For the "pushing 50 ladies"

[blowry]

I have heard so many bad things on hormone replacement...I am opting to just take the bull by the horns and hang on for a rough ride! I will probably try soy products..I would rather have a hot flash than cancer. My Aunt had a partial several years ago and was put on replacement therapy and just by chance was reading a magazine in her doctors office about the pills she was taking...she got tested and sure enough she had lesions on her ovaries...had to go and have the rest removed...I haven't gotten the night sweats...I have read that some woman don't,,,only the hot flashes...these I can deal with.

[Tink]

I"m with you ladies when it comes to hormone replacements. I'm not wanting to even try them since I've heard too many scary things about it.

I have several medical problems that I'm on meds for, and take those because they help to keep me going, but I avoid whatever meds that I can.

In the past I've been prescribed Celebrex for my arthritis but opted not to take them because they really aren't going to lengthen my life, and the side affects might actually shorten it. I was on Celebrex for about 4 months, and that's when I had my heart attack. I had been off it for several months due to the expense (it was VERY pricey!) when it came out that celebrex has been proven to cause heart problems.
I'd rather ache than have another heart attack!

In the same vein, I'd rather wait out these pesty menopause symptoms to go away on their own than to end up with cancer or something else from taking them.

[DianaB]

Originally Posted by Tink

I"m with you ladies when it comes to hormone replacements. I'm not wanting to even try them since I've heard too many scary things about it. ................In the same vein, I'd rather wait out these pesty menopause symptoms to go away on their own than to end up with cancer or something else from taking them.

I felt that way too and then I started having hot flashes and night sweats. I couldn't sleep at night because I was either throwing off covers or trying to find them to put them back on or just laying there, awake. At first it wasn't too bad and I thought "Hey, this is going to be a breeze!" After all my Mom didn't have any trouble going through the change. WRONG!!! I was extrememly grouchy...... or crying all the time. So my doctor recommended going on Prempro for a year and see how things are when I go off. She thought that it might help me get through the worst of it. We'll see!!

[Janet]

Originally Posted by blowry

I have heard so many bad things on hormone replacement...I am opting to just take the bull by the horns and hang on for a rough ride! I will probably try soy products..I would rather have a hot flash than cancer. My Aunt had a partial several years ago and was put on replacement therapy and just by chance was reading a magazine in her doctors office about the pills she was taking...she got tested and sure enough she had lesions on her ovaries...had to go and have the rest removed...I haven't gotten the night sweats...I have read that some woman don't,,,only the hot flashes...these I can deal with.

I definitely don't want cancer, BUT those hot flashes are horrible! Be fine one minute, standing talking with someone and then all of a sudden you feel on fire and the sweat just poors. The person you're talking with looks at you like "what the heck"!!! It was bothersome at night too. Had a lot of sleepless nights.

I take the lowest dose of Premarin and then only take it every other day. I'm doing great now. My mom didn't even have one single symptom when she went through the change. I wish I could have had it that easy.

[Gina]

OMG!! I am turning 50 in Dec. Aside from my period being heavy one mt. or light another . That is the extent . I am getting nervous listening to you girls...lol I am dreading the hot flashes they sound soooooooo bad...lol thanks for the warnings, all kidding aside tho , my mom was ok with her changes and I hope I follow suite..

[Marilyn]

Just to let you know, I was on hormone replacement for 12 years before my problems developed. If you're having lots of hot flashes and mood swings, it may be safe to take them for a while to help with the transition through menopause, but I would really consider my options and have a heart to heart with a good doctor before taking them for as long as I did. When I came off of them, I had mood swings for a few weeks, but I'm pretty much normal now.

[Janet]

I'm trying to gradually wean myself off of them. I'm suppose to take them everyday, but I'm now taking the lowest dose every other day. Hopefully I can get off of them completely. I didn't really have the mood swings or anything like that....it was so awful hot flashes...day and night. Too rough for me to handle, but I'm doing great so far as I've been taking them.

I turned 49 this past July. I haven't had any sort of period at all for nearly three years now. I do have hot flashes every once in a while. I was told by a woman where I used to work that is about ten years older than I that smoking will bring on menopause earlier. I don't know but I do smoke. So far I haven't seemed to have mood swings like I did before with the PMS thing. I know each of us is different but we do pay our dues, don't we!!!!

[Brooke]

I'm 46 and I looked up the symptoms to see how many I had...I had no idea all these could happen to me!!! Thank God I only have a few...





1. Hot flashes, flushes, night sweats and/or cold flashes, clammy feeling

2. Bouts of rapid heart beat

3. Irritability, Mood swings

4. Sudden tears

5. Trouble sleeping through the night (with or without night sweats)

6. Irregular periods; shorter, lighter periods; heavier periods, flooding; phantom periods, shorter cycles, longer cycles

7. Loss of libido

8. Dry vagina

9. Crashing fatigue MORE INFO

10. Anxiety, feeling ill at ease

11. Feelings of dread, apprehension, doom

12.Difficulty concentrating, disorientation, mental confusion

13. Disturbing memory lapses

14.Incontinence, especially upon sneezing, laughing; urge incontinence

15. Itchy, crawly skin

16. Aching, sore joints, muscles and tendons

17. Increased tension in muscles

18. Breast tenderness

19. Headache change: increase or decrease

20. Gastrointestinal distress, indigestion, flatulence, gas pain, nausea

21. Sudden bouts of bloat

22. Depression

23. Exacerbation of existing conditions

24. Increase in allergies

25. Weight gain

26.Hair loss or thinning, head, pubic, or whole body; increase in facial hair

27. Dizziness, light-headedness, episodes of loss of balance

28. Changes in body odor

29. Electric shock sensation under the skin and in the head

30. Tingling in the extremities

31. Gum problems, increased bleeding

32. Burning tongue, burning roof of mouth, bad taste in mouth, change in breath odor

33. Osteoporosis -- MORE INFO

34. Changes in fingernails: softer, crack or break easier

35. Tinnitus: ringing in ears, bells, 'whooshing' buzzing etc.