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[Ju Ju]

   I'm so sorry to have read your story. I hope it helps to have written it and shared it. Thank you. You will get support here.

[CLKD]

Lots of useful info here, you'll need a list 

How R U this morning?  Also your Husband! 

I do remember that Dad wasn't allowed VitB12 with the anti-depressant ]?[ medication he was taking so do bare that in mind.

Keep posting ………..

If the Consultant is difficult to get hold of: understandably! : then maybe write him a letter for perusal? 

[Justjules]

Hi Tempest.  I can only reiterate what the other ladies have said on here and say what a truly horrible experience you have had and how much it must have frightened you.  I hope you get sorted soon but again, keep posting, we're here to listen and help if we can.

  x

[walking the dog]

Wishing you all the best tempest and hope you can get sorted hormonal and psychological xc

[Mary G]

Really sorry to hear about your terrible experience, it must have been very frightening.

I agree with others and would say definitely consult a hormone specialist immediately - you need an in depth hormone profile.  I also agree about checking for further allergies (again, in depth) and vitamin B12 because that could be part of the problem too - a lot of menopausal women are B12 deficient which can leads to all sorts of problems.

Don't struggle on with this, get some professional help and make sure it is from the right type of specialists.  You need to get to the bottom of this. 

[Hurdity]

Hi Tempest

So sorry to hear about the dreadful and frightening time you have been having, and pleased you felt able to share it with us. I am wondering if this extreme reaction to estrogel and its withdrawal may be phyiosiologically linked your other severe allergies as it is so unusual? If that is the case it does sound like your Anaphyllaxis Consultant needs to coordinate with your/a gynae as well as an endocrinologist.

Your body must still be in shock from the TAH with BSO - due to loss of testosterone as well as estrogen but it sounds like finding a way to replace these hormones in a way that your body can cope with (and therefore emotionally as well) is going to be tricky.

I can't remember if you have ever used oestrogen patches - the method of delivery may well suit you better than gel - but I can see from what you say that any oestrogen replacement will need very careful supervision.

I hope you manage to find a way through this soon and in the meantime from me too.

Hurdity xx

[Tempest]

Thank you so very much everyone for your kindness. It really is very much appreciated!

I'm actually waiting on a visit from someone from CMHT later this afternoon, the idea I think is to offer me some support right now.

Thank you all also too for your very kind suggestions. I am interested very much in the information regarding B12 deficiency and actually have some information to share. In the last 6 months, my upper and lower arms have broken out in profuse petechiae (red spots). They are little bleeds under the skin, and they are literally everywhere. My GP has seen them, and just said 'hmmmm, odd'! I rather thought that she might take a bit more notice, but no. To be honest, I have become so run down trying to deal with this GP that I have given up persuing things with her. I feel really as if I have been banging my head against a brick wall, and have had the stuffing knocked out of me.

Also, the only reason I got a referral to a menopause consultant at the hospital was because my Hubby contacted NHS complaints. They did act quickly, which was good! Sadly, it's not been the outcome I was hoping for though. On the subject of Hubby, he has been absolutely brilliant but things are now really starting to affect him too. He's not sleeping either, and is looking really drawn and tired these days. We are a 'team', him and I and he says he doesn't blame me at all, he is just tired and frustrated with the 'system'.

I have to say that the CMHT and staff at the local psychiatric hospital have been marvellous, including the psychiatrist I saw in the community last Friday. Everyone who I have had contact with in mental health feels that my situation mentally is completely related to the surgical menopause, and that something needs to be done elsewhere within the health system to help me. Quite how I can get this to happen now, I have no idea. I feel like I'm trying to run a marathon on two broken legs just now. Sorry to sound so negative, but it really is one hell of a struggle for both me and Hubby right now.

[Tempest]

Oh, and sorry! I did mention about Dr Heather Currie's email service to Hubby last night, but we're thinking that maybe my situation would be a bit too complex and much for her to reply to? What do you guys think? I think I'm just desperate for something to take to my GP so that they might actually take notice and do something! This GP is notorious for not making referrals, so I don't think she'll be receptive to my asking to be referred to an Endocrinologist. I think this makes perfect sense though!

I'm also going to chat with the support worker later and see if I can share how I'm feeling. Not sure if she will be able to offer any advice though. I'll see how it goes and I'll let you know later how it goes.

[CLKD]

Lovely to hear from you.

I suggest that you make notes of the ideas given here, comprise a list?  Then prioritise, dependant on how you have felt recently, against the Speciality which would be appropriate for advice.

Also, mention to the CMHT if there is a way of getting a referral rather than going through your GP?  For a GP to say 'oh odd' and to take any action makes me  . 

