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[Jaki T]

I have tried so many things...I've not taken HRT because of high blood pressure on the pill years ago.

Recently I've had had to change my clothes up to 9 times on one day

I should say the sweating is worse when I'm cold!!! Or after exertion or when I'm anxious. Tends to be worse at the beginning of the day after breakfast and a warm drink.

Problem is - it's hard for GPs to know what's Fibro and what's menopause. Throw in possible anti-depressant side-effects and you can see how difficult it is. I have been on low dose Paroxetine for years and one GP suggested it might be side-effects. So the last GP I saw put me on a different anti-depressant which I attempted twice previously but it just made me constipated. This GP suggested I tried it again with a laxative. Anyway, the laxatives caused diarrhoea which I could have regulated if the new anti-depressants worked by they haven't.

I'm at my wit's end trying to find something that works.  I've tried sage, Serenity Cream, a spray called Odaban, and many other things. I don't think you can get hold of pure Black Cohosh any more, though I did try something from Holland & Barratt which was for menopause but that too made me constipated so I stopped it.

I am tempted to come off anti-depressants to see if that'll help.

[Dancinggirl]

Jaki T - Hi and welcome to MM
Dealing with meno symptoms often involves a whole range of strategies.  How old are you?  Where are you in the meno journey?  When was your last period? I assume the GP has ruled out poor thyroid function??? ADs very often reduce flushes and other meno symptoms but clearly this isn't working for you.
The first most important things to tackle are life style choices.  Keeping weight under control, good diet and regular exercise are vital starting points and if you suffer from Fibro then this is particularly difficult.  If blood pressure is an issue then this needs to treated.    I believe that fibro can be helped by HRT and just because PCBs caused high blood pressure in the past doesn't mean HRT will do the same. I don't think high blood pressure is really a reason for not having HRT so treating the causes of high blood pressure and perhaps getting this under control with the right medication is important.

Most of us have found that so called alternative remedies do not work - don't waste your money.  If need be, a good supplement of key vitamins can be good, - I always take Vitamin D and Omega 3 oils regularly and then take the occasional course of vitamins if I feel I need to.
ADs can be good but can mask problems and also bring side effects. Reviewing these is a good idea but there are many different ones and it seems strange that they simply tried you on something that hadn't suited you before - why not try something different???
Do browse around to get clued up.  Perhaps ask to be referred to a gynae or meno clinic for more specialist advice?
Your GP might prescribe HRT for 3 months to just see whether it helps and with close monitoring it could be the answer. I would suggest you ask for Femoston 1/10 as this has a kinder progesterone that may suit you better - it will bring a monthly bleed but it's sensible to start with a sequential HRT so you can gage whether the progesterone suits you or not.
Coming off ADs takes time as you need to reduce the dose gradually - don't go cold turkey whatever you do. If HRT did suit you then you could start to reduce the AD, although many women find they need both ADs and HRT together.
Keep us posted.  DG x

[Jaki T]

Hi Dancinggirl

Thanks for your reply!  I am 57 and not quite menopausal as I've not had the year without periods yet but if I don't have one before May then I will be.  Yes, I have had my thyroid tested and TSH is low but just in range, and same for T3 and T4.  Flushes aren't so much as a problem as sweats.  I guess some people get the two together but there's no flushing with me, just a sweating and soaking of clothes.

As I say I have avoided HRT because of hbp in the past. The fact that I was very young then and it caused high bp is alarming for me because now that I'm older I think it would be more of a risk if I have that potential.  But I guess I could try one for a short while and be monitored. One GP did offer me this but I resisted at the time and now she isn't there at the moment.  I am having problems even getting see a GP at the moment, because of the scarcity of appointments with doctor of my choice.
I was prescribed Vit D3 but all Vit D supps have made me constipated as does this anti-depressant but I have been given laxatives to counteract this. They weren't working at first but they worked too much yesterday giving me diarrhoea The reason they put me back on this anti-depressant was because I'd not given it long enough because of constipation hence the laxatives!  I was on such a low dose of my last AD that I could have come off. I was gradually withdrawing and the GP said I could come off it but another GP said it may stay in my system a month, hence I didn't notice a decrease in sweats.

Yes, when I last saw the GP, one I'd not seen before, I went armed with all my symptoms and that's when she suggested 3 anti-depressants that are supposed to help with sweats. But if you look them up online you find that sweating can be a big side effect too!  I will ask about a menopause clinic...not sure if there was one in my area.

Btw, are the bleeds light on HRT?  I had terrible periods and so glad to be shut of those - only to be replaced by these drenching cold sweats.

x

[Dancinggirl]

Taking into account of your somewhat complex problems, I do think a consultation with a gynae might be a good idea.
Write down all your symptoms and concerns and questions, make an appointment with the GP you like to see ( even if you have to wait) and ask for a referral to a gynae.  If the GP would like to try you on HRT for 3 months first then I would give it a go and see whether this helps - you could probably ask to have a practise nurse take your blood pressure every couple of weeks to monitor you. The withdrawal bleeds with Femoston 1/10 might well be quite light. DG x

[Jaki T]

Thanks DG.  I might just do that (ask for a referral to a gynae). It is always difficult though as you never know if it will be a good one or not!  Re HRT I have heard the patches are perhaps better to talk than the oral ones?  x

[Dancinggirl]

One of the problems with the combined patches is that they are medium dose and it is generally thought good to start on a lowish dose, particularly in the peri stage. Your Gp may not be clued up so asking for separate transdermal oestrogen and progesterone may confuse them but you could ask for oestrogen as gel or patch and then progesterone pills as either Utrogestan or Provera which can be a good combination.  I still think starting with the simplest option like Femoston 1/10 would be good - it could well suit you and is the least hassle. Good luck  DG x

