The FastDay Forum

Thanks julieathope for starting this thread & THANK YOU rawkaren for mentioning the dryness, I didn't know that was menopause related & have never spoken to my "male" doctor about it (although he did comment, when he struggled during a recent smear test, that I was "like a 15 year-old" - I'm thinking that's probably related) - do I HAVE to go to the doctors for the pessaries????

Other than the above ....... I started my menopause aged 38 (confirmed by a scan), I then nearly had a nervous breakdown before the age of 40 which no-one, (not even me or my doctor) ever connected to the menopause so my husband sold his business, I handed my notice in & we went to France. Drastic!! but the alternative was anti-depressants & I didn't want them. We have no regrets about coming to France (fortunately!)

I was never offered HRT so I never took it. The night sweats (& to a lesser degree the daytime hot flushes) lasted a few years & I found them more intriguing than annoying. My moods, well I don't know if they're any different to before, it's been so long now (12 years) that I don't really remember before!!! Weight was ok until I stopped smoking then I put a couple of stone on, that with 5:2 I've now lost

@AnnieD Why don't you try a non hormonal treatment first to see how you get on? http://www.boots.com/en/Replens-MD-Vagi ... Pack_1761/. These might be enough for you. Alternatively can you speak to your GP on the phone (or the nurse), and just ask if they would give you a prescription without a consultation? The dose is so low, they seem quite relaxed about prescribing them for the longer term. Bon chance

Chin hairs and the mustache... This is a fantastic gadget, really easy and quick to use. Just twidle and bam your hairs are plucked out.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Epistick-Epilat ... s=epistick

My experiences are similar to drilakila. I started menopause in my late forties and to begin with took HRT, but after about 3 years I had to come off it because of the side effects. I tried oestrogen creams for the dryness but had terrible allergic reactions and just had to stop trying them. I cried buckets because sex became very painful even with lubricants. I tried everything under the sun with the help of my doctor, but nothing worked. I tried umpteen different HRT's and just had allergy after allergy.
I consider myself one of the lucky ones as my husband was tremendously supportive. I am now 63 and mostly over the whole horrible journey, the dryness remains and we've had to find other ways to love each other. I sincerely hope that you don't have such a hard time of it. Some women sail through it....I did not.
One thing that helped me a great deal was a web site dedicated to the menopause, this is the link http://www.power-surge.com/ I could not have got through some experiences without the additional help I got on that website. I no longer need them.
I hope that this helps you.

Chin hairs and the mustache... This is a fantastic gadget, really easy and quick to use. Just twidle and bam your hairs are plucked out.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Epistick-Epilat ... s=epistick

My goodness Julie, you have a gadget for everything!

Of course dahrling. If I can't buy, I will make it.

Chin hairs and the mustache... This is a fantastic gadget, really easy and quick to use. Just twidle and bam your hairs are plucked out.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Epistick-Epilat ... s=epistick

just ordered one! thanks xxx

At age 72, I may be the oldest woman on the planet still on HRT after 22 years Like you @judithn I decided that quality of life beats longevity when that scary nurses study came out.

However, I did switch to the chemically identical from the synthetic. (Nurses study was only about the synthetic (Premarin, progestin) I'm on 2 100 mg capsules of progesterone daily and an estrogen (estradiol) patch, changed weekly. These are chemically identical to the hormones produced by the human body, so I am not introducing something foreign to my body. I admit it might be a risk to expose myself to them longer than nature intended. But then, nature didn't even intend us to live much past menopause anyway IMO --so it's all an experiment, this modern phenomenom of living long.

I did a lttle research on pubmed and found that many women have done the same. Two review articles indicate that there is probably little risk from this biologically identical HRT and that it might be actually beneficial. I'll look up the references and post them here later.

I've found that progesterone is necessary to help me maintain my equilibrium under stress. Last year I went without for a while and found myself very irritable and anxious. With HRT I feel happy, healthy and calm. I think that libido is a little low, but response and enjoyment is what estrogen is all about

Thank you, Julie for bringing this up and to all who contribute their experiences.

