orange! but if I cheat I feel so bad and not briefly, the pain lasts for days. so, in general I tell myself that I'll enjoy things when I'm through this. On the plus side your fifties are a dangerous time health wise and if you're avoiding medication and eating healthily you're giving yourself a fighting chance!

    • Posted

      Hi Kerry, as I said to Jay and Victoria, the damage has already been done by taking HRT. 21 yrs ago it was hailed as a miracle drug and here I am now thinking what a con that was. Most of my fifties have gone by suffering hot sweats and sleepless nights, and now I'm half way through my sixties and still unbelievably suffering from hot sweats, plus muscle fatigue and migraines. I'm on a mission now to not end my sixties with my health continuing to deteriorate. I have two friends in their early 70s who are still suffering from post menopausal symptoms. I just hope that's not going to happen to me.
    • Posted

      Hi Lynda.. 

      just to clarify, I have never taken HRT by the way, I chose not too, and my mother didnt either as we have a family history of cancer ( my aunts who took it - whether connected we dont know) but my mother being the youngest sibling didnt take HRT and nor do I...

      my personal thoughts on it is .... peri menopause and menopause is a natural process, your body has stopped or stopping the reproductive stage, and it doesnt want confusing by HRT, it wants to do what it wants to do, close down the hormonea so to speak,  so I let my body do its natural rhing, and tried the natural and Vitamin supplement option and feel fab at the moment, its been trial and error, and I did have a slump early this year and took B6 and its changed my life ... never would of believed it but I tried it and  never looked back, and now I have sorted the day flushes that returned from nowhere due to me stopping magnesium I feel quite okay now at the moment.... my last period was Aug last year so maybe I am finally at the end    

      after a long old nine years, if another period doesnt creep up on me... 

      i have tried alsorts and finally I have ghe right mix of supplements to get me through ... all the best to you all Jay xx

       

    • Posted

      useful snippet 

      Supplementation

      Supplementing with vitamin B6 is also a good option during menopause and can provide more rapid relief than diet alone. To avoid an imbalance that can result when one vitamin becomes deficient, use a supplement that contains a full complement of all members of the B-complex family.

      Doses of 50 to 100 milligrams per day help promote general health and wellness.

      However, during the stress of menopause,

      your requirements for **** B6 may increase to as much as 300 milligrams per day, says Lieberman.

      and I can say that after taking my B6, my bodily aches, headaches, tiredness, anxiety, feelings of doom and uninterest in everything, has gone gone gone, i take a seperate 150mg daily of B6 along with other supplements, thought this may help some ladies... if you do not already know, two other ladies on here gave it a try too and felt the benefits too.

      also it helps turn carbs into energy and also helps maintain menopausal weight and its dropped of me, and I had no meno weight gain .. wow ... 

      good luck with all your journeys ... Jay xx

  • Posted

    Have you tried the high dose multivitamins which include all the various B vitamins which people on this post have mentioned, but also many other things besides?

    I take MenoPace Night and have found it a great help. It includes tryptophan which I believe helps me sleep. It also stopped hot sweats completely for me.

    Also the vitamin C and iron in these multivitamins may help supplement your vegetarian diet. 

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