Menopause support: Introduce yourself and connect

@caringissharing
Hi caringissharing. Estroven is not actually estrogen though, correct, so it may have an easier affect on your body?
Have you been taking it awhile and does it help with night sweats?

@gravity3 if I remember currently what the doctor said was that only one score - AP spine - was below average. And since everything else looked okay so it was not their practice to suggest hrt. He said to take a scan again in a years time to see how it looks… I live in India. What is the practice in other places? Should I go for a second opinion? I actually went to an orthopedic doc because of my sprains, should I be going to a gynaec??

@nash21

I am not a health care provider so I can't speculate about what might be the best course of treatment for you.
Here in the u.s. women are discussing and taking into consideration how doctors and medical care institutions (for the most part) have relied for some time on the Women's Health Care initiative study . The study was found to be flawed but it's findings have influenced millions of women's treatment planning. Since most women's osteoporosis seems to be driven by loss of hormones during and after menopause many of us are exploring the use of hormone replacement therapy to offer support for bone health. There is lots to read here about women's search for answers about whether, what and when hrt/bhrt could offer them in their individual treatment planning.
There is lots to consider and I think that most of us are doing our own reading and research and sharing what we learn here and other forums to be better able to advocate for ourselves when it comes to our health.
I don't know anything about the Indian medical systems take on women's health and hrt. I don't know what resources and studies have been used there for making treatment decisions.
You might start here by going to the search function at the top of this page and type in osteoporosis (in your case osteopenia?? If that is your current diagnosis)
In the meantime here is something from JAMA. Again I have no idea what studies have influenced providers in India.
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2839211
Lots of wisdom here and experience. Please let us know how you are doing. Check out OsteoBoston on you tube.

Hello! I am 48 and have been having a huge struggle with mood swings, anxiety, and fatigue increasing over the last few years. I thought it was just from some big life changes (re-marriage, career change, moving house!) but it is not improving. I came across a YouTube video about peri-menopause and I was like, Oh! That's me! I want so much to get back to a happier calmer mom and wife like I used to be.

I'm happy to have found this group to learn about other people's experiences and share my own, and hopefully be able to make the changes that will help me.

Hi everyone. I just joined because I truly feel like I am going crazy. I am in perimenopause and 45 y/o. I’m a single mom so my poor angel of a daughter gets the brunt of my terrible awful mood swings that make her cry then I feel
guilty and like I’m not a good mom. sometimes I feel
like I need to be locked up somewhere
because my behavior is so irrational and scary. I’m on anxiety meds, see a psychiatrist and therapist but the constant crying for no reason and losing my temper for no reason aren’t going away. I have also struggle with mental illness before so it makes it really hard to tell which is which and it magnifies everything. brain fog and fatigue are unreal -depression and suicidal thoughts come and go. like what is going on w me? I can’t even find the right words or complete sentences sometimes. sorry for dumping but i’d appreciate any suggestions. Thank you

@dolly12067 first off—WELCOME! I have found this group to be a life saver. You sound like me when I was your age. I am now 57. When I was going through menopause I also felt seriously crazy. So much so that my GP sent me for a CT of my brain! It turned out my brain was fine (thankful!) and it was hormones going wild. If I had a chance to do it over, I would have at the very least inquired about hormone replacement therapy—simply because of bone loss after menopause, as I am now fighting a compression fracture and osteoporosis. It truly is life changing and difficult, especially as a single mom. Good luck and hang in there. Please continue to reach out to your team of doctors for support! I hope it all settles quickly for you.

Hi everyone. My name is Tania, I am a 61 year old mum of three and grandmother of three. We are raising our 15 year old grandson which has been an adventure. It's vastly different from when I raised the first bunch. lol.
I had a partial hysterectomy at the age of 30 following years of issues with bleeding. What an amazing thing to go through most of my adult life without having to deal with that!
But then....peri hit me like a freight train...sudden anxiety attacks at the age of 40. A good ten years living and dealing with that before it began to finally settle down. I should mention that while I do not ever question other people using SSRI's for anxiety symptoms, that this was not a comfortable choice for me. So I pretty much handled it with the occasional ativan and lots of self talk to get me through the hardest moments. Then of course the oh so wonderful hot flashes....those lasted much longer than I expected. Then I hit 60. Not sure what happened there but...everything just suddenly slid downhill. Incredible weight gain or shifting...I went from I can see my feet to oh no I can't see my feet anymore in what felt like 6 months. My lower belly grew another belly. And my midsection suddenly resembled a beer gut. And I don't drink so...nothing gives you a wake up call to your advancing age like all this does. So....I showed up at my doctors appointment ( brand new doctor..lovely guy but my old doctor simply knew how to handle me) and announced that I needed estrogen because I needed more energy and quite frankly was not a fan of the beer belly. Add to that my increasing shortness of patience that suddenly came up out of nowhere...much to the shock of anyone on the receiving end...and I was beginning to feel like a crime may be committed if measures were not taken to stop it. My doctors face when I said that was truly photograph worthy. I think I scared him a little into agreeing with me. I am now week 7 of the patch...some odd side effects but otherwise I am feeling pretty darn good...the beer belly doesn't even feel intimidating anymore. The sudden dizzy spells this last week are frustrating to say the least but I have also been dealing with a lot of stress due to family death and a 39 year old son who continues to suffer from failure to thrive ( thats his nickname...don't tell him) . I was looking for some type of support with women starting this post menopause and am really happy I stumbled onto this page. So grateful to know that someone else might have a similar story or be able to support this journey together. Look forward to browsing the subjects. xx

I am 56. Have been on HRT for 2 years. HRT has helped me so much and I feel really good. I worry about dosing though. I am taking 200mg progesterone, 3/4 of a .75 estrogen patch and have a testosterone pellet in. My libido is excessive! My provider is great but I would like input from women with experience on HRT. Thanks

@atanage

I started at 77 with low dose for estradiol .025, progesterone 100 isand testosterone. Then.

One year of .05 estradiol with testosterone, 200 progesterone and vaginal estradiol. I wanted my libido back and boy.....it was intense. Absolutely feral
Calmed over the year. Then, I decided, for my convenience that I would return to the estradiol patch .05, 200 progesterone, estradiol vaginal cream and compounded testosterone cream applied daily. Calmer still but libido and desire still very present.
I don't have a uterus but still take progesterone for the benefits.
For now I am happy with this regime. I'll look up the level of testosterone and post.
I am 22 years older and that probably factors in to sensitivity and responses.

@gravity3
Thank you so much for the reply. This is not a bad problem to have but the intensity is unexpected!