Menopause & Perimenopause

Hi ladies - I'm not even sure if that's a real term - but I was having really bad hot flashes / night sweats. After several months of hoping they'd pass or telling myself I just need to adapt - I opted for BHRT - I'm using Estrogel (applied topically). I don't have a uterus so my doctors have told me progestrone isn't required.

Started Sept 16 - after 2 weeks noticed a reduction in hot flashes - and by 4 weeks I was down to maybe one or two mild ones per day with only a couple each week resulting in a lot of perspiration.

Then - about a week ago I started to see an increase in the number and severity of hot flashes - plus I was waking up every hour or so with a night sweat then wide awake at 3am.

Now . . .having said that - I didn't wake up once last night and it's nearly 9am and I haven't had a hot flash yet - so maybe it was just a two week fluke ???

I haven't had anything stressful happen recently - nor do I feel that I'm under any long term chronic stress. I've started yoga & palates classes again this fall - and I'm doing more than I ever have (if I could have controlled the hot flashes I could have had my own private 'hot yoga' workout!) I make pretty healthy food choices (have for years - no processed food, fast food or sugar, etc).

My ovaries stopped due to a medical treatment - while I'm the right age (47) - prior to treatment I didn't have symptoms and the symptoms came on over night. My doctors have confirmed that this is not a 'natural' menopause.

I've got a doctor's apt this month - but wanted to see if others have experienced this and if so, did you try another product or add other hormones - looking for your feed back.

Jo

Hi Jo!  I think what you are experiencing is most likely needing to tweak the bhrt.  It is a trial and error to find the right one unless they do the saliva test. 

I don't know if this helps or not. 

For more info on menopause and perimenopause visit:
cl-klrambo's Menopause Oasis

Remember....you are NOT alone!!!!!

 

 

 

 

Thank you Cheryl - the hrt that I'm taking is from the pharmacy prescribed by my PCP and it just happens to be bio. It isn't one that was compounded. My dr has said that she doesn't believe the saliva tests are accurate and she has also said she doesn't know much about them, aside from feeling that there isn't adequate evidence to convince her they are valid. I'm tending to go with that - even after attending a seminar put on by a compounding pharmacy, they said that they feel the saliva test is more accurate than blood tests, but doesn't come up with a magic formula that works the first time around.

That being said, she prefers to prescribe HRT that is applied to the skin (ie gel, cream, patch) rather than oral pills. It would seem that the topical hormones made my drug companies are bio-identical.

So, that aside, have you (or do you recall from hearing from others) had blood work done to check hormone levels while currently taking hrt?

When you mention tweaking - does that mean to try a different estrogen product (from what I can tell they are all Estradiol (E2) - just made by different companies . . .or does it mean adding another hormone (ie progestrone).

I have a dr. apt. at the end of the month - just want to know how other doctors approach these situations. I realize that everyone is different and it's impossible to predict what my dr. may have to offer.

On another note - there is a workshop coming up next week with two speakers - one is a physician against compounded BHRT and the other is a physician who believes in them. It will be interesting to hear both views.

Jo

Hi Jo,

It would be interesting to find out what these two speakers had to say about compounded vs. regular hormones! There are many opinions out there as to what is the best way to treat the symptoms of peri & menopause--you can read 10 books on the subject and come away with 10 different ideas on what's the best!  The problem is we all react to all of this in different ways--from the symptoms (or lack of) to the way treatments affect us. The best thing is to find what works for YOU!  However, I don't think any of it is exact!  Your "breakthrough hot flashes" (and I like the term--I knew exactly what you were talking about from the title of this thread!) may have been merely just one of those "flukes" that happens!  For some time we've said that "anything goes" when it comes to peri and meno! I'm just glad to hear that they've seemed to disappear as quickly as they appeared--I just hope that they have truly disappeared.  I do know that some things can "trigger" them--like spicy foods, alcohol and sometimes just hot (as in temperature) foods.  I also found that soy seems to trigger them for me (strange as many women find it helpful in relieving peri/meno symptoms!)  Since you've been on the BHRT for only almost 2 months it could have been your body is still getting used to the re-introduction of estrogen into your system--it can take 3 months for your body to adjust to new meds.

Do let us know if you find out any "enlightening" things from the speakers you've mentioned--and keep us posted on your progress toward relief from those symptoms!

Rhea

The day I didn't have any breakthrough hot flashes seemed to be a fluke. I switched from having 2 pumps of estrogen in the morning to having one in the morning and another after work (6am / 6 pm). That has made a huge difference with my sleep - no more waking up at 3am! It's only been a few days - so could have been just a coincidence.

My doctor's apt. is Nov 27 (and she doesn't take phone calls) - so hopefully the adjustment I made was okay - from what I can tell on line I think it's fine.

Anyway - that's the latest from my corner of the world.

Thank you for the feedback & have a nice weekend,
Jo