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Has anyone gone through menopause 5 years ago or longer and done it completely without any hormonal help at all?
I am in my second year of menopause after about five years of perimenopause. I have not used hormones of any kind and seem to have gotten through at least the physical effects (hot flashes, etc) without tearing my hair out.
But I have noticed other changes -- in my skin, my hair, and my libido -- that bother me, and I know that our hormones affect all these things. I'm now wondering if my decision (almost by default; I just didn't have an extraordinarily tough transition) to go hormone-free was made in haste, and if I should reconsider.
Does anyone have the experience of 5 or 10 years post-menopause without hormones? Are you happy with your decision?
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Thanks, Anita. That means a lot!!
February 1, 2010 - 11:32amThis Comment
I AM 29 SOON TO BE 30 AND HAD A FULL HYSTERECTOMY 6MTHS AGO DO TO MEDICAL REASONS I'VE BEEN ON A PATCH FOR HORMONES BUT TAKE MEDICATION TO PREVENT MIGRAINES AND JUST HAD A 3 DAY ONE. SO MY DOCTOR TOLD ME TO GO OFF OF THEM FOR A COUPLE OF MONTHS AND LET SEE HOW I DO WITH OUT HORMONE REPLACEMENT. I AGREED BECAUSE IVE JUST BEEN SICK AND ITS HARD TO TAKE CARE OF 2 KIDS AND THEM UNDERSTAND HOW BAD MOMMYS HEAD HURTS. I ADMIT IM NERVIOUS ABOUT WHEN I START NOTICING SYMPTOMS WHAT MY OPTIONS WILL BE RISK MIGRAINS OR TREAT MENOPAUSE SYMPTOMS MY DOCTOR SAID WE WILL ADDRESS IT WHEN IT COMES UP AND SEE HOW BAD IT IS FOR ME.
January 28, 2010 - 9:16amThis Comment
I began having terrible hot flashes last September. I could look at the clock and they would be every 45 minutes and then once every other hour during the night. I wondered how some women can put up with this for several years.
A gal I work with told that she took an herbal supplement called Flash Fighters made by Vitamin World. she told me that it takes about 2 weeks for it to work, taking 3 a day. I wondered if it was really going to work then on the 10th day, they quit. I feel normal again!!!
I only take 2 a day now and only rarely do I feel any sort of faint hot flash. The gal at work said she still had hot flashes but they weren't as intense. I feel like I have been delivered completely!
It contains what I read online to take - Soy Concentrate, Black Cohosh Extract, Dong Quai, Licorice, and Vitex Extract.
I have never been into herbal things and most I feel are gimicks, but this really works.
January 4, 2010 - 8:08pmThis Comment
Anon,
Thank you so much for writing!!! I really appreciate it. Had you been having any other perimenopause symptoms, and if so, has the Flash Fighters helped that as well?
January 5, 2010 - 9:54amThis Comment
Yes, I feel back to normal in every area. I was feeling hot and cold and never comfortable. I had terrible night sweats and the hot flashes were like my own personal furnace every 45 minutes. I take two Flash Fighter pills a day and now I feel normal again. Flash Fighters are available from Vitamin World. I would have never tried them but a gal I work with told me they worked for her. It is wonderful feeling normal again.
January 30, 2010 - 10:57amThis Comment
Thanks for all your input, ladies! It's so interesting to read what works for some women and not for others. DIM-plus contains diindolylmethane, which allegedly helps with estrogen metabolism. The main ingredient is also found in cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and so on).
December 28, 2009 - 8:48amThis Comment
OK, Ladies I have something absolutely amazing that has helped me ward off the hot flashes, night sweats and my libdo has even improved...answer??? DIM-plus by Nature's Way!!! Life is finally good again with all the relief from the perimenopausal symptoms!!! You don't know me...but trust me this works!!!
December 25, 2009 - 2:02pmThis Comment
First off...try maca 4:1 extract root capsules by soloray....normalizing naturally your horomones...google online and read....maca royal jelly also good...buy online cheaper than spec vit stores.
i take soy isoflavones....black cohosh....melatonin and magnesium at night to help sleep....
and estroven over the counter day and night...but
recently i went to get progesterone cream from walmart after having a couple really bad days ....and it was a lift saver....saw something on it online....
i also saw how you can test yourself with at home saliva test and blood test and send in to see where you are in your horomones....and then you can choose to take bioidentical online stuff....
i think that is my next step....
like you recently....everything has went south overnight...skin sagging,more physical etc.....
so i am either going to a bioidentical dr in town to get tested or order the test online to see where i am...
bec the natural stuff works pretty well but some nights are still rough...hot and cold up and down...
but the natural stuff works pretty well during the day with only crashing here and there energy wise or hot flash wise...maybe one or two a month...
but i am in the face paced aging syndrome too.....
keep in touch and let me see what you do to...in the same time frame boat....
December 25, 2009 - 10:40amThis Comment
try naturol or soloray brand....MACA 4:1 EXTRACT IN CAPSULE FORM DAILY
November 30, 2009 - 9:03amOVER THE COUNTER ESTROVEN ENERGY DAYTIME AND PM FOR NIGHT TIME.
READING ON PUERARIA MIRIFICA NOW AND THINKING ABOUT ADDING THAT.
I HAVE NOT DID ANY HRT AND I AM 2 YEARS INTO IT....HAVE YOU FOUND OUT ANYTHING INTERESTING TO SHARE
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i recomment MACA..IT IS from peru and natural hormone balance herb/root. take the 4 to 1 extract...it will say that on back of bottle....naturol or soloray are two brands .cheaper bought online. it will replenish your vaginal dryness....need to take a couple of week and you will feel a difference.
November 30, 2009 - 8:57ami also take black cohosh in the over the counter estroven energy daytime and pm nighttime to help with sleep and hotflashes that help alot.....
thinking about trying pueraria mirifica.
i have noticed facial sagging and want to find something to help with the thinning skin,sagging that has come on more dramatically my second year into menopause....
anyone have any ideas on that.....
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