Maybe too ring to find out if it really is necessary to wait for 6 weeks, as the sooner you get referred the better.  Once you have the information you can decide which treatment to start.

[Winterose]

How frightening for you and you must be terrified it happens again -  , think the endocrinologist is good advice - I had really achey joints and my thyroid was borderline, it took a few months to help but it stopped the aches and pains which i had put down to age.  YOu can find out  about your thyroid by testing your waking temp every morning for 10 days - it should be normal,  if its consistently lower - mine was 34 degrees , then thats a reliable sign your thyroid is underperforming. Easy test to do before u get up ,

[Evelyn63]

How special is that , you and your husband are " a team " but not good that the system is having such a negative effect on both your lives.  Would you consider going privately Tempest, even just for a one off consultation ?  Perhaps the mental health team could recommend someone ? 

It's a route my husband and I both go down whenever we feel that we need taken seriously, and to date has been worth every penny. Rather than joining a health insurance scheme we put money away each month and use it when necessary.  Having said that on recommendation of a friend we joined a health scheme a few months back, very reasonable monthly costs and excellent to deal with.

[MIS71MUM]

Hi Tempest
I was reading some of your earlier posts today from when you first tried oestrogel and you were thinking of having your oestrogen levels tested. Did you ever get this done by the way.

As Hurdity says, the patch is a steadier supply of oestrogen, I found the gel gave me too much of a hit all in one go.

I hope you get referred to a endocrinologist as surely these are life threatening symptoms you have been faced with.

Good luck and thanks for sharing. Wishing you all the best xxx

[Tempest]

Thank you so much for some more great advice and kind words, everyone! Mis71Mum, think I had a very similar situation to you with the Estrogel,  with highs and lows (aside from the other business)! The menopause Consultant's suggestion was to 'apply as needed throughout the day, up to 7 pumps'! Whew!! I'm really glad I didn't take his advice, considering! In any case, supposing what happened hadn't happened, I really wouldn't have been able to manage sloshing this amount of gel on throughout the day (he literally said 'at intervals throughout the day as you feel you need it'). I thought this advice was a bit random, actually.

The young lady from CMHT has been, and she was really nice. She said that the Consultant Psychiatrist doesn't believe I have mental health issues, but that I am suffering a lot of stress right now so she is going to be a 'listening ear' and help me to build my confidence again so that I can seek the help I need with my hormonal issues. I did discuss whether an AD might help, and she said that the Psychiatrist wants to see what my 'baseline' mood is like in a few weeks, hence why he wants to wait a bit. And I can have more Diazepam, if I need it.....(I'll be keeping it to a minimum)!

Oh, and Sparkle - maybe these wee red dots are just another anomaly that we get at a 'certain age'. I hope so, anyway!

[Annie0710]

This may be worth looking into . Serious B12 deficiency can cause all your problems and many more , my husband was heading for a wheelchair and we were even told he had had a stroke for 24 hours long story short , I took it upon myself to investigate got a private B12 test as by then the docs said stress and Vola B12.

I can guarantee a lot of ladies on here are B12 deficient with symptoms , also the NHS ranges are way off a range between 180- 900 is a huge difference as someone with a reading of 200 may actually need to be at 900 for there body.

To be functioning well we need to be at a 1,000 bit atleast a minimum of 550.

Just worth a thought as it brings on phycosis, and many dementia cases are B12 deficiency .

My b12 came in at 197 the same time they told me I was perimenopause , they wouldn't treat me and I had so many symptoms.  I'd never heard about b12 until they called me saying it was a bit low and wanted to retest, they still haven't acknowledged it 4 years later so I asked for copies of all blood tests since 2012 and I was out of range on all the bloods that involved b12


Annie X

[Annie0710]

They wouldn't treat it properly and I was less knowledgeable then, they gave me a leaflet on pernicious anaemia and b12d and I'm not vegan or vegetarian so knew it wasn't anything I did so after a confrontation at the docs they gave me 3 months of b12 tablets and I went back saying I feel no better so retested my blood and it'd gone just in range at 219 so they said its def not b12 it must be menopause, so a nurse friend at Xmas injected me, I had my epipens with me in case of anaphylaxis and although there's been some improvements I'm not fully better, 18 months I developed double vision and b12 can cause that plus I'm in pain and not very mobile since October last year with slipped disc that doesn't heal and hip pain, I'm trying to go 4 months without b12 so that I can go back and ask for a retest now I know more about it

Indigestion/heartburn meds and metformin can also reduce b12 absorption also no gall bladder, lots of reasons but none of these apply to me

Annie x