Going Thru Peri-Menopause! Hormones Going Nuts... Need Help

BC is the worst course of action for peri-menopause. There are tons of books about this topic. But in a snapshot, the new recommended course of treatment is HRT or hormone replacement therapy, where extensive tests (mostly blood tests) are done over a cycle's time to determine exactly which hormones YOU specifically are deficient in, and then "natural" hormones at the levels you need are prescribed by the doctor. It's a bit costly and time consuming but I'm told (I haven't been through this, but my mother and a friend have) it's fantastic.

Interestingly, people always think estrogen is the hormone that needs replacing. But most often, it isn't. It's progesterone that's needed. There are many progesterone creams on the market that you can buy over the counter and they'll be recommended in the books I list, but from what I understand it's better to have the blood tests done to avoid further messing up your hormone balance by guessing and doing it yourself.

Likewise, avoid things like Estroven or other over the counter medications that are supposed to help with symptoms, because these are heavy on the estrogen (which new thinking is this isn't what's needed) and obviously no two people are alike in their hormone needs, and more often than not, wind up messing themselves up worse, by taking things they don't need because they're just guessing on doses and which hormones to replace. Same concern goes with natural remedies like Black Cohash, Dong Quoi (sp?) etc. get a specific regimen before just buying and guessing. They can affect hormone levels and other things, so you don't want to assume. Go to a specialist before that route as well.

You should also know, many people mistakenly think they're going through peri, but a simple change in diet, exercise, etc. can stop these symptoms with no need for hormone replacement etc. Many women who diet and exercise too heavily in their 40s can bring on menopause too soon because yes, their hormone levels are dropping, and the dieting etc. and just being too thin for their age tips them over the edge. Putting on a few extra pounds, eating a few more good fats daily, and exercising less can often solve the problem almost immediately.

Likewise, being too heavy for your age can also bring on these symptoms early too (can cause something called estrogen dominance). Recently having a baby can also cause menopause like symptoms that can be remedied with diet changes if you get on it right away.

Bottomline, if you want to stave off the change, you have to be at an ideal weight for your age (note for your age, because the weight you were in college isn't necessarily the ideal weight for your age!! That is usually too thin for someone who is in their middle years) But once again, the only way to know what your ideal is and what your levels should be, is to have a blood test by an OB who knows about natural HRT. All OBs can do the blood tests, not all know about natural HRT. You need one who is up on the new thinking with hormone replacement therapy.

So call your OB or someone who specializes in Natural HRT and get the tests done. In many states, there are actual clinics that specialize in natural HRT. So if your OB doesn't have a clue, look for one of these clinics. In the interim, read these books:

"What your doctor may not have told you about perimenopause" and What your doctor may not have told you about menopause" books by a Dr. Hopkins.

Here's a link to order these two book titles and others on HRT from the following Amazon page:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_7_10?url=search-al...+

3 moms found this helpful

My MIL and brother-in-law get severe migraines. MIL went through many, many meds to try to reduce them (one a week sometimes where she vomits for a day and has to be in a quiet dark room to survive). There was one med that she would take daily as a preventative but it was actually a blood pressure reducer, so while it reduced her migraines (she did not have one for several months) she kept being dizzy since her blood pressure became too low. The other thing that worked for a long time was some kind of suppository that she would insert after she started getting the halos and that would often prevent the nausea and pain. I can ask her about the names of the meds since I forget. However, my brother-in-law went a totally different route: he started figuring out what his triggers are. For him they are alcohol,coffee, chocolate, having an uneven schedule I.e. sleeping late on weekends and he would have a migraine on Sunday, and lack of sleep. So he changed his diet and schedule (he gets up the same time every day) and now gets a migraine maybe 2x per year. He actually uses coffee as a drug, so that when he feels a migraine coming on he takes pain killer with a cup of coffee (some aspirin brands have caffeine in them for the same reason). He will have 1 beer with dinner occasionally, and I have also seen him eat a piece of chocolate cake, so the triggers do not have to all be avoided all the time. Good luck.
PS I am 51 and in peri menopause as well, with wake-ups around 4 AM with a racing heart, no real sweats though, and sometimes heavier and more frequent periods and sometimes no period for months. I have always had adult acne and found that salicylic acid washes or creams on a daily basis really help my skin plus a good clean moisturizer (Cetaphyl creme for me). I was told to start vit. D and calcium which made me incredibly constipated, so they told me to take Colace with it as a stool softener so now I seem to be see-sawing between constipation and diahrea, so I may just stop the vit. D. Insurance only pay for bone density tests once you are in menopause (no period for 12 months) which is the real test to see if the calcium is all getting absorbed and it therefor low or if your bones are not getting enough.

