menopause and Natural Healing

Since my Menopause I have add extra pound without eating more. I feel bloated all the time, tired and edgy.

Send your story how to pass the Menopause Stage.

EXERCISE!!!  When I started menopause I really went downhill.  I gained 20 pounds over a couple of years, I had hot flashes waking me up all night long, I was constantly tired, I got really cranky and actually woke my husband up at 3:00 am one night to demand a divorce because of somethang that had happened a week before! 

OK, I still have hot flashes, but they don't often wake me up at night.  The other problems are gone.  It is all due to exercise.  It is the single best thing you can do to help with the problems associated with menopause.

Menopause has really been hard on me.  I decided not to do hormone therapy and still stand by my decision.  The hot flashes have not been flashes.  They last for over an hour and are so bad that in the middle of winter I would stand on my front porch in my pj's just hoping the neighbors were sleeping and could not see me.  This has been going on for 10 years.  In the past year they have gotten better, not good, just better.  I have gained 20 pounds and can't seem to take it off for anything in the world.  I have exercised off and on and dieted off and on also.  I have HBP and osteopenia so I have finally decided to try weight training.  I know it will be good for everything.  My biggest problem is I hate to exercise.  So I am hoping that I can just stick with it.

I finally made it through menopause and I am very happy to say that I did it totally naturally. I was determined to do so. As a midwife, I believe in natural childbirth because birth is a natural part of our life cycle. So is menopause. So I was determined. It wasn't always easy because I had to be willing to change some things in order to get healthy. But I'm really glad I did it naturally. 

I discovered early on that I could no longer wear tampons. I used them for years with no problem but when I reached my 40's I discovered they made me cramp and bleed much heavier. It made sense to get rid of them because it wasn't natural to stop the flow out of the body. And tampons can cause toxic shock syndrome. So even if you don't get toxic shock syndrome, you can still have similar problems from using them. So I quit and after just two months without using them, I was so much better with no more severe cramping and heavy bleeding. I also drank chamomile tea which helped with the milder cramping.

For hot flashes I used natural progesterone creams like Wild Yam cream. But I only needed it for a few years and then found I didn't need it any more. But it really did help keep the hot flashes more bearable. Nothing made them go away completely but I could live with them. They certainly weren't anything I wanted to run to the doctor about.

Oh I also got heart palpitations a couple of years ago. But I found that getting off caffiene, loosing weight  and taking vitamins and exercising has taken care of that problem.  They could have been partly hormone related. The first doctor I went to wanted to put me on hormones without even testing me. I got a second opinion and found a doctor who was happy I wanted to deal with things more naturally. I no longer have the heart palpitations either. :-)

I did gain a LOT of weight. But being on CC has really turned things around for me. I'm loosing and working out and getting stronger, too. 

So, I want to encourage all of you still going through menopause. It is temporary even though it takes years to go through. There is light at the end of the tunnel. So I wish you a good journey.

~ Beth

I had no desire to take hormone replacement so I had to fins ways to get through menopause "naturally". More by accident than design I found some things that helped. 1. Having my iron & vitamin D levels checked. I was really anemic and once that was dealt with (by injections, I don't absorb iron pills) I felt a lot better but gained a lot of weight really fast.  Vitamin D level was checked for the first time this year and I take a once a week massive supplement. I  feel less bloated and more able to stay active. 2. Doing Tai Chi. I have some exercise issues due to fibromyalgia and was alwasy fascinated by Tai Chi so I joined the local Tai Chi society. This helped with both menopause & fibromylagia issues and has helped me be able to walk more, so that is helping a bit with the weight gain and I'm trying CC for the rest. I guess the moral is treat the system, not the symptom.

