What can I tell you, those doctors are wrong and they are not experts in menopause or hormones... reguardless of their titles, they are not 'in the know.' I can only tell you I did not listen to two neurologists and two female gyno's who told me the same as you were told... I was so relieved when two others did, one in gynocology and one a urinary surgeon now specializing in bioidentical hormones. I say, 'consider the source."

Oh yea, I forget when I first complained about hot flashes to my male general practiitioner, he said, "Nothing I know of can be done with that." So that makes THREE doctors who had no clue. What a load of crapola because on the shelves of a health food store in my town sat a little jar of cream that stopped my hot flashes the first day I applied it. Who knew? Clearly not my G.P. right? Three days later, even more neuropathy pain was gone. STunner. I had reversed time. I was riding my bike, gardening, etc. Then the arthritis came over me and I was looking for something else and found the mud. Didn't realize I was going to find my 30 year old face in the bargain but it came along with it. Who knew? All I can do is tell you; the rest is up to you. I know you'll feel better soon.

Progesterone cream is cheaper when you order it online.

In appreciation of Doctor George helping me like he did, telling me about the book and so forth, I gave him one of my paintings as a gift http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/show....php?t=1326977

MetroMum,

Isn't it amazing how us women know our bodies, yet Doctors still think they know better. Usually, if my instinct tells me something, it's right! Same as you, within the first year of menopause I felt the hot feet and wondered if it was related. Used to even joke with my hubby that I haven't experienced hot flashes yet, but my feet have! lol

Karen,

I can't thank you enough. Without your post I never would have considered HRT. Honestly, I was at that place of suicide, just couldn't bare the pain and thinking to live this way! The Neurologist has told me she has checked everything and cannot help me. My GP thinks it's Plantar Fasciitis, and so I wear arch supporting shoes, strap my feet in front of tv, etc.

I won't be telling my GP that I want HRT to see if it helps my neuropathy. I'll be telling him I want it to balance my body out. He will give it to me, he always wanted to. I fought him to not be on HRT.

If it helps, great! If not, your words about hormones and balance have convinced me anyways. I want my body to think it's younger.

Thanks again! You are precious.

Ohhhh and I will look into that book. Sounds like a very educational read, and I love learning, especially about health.

Edit: Have downloaded a copy to Ipad, Amazon has Kindle versions.

You can order any blood test yourself. I do all my own tests local through: http://www.anylabtestnow.com/

If you dont have one of those, google or go online. It is cheaper to do my own lab work than go through a doctor.

Ohhh that is very interesting to know!

Hopefully it works the same way in Australia. I will investigate. Thank you Stacey.

Ok Dear Aussie Mom,

When I got the book, it's 500 pages, I zipped to the 'how to use the progesterone cream' chapter, slapped on my cream and went out like a bike ride, like I told you. Again, most of the creams you order on line or in the store will have directions for use as well. You can also reach me on facebook for questions...
https://www.facebook.com/karen.sharp.35
Just send a message.

Even those doctors that will give you progesterone cream (prescription), they like to give you the pill. (Dr. Lee recommends the cream because there is less wear and tear on the liver.) See Frequently asked questions, "Wouldn't it just be easier to take the pill?"
http://www.johnleemd.com/store/faqs_progest_crm.html

And you're not considering HRT, Dear Aussie Mom, you're merely considering BHRT, biodentical hormone replacemement therapy Not many studies on it here in America 'cause that's not where the money is, but supposedly there have been some in Europe. I never bothered to research 'cause I told you where my anguish was, I was just willing to try it on myself. Oh heck, it's made from wild yams. How the heck can a wild yam hurt you, really?!!! (Just my opinion as a sufferer and nothing else.)

Again, don't forget about the diatomaceous earth, "the mud." I've come here before and mentioned progesterone, which I am betting will take you a long way towards you goal, but don't forget there is something else beyond that. Particularly when you get further into menopause, when the estrogen levels drop to that menopausal level - don't forget KarenEVP told you about something else 'cause it's important.

And about those heel spurs; Plantar Fasciitis feels like you are walking on a screw that is in the bottom of each shoe, if that's what you have. If your feet feel just hot - that could be PN 'cause I've had something similar. One time I took my shoes off and my feet were bright red. They felt hot as heck. I believed that was PN, not menopause, but who knows, you could be right and I could be wrong!

But I was teaching school and got Plantar Fasciitis really bad - no insurance at the time, so I went to Doctor Google. I found that coconut oil can relieve that... and actually, it went away. But for anyone with Plantar Fasciitis, they could try three of these a day, the brand I used
http://www.swansonvitamins.com/sourc...FSqXOgodCS4AwA
I was hardly able to walk to the mailbox, then after three days, I was out mowing the lawn! This was early 40's, long before PN. Again, this is just something I googled and tried that worked for me, no other claim to expertise here either.

