Please help- hot flushes shivering palpitations night sweats

[Wordsaremything]

i feel as if I've aged 15 years in the last three months. Just turned 49. Bloods done a while ago to rule out anything else. All that fine.

Symptoms are really ramping up. Cycle irregular ( can cope with that) but the hot flushes seemingly provoked by the tiniest stressor have been miserable in the hot weather esp at work where the air con is broken and a long commute on packed trains.

Now getting night sweats and palpitations alternating with a strange creepy/ shivery feeling all over my upper body.

So tired, largely due to constant nights of broken sleep.

Not keen on hrt. Just paid a fortune for goose down duvet and high thread count cotton bedding - do I need to rethink and get a wool duvet? I sleep naked (alone thankfully can't bear the thought of another body in there with me!) with windows open around house to try and get a draught - but then end up freezing with the sweating.

I had another terrible night last night and I could cry! This is not like me at all. Normally power on through physical discomfort but this is fast becoming intolerable.

Advice, sympathy? Please???

...wondering if running provides a type of bone stress which especially benefits the pelvic bones?

I tried to look up the science, but it's a bit beyond me to fully grasp .
Runners who overdo it are also prone to stress fractures & they affect men, too. Strive for a healthy balance to avoid extremes (like going amenorrhic or getting stress fractures) but still do plenty.

One of the best things we can do for our daughters is to encourage an actively weight-bearing lifestyle. Walking places a lot, getting into sport that has them moving lots on their feet, etc. They do all that when teens & young adults, they will probably reap lifelong benefits.

I'll get on the case later Yeold and see if I can make any headway!
I skimmed through a few bits of research last night which indicated that exercise does increase bone density in women post menopause, generally walking doesn't seem to provide enough stimulus to the bones though

oh that's gut wrenching if walking doesn't do much.
Did they look at 20 minutes walking vs. 20 minute running? Did they look at 2 hours+ of walking?

It's a lot more complicated than 'just' running or 'just' walking.
Many women who have had children can't run as high impact is no good for the pelvic floor long term.
There are exercises that you can do-floor based with weights - that help. The research shows that brisk walking over 3.5 mph helps. Running can be harmful in people who already have low BD and who maybe don't know it- it can result in fractures.
Warding off osteoporosis is multifactored: diet, the right exercise and maybe HRT for some women.

If anyone really wants to know then the website of the National Osteoporosis Society has loads of info.

that's gut wrenching if walking doesn't do much
I think anything is better than being sedentary!
but according to this www.thebonejournal.com/article/8756-3282(88)90031-2/abstract
Brisk walking does not stop bone loss in postmenopausal women

I've not had much chance to do any research , there's load of info out there!

Ah nuts, thanks Suzanne. I found 3 systematic reviews/meta analyses with the same basic conclusion, so that's as definitive as it gets, I reckon.

Oh well, better to know now than to be deluded.

I'm trying to find syst. reviews on running & bone density in post-menopausal women.

not finding anything as a syst. review... weird. Lots of resistance programmes but not running or jogging specifically in post-menopausal women (interesting).

well as you said running can be problematic I dont think it is necessary to do loads of it, a bit of slow jogging or run walk-intervals a few times a week.
The thing about research studies is they mostly use untrained subjects, I dont think there are too many looking at the effects of decades of consistent exercise because not enough people clock up that much!

Possibly a combination of some high impact stimulus along with some strength training, in amongst generally being active would be optimal?

Found some more syst reviews.... jumping, weight training, jogging, seem to be what works to increase bone density, and maybe only by something worth measuring for pre-menopausal.

Yeah I noticed the walking studies were almost all 2 groups of mostly sedentary women, not many life long ramblers.

Argh, am not a natural runner (!) And my basketball skills are lousy. We won't even discuss the weight training :).

The report linked to is only one of many (some show the opposite) and it focuses on bone density in the spine. Most walking benefits are seen in the femur.
Building spinal bone density is harder and can be done with weighted vests while walking, but overall walking benefits the femur.
Bone density DEXA scans measure both the hip(femur) and spine.

Walking and bone density

Argh, am not a natural runner
Very few people find running easy but (and I hadn't really considered this myself before) I can see that the repeated small impact provides a bone stimulus that you can't really get in any other way.
Physiologically and biomechanically humans are actually uniquely adapted for running so it stands to reason that we've evolved to 'need' the stimulus it requires in order for bones to be at their strongest ?

