early menopause

[Staggers]

I am sure this has been done to death and I would be v grateful if anyone would bump a previous thread. I have joined daisywotsit and early menopause forums.

Long term health is my concern. Prepared to do ANYTHING on the diet/health front.

It started at age 37 I think.

Maybe you should post on the Menopause forums here?

How old are you now?
where doyou live?
if you are South or SW I can recommend an excellent gynae- some MNs have gone as a result of my recommendations nad are delighted.

You MUST take HRT- there are practically no risk until you reach 50 -ish- age of natural menopause; without it you are at great risk from osteporosis in your 50s, 60s and beyond.

Thanks purple

Purple, i have just found the menopause board, so I will abandon this thread and hover over there for a bit.

I would love to have your gynies details. Thank you. I need to find out more about hrt. I am 41

I'll see you on the Meno forum!

staggers the details are:
www.mdooley.co.uk

He is lovely and will take great care of you if you get to see him.

I have posted in the menopause section but that is largely about natural menopause.

I am now very very worried. I have rung the gynie that you suggested and he is back from holidays by 21st April and I will make an appointment with him as soon as dh and I compare

What I am worried about is that I have had these hot flushes for at least 4 years and just put up with it. On the bright side I have been eating copious amounts of carrot and orange juice everyday (carrot contains lots of calcium.

I suppose it is too late to look back and think what should I have done?

I HAVE rung your gynie and we SHOULD have an appointment on 21st April. Are you married to him by the way? I don't mind. I am ENORMOUSLY GRATEFUL for your advise and I feel extremely stupid for have just put up with them for years.

Especially as I now learn that the first 3 years of the menopause are the crucial ones for treatment to pre-empt osteoperosis.

I too went through an early menopause at 38. Took the docs ages to discover what was wrong with me though

On the positive side, was prescribed HRT and that put an end to all the horrible symptoms.

However, on the negative side I had a serious heart attack at age 50. Cardiologist said it was as a result of 12 years of HRT with no break.

So, discuss with your gynae and think about having breaks from HRT if you can put up with it!

Gee thanks nanafantastic; I am around the menopause boards but I gather the early meno is something different.

What I am shit scared of is osteoperosis.
I have just learnt to put up with hot flushes/night sweats.

Of the symptoms I tick all boxes except irritability. My mother had her menopause in her early fifties and she was VERY irritable; once pinned me up against a fridge-freezer by the throat because I had bought a Vienna as a pudding instead of making a pudding. Can i make clear that she is not like that now and i do understand how she was, especially as she had just spent a week's holiday with HER mother on Jersey; quite a bleak week I think.

fwiw, I did used to find night sweats utterly fuckawful and I felt a lot better when I realised what they might be.

I am going come hell or high-water on 21st April and I am VERY grateful to Helen at the Marie Stopes Clinic in London for her Very Stern Advice that I should have gone to a gynie years ago. If Helen is reading this then, THANK YOU HELEN. I feel a complete fool for realising the importance of my symptoms 4 years to late.

My dh and I will spend the night in Dorchester the night before. Does anyone know a good b + b for the night before the appointment? Or somewhere near?

If I can handle the night sweats and hot flushes (and I have for the last 4 years) do I still need hrt? Why am I scared of hrt?

I haven't had any vaginal dryness; that is the only symptom that I haven't had. Neither have I lost my libido, if that is a symptom.

I am pathetically grateful for advice and I promise I will go and see Purple's gynie (but would like to know how much it costs; I was too worried to ask.

Camilla Parker-Bowles is the patron of the Ost. Soc. Her mother died of it, in pain, and it sounds absolutely fucking terrified. I am terrified of being in a wheelchair in my fifties and die in pain.

If I can put up with the symtoms, can I avoid hrt, and bear in mind that I don't have a clue what I am talking about. I would rather have hot flushes and night sweats if I can avoid a cancer risk.

I am absolutely terrified of ost'is.

I think you should discuss in depth with gynae. I think the reason for prescribing HRT for women below 50 is because of the high risk of osteoporosis.

Basically, going through an early menopause means your body doesn't produce enough estrogen (sp) which you need for strong bones so if you don't supplement it with HRT then there is a risk of osteoporosis.

I'm afrain it's not just a case of simply putting up with the symptoms, you have to ensure you're getting enough hormones.

Once a woman reaches normal age for menopause, i.e. early 50s, then her body would naturally not be producing the same amount of estrogen so not as essential to take HRT as a younger woman

Good luck with the gynae

Thanks; yes, I did think there was more to it than just putting up with it. Thing is, I have neglected all the symptoms for 4 years.