When my knees became worse near this past Christmas, I started just walking instead of biking. Next thing I knew, back came the heel spurs and now I can't take coconut oil because of the PN so thank God for the mud (Diatomaceous Earth) has had the same effect!

And sounds like you're all set to get started on hormones! Never let anyone give you estrogen without progesterone. If GP wants to prescribe progesterone, he'll give you the oral pill. In my humble opinion, if you're not having menopausal insomnia, go with the over the counter cream. When they give you the oral progesterone, it only lasts the night, gone in the morning. Doc's claim it lasts 24 hours, it doesn't. He's never going to take it so he won't know. Doc's like to give you the oral progesterone because that way they are in control of the dose that you are taking, the milligrams. Dr. Lee says you should control the dose (use the cream) so that you can use the lowest amount that relieves your symptoms. Taking too much can just cause greater hormonal imbalance and more problems. You are gonna' be the one who figures out how much cream you need, not your GP.

Don't ever let anyone prescribe you estrogen without progesterone to balance it out. That is a mistake per Dr. Lee's book that I told you about. That would mean your GP doesn't know a thing about what he's doing. Go to a gynocologist at least that is friendly to hopefully bioidentical hormones and get them to give you help.

Or do what I did, just get the book and the over the counter cream!

Also if you do get the progesterone pill and it wears out by morning like I told you it will, my doctor friend told me I could still take the 1/4 teaspoon of cream in the morning, the over the counter progesterone. Your doc won't tell you that because again, they want to be the one to control the dose you take, not you, the patient, like Dr. Lee's book explains.

Most sources say you can't take the oral progesterone pill and the over the counter cream; doctors, you'll see it on websites, etc. I'm just telling you what I was told by a doctor I knew as a personal friend as I've already mentioned.

Also, if you are still perimenopausal, you may only need 1/8 tsp. of over the counter cream to start, not 1/4. If that doesn't stop your neuropathy pain or greatly reduces it, then go with 1/4.

This are just some tips to get you started.

Go back in time Aussie Mom, back before you had PN and good luck to you.

Also, want to relay one more little conversation I had with Doc George to those of you who would say, "I'm not willing to take the health risks to try hormone replacement therapy! I'll deal with my pain and stay safe!"

Guess what; if you agree with Dr. Lee's book - you're not safe anyway. At menopause, your risk for estrogen fed cancers goes up, that's because most if not all of your progesterone has drained away and left you 'estrogen dominant.'

We had a friend, Ayla, my brother's best friend's wife (from Germany). She was 40 when we went to her funeral. She had been battling breast cancer for six or seven years. After reading Dr. Lee's book - I said to Doc George, "Oh My God!!!!! She died from an estrogen fed cancer!!!!!" He said, "Happens everyday."

So don't think you're safe with your pain, that's all I'm sayin'

Once again, that is if Dr. Lee is right and Doc George and all of the other bioidentical docs and now the conventional docs that also know about progesterone and estrogen dominance. All of that is considering that you still have a uterus and ovaries... or even just ovaries still churning out estrogen... even in reduced amounts.

Think about it, who gets cancer more often, young people or old people? People whose hormones have drained away because they are older, they get most of the yucky stuff, arthritis, heart disease, God you name it, I don't have to. Just don't think you are safe because you decide against some medical treatement or another, you're just not. So I said, "What the H.E. double hockey sticks, why not try a little over the counter cream and see if it improves the light burning in my legs."

(Note again, this place brought me to manageable, and I will be forever greatful. I was scared to come here because I knew I was going to see more horror stories and I was already scared. But Mrs. D and the others, they kept answering my posts so fast and I did not feel alone. This place is a Godsend, make no mistake about it. Then again, there is a Japanese proverb, I believe it's Japanese - it's about business, I heard it in business school, "Fix the problem, not the blame." That goes for medical issues too now, methinks.)

Hey Mrs. D... Love ya'

Also, just another quick note - why be in charge of how much progesterone you use per day? Other than the fact that Doc Lee gives in his book about how hard your liver has to work if you take it orally vs. whether you take it transdermally (meaning use the over the counter progesterone cream or the progesterone cream from a compounding pharmacy)....

The other issue for me has been phytoestrogens. Phytoestrogens are plants, vegetables, nuts, etc.. that act like weak estrogen in the body. For example number one most powerful phytoestrogen 1. Flax Seeds, 2. Soy bean / milk, other products. This is "karen's order" of powerfulness... there are different types of phytoestrogens that do different things because of the different things they are composed of - feel free to google;

Soy beans, soymilk helps with mental alertness, fighting menopausal brain fog (supposedly, for some people, it did for me) but - for me soy products brought back leg nerve burning. Another hopeful benefit dashed by PN.