Here are the journal references that I mentioned. There are probably more, but I didn't do more extensive research.

Maturitas, vol 60 no 3-4 pp 185-201 2008
"Could transdermal estradiol and progesterone be a safer post menopausal HRT? A review"
Hermite, Simoncini, Fuller, and Genazzani

Clin Geriatr Med. 2011 Nov;27(4):541-59. doi: 10.1016/j.cger.2011.07.013.
Hormone replacement therapy in the geriatric patient: current state of the evidence and questions for the future. Estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, and thyroid hormone augmentation in geriatric clinical practice: part 1
Schwartz E, Holtorf K

Clin Geriatr Med. 2011 Nov;27(4):561-75. doi: 10.1016/j.cger.2011.07.004.
Hormone replacement therapy in the geriatric patient: current state of the evidence and questions for the future--estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, and thyroid hormone augmentation in geriatric clinical practice: part 2.
Schwartz E, Morelli V, Holtorf K.

Great thread and is a topic which does need discussion, always a bold and outspoken woman when it came to going through menopause I spoke up on a then taboo subject. You know in a workshop they sometimes ask what is the most significant thing in your life right now ... I would say ... Going through menopause ... always guaranteed to invoke stony silence and discomfort in the room

Having had PMT I figured I would be in for a grumpy ride through the change. Some days I could have bitten heads off and some days I actually did. I would think while having a professional persona inside I would be screaming 'hey you have no idea how hard it is for me to function today through lack of sleep, night sweats, body aches, moodiness etc.'

I am now at the other side and I achieved what I had hoped, my personal Passage to Power. @rawkaren Leslie Kenton is my hero too, thoroughly recommend her inspiring book reason being she writes beautifully about what you are going through, loved the way she handled all the psychological stuff which is like a paradigm shift. I didn't take HRT, a passionate personal choice, trying to trust my body. Germaine Greer also inspired me with her book 'The Change' and Marilyn Glenville's 'Natural Alternatives to HRT'.

An irony though like @rawkaren am considering discussion with GP about very low dose pesseries due to the dryness. As @AnnieD eloquently describes so much changes in your body. All up there is light at the end of the tunnel, hold on tight and deeply reflect it will be worth it

@gillymary. I think we must be sisters. I would have loved to have been at that presentation and seen all those faces after your pronouncement

@rawkaren aw thanks, thinking you would also love Leslie Kenton's Raw Energy and her The X Factor Diet which was my bible when I was on my earlier Atkins phase. I still dip into that book as in all her books, she is demonstrates she is a visionary and ahead of her time

Agree @gillymary. Deffo ahead of her time. Thinking of going all raw for Jan to treat the body. It feels soooo good, but hard to maintain. Be better if I had your weather

Power to you and yes better raw in summer. Bit cloudy today but the cicadas are making a racket and it is still a very nice day. If I could I would send some your way instead I will go out into the my garden and appreciate it on your behalf. You weather is rough at present isn't it?

I have in the past had a consultation with this Doctor. She invented the 'Stone Age diet'. Here is her take on the menopause. For me I agree with her feeling that hot flushes are more to do with hypoglyceimic reactions as the only time I get hot flushes in when I have had a high carb day or had alcohol.

http://www.drmyhill.co.uk/wiki/Menopaus ... ackle_them

This is such a helpful thread. I am 51 and have suffered from dryness for the last couple of years. I spoke to the nurse at my GP practice and she recommended Replens (as referred to by rawkaren). I tried it but it didn't really help so I might go back and ask for oestrogen pessaries.

I would be interested to hear of others' experiences of how long it takes for periods to stop completely. The first time I missed one was in autumn 2010 and since then I have missed 2 or 3 each year. I did notice that while I was following 5:2 strictly (Jan to Oct 2013) my periods became very regular again but at shorter intervals - around 20 days. Since I stopped fasting I have missed two.

I have not had any other symptoms so far so I am hoping that it will stay that way