1 mom found this helpful

I just sent you a Private message with some information. I had migraines for my entire adult life until I discovered Arbonne's all natural balancing cream. I feel for you I could barely function (don't know I did at all when I think back) and this cream helped me so much it not only stopped my migraines but I never had all of the menopause symptoms and I feel great.

Can you try the Diamond Headache Clinic in Chicago? They are wonderful.

I am completely through menopause now so my situation may be different. However, after going through a year and a half of menopausal hell, I finally went on estrogen and progesterone replacement, and it did the trick. No more hot flashes, sweating, anxiety, not sleeping, waking up with attacks of tachycardia, and I can't remember what else.

I'm on 1 mg estradiol and 100 mg prometrium. My friend who researches these things says that is the "natural" version of estrogen and progesterone, whatever that means, but they are in pill form.

Whatever, I don't care, no one is taking away my pills.

p.s. Before I went on these pills I tried the BC pill, and that didn't work at all.

I thought I was going through peri-menopause too... but it stopped, and has not happened at all symptom wise since I had a endrometrial ablation done. This also made my periods end (yea!) but is only good if you are having lots of issues with your periods (I was, it lasted for a month and was VERY heavy the whole time).

As far as migraines, mine were caused mostly by my birth control pill. They went from no day without a migraine, to only a migraine a month. I still get them though.

If you are done having kids there are MANY options for birth control. Talk to your gyn about what is best for you. My tubes are long ago tied/burned/cut and my younger sister has a spring thing in her tubes that will keep eggs from being implanted - she's had that for 7 yrs almost now and no problems.

I take Vitamin D but I do it to end cold symptoms, it really works.

First and foremost you need to NOT do all the pills. Pills on pills and pills to fix the symptoms of another pill is insane! And we wonder why we have so many problems with disease and cancer.

The first thing you need to do is your own research as to what foods and things we put in our bodies trigger hormones and migraines. Juicing daily with the right foods, going organic, maybe using some ALL-NATURAL supplements, little to no dairy, meat or caffeine seem to help with a lot of hormone issues. I am aware that caffeine is said to help migraines but if your migraines are hormonal it seems you need to tackle the hormones first!

I am also in total agreement with K.B. in regards to some products from Arbonne. I have found success with the balancing cream and Balance Manopause support supplement (not sure if you are too early for this) and the 30 day cleanse, you may just have way to many toxins in your body that doesn't help either. My best friend also swears by a totally natural supplement of progesterone (I think). She gets a prescription from a doctor of hers that likes both conventional and holistic approaches. If you need more information here, just let me know I can get some details from her for you.

Regardless, I think your total health is always your first priority and sometimes these docs are just quick to throw a pill to it. If you are in peri-menopause being on the bc pill is FAR more risky at your age. My girlfriend just had a stroke at 37 from being on the pill, one of the many risks at her age. Get off of everything if you can and start with diet and maybe some supplements, go for the chemical-induced pills and such after you have exhausted all natural options.

Your body was made a certain way and has the ability to heal itself when properly cared for. Good luck, and let us know what happens. I am in the same boat and love to know what works for who.

I'm 47 and have been going through peri-menopause since 41. I am completely against drugs to control hormones and in general unless there are absolutely no other options. I take a good multivitamin & calcium supplement (all natural), I also changed my diet and incorporated LOTS of leafy green vegetables into my diet & fresh fruits. I used to get massive migraines, I contributed them to my consumption of caffeine & sugar. Since changing my diet & dropping 58 lbs & taking up running, I can honestly say I barely suffer any symptoms! I had it with doctors prescribing more & more drugs to combat a 'natural' process in the body.