Flax seeds, suggested by many here, still helps with brain fog, although not as good, but acts (for me) as an anti-inflammatory and helps with the neuropathy and the arthritis. Since I can't take fish oil supplements, I go with flaxseeds and flaxseed oil, lots of it. But, I have to dab on more progesterone cream during the day because of the huge amount of phytoestrogens I am ingesting.... if I don't the hotflashes will come back. I am 'upping my estrogen', sort of, as far as phytoestrogens go, anyhow.

I also take/eat flax seeds because some say it actually fights true estrogen to take it's place in the workings of the body therefore limiting one's risk for estrogen fed breast cancer (and other estrogen fed cancers). You will find articles that say flaxseeds help (phytoestrogents) fight cancer and you will also find articles that say flaxseeds and other phytoestrogens should be limited because they help cause cancer. Hey, take your pic. Here's just one, I haven't read it fully, don't need to, already seen so many my eyes cross when they come up. Decided to go pro-flaxseed because I need it for my knees, it really did decrease my cholesterol, per a test, with numbers on it, that I could see. That was a happy day.

http://www.cancer.org/treatment/trea...erals/flaxseed

BUT, the reason you and not your GP nor your OBGYN should control the amount of progesterone you use per day is because your ingestion of phytoestrogens varies. Here's a list of common phytoestrogens, they are every darn where....


PS I also eat walnuts to get more omega 3 - can't use fish oil - and pistachios I have found have a very calming effect and nerves if something stirs them up, both phytoestrogens... (Just a list I googled, feel free to google your own list, articles abound concerning phytoestrogens)

**Flaxseed and flaxseed oil (3 x as potent as soy in some studies!)

**Soy, soy oil, soy protein isolate, tofu, textured vegetable protein, and all of it’s derivates

All beans:

*Mung beans

*Bean sprouts

*Chick peas

Peas

*Sesame, sesame seeds, and sesame oil

*Sunflower seeds

*Fennel

*Alfalfa

*Licorice

*Verbena

*Tumeric ( I told you this was a phytoestrogen already, didn't I)

*Thyme

*Red Clover

*Yucca

Cinnamon

Sunflower seeds

*Red Clover leaf and extract

Garlic

Olive Oil

Apricot (especially dried)

Prunes (dried)

Dates (dried)

Sweet Potatoes

Parsley

Thyme

Whole grains: Rye, *Oat, Barley, Millet, Wheat, Corn, Quinoa

*Most nuts:

Chestnuts

Almonds

Peanuts

Cashews

Walnuts

Hazlenuts

Pistachios

And to a somewhat lesser extent the fruits and vegetables…

Blackberries

Pomegranate

Asparagus

Winter squash

Broccoli

Green beans

Collards

Onions

And the substances…

*Hops

*Marijuana

Thanks for listening, good like and May the Force Be With you All

NOTE; the reason one phytoestrogen might affect your neuropathy positively, yet another negatively, is because there are different classes of them, google away... one class of them might work well for you, another might not. Flaxseeds and Soy beans, for example, are in two different classes. One works for me, one does not.

Wow, Karen this is great! Hope you are still around when I am ready to tackle the hormone issue. Right now I am starting another protocol, one thing at a time. But hormones and adrenal issues are next. Hope you keep in touch here!

Aussie sorry, I forgot you were not in the US, hope you have blood test labs there, it sure it helpful to be in charge of your own lab tests.

Anyone with peripheral neuropathy who is in peri-menopause should already be looking into bioidentical hormone replacement therapy.... Ayla died at 40 from breast cancer, she fought breast cancer from the age of 33... she should have probably been on progesterone cream before that, before the estrogen fed cancer got her. That was my point to doctor G. My sister, an RN, is 46 and started on the progesterone cream. Read the book, there's one specifically on peri menopause.... it can take seven years of peri menopause before actual menopause, from what Iv'e read (if that be true)... Some people have menopause early, it runs in their families, even in their thirtees. Then there's young people with bad pms that use the progesterone cream.

One thing I did was google "progesterone cream" and "discussion forums"... then you can come up with all kind of reports that regular folk who are trying it are saying. Some forums are mostly about people using it because of hysterectomies, others are about PMS, still others are about menopause. I did a lot of that.

I'm no expert on it. In fact you can compare what one bioidentical doc thinks to another bioidentical doc, and they will believe different things on similar topics. That's why I just decided to go and read what the average chick was saying. I had to just try it. I kept googling and reading and finding clues here and there; but in the end, the truth is what works for you but doesn't do you in. I don't know if I should put a LOL after that or not

I was just realizing how lucky I was that my neurologist either didn't know anything or just plain didn't do didly squat. If I had, and he would have hopped me up on various drugs and painkillers, I would have never gotten to the root of the problem. I would not be here telling you people that guess what, I can remember what it's like to be oblivious to the horrors of PN again. Lately, It's been like it was before I had it.

Be a seeker. Be a googler. Use the search feature here to lead you to clues. You have to be willing to try supplements.