I am 44 and although I had my first hot episode last April, it has been the past several months that it has gotten bad. I have not had any episodes at night, but during the day my thermostat is just all off. I get surges of energy that are so non-productive because my brain is thinking twenty things at once. I am hot, then I am cold, then I am hot again. It's frustrating. I had an ovarian cyst in November which resolved when my obgyn put me on progesterone. I felt great that whole month. This month I am taking it for 14 days and I am so nervous, edge and out of whack. Headaches are common and I am just not myself.

What's the best way to tackle these things? I am trying to find some sort of pattern to the episodes, but for now, I can't make heads or tails of it. I find that my periods are still regular and are shorter on the progesterone, but before I was down to about 17 days of a cycle, then I would have a heavy period, then maybe skip a month and have two periods in two weeks. It's all over the place. The cyst was diagnosed after I had 17 days of bleeding.

This is just nuts.

I am grateful for any advice.

Jan

Hi Jan and Welcome!

Does sound like you are entering perimenopause. I'm sure that your doctors have ruled out anything else, such as thyroid issues and so on.

When I first started peri it seemed like "nothing" was normal anymore. My moods and energy were different with each day, my body also began to feel like PMS was lasting longer and longer, soon it felt like PMS everyday.

Whats the best way to tacke these things??? Well, I started by reading and educating myself about it. Then I started to search out supplements. I started with over the counter things to help. You can purchase "Estroven" which is a supplement that you can purchase at drug stores or target. It has natural herbs that are suppose to help with hot flashes. If you are able, take some good vitamins.

I started feeling out of sorts at about the same age as you, I am now 50 and have been supplementing with BHRT, which is bioidentical hormones. Everyone is very different, so it's trial by error on what exactly will work the best and for how long. In the beginning, Estroven worked well for me and then it seemed to stop working so I had to try other things. Glad you found this site, you will find lots of great info.

Juliann

It is interesting that you felt great the whole month that you were on progesterone and now that you are only taking it two weeks out of the month you are experiencing all of the nervousness symptoms. Are you using a cream that you can tweak the dosage on? Be sure and tell your doctor what your symptoms are and he/she should be able to work with you on trying different dosages etc.

My main symptom is nervousness and anxiety. I still have a lot of estrogen, but use a compounded progesterone cream days 12 through 25 that I have had to adjust many times. Have you had your hormone levels checked? If you are having hot flashes, you may also be low on estrogen.

The things you can do on your own to help deal with the symtoms are to avoid caffeine, refined carbs and alcohol. Also for nervousness a practice like yoga is wonderful. There are natural supplements that help with nervousness lile l-theanine. Also, if you can, take a good multi vitamin, fish oils, calcium/magnesium and vitamin D.

There is a lot of wonderful information on the website to learn from and great people that will help you!

Just hang in there and try to take the best possible care of yourself.

Thank you both, this board, I am sure, will answer a bunch of my questions, at least I see that I am definitely not alone. It also doesn't help that I have an eight year old with ausitm, my daughter (26) just moved in and now I am watching her son who is one - 14 hours a day. This weekend she is at drill (she's in the army reserve) so I have him until Wednesday. So with three little ones at home (10, 8 and 4) plus hers and my other little boy - my husband - life is already nuts. Add this on and it's just too much.

I love to paint landscapes, but with all the babysitting I never get a chance to do it anymore since I can't do it with the baby around. He's into everything. I wish I could check into a hotel room for a weekend. I would take my oil paints and just paint the whole time.

Jan

Wow! You have a lot on your plate!!! I hope that eventually you can carve out some time alone to paint. That is so important for your spirit and sanity! In the meantime, strive to get some quality sleep and eat as healthy as you can. It is so important that you take the best care of yourself.

Hang in there, and continue to come to us for help and support.

inthemoment