HN
I intend to ask my doc about that cream.
Been enjoying Minnies site today.... that and some red wine
In about 15 min I will add ribs too
Having a good day, Hope you are too
greentea

GT

A lot of doctors don't think that OTC progesterone cream can do much of anything. They just don't know much about it but won't admit it. That has been my experience with doctors, that is why I took my health in my own hands.

Glad you are enjoying your wine, I gave that up when I started having menopausal symptoms it seems the wine added fuel to my moods and hot flashes.

Herbnurse, Your statement about doctors not knowing much about progesterone is right on target. Progesterone cream can be purchased at Vitamin World or GNC. It's a shame that doctors don't know more about the hrt they prescribe. There was one gyn group in my immediate area and the premarin they were giving me was not what I needed to be on. When I took matters into my own hands and consulted an endocrinologist, one of the things she did was take me off premarin and prescribe Climara patches. Because the local gyn group I was seeing had a one size fits all approach to hrt, the local pharmacy had no Climara patches and had to special order them for me! Climara patches are not one of those obscure prescriptions that pharmacies usually have to special order.
The women on the Sans Uteri forum who have "taken matters into their own hands" seem to be much better than those who haven't.
asugar

I have a Vitamin World close to me and also a natural store so
I'll check them both out, I just wanted to ask her how much longer it would be until I can get off this med without the effects
associated with stopping it...I'm assuming I shouldn't be on the meds and the cream at the same time.
greentea

It sounds like you are going through what so many of us have been through (or are in the middle of). It's not likely that all of this started at the same time or with the same intensity.....most of the symptoms start out very subtly and then, before you realize what they were, you end up with a whole new set of "changes"..... it's all part of the process of peri-menopause and requires a lot of education, documentation, experimentation, some patience and a great sense of humor!

Let's put it this way...your body is hormonally out of balance and what do we need to do when we lose our balance? Find the middle! Since each of us is so different, you won't be able to rely on what works for someone else, which is why education is so important at this point. You've got to know what is normal for you and your family history, and when you KNOW you're feeling out of balance you have to start searching for the new "middle".

It used to be that we could go to our doctors and expect them to "fix" whatever was wrong, but as HerbNurse has stated many times, we have to take charge and rely on our own instincts, our own research and common sense. Some women choose prescription hrt, some go the natural route, but there are no SET answers when it comes to what is YOUR solution.

I would suggest that you take a look at the most common symptoms other women are dealing with (listed on my site at http://www.minniepauz.com/35symptoms.html) which you've probably already seen and most likely related to. Then decide what is giving you the most grief......maybe it's the mood swings, but whatever you decide, then I recommend you do more research on just that at first. (I can assure you that each time you discover info related to one thing, you will find links and referrals to additional issues.)

This is a good time to start documenting your symptoms too. It will be helpful when you go to the doctor and it will help you see if there are patterns developing regarding times and intensity of your symptoms....especially since we get a bit more "forgetful" during all this turmoil. I call those "Minnie Moments". Either a journal or just a calendar is helpful on this part.

It will take some time, but if you truly want to get yourself back into balance, it will be well worth it. Even the confidence you get from being more informed will help ease the confusion and frustration you must be feeling.

I don't have all the answers, but I recognize the need to help a "sister" find a starting point to what I'm now calling "discovery thru menopause"...well, that's not as clever as "if you don't get it, you ain't there yet", but it will have to do for now.

I hope I've helped in some small way....you deserve to feel good!
Dee

Bravo! MinniePauz

Thanks for that post, it is very insiteful especially for those just starting out with peri-menopausal symptoms.

I feel blessed that we have formed this sisterhood, it is our salvation.

I've been meaning to ask you to send me some info on your business/website. I've had a lot of requests to promote stuff on my site, but have chosen not to take on that responsibility. What I find intriguing about you is your wealth of knowledge and experience.

Are you currently working a fulltime job outside the home? I am thinking you would be a great contributor to minniepauz.com if you're interested. It doesn't pay anything at this point, but there's a lot of satisfaction in being able to help other women, like you do on this board.

If you'd like to respond by email, it's dee~minniepauz.com Maybe we can even talk by phone if you're interested in discussing the possibilities.
Regards,
Dee

I started going through "the change" this spring. Hot flashes, night sweats. It was awful! I read about red clover and take 1000 mg twice a day. Red clover has natural estrogen and has a more complete kind than soy. It took about 4 weeks to really feel the difference. I don't have a problem now.

Zuleika

Don't you just love it when you can take care of the symptoms naturally? I swear by red clover, I too have gotten rid of my hot flashes, but I had to learn the hard way by letting myself run out.

Bet I don't ever do that again!! Wheeeeeewwwwwwwww!

As soon as I get enough posts on here to pm you--I will! I'm looking forward to seeing what side of town your on here--as you well know it can be quite a hike from one county to another!

Anyway, I read the progesterone discussion and I wondered if you had looked into the sublingual natural progesterone tablets. According to Mercola, it is much easier to control dosages than with the creams. Apparently, in some testing they had found levels had become too high with the cream users. Check it out. You may want to carry it on your site.