[Mary G]

Jake T, I agree with DG and would also recommend Oestrogel (flexible and easy to adjust the dose) and Utrogestan or something similar.  I suffered with debilitating sweating attacks for years even though I didn't feel hot - I've never had hot flushes or night sweats.  Basically, my thermostat was shot and for some reason, my body thought it needed to sweat even though it didn't.  I used to sweat in airconditioning (always a bad sign), break into a sweat far too quickly and profusely and I found it difficult to adjust to changing temperatures - I hated it.  I used to soak through my clothes in the summer and once (admittedly in Spain during the summer) I was driving on a motorway with the airconditioning on full blast and sweated through my clothes and into the car seat.  I used to sweat on my face, bra-line and back.  Believe it or not, I was using HRT but it was the wrong type at the wrong dose (namely, Mirena coil with patches and Angeliq) and I was not getting anything like enough oestrogen to rectify my thermostat.  I also suffered with migraines caused by the synthetic progesterone but that's another story. 

The only cure for me was Oestrogel (3 pumps now reduced to 2) everyday and Utrogestan (taken vaginally and cylically in very low doses), a small bead of testosterone everyday and this immediately cured the problem and now I feel completely back to normal and actually sweat less now that I did in my mid-30s - I now realise my hormones had started dropping off even then.  Not only has it sorted the sweating out, it's cured a whole host of other things like general mood, better sleep, digestive system, better cholesterol levels/thyroid function/blood pressure readings, hair, skin, you name it.   

Obviously I can only give you my own personal experiences and you might not need shed loads of oestrogen as I do to get relief but if you suffer with sweating, I would steer clear of a Mirena coil or HRT regimes with too much progesterone because it can raise body temperature - I sweated buckets on all of them! 

Note, this is only my personal experience and others may have had very different experiences while using the medication mentioned in this post.

[CLKD]

When I was prescribed Tamoxifen within 24 hours of swallowing the first tablet I thought I had 'flu ……… and cold sweats were 1 of the side-effects - it would start at the back of my neck and slither cold down my back to the waist.

I have had warm 'flushes', we called it my 'evening glow' - about 10 mins. after my evening bath and after taking my ADs and BBs I would have an all over 'glow' for about 10 mins..  That lasted intermittently for about 11-12 months ………  so never knew if it were the drugs or menopause 

[Jaki T]

Thanks for your replies.

Mary, I am just the same with changing temperatures as well as sweating more in the cold...I think I may have mentioned in my OP that I sweat less in the warm weather!  My basal body temperature is low so I don't think having something to raise my body temperature would be a problem...I always feel cold. It's hard to disentangle what is menopause and what is fibromyalgia too. My problem too is that I never felt good when I was young as you say you did   I was on the pill in my teens and I felt completely jittery and my bp shot through the roof which is why I have avoided HRT having had a very bad experience.  As you say, we're all different and maybe a GP will find something that suits me.  I am having problems even getting an appointment with a GP that isn't weeks ahead at the moment 

[Hurdity]

Have you had your thyroid anti-bodies tested as well as T3 and T4? I'm not an expert (countrybumpkin is though!) TSH should be low if thyroid functioning correctly, but I understood that TSH can be normal (or low) but if you have anti-bodies you still get symptoms of underactive thyroid ( esp fatigue, low body temp and weight gain). Fatigue and low basal body temp are defo classic signs of thyroid being awry. Also what are your T3 and T4 readings and what was the lab range. From what I gather many women of menopausal stage get Hashimito's thryoiditis - the official name for most late onset thyroid conditions that women have.

Not sure about the cold sweats - I would have said thyroid for that - but I agree with the others re HRT. Synthetic BCPs and especially from years ago bear no resemblance to HRT and especially if you use bioidentical types! Has your blood pressure been checked recently? There are lots of ways to keep blood pressure down that don't involve medication and there are lots of women with controlled  high blood pressure on HRT.  It certainly doesn't follow that it will increase now - I mean you wont know until you try!

Read up all you can about different HRT types and ask any Qs to see if we can help. Perhaps yes a good idea to wean off the ADs and see if that helps too as Dancinggirl says. No point in having to suffer if there are solutions ahead which might work - although they might take a while

Yes do make that appointment even if you have to wait a couple of weeks - but try to make sure you are seeing a GP with understanding of menopausal problems, and HRT and is sympathetic even if not your usual doc?

Btw Black Cohosh is not advised for long periods anyway due to possible liver problems!

Good luck

Hurdity x

[CLKD]

Reynaud's syndrome can cause a person to feel cold.

[Jaki T]

Yes I did have antibodies tested once but apparently you're supposed to have two tests.  The one I had came back negative. I had T3 and T4 done privately two or three times, both low, but within range, ergo GPs won't do any more about it I also mentioned low basal temp once to my GP and she said that method isn't used much any more!  My TSH is low too, and so it looks as if it's all functioning normally. I think if you have Hashimotos your TSH is high? Low TSH, T3 and T4 suggest problems with the pituitary but I've gone as far as I can with that and Cushing's is said to be extremely rare.

Bioidenticals HRT show there are risks with blood clots, strokes and blood pressure...many people can't take HRT for a variety of reasons, history of hbp being one of them.  Blood pressure was quite high one of the last times I had it checked.  I may need to try supervised transdermal HRT if nothing else works.

I have seen a variety of different GPs at the surgery lately!

Many people are fine with Black Cohosh and many people aren't fine with HRT. We're all so individual, I guess, and we need to find something that works for us **