Okay so I had that talk with my mom.

I told her about waking up 9 times a night for no reason, feeling hot then cold then hot then cold over and over, more at night. But that is so not me, I'm always just cold.

Haven't had but 2 periods all year, none since May. (Not that I'm complaining about that) They've been hit or miss for a couple years, only coming every 3-4 months.

She says I'm going through my change, and she's probably right. It was the same for her she says.

Anyhoo...

I wonder, how long this'll last, and if HRT (hormone replacement therapy) is worth the trouble or if I'm better off riding it out?

I've been taking it since December 2000 since I had my hysterectomy. I take a very low dose of plain estrogen, .625 mg. It helps me I suppose, but I've kept taking it so I don't know what would happen if I stopped. I'm afraid to stop it because after my hysterectomy I had a biggie of a relapse with the MS,affecting my walking, energy and bladder and followed by at least a year of spasticity.

I figure that it helps the MS, and it's such a low dose, I'm staying on it, at least for the time being.

I took hormone therapy for a little while but it brought back my headaches. I had to chose hot flashes or headaches and I chose hot flashes. Plus I still smoke, only five cigs a day but I didn't want to risk anything. Hope you find what works for you.

I had a hysterectomy about 12 years ago but still have my ovaries. I started going thru the change then but very minor. It wasn't until the last four years that I noticed a huge change. I still suffer hot flashes but not as bad as before. They lasted bad for about a year off and on. The first three were easier years.

Get this, my mom is starting to have hot flashes again and she went through the change years ago. What's up with that? lol

to deal with hot flashes. HRT is a really dangerous route.
Now the drug companies are scrambling to get newer lower dose versions on the market, but the fact remains:
cause heart attacks
strokes
blood clots
dementia

The drug companies kept this negative info away from doctors and patients, and in Europe the evidence mounted. The HERs study was independent and ended early due to many deaths which they could not tolerate and continue. Since then the real truth has been revealed.

I myself did no hormones. I had some sleeping problems, but they were corrected with Vitamin B12. Things like caffeine and sugar will stimulate sweating for me to this day, but I was lucky in general with few symptoms. Wearing different night
clothes or going nude at night, helped alot, as well as choosing no top sheet. You need more air circulation to minimize the sweating. I have good bone density, and my doctor is basically amazed.

Soy works for some. Just get some soy milk.
Or evening primrose and flax oil help.
Some women do black cohosh, but I didn't like it at all.
Just Google natural solutions to hot flashes and see what is out there.

Just my opinion.

Thank you all for your replies. I had no idea how complicated all of this was, and now I have a lot to think about so I know what to say to my doc and what to ask.

Bone density is going to be a major concern for me as I have a history of rickets. I'm currently taking vit d & calcium, but maybe now is a good time for a bone density test as well.

Braingonebad,

Let your doctor advise. The whole HRT issue varies from patient to patient. But the general rule of thumb nowdays is the lowest dose possible for the shortest amount of time. Also, there are transdermal patches, gels and creams that can also be used in a very, very small amount. And these were things that were NOT addressed in either study; it was Prempro and an oral tablet. If you read fully both studies (HERs and WHI), they were both flawed in certain aspects. And there was a LOT of panic causing women to abruptly stop the hormone treatment when there was really no just cause.

So, the very best advice I can give is to ask or talk with a Reproductive Endocrinologist who can tailor a specific plan to fit you. By the way, Soy is contraindicated in those that cannot tolerate estrogen. So, make sure you ask the RIGHT questions. And the drug companies are NOT scrambling to make lower doses; they have been around since even I began all of this 10 years ago. Shoot, the dosage of Estrogel and Estrasorb is so small...just a smidge.

For myself, I was on the Vivell dot patch .05 mg for a number of years and was gradually able to reduce it to the lowest dose and then stop. I still use the Premarin cream .625 twice a week as it is needed for vaginal atrophy as well as bladder function (I had a total hysterectomy 10 years ago so ovaries are gone).

Calcium and D is a good idea but estrogen as well helps to prevent bone loss. Again, talk with the doc or a good RE. My own is a Professor Emerita at Indiana University Medical Center and runs the menopause clinic there. She has also written numerous articles about this very subject and lectures throughout the country. The bottom line is...find out what is best for you and in particular if you take any other meds for pain, etc. HRT is NOT a bad thing if you are monitored and have a treatment plan that fits YOU. And it CAN get complicated.

negative effects of HRT were revealed in those studes.
examples are: Premarin .45 and Prempro .3
Estragel did not come to US until about 2004.
Bioident compounded "natural" estrogen analogues were always available by special RX. (these are being investigated now by the FDA BTW).

Comparing topical to oral, the doses are always smaller because topical applications bypass the liver. Oral meds go thru the liver (this is called first pass) before entering the circulation. The patches for example were designed to be close in blood level to the oral (after first pass).
Hormones are mostly metabolized in the liver and also including some in GI wall. This is why we don't see oral testosterone products commonly for males--they are typically topical or injected. There used to be a buccal testosterone by Schering but it was taken off the market. There are some "androgen" products filtering thru the body building culture, but they remain poorly bioavailable yet.
(Andriol)

Night sweats do not always respond to HRT. I have had experience with women who have gone past the 2.5mg dose of Premarin and took both Estrace and Premarin in high dose to try and treat this.
Hot flashes are very complex and other treatments try to help with them as well. One is using Catapres patches. Others include low dose SSRIs (this puzzles me since serotonin makes you sweat) and Neurontin. This suggests that vasomotor reflexes involved in "hot flashes" are not only hormone driven, but have other reasons.

I myself found caffeine and sugar to be huge triggers for sweating.

Choosing a route for menopause is tough, and it varies from woman to woman. Estrogens are not the only solution. So discuss this with your doctor.

Night sweats and sweating in general can be a sign of insulin resistance or prediabetes. (this occurs at approximately the same time as menopause for many women.)
Night sweats also can be due to hidden low grade infections.
So evaluation by a doctor is really the best way to go.
Some drugs also cause sweating (for example after you take an NSAID or aspirin you may sweat some).

Exactly.

An evaulation by a doctor is what is needed.

Hey Cathy! It's been 3 yrs since I had my last cycle and it's been relatively ok. HOWEVER, the past few months I am experiencing night sweats, day sweats, and erradic sleep patterns. I saw my GYNO , who ran labwork to check thyroid, etc and found out I was borderline diabetic. *runs in family* She also said MENOPAUSE!! Oh joy, tell me something I didn't know.

But, I tend to agree w/mrsd in that sweets/caffeine can be contributors to interrupted sleep, as I have been noting my sleep patterns change esp when I've overindulged in both.
I have cut my caffeine way down and am working on the sugar part.

My poor DH~~ one minute I'm sweating and the next minute, I
m cold. He doesn't know whether he'll be walking into an igloo or a furnace when he gets home from work.

DM, I haven't had the sweats in awhile but Jim does now. His doctor called it manopause. lol