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[Halebop]

I am 50 and been peri-menopausal for just over 2 years now.  My main problem is flushes and sweats. Up until recent months I have managed to find various herbal supplements which have cut them out completely but all seem to work for a period of months and then stop working.  I can take a break from them and try them again later on and they still don't work (black cohosh, menopause, starflower oil).  The only thing that is working for me currently is Apple Cider Vinegar, I take it twice a day, 2 tablespoons in water with a quarter tsp of bicarbonate soda and sweetener.  Its amazing stuff and it does cut down the intensity and frequency initially by around 50% and now, a few weeks later, even more. I am managing to sleep through the night again (without kicking off the covers) which is amazing.  I am just worried that it will stop working at some point as the other remedies have.  I have been trying to put up and shut up with my menopause and do it naturally since I am worried if I take HRT at some point I will have to come off it and then the menopause symptoms just kick right back in again.  I am so bored of sweating (severely at least once an hour) and find this difficult to deal with at work, I am also bored of running around looking for other natural remedies which sometimes work great and then don't work at all and cost me a bit of money to keep buying and then giving away to someone to else to try.  So my questions are:

1.  Do any other ladies out there have the same 'stop working' problem with the natural remedies?
2.  If I take the plunge and opt for HRT, what happens when I eventually have to stop taking it?  It seems like it just postpones the menopause and all the delightful symptoms that come with it?

Any help very gratefully received!

[Dancinggirl]

Hi and welcome to MM HaleBop
You don't say whether you are still getting periods or not?  I assume you are as you say you are peri menopausal.  The problem with the peri stage is that your hormones will be fluctuating (your oestrogen levels will rise and fall) and this gives the impression that remedies are working for a while. I have personally tried every remedy under the sun to no real benefit. There is now a section on MM dedicated to alternative methods of coping with the meno but I would recommend you read up all the info on this site and get back to us with questions.
HRT is a personal choice - you need to feel it is right for you, however, do keep in mind that 'quality of life' is important and if the meno symptoms are prolonged (some women get symptoms for 7 or more years) then HRT can give that much needed relief. I believe that 5 years of HRT in our 50s can actually give long term protection against osteoporosis - a debilitating problem as we age and HRT will prevent bladder and vaginal atrophy problems as well.
Keep posting - we are here to help.  DG x

[Taz2]

  HaleBop

Taz x

[Hurdity]

Hi Halebop from me too!

I'm with Dancigngirl on this one.

Like you and she - I tried several herbal remedies when I was peri-menopausal and I thought they were working because flushes etc stopped - but really it was my own hormones going up and down. I "put up and shut up" for a year or so but after a while, like with you, the herbal remedies "stopped working" (but I don't think they really did in the first place) the flushes and sweats became so bad and with working full time I couldn't function very well.

I too started on HRT at the age of almost 54 (when my periods were only very occasional) and have been on it ever since.

As for what will happen when you stop taking it - this is a question that comes up regularly. You can't answer this question because some women don't get flushes at all ever, some just get them during peri-menopause and they tail off once post-meno, and some women get them throughout peri and they continue into post-menopause for an indeterminate period of time - possibly into 70's and beyond according to surveys.

If you take HRT it does not postpone the menopause! When you stop taking HRT you will already be post-menopausal so you will not have the mood swings and dramatic hormone fluctuations to cope with so that is the main difference - you will have gone through this stage. You may get no resumption of flushes, or you may get them for a short period of time or eg for up to a year and then they stop, or they might come back and stay there.

The main point is, this is not a reason not to take HRT to start with - because there is the difference in your quality of life to think about. If things are difficult now, and you decide to take HRT - then you have all the years while on it to feel better - and you may feel perfectly all right when you stop. If you don't take it now then you will have reduced quality of life - maybe only for a short while, but maybe for longer.

The bonus with taking it now is that you can help protect heart and bones - and have a shorter time of oestrogen defieciency - quite a consideration when many women live until 90 and beyond!

Have you seen this article about the peri-menopause?
http://www.menopausematters.co.uk/article-perils-of-the-perimenopause.php

Hope this helps

Hurdity x 

[Halebop]

Helloooo and thank you so much Hurdity and Dancing Girl for your quick and informative responses!

I am reading so much I have got myself a bit bamboozled with it all but what you are both saying does make a lot of sense.  I think you are right about quality of life and I get what you are saying about the fluctuating hormones so yes more food for thought and HRT is becoming less frightening to me now.  I am still having periods occasionally DG, I had 2 this year, the last one was 4 months ago. 

Thanks for the link Hurdity, I'm going to read that now