I have just spoken to dh and we are Absolutely going to this guy in Dorchester asap. I am learning slowly.

I am shit scared about having neglected/put up with/ignored these classic symptoms for 4 years. But I do not need to be told to see a gynie because I am, since the Marie Stopes lady put the fear of god in me Wednesday last, taking it all very seriously.

Very grateful to all, and I promise to post once I have seen this bloke in Dorch. Even if we decide he is not for me, at least I am FINALLY doing something.

(feel a bit bleak and stupid but thank you Purple, I am now in action)

nan- I am very surprised that your heart attack- sorry- was attributed to HRT. It is a very rare side effect especially in anyone under 50 unless you have a history of heart disease. The stats show 7 more cases per 10,000 women over a year or more.

That equates to a 0.07% risk.
I agree that it IS a risk but if you compare this with the risk of being killed in your car you have a far greater risk of dying each time you travel; US stats put it as a lifetime risk of 1:83 chance of dying.

The risk of cancer before aged 50 is negligible. Even after being on HRT for 10 years aged over 50 ( almost unheard of nowadays) th e risk of breast cancer is "only" 19 more women per 1000.

You need to keep in mimd the other from breaking a bone etc etc and losing mobility in later life.

staggers- if I tell you that Camilla is also a patient of the gynae it might put your mind at rest a bit!(Obviously he will not tell you that so don't ask.)

His fee was £180 1st appt then it goes down to £100 the more you see him. well, that's what he charges me.

p.s - no not married to him, but he is utterly charming and sincere

Shit; good enough for Camilla...

(stuffs head down loo and pulls the chain that I didn't go big on this years agos)

Really grateful, purple, I don't think I can do anything between now and when I see him, and I will def get back here once I have. I haven't made the actual appointment yet because I want dh to come with me to Dorchester so we have to compare diaries. Will keep on the carrot juices and hope for the best.

Will hrt increase my chance of a heart attack? Christ, I had being worried about not being able to have another baby....

Much thanks to all and I will keep you posted.

Thanks for the price, purple.

Are you the same purplesomething on the early menopause website, or are there lots of purples in this field?

If you are local to Dorchester, could you rec a b + b for me and dh the night before?

I am reading the words, 'bone density tests'; I will check when I confirm the appointment that I get one of those. What form does that take? Will do it all anyway.

Go on, recommend a book. I have already ordered your husband's book from Amaxon.

I am the same Purple yes.
The book is good.
I see him in London so can't recommend flog a B&B I'm afraid.

You MUST come back and tell us what happens!
You'll be fine- he is a marvel.

Sorry if my post scared you Stags, didn't mean to, just pointing out the risks involved but you could say there are risks in everything you do!

Purple, I'm not sure about the HRT causing my heart attack. The cardiologist in the hospital said it was but the cardiologist I saw later said there were different schools of thought on it.

I was adopted so don't know if I have genetic problems, just that it appeared I'd had a previous heart attack that I didn't know anything about so it's possible that it is genetic and not caused by HRT.

I'm back on HRT now as my quality of life was awful without it. Couldn't sleep for the night sweats, and at work it was sooo embarrassing!

p.s. bone density takes 30 seconds- lie on bed fully clothed- funny machine overhead moves down your body - it's several feet above your head, not like an MRI machine. They usually measure your height at same time so they can check if you shrink
It gives 2 readings- spine and hip.

Bone density sounds a lot more fun than a smear.

I really appreciate that you replied at all, nanaf; I know there is a controv aroung hrt and I will look at both sides/as many sides as I can. I have just got my head around the mmr! It will take a while. Is it like breastfeeding when you get fanatics saying that theirs is the only way?

Bottom line is that purple's gynie has my name, details etc, and it will be soon.

I am scared of being in pain and I think ost is painful. I am really scared of being in pain, esp chronic pain.

Please think carefully before taking HRT - it does have side effects and you might be able to manage without.

I think you'd be strange not to fear pain!

But try to keep it in perspective - lots of women who go through an early menopause go on to have few if any health problems.

My very best wishes to you and I hope you get the answers you need to help you enjoy a full and rewarding life

Sanddripples, thanks, I will. I am not at all au fait with this topic but I am afraid I might turn soon into a boring expert. I am concerned that I haven't sought help until now but I am now making seeing purple's gynies as a pr.iority. Nothing will stop me from doing that and that is my overdue start