His and Her Health

Hello, I'm from the UK, 51 still with all my bits and pieces so far and believe I have come to a zenith now after having certain symptoms (or signs) for the last 11 years all culminating in terrifying dry hot flushes at night, and in the day as I type.

This has all been so sudden, 2 weeks and 2 day ago I hadn't had a long lasting, all encapsulating one - just the odd half a face or neck burning then it was gone.

Now I know the minute this all started.

Two weeks ago we got stuck in the car, in the sun and heat and I couldn't cool down at all and the next day my neck and arms were burning inside and out then had prickly heat on my arms and felt as though I was going to spontaneously combust through the top of my head.

Creeping skin, hot and cold face and scalp and now to top it all together with a pressing feeling on my chest I am awoken at night with a red hot back,neck and forearms & scalp which in turn goes up and out over the top of my head either over the nape then up or up my face,chin and tip of my nose. All of this is a dry non-red heat.

My heart wakes me up as well as the heat which is driving me mad.

I'm having a blood test next week for what good it will do though. I had a womb polyp removed last year with no problems and the report was ok on it and the lining of the womb was "normal" for my age ???

My periods over the past year have been heavier,lighter, 2 weeks, sometimes 4 days and the last one was very manageable for a change so am waiting to see if they are going to stop after having them since 1971!

I have 3 children, all natural deliveries and conceptions even though I had endometriosis in the 80's I had it treated - I often wonder if all those Danazol drugs back then contribute to all this - who knows?

I am taking Menopace, not sire of it's effects yet and am taking Urtica tincture for the awful prickly heat.

I know I have also reacted to shellfish & strawberries a lot worse lately than the usual rash too so am keeping away.

Now, together with the heat here and humidity at the moment I really do NOT know what to do with myself. I am keeping out of the sun,walking the poor dog at all odd hours but not getting hot if I can help it which makes the hotness at night worse.

We don't know the hormonal history of most of the older females in our family, like a lot of people they got on with things, so don't know what to expect. I am one of 7 sisters.One of whom has had a hysterectomy and is on HRT so she doesn't know what symptoms she would have had.

I keep off caffeine, don't smoke, am just a stone overweight which I am tackling and succeeding, I don't drink and do all I can to eat healthily and try my best to avoid stress but only came off antidepressants and antipsychotics last year after 4 years after a nervous "episode".

I am trying to be accepting about all this and know I am not alone, although laying there watching the TV at 2 in the morning next to hub I still feel alone in the world - it helps having a wonderful friend who has insomnia I can phone at any hour and we have a laugh about things.

Am now at breaking point where I can't put into words the sheer panic I am feeling that this will never end or I have some sort of cancer mimicking all this and have only a few saner,calmer moments in the day where I feel hopeful. I do not want to back on the anti-d's due to the weight gain and feeling of failure on them, my life was crappy sometimes and had an awful childhood, but dealt with it the best I could to try to overcome problems, like everyone else but feel if there is even more to come I don't know if I can find it in me to remain calm and let it happen to me to come out the other side.

Hopefully I'm not bonkers although it might sound like it but wanted to get all this off my (hot) chest. Thank you.

Jackie

Dear Jackie,

Just wondering how you are doing and how your blood test came out. I certainly can relate to many of your symptoms and have heard similar stories from other women. If you have the time, I'd love to have an update.

<small>[ 10-14-2009, 05:57 PM: Message edited by: Moderator ]</small>