I am 38 yrs old & am experiencing wacky stuff with my hormones. My mother started her menopause journey at 38, so it's possible it may be perimenopausal symptoms. But as I'm starting my "research" online, I'm running into the term "hormonal imbalance", as though H.I. is a separate issue from menopause. Regardless, I'd love some input regarding natural treatments. Both times I've asked my doctor about the possibility of perimenopause (in the last 6 months) has resulted in a blood test that determined that's not what it is. But I'm going CRAZY with the "high heat" temperature gauge that is constantly on & off throughout the day & night. Other symptoms that seem "wacky" are high irritability (for which I'm taking Prozac at the moment), arthritic type feeling in my finger joints (my mom's suffered from arthritis for years), & terrible sleep at night (mostly due to the night sweats).
I plan to talk to my doctor soon as the sweating is seriously out of control. I found this website http://www.womentowomen.com/programs/hormonalimbalance/ho... that seems geared towards helping me with what I've been experiencing by using natural supplements. But I’m leery to “self diagnose” since all of this is so new to me.
I’m a stay-at-home mom to 2 young boys (4 yrs & 15 mths). Hubby & I are open to having more children, which is a huge reason I’d like to figure out how to get things back into a “balanced” state naturally rather than synthetically. Any advice or direction you can lend me at this early stage of things would be much appreciated. Thanks!!
Thx for the insight & the suggestions of potential causes. I had another blood test done on Tuesday. Yesterday my doctor confirmed that my thyroid is fine & I'm definitley in menopause. My FSH level was 72!! So, now I'm on the path of trying to find holistic methods that can help with the hot flashes, changing my diet a bit (no caffeine or alcohol, even less processed foods than I was eating before, etc.), taking a calcium supplement & seeing what the future holds.
i would try those topical wild yam extract creams, side effect (randiness)
also you could try holy basil and black cohosh supplements.
ive heard eating yams (not sweet potatos) can help too.
suzzanne somers has a good book on the subject
Were you checked for low grade infections? (High white blood cell counts often indicate that) I had similar symptoms as you (I'm 42) and no detectable hormone imbalance in my blood, but they found anemia and low grade kidney infection that did not have symptoms except the irritability and the night sweats. Infections can be low grade for a while and then escalate all of a sudden, so you might want to check that out with your doctor. Also, Lyme disease is a possibility -- my son had that, and was finally treated successfully, but the doctors did not test for it until they exhausted all other possibilities and the symptoms continued to worsen before they agreed to a Lyme test - I had to request it.
I would get a second opinion. When I was tested for perimenopause, I had MULTIPLE blood tests at different times of my cycle. I'm actually going to the doctor for a check up next month and will ask for more tests, because I've had big changes in the past.
You might want to consider being tested for hyperthyroidism. Your internal medicine doctor is much more used to diagnosing such things. Your OB could order the test, but wouldn't really know how to treat. Hyperthyroid could produce all the symptoms you are talking about. It's an easy blood test, and nothing will fix the problem except the appropriate treatment. (I'm an MD, by the way). Good luck!
I recommend acupuncture. I've had great success related to hormonal issues. I go to Cypress Natural Medicine in Palo Alto- ask for Jen (and tell them I sent you). Good luck!
In my late 30's, with 2 toddlers in the house, I went through what I call my "I want everybody to get the *!@*! off my highway" stage. I knew I was stressed by my toddlers, but I also knew that wasn't what was causing my irritability.
You may want to check out the book called "What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Menopause" by John R. Lee. (There's also one called "What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Perimenopause"). It was a life-saver for me.
Because of this book (actually, the Perimenopause version), I started on natural progesterone cream during perimenopause and it helped me TREMENDOUSLY. When menopause finally hit and I started having hot flashes, I also noticed that my moods were really up and down. A friend who works at Pharmaca recommended a product called "Transitions" from Pure Essence Labs, and it has helped a lot. She said that most people who buy it at her store really like it.
FYI, I've tried a lot of different brands of natural progesterone looking for something inexpensive, and most of them seem to work pretty well. If you decide to try it just go to your local health food store and ask for something good, or look for an online seller with reviews and you should be able to get something that will work for you.
Good luck!
It sounds like thyroid to me. Have you had that checked? (if your dr didn't suggest that, I'd get a new dr). I had the same problem after having children and was diagnosed with Graves disease. It basically means an overactive thyroid. There were three options to treat it, radiation, operation, or medication. I still wanted another child so I chose medication and it worked very well rather quickly. The doctor had advised me to have the operation. I am so glad I didn't take her advice because...
Years later, after my second pregnancy, I became so lethargic I felt half dead. I was then diagnosed with Hashimotos disease which is basically low thyroid. Apparently I was misdiagnosed and never had Grave's disease but sometimes the thyroid can swing from overactive to underactive.
I have since found out, the thyroid is very complicated. I have had all sorts of problems despite being on medication and being told my blood is "normal". I finally found a thyroid replacement that is made from pig's thyroid called Armour which works sooo much better for me than the synthetic stuff. It sounds like you don't need any extra thyroid right now but just keep that in mind in case you do in the future.
It is horrible feeling hot all the time, isn't it?! I hope you get some GOOD help soon. I found way too many drs, even specialists, mess up when it comes to thyroid. It must be a very tricky problem to treat.
Women age 35-55 decrease in estrogen and testosterone production and increase in androgen and cortisol production. Basically besides making us feel wacky this is the main reason for middle age spread. If we change nothing we are to gain a pound a year. Isn't fun getting older? My doctor put me on 4 supplements that are pharmaceutical grade isotonic solutions. My cocktail is : Calcium Plus, Vitamin D with K2, B-Complex and L-Tryptophan. The calcium helps support a healthy body weight and helps prevent osteoporosis, the Vitamin D makes calcium smart and a deficiency can attribute to moodiness and depression, B-Complex improves mood and increases energy and the L-Tryptophan promotes normal sleep promotes mental clarity and de-stresses. After about a week I felt better, two weeks even better, one month and I am a new women. You may be able to get them through your doctor but if not you can find them here: http://www.visionary-wellness.com. Good luck and I hope this helps.
I used Pro-Gest by Emeritus and I think its the most amazing natural treatment in the world. Check it out. Good luck.
Well I just posted something very similar to this the other day.
Not sure your doctor can tell if you are in perimenopause if you are still having a period because you hormones are fluctuating if you are. Some months you ovulate and others you may not.
Please look into a progesterone cream called Pro-gest by emerita. I got mine at Sprouts but you can save alot by going on Amazon. Check out the reviews, this stuff has helped alot of people myself included. Not just for peri/menopause but also PMS. It's diffidently worth a try. Progesterone cream works better than pills because it's not having to go through the liver and you get it alot quicker.
I sure wish you the best,
C.
Have your thyroid checked. There is also an antibody that will show up in your blood test if you have an auto immune thyroid. I got Hashimotos's tyroid after having children. I'm 51 and have not even started menopause yet, but I did start to have wierd hormonal symtoms a few years ago and it turned out to be low thyroid. However, I always feel cold. I've never had night sweats. Be careful how you do research on the internet. There is a lot of bad science along with the good, and the way it is written makes it quite difficult to determine the difference.