And by the way--you guys are scarin' me !! Well not really, I figure everybody goes through it--how bad can it be?---come to think about it that is what I said about having a baby too (Uh ooh )

Marj

Hi Everyone
Thanks for all the input. I'm just feeling overwhelmed right now I'm making some major changes that are going to effect the rest of my life and while I felt real confident about it,
I'm now hoping I didn't do all this because of some wacky M-Pausel burp I may be having.
I keep wondering if I were a man right now would I be driving some little red corvette with the top down and my toupee blowing off my head????
I'd like to believe I DO still have lucid moments even though
today is my anniversary and I totally forgot all about it
It's days like this that I have to wonder "Do I really want ME in
charge of me?"
greentea

Since "women going through hormonal changes" are the biggest segment of society these days, that's what happens everywhere we start talking to each other.

Anyway.....I have a question about my eating! Surprise!

I've been doing Atkins for about 3 mo. now and have lost 40lbs. Still not doing enough exercise or drinking enough water, but am so happy to be done with sugar, starches, etc. I'm such a believer that I haven't progressed much past the induction phase!

Now I'm getting bored, cutting back on meat since my HDL is too low and blood pressure is too high. One problem is that I don't like most of the allowed veggies and everytime I eat some fruit, I get that "hungry" feeling.

Some of the things I'm missing (not craving or cheating on) are milk, occasional bread and cereal for breakfast. I'm wondering if adding these things once a week or so would throw me off. I don't want to fall off the wagon because I still want to lose another 40-50 lbs. The only cheat I had was eating one hotdog bun and 1 Hershey's kiss in the entire 3 months. Neither of those created an urge or craving, so I'm thinking I could handle a little reward now and then, but I'm kind of afraid to risk it.

What has been some of your experiences?
Dee

HI Minnie,
I had milk (skim) 3x last month and didn't notice any bad effects. I also tried soy chocolate milk and THAT made me feel horrible....tasted good going down but won't go there again. I've read where people are eating LC bread. I've had toast (while sick) and again no effect. I wouldn't add these things with regularity but, the few dips I had, made no difference. From reading posts I think I drink more coffee than the normal LC'er and that has been tolerable too.
Cereal I don't know about... I loved the stuff but wouldn't want to do milk and cereal together. You can always try a little and see what happens.
After almost 3 months I added crackers (LF ritz) since I was getting bored at breakfast. Again that seemed okay. I think you're going to have to experiment a little.
Once you know which carbs are the "weight offenders" for
you personally, then It should be okay to add in the tolerable ones....at least once in awhile. Now I'm not on Atkins and don't know how adding these things would throw that off, you're the expert there but in general LC-ing I've been experimenting and know by the way I feel or weight I've gained if the food item stays on the "never" list.
40 lbs. That is fantastic...I can understand how you don't want to
blow it now!!!
GT

Christian1

I will be looking forward to your post. I do not have a retail storefront just a home based mailorder webstore. Wish I did, but all good things come in time.

I am not sure I know of sublingual progesterone tablets. The cream that I especially like is one that is a metered pump bottle, so everytime dose is the same as the last.

Doctors can't seem to agree on anything, some say you can't get enough progesterone out of the OTC kind to make a difference and some say you can.

Dr. John Lee has several great books out on the subject, actually I think that is his specialty. I believe that it is a trial and error thing with any OTC product. Each body has a different chemical and metabolic makeup therefore we have to experiment.

After all, isn't that what doctors do when they prescribe hormones to us? If they don't get it right the first time, they will tweak the prescription and then re-write it so we have to spend yet another dollar to see if the newest dosage will work.

I have gotten my symptoms under control now and I feel great.
But the weeks that I had those nasty hot flashes was sheer hell!!

Minnie

I would love to contribute to your website if I can find the time.
I work my webstore full-time but that may change. My wholesaler is going thru a re-structuring phase and I am having trouble getting products. Consequently my customers suffer and especially my poor menopausal ladies, some have been with me from the very first day on the internet in 1998.

I will send you an email. And thanks for the offer!

Minnie,

About wanting to reward yourself:

You have to find something that works for you. As you move into ongoing weight loss and maintenance you start increasing your carb levels. That allows for different choices. While the LC choices are generally the best, some people (myself included) allow the occassional reward. I don't think I'll ever be a purist, but I know I will always be careful. So, once in a while I will have a small slice of garlic bread, or a hot dog bun. The trick is partly in how your body can handle it, and partly in how your mind can handle it. It it doesn't trigger a huge cravings binge, or you don't beat yourself up for "cheating" then......... It's a matter of choice on where you want to spend your carb allowance.

Everyone else...wow do I have a lot of catching up to do with all your posts!. It's been a rough week with work, my mom getting sick, and preparing for weekend long company for the next 2 weeks.

I do have good news! I had a wonderful deep sleep last night and feel like an new person. I haven't been sleeping well for the last 11 months. Our 13 year old cat got into the habit of waking me up once or twice a night to be fed after we had to switch him to canned food from dry. At first it didn't bother me, since I had just started Lcing and needed to get up in the night to visit the loo anyway. Now it's just become plain annoying. Last night I fixed him a wonderful bed, a food plate, water and a kitty box in the guest room waaaaaaaaaaaaay on the other side of the house. There were 3 closed doors between us, so we didn't hear his complaining. I slept like a log, and he is no worse for the wear. I think he'll be taking a little night time guest room holiday for the next 2 weeks to see if I can get him retrained to allow me to sleep. Anyway, what a difference a good night's deep, complete sleep can do.

I'll check back in on Monday once our visitors are gone. Everyone have a great weekend.