After 3 miscarriages in a one year period, we have decided to give up on a baby. I came to this realization after the last one when I started having chest pains and went to the ER. DH said, "that's it . . . no more pregnancies for you. . . I don't want to lose you." They did all kinds of tests and I also had a stress test; I definitely did not have a heart attack, but do have exercise hypertension (which means that my blood pressure goes up much more than normal when I am under stress). Gee -- I wonder why, what with 3 m/c in a year, returning to work the day after my D&C because we are so swamped (and my boss would have been majorly P.O. if I'd taken more time -- just told her I was having "outpatient surgery" since the D&C/m/c part was none of her business), and my "baby" brother being hospitalized for alcohol-induced psychosis (never had any mental problems before alcohol).

All of the above is not why I'm writing, but since it's my first time here, I thought some background might help. Approx. 3 weeks after the m/c I started having the most terrible night sweats. I'd wake up at 3 am every night, drenched in sweat, my shoulders and back feeling like they were in flames, throw of the covers and then be shivering and chilled to the bone within about 2 minutes. I also have to write down everything because I can't remember it from one minute to the next, have hair loss, have vag itchiness and dryness to the point that sex is actually painful and no interest in sex period. I think my husband is ok with being done TTC, but he didn't sign up for a sexless life (neither did I). Also, I'm soo depressed and I can't take antidepressants because they make me manic and I'm bipolar, only lithium. Checked with my doc and she said the only other thing I could take would be lamictal (sp?) which has a 1 in 1000 chance of causing a FATAL rash (skin necrosis).

Before all this started, I would get a little warm occasionally, usually in the afternoons in the week right after my period, but it went away quickly and wasn't too troublesome. My Repro Endocrinologist doc recently tested my Day 4 hormones and they came back: Estradiol: under 20, LH 4.7, FSH 6.0. She said these were completely NORMAL, but she could give me a "bioidentical" estrogen patch for a couple of months to see if things normalized again after the m/c. Instead, I asked for low-dose bioidentical estriol cream, after doing some reading and she's going to get back with me after speaking with a local compounding pharmacy. My mom had to have repeated breast biopsies after being on premarin for about 15 years and finally quit it. I've had breast biopsies before due to fibrocystic areas and don't want another. I'm only 42 (43 in July) & my mom didn't go through menopause until age 50+. She doesn't remember how far ahead the symptoms started since it was over 20 years ago.

Doc doesn't think I'm perimenopausal, but then why the symptoms? Is it just due to the recent miscarriage? Or is this what they call premenopause? If so, can I expect the same for another SEVEN years (yikes!) Am I doing the right thing? I've already tried a ton of botanicals and natural remedies, and they don't do much. I'm also cautious about too many supplements because I'm taking drugs that are already hard on my kidneys. Help!

Hi Broken Wing,

First, I'm so sad for your miscarriages. Bless your heart.

It sounds as though your hormones have just been on a rollercoaster with the pregnancies ending suddenly. I don't know if you are in perimenopause, but can tell you that the entire time around pregnancy and the aftermath are hormonally challenging.

My 33 year old daughter has had some "hot flashes" after giving birth, until her hormones restabilize. Also, in the year after I gave birth to her, I developed severe anxiety and agoraphobia, which resolved within a couple of years. Your hormones could just be rebounding.

Then again, there are a number of women on this site who are in perimenopause in their 30's.

It sounds like you have wonderful doctors. I would continue working with them, and when you need support, come to visit us at Power-Surge. Also, there are many excellent articles on this site about the symptoms you are talking about, which may offer helpful approaches.

We certainly understand what you are feeling!


Jacquie

I am so sorry for your losses!

Your symptoms could very well be from peri or they could be from your hormones going back to normal. After my pregnancies, I would have hot flashes and night sweats. My hair also came out in clumps. I thought that I would become bald, I lost so much hair. I also has other symptoms that are mentioned here as perimenopausal. It's just hormones causing all this craziness.