Hi, I was on a patch instead. Called Combi-patch. Awesome. Jusat a auggeation. Hope you headaces are doing better!!

Hi C.,
I teach and practice yoga every day and don't have headaches anymore but have had some signs of peri-menopause.
Because of thyroid imbalance I learned that BC pills were a bad idea for me personally (but they continue to help others) and stopped taking the pill after being diagnosed as hyperthyroid.
I turned to usage of essential oils - friends with migraines tell me that lavender oil and yoga poses have reduced their headaches. I take a daily vitamin from Whole Foods and some additional supplements. You are welcome to email me directly for more details. I do not take any prescription drugs since my thyroid came back into balance.
I believe yoga has been huge help for me.

I've been on birth control pills for years and control my migraines through the type of pill (different types of bc pills work differently) and by staying on the pill continuously to not have a monthly period. The fluctuation of hormones during a monthly cycle was a major cause of my migraines. My primary care doctor seems to know a lot about managing menopause, migraines, etc. She always recommends a med that doesn't have headaches as a side effect. Good luck!

You mention migraines all your life. I had to quit eating MSG and 99% of my headaches went away.

Personally I would get off the BC pills, especially if I landed in the ER with discharge notes stating they were likely the cause.

The pill may be causing the migraines, C.. Ask your doctor for Mircette instead. I didn't have headaches when I switched to it. I don't know if will help with not getting MIGRAINES, but it's worth a try.

You NEED Vitamin D with calcium, and magnesium. Take 1000 mgs a day of the Vitamin D, and at least 1000 mgs of calcium, in addition to the milk you drink, but take the supplements away from your meals. Too much calcium at a time does nothing for you but pass out of your body. Whether or not it helps your symptoms, I can't say that it does. But you really need it anyway. My rheumatologist has me on this.

I will tell you that now that I am in menopause, I still suffer the same damn symptoms, but they aren't as bad. Try researching the food angle and see if that will help. I never did that, but it was recommended to me.

Good luck!
D.

I would stop taking the pill (IMO) I would think that it is making things worse for you. I also would not take anymore medication for your migraines. Does your chiropratcor adjustments help with the migraines? They should. You can try a herbal supplement called Dong Quai. I had used this in my thirties and it worked wonders for my hormones. Had me right back to normal in a month. You can also try vitamin B complex, they should help too.

There are many people here who posted about diet, and I'm in total agreement. It's SO hard to do, since what most of us eat isn't all that great for us. But knowing how horrible migraines are, it's going to be worth changing your eating habits for the sake of decreasing/eliminating them! Because it is such a hard thing to do, I would suggest making the change over a finite period of time - for example, eat only whole foods for maybe 21 days. See how you feel. If it has helped with your migraines, it will be so much easier to stick with it. If it hasn't, then you can move one to other options. (I can tell you from experience, that after 21 days I felt phenomenal, and my migraines (along with ALL PMS symptoms) were totally gone while eating only whole foods.)
Now, if that doesn't work for you, I would suggest going to see a naturopath. Medical doctors are just not trained to determine the cause of our problems; they are trained to treat the symptoms. A naturopath will be better able to help you determine the root cause of your migraines and help you fix that, either through diet or natural supplements. I, too, have recently started peri-menopause. I called my OB-GYN to see what she recommends and it was an OTC product that is made for women going through full-blown menopause. I may have started the process, but I'm not there yet! So I called my naturopath and she told me my problem is not estrogen or progesterone levels (which is what most medical doctors will tell you), but my testosterone levels. She suggested a take a natural supplement for 1 week to level it out...and it worked. Now, I won't say that's the end of it...I do need to call her again to have her reevaluate me and see where my levels are again, but I'd much rather take something natural for a week or so on and off than to take pills for years!
There are options for you. I'm so sorry you're dealing with such horrible migraines! Explore your options and choose the path that feels right for you!