Please help. 38 yrs-just told menapausal

[RhiannonW]

I was just tested and it appears I'm well into menapause - whatever 'well into it' means. Dr. wants to put me on Femhart(sp?). It's an estrogen/progesterone combo pill. First, I'm scared of going on estrogen because of recent findings. Second, I just went off the b.c. pill 4 months ago and my energy level has skyrocketed. I don't want to lose that by going back on any hormone pill. The dr. feels I need to take estrogen to prevent osteoperosis. I'm a diehard Cathe exerciser - 6 days a week Cardio and weight work. Is that weight work enough to prevent osteoperosis?
Any of you who are in/have been through menapause please share any info/comments.
Anyone heard of/taken Femhart? What was your experience?
What are other symptoms related to menapause besides hot flashes and vaginal dryness?
I'm going to search on the internet for info and also made another appointment with my dr. I just wanted to hear from you all first maybe would prompt more questions for me to ask her.

Thanks so much in advance.

 

[Aquajock]

IMHO, you need a sound second opinion from a doctor who does not believe in pushing a pill for every season of life. Also, I think your doctor shows a fairly profound ignorance of the value of exercise in osteoporosis prevention. (This is totally in keeping with the general ignorance of the medical profession on exercise physiology.)

I also think a visit to a registered dietitician who is skilled at working with women in their 30's-50's and their nutritional needs based on their maturing bodies.

Weight work can indeed help in the prevention or retardation of osteoporosis. So can impact-oriented cardio work. So can a healthy diet that is rich in whole foods and calcium.

I'd be curious as to how your doctor arrived at the "diagnosis" that you are already into menopause at 38. I'm personally a tad skeptical of it - in case you haven't already guessed.

A-Jock

 

[Dml]

Hi,
I was periomenopausal at 37. Menopause is when you have went 1 year without your period. I'm totally against any type of hormones but then again, I'm a breast cancer survivor and my oncologists told me not to touch hormones, soy, etc. For myself I just make sure I get 1200 mg of calcium a day and do weight bearing exercises to keep my bone density. Hot flashes, well, I just live with them. There are some mild anti-depressants on the market (i.e. Wellbutrin) that help with hot flashes. My docs feel they are a better alternative than hormone replacements. When my hot flashes were really bad I took Wellbutrin and it helped to alleviate them. Now they are tolerable so I just freeze my husband out when one occurs}( . Some other sympotoms of periomenopause include insomnia, mood swings, and an uncontrollable urge for chocolate. Well, okay, that last symptom might just be my justification for a good candy bar. ;-)

Blessings,
Denise

 

[saia11]

Rhiannon,
My mom is going through menopause right now and she absolutely swears by taking 3 Calcium/Magnesium supplements each day (one at lunch and two right before bed). She did a lot of research (she's way into natural healing and medicine) and honestly she has been virtually sympton free for over two years now. Except for the chocolate thing, but she had that before menopause. My mother-in-law, who is actually a nurse is taking Femscript/or Femhart, (can't remember which) and she has a multitude of symptoms, night sweats, insomnia, vaginal dryness (which is way more than the DH wanted to know I assure you). Anyway, you might want to try some alternatives to dealing with this before taking the script. And the calcium will only help protect against osteoporosis anyway. I know that it is important that it is Calcium/Magnesium (she uses Solgar brand).
Best wishes!
Mattea

 

[autumn]

Rhiannon,

You have already received some valuable advice. I understand your fears related to HRT. Remember that the WHI Study used Prempro a combo of estrogen and medroxyprogesterone (a progestin which is a synthetic form of progesterone), so the findings are limited. Femhrt is a combination of estrogen and norethindrone (also a progestin). Various progestins have different effects on the body as evident by the individual responses to various oral contraceptives.

Are you a high risk for osteoporosis? Have you had a bone mass measurement if you are high risk? The belief among health care professionals is that effect of exercise on bone is "significantly" less than that of HRT (Speroff, Glass, & Kase 1999), so exercise is regarded as part of a prevention plan. I would discuss your exercise habits, and why your doctor believes you need a medication for prevention. I would also ask about alternative meds.

You probably already found these, but I am providing links that will provide information to give you an idea of questions to ask and a peak into the health care provider mind.

I am going to email some information too when I have a little more time.

http://www.menopause.org/consumers/ (be sure to check out consumer education the “FDA Hormone Information”)

http://www.acog.org/from_home/publications/press_releases/nr09-30-04-2.cfm

http://www.acog.org/from_home/newsrel.cfm.

http://www.npwh.org/hrt-perspective.htm (be sure to read the osteoporosis section)

http://www.nof.org/patientinfo/medications.htm

http://www.osteo.org/

http://www.niams.nih.gov/hi/topics/osteoporosis/hormones.htm

Good luck!

 

[DawnP]

Rhiannon,

I highly recommend the book "The Pause: Positive Approaches to Perimenopause and Menopause" by Lonnie Garfield Barbach. You can buy it used for less than $2 at Amazon.com.

I'm in the same boat myself and found the non-medicine & medication suggestions very helpful.

Good luck...

 

[LizN]

Autumn, I haven't read all of your links, but indeed there has been a slew of conflicting information about HRT since the WHO study was published. In my former job (I am a pharmacist) we( my partner and I) dispensed both drug and natural remedies (we are both very interested in natural progesterone and its effects as well as dosage forms which bypass unpleasant side effects.

The WHO study was flawed in that the patients that were started on HRT had predisposing risk factors initially and they were prescribed in a way that isn't normally recommended in the clinical setting. Thus, the results that came out of this study. The recommendation for patients in Australia is to only prescribe HRT to relieve the symptoms of menopause ie if you are experiencing no adverse symptoms then HRT is not usually prescribed. It is only prescribed for a defined period - then the patient withdraws the therapy and notes whether the bothersome symptoms return - it can be represcribed at a lower dose etc etc.

For osteoporosis there are some newer drugs that actually reverse bone loss, so if osteoporosis is an issue, it is worth discussing these with your doctor.

Good luck,
Liz N

 

[Marie1120]

My MD was part of the WHI study and recommended Activella for the perimenopause symptoms and also because it helps prevent bone loss. Another option is a weekly Climara Pro patch. Before deciding, I would have a bone density done. If you aren't having any symptoms but do have bone loss than you could just try Fosamax or a similar product for that. Everyone's experience with perimenopause is different so you may need to experiment and find what works for you. I would read up on menopause but you are right - much conflicting info. It still helps when discussing this with your MD.