well, it has been a little over a year and here i am still feeling bad. my question is, has anyone else been going through this that is taking hrt and still having days when they just can't function? some days i feel pretty good, but those days are far and few between. last june after not having any periods for about 6 months i was put on prempro. ithen started having hrt induced periods. i went off of the prempro and started on vivelle dot and 100 prometrium daily. the patch did not work so i went to estrace. i am now on 1.5 mg estrace and daily 100 prometrium. i have been spotting about every 10 to 13 days for the past several months, doctor doesn't seemed concerned. last week i started with what seemed to be spotting but nothing really happened, just a few specks of old stuff. but with this came a horrible migraine and now for the past few days dull headaches(which has been the norm for me for a long time). this morning i feel so nauseous, burning stomache(probably from all the stuff i take for my head)dizzy, can't get my breath, little head to stomache surges and just feel horrid,muscle weakness, the list goes on. i usually feel awful first thing in the morning but then as the day goes on i tend to feel better. not this morning though. i just want to cry i hate this so much. needs some words of encoragement,please
lindas

Hi Linda,
I so wish that I could give you the reassurance you need at this time. I expect that we are at a very similar stage in all this madness. In the last year I have had 3 periods and none since January of this year. I, like you, am on the treadmill with no apparent way to get off. Interestingly I have taken no hormones and am no better than you. like I have always said, menopause will always have the last laugh. I fear that it is just a waiting game, frustrating as that might be. I do believe that things will get better but sadly there is no magic wand........Sigh.



XIII

Linda - I know how awful it is - I'm 3 months post and still have many peri symptoms. However, I'm like XIII, I went through it naturally, and didn't expect to have it all disappear. (though I wish it would...God knows)

But my friend, please remember, we have no control over our hormones even though we try our best. Unfortunately, at this time in our lives, the hormonal 'demons' are stronger than us. But, I also think our sense of desperation only makes it worse. We try any number of things hoping it will be the magic bullet, but for most of us, it never is. And we eventually get beaten down...

I know there's a lot of changes Linda, so many, sometimes, we don't know what to confront first. We just want to feel well again but how can obtaining it - be so hard?? We've done everything we can, and yet, it never seems to be enough - does it? Life really has thrown us a curve ball. We all went into this 'time' in our lives so unprepared I now shudder when I think back on what I 'thought' menopause would be like. How naive we were....

And, I'll also admit I'm resentful of it because it didn't just affect my life, it took it over, and that makes me angry. I did everything I could to live a 'good' life. I ate right, took vitamins - the whole nine yards, and what did I get in return? A whacked out thyroid, and menopause symptoms that never seem to end. But, this is making me stronger girlfriend...I don't know how or why, exactly, but it is. It seems like the more that is thrown at me, the more determined I am to win. YES, I want it all to go away. I want to wake up one morning and not feel the world tilt, or have my heart race or see my hands shake. And I WILL because...plain and simple? I refuse to let this 'time' in my life take anything more...

Many Hugs
Tay

Hi, I don't know if this will help or not, but thought I am not post, I am skipping periods. But when i was having a hard time with symptoms a I tried different (like you) hormonal intervention....I am sorry to say it all made me feel worse and once I stopped the "experiment".....I felt better...at least I did not feel as bad as I did ON the hormones. It took a while for it to all flush out of my system though.

Now I decided just to go it natural....just my humble opinion, but I think it is so hard to "tweak" horomons when they are always jumping around and the target keeps moving. I also tried similar things trying to get my thyroid just right (though now I look back even then it was probably my perimenopause not thryoid!).

It is really, really hard and like you I tend to pick up during the day and towards the end of the day....I have yet to get a clear answer as to WHY from any doctor...I myself have wondered about adrenal issues since cortisol level DO change throughout the day...highest in AM and lowest in PM....just wondering if my cycle is off some how...but by testing it is not so guess that is out! But I have also heard that even ovarian hormones at highest at night....maybe that is why we feel a bit better at night...so Like you I though ok, then just add in a little hormone and I will feel good ALL day....but other body functions all have their own rhythms and parts to play and just messing with hormones did not do the trick...and as I said, in fact made me feel worse.

So here I am...recently I am taking a sleeping aid from the doctor....that is helping sleeping and (dare I say it) I think perhpas a better night's sleep is also helping other symptoms a bit...a bit...jury still out, but sure is nice to get through the night witout getting up 100 times for the bathroom or goodness knows what! Now new symptoms are bloated (usually towards evening) and UTI.....the fun just keeps rolling! Hope you feel better...perhaps give the "natural" style a second throught....Joan

XIII, Tay & Joan, Thank you so much. It helps to hear from others and to get other opinions. This morning is a bit better. The sad thing is, for the past 2 weeks I have tried to drop my e by .5 mg because I have never really felt great even with taking HRT. I felt good until the spotting or what felt like I should have a period. Then the migraine and the stomache upset. So I went ahead and upped the dose bac to where it was 2 days ago. The last time I tried to drop to 1 mg., I had problems with my stomache. My gp said it was probably due to the change in estrogen. When I went to my gyn doctor, i told him I am still not feeling as good as I thought I should being on HRT,he gave me samples and a script for Coaryx HS. He thought I might need some testosterone. This is a synthetic estroge/methyltestosterone pill. Didn't know anything about it until I got home and looked it up. Of course I said no thanks. That's all I need is more junk in my system. I really want to try and get thru this naturaly, but am so afraid I will end up in bed again like I was when this first hit me hard last year. Oh man, I just want to feel normal. I miss my life as it used to be. Maybe if I try lowering my dose every other day? Again, thanks so much for your support. Hope you are all having a good day.

LindaS

Joan, I'm so glad it's all getting easier for you. I know how difficult a struggle it was. I also think it's harder because of the thyroid. I really have no idea how long mine was out of whack, but last year when I was waiting for 'post' to arrive, I felt horrible. The anxiety I felt was almost overwhelming, and yet so different than the type I'd felt before. I just kept thinking it was my hormones last hoo-rah. (boy was I wrong)

And now I feel like I'm at the crossroads again. Yes, I feel so much better having gotten medication for my thyroid, but it's still an issue. (no big surprise, right?) So I'm trying to be patient - (which ain't easy). But then again, I'll be the first to admit I know nothing about the thyroid - I was just told to take the tapazole for 6 weeks, and continue using the inderal for at least 6 months. I had no idea why, until I looked the drug up and found out that it's used to lower the high blood levels of T3. (sure would have been nice had she told me that) So, here I am again...still waiting. Hopefully by august the majority of this crapola will be out of my bloodstream, if not, I'll go back for another blood test to make certain my thyroid has sealed.

However, it does make me angry. Like I've said before, I feel like my body has turned against me. I just wanted to feel ok again, and here came another stumbling block. I know I would have had an easier time accepting it, had it went whacky a few years ago, but no...it had to wait until meno....yippee - (sigh)

Anyway Joan, I truly mean this when I say, I'm so glad you're feeling better!

Hugs
Tay