When I became premenopausal, I started taking Geritol supplements that gave me a lot of energy, and vitamin B-Complex which I take at night after eating dinner, it helps me sleep and makes me feel just darn good. I like to eat healthy because it gives me energy, things like brussels sprouts, cooked in chicken broth, lots of canned salmon, tomatoes, cottage cheese, fruits, and nuts, oh yes and my absolute favorite is All-bran. Of course I eat fat free, sour cream, cottage cheese, 1/2 'n1/2, and if I don't eat out I am good. Also I make chicken salad with fat free sour cream, low fat mayo, yellow sweet peppers, dill relish, and a 1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice, and fresh dill. It is delicious.....I haven't taken a supplement since hitting menopause, I drink loads of iced water oh yes and tofu, which takes care of the hot flashes.....exercise will help also, it will give you energy.   

I love this site.  I think I perimenopausal, more because of my age than any real symptoms, I cry at the drop of a hat but i've always been a crybaby.  Anyhow I just learned more about menopause than I ever knew, and I have 7 older sisters.

Thanks ladies, I think i will look at trying it without the hormones too.

I too have made it through menopause without any prescription drugs.  it has been a long road. (and it is still not over)!   my hot flashes continue to come on full strength.  does anyone else find that their hot flashes are bad for 2 weeks and then not bad at all for two weeks and so on??

the weight gain has been my biggest complaint.  i've never had a weight problem. and now I gain just looking at food. and everything goes right straight to my stomach!! ugh!!!

I am just finding out that I am probably perimenopausal.  The soul crushing mood swings I began experiencing last month were my first clue.  I think I blew a job interview a couple of weeks ago because of it.  My husband told me this morning, that when he dropped me off for my 2nd interview with this employer, he had his reservations.  I was that low. Maybe I am just not used to it but how does one deal with the earth suddenly opening up to swallow them?

Part of the answer is knowing that this is a mood swing and that it will pass.  Just don't make any decisions while in this stage.  But that won't help in a job interview.  Exercise might help you if you don't do any, but you might want to talk to a doctor about this if the mood swings are so bad that you can't do the things you need to do.

When I started "seriously" into perimenopause a couple of years ago, I missed a period.  Went to the doctor for an annual exam and asked her about it.  She finished the exam, and when I asked her what she thought, she just kind of smiled and told me she was going to order blood work.  I know I got seriously concerned then!   I went home and told hubby...."I'm either pregnant or menopausal, and either way Buddy, you're screwed!"

I haven't done any hormones at all...have had mood swings, and nighttime means I'm going to wake up sweating...figure I can deal with both of those... hubby's learned to run...fishing is his lifesaver!

It wouldn't be so bad if I could schedule around the mood swings.  It really bothers me because I have always prided myself on my ability to get on with things regardless of how I feel.  But this really knocks me over and I am left all weak and weepy.   Oh well, zillions of women have been there  before me, I will survive.........I guess.

Oh the joys of the "golden" years.....(the term obviously was coined by a man)

The physical changes women experience are all so varied and individual....so, you have to really "pick and choose" from the multitude of suggestions you will receive from your friends and family advising you how to deal with your symptoms.  Are you sure the mood swings are related to a change in your estrogen?  There are medications (not estrogen replacement therapy) that might provide some relief to you, or herbal preparations that you might want to try - under your doctor's supervision, of course. For some women, exercise helps; for others, a change in diet.  Some of us just grit our teeth and suffer through the symptoms...but when the symptoms get in the way of living a satisfying and hopeful life, then it could be time to ask for some help....er, or better living through chemistry.

      I have always prided myself on my ability to get on with things regardless of     how I feel. 

that's a pretty powerful statement, kat=

take care

In this fast, technological, modern age I think our bodies have changed. Way of life, foods and medicine have all modified our bodies and called into question what is natural. Menopause maybe a natural part of life but it is also natural to try and relieve the symptoms. I admire all of you who managed to get through it without recourse to any medication at all. Here, I see women still only in their 50's bent over, teeth missing, lined, miserable, not participating in life, hiding away while their men folk can still work, run around and visit other ladies.

