Surgical Menopause

[cshelia]

2 yrs ago in March I had a hysterectomy. They removed my ovaries, tubes, uterus and cervix, which sent me straight into menopause. I tried to go without hormones, but after 4 days I couldn't do it. And then there was a couple of times that I tried to go without them again, 2 weeks is all I lasted. Well, here I am again, trying to go without, but this time I'm trying other stuff. I tried black cohosh for a week and a half, but no luck. The hot flashes were horrible, not to mention my moods. So I am now trying New Phase, over the counter supplement. It has helped lessen the hot flashes and night sweats, but they are not completely gone. It says it can take up to 4 weeks to see a big change, so I'm hoping for the best.

Does anyone else have something over the counter that they use that might help more?

I am also extremely fatigued all the time. I have been doing some research on this and have discovered the adrenal glands. They play a very big role in fatigue, so I bought some vitamins that are supposed to support them and help them to function better. I have only been taking them for 6 days now, but haven't noticed much of a difference. But I have been sick the entire time I have been taking them, so that might be why I haven't seen a change. I will try and update on them in a few weeks.

If anybody out there has any suggestion on things that has helped them through menopause, I would love to hear from you

[Mitra]

I don't have any magic cures to offer, and I haven't had surgery, so I assume the effects are more gradual. I did go through a period of exhaustion, that seemed to last a year or two. I read a lot about adrenals at that time, but didn't find anything I took made any difference that I could detect. All that I ended up doing was being obsessive about getting enough sleep, eating well, turning down any extra demands on my time and energy, exercising a bit, but mildly... and waiting for it to pass. Keeping my carbs steady - not too high or too low - and eating at least three times each day helped. Anything stimulating, like mild stress, or a bit too much exercise, would just leave me wiped out.

I don't know if being so careful helped, but it's a lot better now. It lasted more than a year, though. I had lower back/sacroiliac troubles at that time that seemed to be hormone related. That's been a lot better recently. Through it all my allergies have been worse than before, though they seem to have passed the worst too. The hot flushes have arrived in the last few months, as the other stuff improved. It sometimes feels like the seven plagues. But so far they've not been unbearable, and definitely much less bother than permanent exhaustion, so I haven't worried about looking for anything to stop or reduce them.

I'm still menstruating irregularly, so although my hormones are not what they were, I'm not through it all yet either. I'm 48, and it all started almost four years ago now, as I turned 45.

How old are you? If you want to stop the hormones, you may need to step them down gradually.

Sorry I can't offer much more than some sympathy from a fellow-sufferer.

[cshelia]

Thanks Mitra for you response. I'm 41, was 39 at the time of surgery. I was hoping that over time the symptoms would get better, but they haven't. I sure hope I don't have yrs and yrs of this to go through. I'm hoping that this woe will help with some of this, it's worth the shot, right?

[Mitra]

Eating well has to help, but of course, there are situations when it's not enough. Also, I found that I felt worse on very low carb levels. I do better not going much below 50 or 60g per day average. I've seen theories that adrenal hormones are needed to stimulate gluconeogenesis, so if your adrenals are struggling, that could be an extra stress they don't need. It's not something the Drs Eades have discussed as far as I know. I'm not much of a sugar or fruit eater, so I go for some starchy carbs as part of my meal. Fast carbs like fruit or sweet things on their own aren't good. Drinking alcohol before a meal is a disaster, though a small glass with my food seems OK.

I have also found that I feel worse if I do anything that actually results in weight loss. I'm glad that I finished my weight loss before this all started. I can lose weight by dropping my carbs or calories, but I feel more drained, and lose any energy that I've regained, so it just isn't worth it for a couple more pounds. (I'm 115-120 and 5' 2".)

Of course, your experience may be different, and maybe we'll get some more perspectives from other people.

[GraciGirl]

I had a total radical hysterectomy in December of 2008. Even though I was post-menopausal, my ovaries were still producing some hormones so the hot flashes weren't all that bad.

After my surgery my hot flashes got a lot worse. I'm 58 and have Factor 5 Leiden (blood clotting disorder) so I'm not a candidate for hormone replacement therapy.

I'm just putting up with the hot flashes which are gradually getting better.

I have noticed that when I get stressed or irritated I'm a regular hot flash factory. My face, neck, arms, etc will turn bright red and I practically drip sweat.

When I'm calm, happy, totally non stressed the hot flashes pretty much leave me alone. I haven't figured out how to stay calm, happy and totally non-stressed though so I just put up with the hot flashes.