I am a 46 year old woman. I had a total hysterectomy 10 years ago. I took HRT for 9 years until they found a "tumor" in my left breast. I was told to quit taking my hormones since I have a high risk of cancer in my family. Both my grandmothers had breast cancer and my mother had breast cancer. My Dr. that had me on the hormones told me what he had me on would not hurt me. I had the "tumor" removed in Nov. of 2008. It was benign. Thank God. But now No Hormones....Cant take anymore. My problem now is that I feel very depressed. I cry all the time. Feel like I want to run away from everything. Every picture that is taken of me I look like I am so tired and beat. I have tried anti depressants but they magnify the feelings that I am having. I dont know where to turn to. I have made an appt to get checked for Bio Identical Hormones only to be told by my Dr. that I cant take them. I am just trying to find a support group to help me understand if they went through the same thing and how they made it through. I have 3 girls, a wonderful husband (that doesnt know how to help me) My girls are 21, 19, 12. So they are in their own world and I dont know how to talk to them about this.
Thank you for any emotional support..

Hi Carolanne,

I saw a group when searching for this site awhile ago called Hyster sister's and I'm not sure but I think they may have women who have gone through your experince and were told not to use hormones too,some of them very young! Maybe check that out.

Good Luck' Cari

You should not have to suffer.
I also can't take hormones because of my breasts and have an existing fibroadenoma. My Dr put me on Black Cohosh and it has really helped. There are a variety of plant based, natural therapy that you can try. Find a Dr ready to work with you in that.
I have also felt the worst for my 3 Girls through all of this. I have a few days in the month when I collapse into bed after lunch for the day and can barely manage to shop. Now I just accept that those days do come and let my Girls know that it is "one of those days".
Luckily I phase in and out of symptoms. The last half year has been terrible BUT this month I am sailing through Maybe I am on an upswing
Please don't give in to it, there are alternatives!!!!!!!
Best of luck!!
Girlsmom

Thank you! I will check that out.

It is so helpful to know that I am not losing my mind. I went to the Healthfood store and they recommended Remifimen. It is estrogen free. I have taken it for two days and feel somewhat better. Not enough to brag about but they also recommended some stuff called Happy Camper. To help with the depression. I wont know for a few weeks if it will get me through some of this but I am willing to try anything "healthy" at this point. Thank you for commenting. I hope you are on the upswing . Hope things go well for you.
Thanks so much!!
CarolAnn

Have you tried black cohosh? There are several brands out there. My mom had breast cancer too. Also my aunt and cousin. I did a trial run of BHRT and the pain in my right breast was so severe. I went up a cup size in one week! Way too powerful! I had to stop the BHRT not only because of the breast pain, but for other reasons as well. Anyway, check out black cohosh and see if it is safe for those prone to breast problems/cancer.
mood_swinger

I am trying Remifemen. It is mainly Black cohosh. It is helping some with sleeping but cant really tell if it is helping with the "craziness" in my head. I would really like to try the bio identical hormones, but i am really afraid to. Thank you so much. This site has really helped me.
carolanne