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[SadLynda]

GypsyRoseLee - now you sound like me.  I have done the natural route too, tried it all and no way was I going to do a thing the doctor said.............until now.

My appointment is Wednesday and it cant get here soon enough.

Toffee, I agree with I think it was 'Honey' you do what you think is best it is your body - and you can change your mind at any time.  Hopefully your GP will take bloods to rule out anything else.  Best of Luck x

[Mary G]

Toffeecushion, I agree with others who have suggested you have a trial run on HRT and would personally recommend the oestrogen gel.  You have nothing to lose and if it doesn't work after about six months then you can stop taking it.  I suspect you will find that your health improves no end on HRT though - not taking HRT when you have hormone deprivation is like not taking medication for a thyroid problem or diabetes. 

Love it or hate it, oestrogen is like a control centre that regulates so many vital functions of the human body.  For example, say you have 5 different health issues that need to be resolved, you could end up taking 5 different types of medication (which might just about treat the symptoms but not the cause) when HRT would solve them all in one easy hit. 

It is a pity that women don't naturally produce just enough oestrogen to keep their organs healthy after the menopause i.e. no longer fertile or having periods but enough oestrogen to keep symptoms away. 

Why not give it a try?

[Kathleen]

Hello Toffeecushion.

I also think you could consider HRT on a trial basis. Whenever I've tried anything new I've always told myself it is an experiment and I'll see what happens, I usually record any changes in my diary and after a few months I decide whether to continue or not.

When my periods finished I managed without HRT for three years but the last six months were very tough. I had a sensation of intense anxiety in my stomach that only abated in the late evening and I could see no end in sight. Within two weeks of using HRT that horrible feeling had gone which meant that the worst of the symptoms were hormone related.

You have my sympathy as feeling rotten is so debilitating and I hope you get the help you need.

Wishing you well and take care.

K.

[Sarai]

Honeybun, do you know where we can buy sage drops? Are they like a sweet or a drop you put on your tongue. I don't have flushes really but wondered if they helped any other symptoms

[honeybun]

A Vogel do them, and you can get them online.
Just have a Google and various options will be there.
You can get then on Amazon as well I think and most good health shops sell them.
It's usually about twenty drops in a little water.
You can get them in pill form too if that suits better.


Let us know how you get on.


Honeybun
X

[toffeecushion]

I didn't go.  I started to feel a little better and chickened out. 

[Hurdity]

Hi toffeecushion

Glad to hear you are feeling a bit better - that is absolutely typical of peri-menopause - because your cycle is changing and your hormones are fluctuating. Have you read the article on peri-menopause on this site ( I'm always linking to it so I may well have already posted this to you!) - it's an excellent account of what's happening to our hormones at this time? http://www.menopausematters.co.uk/article-perils-of-the-perimenopause.php

I also agree with most of what's been said already. From your account you are clearly peri-menopausal - if you've started missing periods and they are late - so you are on the road to oestrogen decline and ovarian failure ( sounds lovely doesn't it). As the others say - HRT is not like medication - and like Briony I use the bio-identical route which is as natural as you can get especially as I take none by mouth.

I totally understand also your wish to start naturally and not through HRT to start with. I was exactly the same at your stage! In fact it was quite late in peri-menopause after having symptoms and irregular periods for 2-3 years that I started HRT. I took Black Cohosh and ate lots of phyto-oestrogens and seeds etc in my diet. I did think all this worked initially but in the end it didn't really and only oestrogen replacement worked.

The one thing I would say is that for me, starting it a bit later meant I didn't get some of the really problematic extreme side effects that some women have experienced with taking HRT in earlier peri-menopause - although gynaes do now recommend that this stage (early peri) is a good time to start. After a small blip with the synthetic progestogen I have been on an even keel for most of the 8+ years I have been taking it. Some women can manage to cope with the anxiety/worries etc until the flushes/sweats get really bad - which is what drove me to HRT. When I was doing all the crying and worrying I had no idea it was due to menopause as I didn't know enough about it then!

Here is a recent Daily Mail article (that's been posted here before) about taking HRT in peri-menopause:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2800760/should-women-hrt-menopause-experts-say-s-best-way-ease-symptoms-avoid-long-term-health-problems.html

However the good thing was I made sure my diet was really good - to ensure no deficiencies, made sure I lost a bit of weight, started taking more regular exercise to keep my joints moving - but I did a lot of crying!!

Perhaps it's a good thing to go to see your doctor when you are feeling a bit better - with your list of symptoms, because if you are feeling at your worst and start to cry (it has been known!) then some docs might try to fob you off with anti-depressants.

Good luck and you will have our support along your journey 

Hurdity x

[Hurdity]