Pre-menopause support & advice...Kinda scared......?
OK, I'm 47 now, my periods have been changing for the last 2 years, otherwise they have always been on time. I've bled lightly for 2 months then gone back normal for months. It's happened on & off. Now I have been bleeding heavy and clotting for going on 2 months. Some cramping & more big clots and flooding this time, does this sound right? I had a pap 6 months everything was great in that department. I just want some feed back from other women who are going or have been through this. How long does this last? Does it just stop one day & I'm done or does it go on for years, I don't think I cant stand to bleed for years! It is so heavy at times when I stand up or sit for a long time I have to change my clothes. What did the doctor tell you when you were going through it? What medicine or hormones did he give you? I don't know much about hormones, mom & grandma never took any, aren't they dangerous? Tell me how it went for you? Something herbal I can try?
2008-05-18T12:56:26Z
Should I tough it out or should I take hormones? What are the risks of hormones. What kind do I agree to take? Tell me about your experience in your own words. I can Google or Yahoo it, I just wanted some real live answers..... AND THANK YOU!!!
2008-05-21T04:59:11Z
I do have hypothyroidism with some hair loss & weight gain but controlled by meds for 3 yrs. No swelling or nodules, I feel better & don't sleep 24/7 now. Hair is coming back. The bleeding was & is light to heavy for 2 months straight with huge clotting. I do have night sweats & hot flashes but not so many. Very moody at times. I will look into this Estroven & Black Cohosh. Blood work revealed everything was normal except cholesterol. Revealed fatty liver disease said to loose weight and it would go away. Considering the ultrasound now too. You all have different stories so maybe I'm where should be. No need to go back to my doctor I'd waste time and money, I should go straight to a Gynecologist I suppose. Thanks to all or you for taking the time!
Been here before2008-05-18T13:27:53Z
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gee I hope you don't mean bleeding heavy for two months non-stop!!! straight to the doctor if that's the case!
It's normal to get some light some heavy and some missed out, because the hormones are winding down....the times you don't have enough of one to cause the bleed, the womb lining builds up a bit thicker, so get heavier the next time. This can go on for several years.
But it should not be so heavy that it floods you...one hormone should be contracting the womb, so the blood vessels that feed the womb lining get squeezed off, to reduce bleeding. This is an issue that hormone replacement therapy would fix. The other possibility is polyps (benign growths) or endometriosis (excessive thickening of the lining) are causing the excessive bleeding.
So you should go see a good doctor or a women's clinic run by women, to get it sorted out.
You don't mention other symptoms - maybe you've been lucky or they might start later - the worst of which are being tearful for no reason, biting everyone's heads off worse than in PMT, hot flushes with night sweats, and urinary incontinence (when laughing, coughing or running, usually). A lucky few women get none of these, most get at least two of them. (I got all of them with a vengeance, but with very little bleeding problems; a year on HRT I was a normal person again)
It is not worth suffering and making your family suffer. Women are more active now that in grandma's day. You dont need to stay on the HRT forever, just for a few years to tide you over while your hormones just chop and change as they are doing now.. A lot of the supposed dangers are based on hormone combinations and dosage strengths they haven't used for 30 years now. Herbals help with some side effects, but will do nothing for the heavy bleeding problem.
Change your skin and hair care products, as both these will get drier and thinner as your hormones go to sleep. Watch your diet, make sure you get enough calcium as bones also thin out without estrogen. Women's formulation vitamins or herbal mixes will come in handy here for general wellbeing.
Once you get through this, you'll find a new lease on life, one where your moods don't depend on the calendar!! Sometimes I think the awful symptoms are just there to make us doubly happy that it's all over.
Hi, I'm 47 also and have been going through the same thing. It's perfectly normal at our age. In fact, I didn't have a period at all from December until April (then it was five drops in five days, too) and started to have the hot flashes and night sweats, those were so much fun.......I went to my doctor who wanted me to start on hormone therapy replacement. I didn't want to start that after hearing a lot of negativity with that.
I have a friend that highly recommended Estroven, it's an over the counter menopause meds. Completely natural and won't conflict with any other meds you might be taking. My doc said that I would have to go a complete year without a period before I would be completely done with everything. It can go on for years or can stop immediately. I would definitely recommend the product Estroven (Walmart sells it as well as Dollar General stores) Best of luck, and don't worry so much, ok? It unfortunately is part of our being female.
I don't know very much about the bleeding part, if I were you I would speak to my doctor about that. However, I do know that Black Cohosh is an excellent alternative to taking hormones. When I first began going through "the change of life", I used to get hot flashes and night sweats like crazy. After taking Black Cohosh for about two weeks, the hot flashes and night sweats subsided and then eventually went away altogether.
I continued taking Black Cohosh for two years. After running out the last time, I never bought them again because I never needed them again.
I used the Black Cohosh that I bought out of the grocery, or drug store (capsules). And you are right, prescribed hormones are very dangerous and they increase your risk of getting breast cancer by far. Just take Black Cohosh from over the counter and try drinking soy milk or eating soy products. Soy products have phytoestrogens. These estrogens have they same chemical make up as natural estrogen however they are not cancer producing.
This is what happened to me. I had premature ovarian failure when I was 25 (which means I went into menopause when I was 25 years old). Yes the hot flashes, night sweats and the works. I was put on hormones then (I'm 55 now). I took them up till about a year ago and I am fine in that area! LOL Anyway the only thing I had to make sure of is that I had a mammogram every year and a pap smear. And I did and never had a problem. I went from pills to patches (after I had a hysterectomy (about 5 years ago). I finally took myself off patches (which was fine with the doctor) about a year ago and everything is great. No hot flashes, no night sweats, nothing.
You particularly did not point out some thing that might characterize menopause. My intervals had been each and every 28 days, I had an ovarian cyst and in many instances get scorching flashes at 31 years historic...I'm presently 21 weeks pregnant and am undoubtedly now not going by way of menopause :-)