Yes I have the odious habit. I know I need to quit and I keep setting start dates and failing, but between the menopausal symptoms and the added anxiety of a divorce I have a really hard time just getting through the day. I had an endometrial ablation two years ago and never had another period afterward, but I've been having hot flashes, night sweats, etc. for around a year. My doctor (a GP) recommended against my taking anything but black cohosh because of the smoking and my age (54). I've been taking Renifenim for about seven months. It really helped at first, but now I feel imprisioned in a body that's sweating or freezing when it isn't shaking and I'm anxious all the time. I get hot flashes anywhere between one and five times an hour and I feel so weak!

Should I see a gyno or another doc? I don't have other major risk factors for cancer (like a family history of it). My doctor doesn't even think I should take anything with plant estrogens in it, but the thought of going on this way is overwhelming. I am trying to quit smoking, really I am, but isn't there anything else I can take? Are there others here who smoke who are taking plant estrogen derived treatments or low dose contraceptives? Have they helped with the symptoms? All advice is appreciated.

Shara, I noticed no one had replied to your post, so I went and did a little research on the subject of smoking and HRT. I came up with hit after hit of there being almost a need for smokers to take HRT. Some online GYN's are even saying smokers need the protection more. I would seek another opinion, and although I have no personal experience with this, I have known women who smoked and took HRT.

Try reading this medically published article, but because we cannot post links in here, you will have to add the www.

.greenjournal.org/cgi/content/full/102/3/565

Shara, I would get a second opinion, and if needs be, take print outs from your research with you to a GYN. Please do NOT take my word for this as I am NO dr, but the research I did shocked me. BUT, If you are successful with gaining approval for some hormonal assistance, I would tend to think "try BHRT', which is close to natural. Also, have you tried progesterone cream? This may help you.

I truly hope you gain some relief. This hormone ride is pure hell.

Hugs,
Viktoria

Hi there,

I used to smoke and am on HRT. I am 43 now but was 41 when I started the HRT and on 10-15 a day. My GP was concerned but not excessively so as I was simply not functioning and his theory was I got back on track and then quit, which is what I have tried to do - I do keep having the odd smoke!

My main reason for quitting though, apart from normal health issues is a lot of information here in the UK indicates that smoking makes the menopause symptonms worse and I have to say I now agree. Since quitting, despite the odd drunken smoke, I have felt a lot better overall.

I used NRT - Nicotine replacement therapy in the form of patches and then gum and can recommend them.

Maybe give quitting a go, thinking about doing it is actually worse than doing it I promise you and the NRT makes it easier. Then you can try HRT with a clearer conscience, or try the Bios Viktoria suggests, we seem not to be able to source these so well in the UK so I cannot comment on these really.

Good luck
Amanda

I took HRT for about 6 years and I smoke. I never had a problem. I do agree with you that while it is loudly toted that trying to diet during menopause is too stressful SO is attempting to eliminate other kinds of habits.

Remember that nicotine is an element (drug) that your body has grown used to having as part of its physiology. To withdraw it too quickly can cause horrendous symptoms on top of those you are already experiencing and in some cases, cold-turkey withdrawal can even be dangerous. (smoking cigarettes is often compared to addiction to heroine) That is NOT to say that slow and easy cannot be accomplished.

Please remember too that taking HRT poses risks to any woman and I know that I am also conscious, as all of us should be, that whether or not we want to confront a very real FACT OF LIFE: life causes death........period. Anything and all things that lives, dies. The timing of that eventual event is clouded by all kinds of risk factors and smoking is one of thousands.

Having said all this, I have been able to curtail smoking over time (though not altogether) by a method that may well work for you. Many years ago I smoked 2-1/2 packs a day. I am not down to between 5-10 cigarettes a day.

I smoke in ONLY one tiny room in the house, a tiny bathroom with an air filtering purifier. There is no where to sit except on the toilet. Since I don't, instinctively, want to spend a great deal of time in a closed door 'closet', I will only have between 2-3 puffs and then butt the rest. I leave it in the ashtray and it's this one that I light again when I return. Over time I've been able to automatically stretch out the time between without even realizing it.

I've been a smoker for 45 years so, believe me, this gradual event is still viewed as a success since it has continued to decline over the course of 5 years.

'I am not down to between 5-10 cigarettes a day.' SHOULD read: I am now down to between 5-10 cigarettes a day.

I too am a smoker , but at the moment I am trying to do without Coffee !!!!! I have cut down on my smoking by going onto rollups !!! After reading through alot of the articles I think definately Soya is worth a try in a big way. I´m sorry but I hate these power surges they always come just when you dont want them too ...........and dont some people love to mention when you are having one !!!!!!!!! and couldnt you just hit them ... see hormones kicking in . Still only a few more years to go .......

Only a few more years? I'm not sure how old you are, but at my age (60) I'm still having them and I sometimes wonder if they ever really stop?

I'm not on hrt, but if you want to quit smoking Chantix is worth trying. I smoked for 32 years an was up to 3 packs a day , I quit July 25th, 90 days smoke free today, and it was so much easier with the chantix.

Every doctor's goal is to get all patients to quit smoking. Some will dangle the hormone replacement prescription as a carrot - quit smoking and they will give you hormones. They figure if your symptoms get bad enough you will quit and they feel they are doing this for your own good. Others are worried about their liability - there is documentation of increased risk with smokers and the use of BCP, especially over the age of 35-40. But BCP gives you 5 to 6 times the level of hormones that are normally used in menopause replacement therapy...higher levels than you had on your own as a teenager...plus they are synthetic hormones with different risks and side effects from your own hormones.
When you take bioidenticals you are simply replacing the same hormones your body has produced your entire adult life...and at a lower level than your body has been producing most of your adult life. Try telling your doctor you have been smoking with hormones in your body for years... using bioidenticals and continuing to smoke is no different than what you have been doing for as long as you have been a smoker. Tell him you will sign a waiver releasing him of responsibility, if necessary... that if you have a stroke while using hormones you will not sue him for allowing you to continue having the same bioidentical hormones you have always had. He won't have you sign it because he knows a waiver would never stand up in court, but he can document in his records that he has informed you of any risks and you have chosen to go ahead with hormone use.
Now, please don't misunderstand - I believe that quitting smoking is the best possible thing you can do to improve your health and increase your chance of living a longer, healthier life! But I think each person has a right to decide on their own when they are ready and motivated to quit. You have to be committed to the task and someone else trying to force you into it when you are not ready is unlikely to have long term success. When your life situation improves and you are under less stress (and that may include having your hormones balanced again) you may be in a better position to succeed.