I know what the menopause did to my mother. No wonder men don't want women in the workplace when they suffer mood swings. How can one rely on a woman's judgement when she's in that state of mind?

I wasn't going to take the chance. I took HRT and do not regret one year of it.  My early menopause was caused by ovarian cancer when everything had to be removed. I gained weight, got crabby, suffered huge mood swings, had hot flushes during the day and night sweats. (Why do they call them different things because of the time of day?) I used to feel them start near my ear lobe. I took myself off it after six years and found I was able to cope with the symptoms. I tried other herbal remedies like red clover and black something but nothing was as effective as HRT.

Some people sail through the menopause, others don't. Do what you feel is right for you.

Now, fifteen years latr

I've got questions about menopause.  I've only had one period in the last year and a half (when on vacation, of course).  I began having hot flashes about a year before that.  Mostly they are at night only when I'm awake and they don't last long.  They are soooo much better than periods and cramps, though.  I don't feel anyhere as irratated and crabby as when I had my period.  Except for now that I am dieting.  Taking any kind of drugs doesn't even enter my mind.  My question is...when is it over?  I always thought menopause ended when your periods stopped.  My last period was last July.  And, since it isn't so bad and all I've heard are horror stories, does this mean it has just started?  Except for the weight - and honestly it's been here for a LONG time - I feel like I've gotten off pretty easy.  I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Has anyone gotten to the other side of menopause without many problems?  My hot flashes aren't even too bad.  I get them in stores when standing at the check out, too.  Weird.

I've been one of the fortunate ones that has had minimal problems with menopause. Some night sweat stuff and perhaps I am just a tiny tad more opinionated and verbal about it than I used to be...however I decided to be proud of that.

I did, however, have major problems with perimenopause. I had periods that were not at all periodic or predictable and were rather like avalanches that started and stopped with no warning or pattern except that they occurred more often than not. I actually had to cart a change of clothes about with me literally on my person at all times. The problem was so severe and once I felt it coming I did not have time to get to the bathroom to save my clothes. Once there I could not leave the toilet for as long as 1/2 an hour and in a few instances longer. Finally my doctor did the thing that saved my life. I had a wonderful curing endrometrial ablation (sp)! Essentially she burned off the top layer of my insides and I will kiss the ground upon which she stands while beating her vigorously for waiting so long to do that. It stopped the anemia inducing episodes completely and allowed my body to complete its passage. I am so happy not to have to spend hundreds of dollars each month on "supplies" and more on new clothes that I do not sweat the sweats or get upset over the upsets or stress too much over the fat.

Everyone is different though. If my perimenopause had not been so tumultuous I may not have been so pleased with this phase.

My epxerience pre-menopause was similar to yours Jannid but it took a long time before my doctor sent me to a consultant. Different system in the UK. Despite my 'feeling' there was something wrong it was poohed with pills to stop the flow then it needed time to judge what was happening. Eventually when I was bleeding constantly she referred me to the hospital. By the time my appointment arrived the bleeding had stopped. I was diagnosed with a fibroid that needed surgical removal.

Some fibroid. I never heard about that afterwards but I did learn that my insides were like a 'war zone' as the consultant put it. Ihad endemiotrosis (suggested by me at one point but ignored), severe inflammation of the cervix and multiple tumors on the ovaries. One of those tumors was malignant and iinstead of removing a fibroid they removed everything.

I thank the heavens that it was found then. Any longer, because it was in the reproductive area, growing very fast, I might not  be here now. So, when I think of the menopause or the alternative. I guess I'd go for the alternative: mood swings, flushes and all.

There is lots of good information in this thread. It is interesting how varied people's experiences are.  I talked to my family about my awful mood swings and they all started laughing.  My mum and husband had just warned my brother about them when I was out of the room.  So we had I good laugh, I felt much better and apologized to them for the craziness.

I am going to wait a bit, see how things go.

Communication is a good thing!