His and Her Health

Hello ladies,
I had a hysterectomy at age 25 (14 yrs ago) however had last bit of ovary removed 4 yrs ago and went on HRT (Estratest)to relieve menopause symptoms. My Drs have been strongly urging me to go off the HRT for a couple of yrs now due to the risks. Well..... I did it a month ago and it's been HORRIBLE. I'm having hot flashes day & night, headaches every other day, losing sleep because I wake up hot & sweaty and have trouble going back to sleep and if I do I'm awake again in an hour or so starting the vicious cycle all over again. So you can imagine I'm tired all the time and it's starting to wear my patience thin and according to my family & friends I'm a bit.... well let's call it crabby & short. I feel like I'm becoming the "old hag" from my neighborhood growing up. I've got to have some relief ...... Suggestions please!!!!!

Lots of information to help you at www.redhotmamas.org.
There is also information on menopause at www.bermansexualhealth.com

Did your doctors slowly taper you off hormone therapy? A lot of times doctors pull women off hormones too quickly and they feel the repercussions ten-fold! Do you exercise enough? Drink plenty of water? Have you tried an alternative therapy (i.e., black cohosh)? Please don't move to the North Pole yet!! I bet NC is a much nicer place to live.

Yeah I guess I'll stay in NC for a while but at 2am, if I could sleep, dreams of penguins and never ending ice would be better than Brad Pitt. You may have hit on something I've been wondering about. There was no tapering off, I went Cooked Turkey. I have been concentrating on exercise & more water, I have lost 12lbs since coming of the med. I have been adding soy to my diet but wasn't sure about black cohosh I've seen mixed data on it. Also I don't know if you can do a combo of things like soy & black cohosh. I would appreciate any opinions or experiences. Thank you

Here is a link to the redhotmamas website with info on Managing your Menopause. http://www.redhotmamas.org/content/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=64&Itemid=148

Be sure you check with your doctor before using any thing .

Congrats on the weight loss. That's a very big accomplishment! How did you do it? Was it a combo of diet/exercise or did you just start exercising more? I walk a lot but it would be nice to have time to add some more exercise to my day.

There are lots of people who swear by black cohosh. I hear it takes a little time to kick in (6-12 weeks). There is a specific night time black cohosh therapy geared towards the hot flashes/night sweats too.

I've never heard of any contraindications of soy and black cohosh. But, why don't you try one thing at a time so you can really see if it's helping? Isolating the type of therapy will ensure you're not taking anything you don't need to be taking. Do you take soy supplements or just concentrate on adding it to your diet? If it's a diet thing, I don't see the harm in adding the black cohosh. ::::::think cool thoughts::::::::