Morning everyone. Just thought I'd update. I've had a week of eating well, with lots of veg fruit and salad. Aimed for smaller more frequent meals. Upped the exercise. Don't eat much sugar or 'white things' so that was never an issue.

Ive been taking a multi vit, magnesium ok and evg primrose. Although having read about menopace I've got some of that (the one with sage) so will replace the multi vit with that.

Generally I feel much better - more energy and focus, brighter., less scattered and strung out. Sleeping better but that improved the instant I'd switched from the goose down duvet.

But- still getting the flushes probably once an hour whilst at work and travelling. Perhaps three or four times at night from about 3 am. And those weird cold shivers.

I'm going to give it a month, and then go to docs for hrt if no improvement.

Does that sound like a plan? How are my fellow-meno mners doing?

?glad to hear that you've seen an improvement Words :)
as for me, I still have flushes, and I run hot at night, neither of these things trouble me especially.
I don't feel the same about sex, I can take it or leave it, that feels like an advantage to me compared to how I used to feel. ?

It feels to me that I have been / am being rejigged so as to function with a different hormonal milieu, the flushes are signs of the adjustments.
?
I appreciate that this is not in line with conventional thinking on the subject ?

Great news that you are feeling better Wordsaremything! This can only be of benefit to your general health in years to come. However it is not surprising that you have not seen a reduction in flushes - because for those women who suffer from these there is only so much that can be achieved through lifestyles changes and improvements to general health - losing weight, cutting down/out caffeine and alcohol and so on.

The frequent flushes at work and the nights with disturbed sleep due to the sweats were what decided me to start HRT in your position (but a little older).

Sounds like a great plan re HRT ! If you find the right product (and you might need to try a couple first...) you will be amazed at how much better you feel and how you will be able to function normally as I do now in my 60's - and I am doing fine at the moment thanks!

When you do go to your doc make sure you read up on all the different types - which you will find on the Menopause Matters website referred to I'm sure earlier in this thread.

Good luck and keep it up

God Sunday night dreadful. Went to work on about 3 hours sleep having woken thru night with sweats chills and palpitations. Then had deeply distressing nightmare and slept thru alarm.

Staying up late tonight to see if that helps.

G p appointment early October.

I'm 54, went through menopause at 50, and endured 3 years of increasingly nasty hot flushes, night sweats, stiff aching joints (could hardly get out of bed some mornings) and my hair falling out and turning into a dry brittle mess . The last was the worst in some respects. Shallow, moi? Also had very disturbed sleep and needed to get up to pee several times a night. And weight gain. Oh yes.

I still shudder when remembering that awful 'shivery' sensation that heralded a flush. I can only describe it as feeling like someone was twanging elastic bands all over my body.

I too tried the lifestyle changes initially and it did make a difference avoiding alcohol, carbs and taking more exercise. I also used phyto soya supplements which helped a lot for a couple of years, and then my symptoms got worse.

I started using HRT patches a year ago (Evorel Conti 50) and every single one of my symptoms has vanished. My hair has grown back and even my haridresser commented on the massive improvement. Haven't lost the weight yet, but that's always been a work in progress .

I decided on patches as the safest delivery method after doing some research. The only side effects have been some mild irritation (redness and itchiness) around the patches, and it's a bugger getting the adhesive off where the old patches were, but using loads of moisturizer after showers helps shift it (I alternate sides when applying the patches).

lapsed- you might like to consider Oestrogel ( gel) instead of patches. That way you don't get the stickiness of patches or the visibility of them. My consultant suggested it for me as a first choice and I've found it brilliant. Not all GPs are au fait with gel, but it's easy to use. You do need to use a separate progestogen as it's pure oestrogen.

I've found you. Thank god.

Every single night I'm awake for hours, dripping wet every single bloody hour. I'm 50 - this started a couple of years ago but only occasionally but how it's ramped up now. Will give it a couple of weeks with evening primrose, then I'm going to GP. I've a stressful, high pressured job and I just can't cope on 4 hours sleep.

Bloody miserable, this is. We're saints, all of us.

Sorry you are suffering.
TBH evening primrose is for PMS symptoms - sore boobs- but it won't really help menopause; Netdoctor has some info on this which shows research and nothing, afraid, positive about EP and meno symptoms.
Even if ti did work, fatty aids like EP and fish oils need to be taken for 12 weeks to really work.
Have a read of all the excellent info on Menopause Matters before you see your GP so that if you want HRT then you will be better informed. Be prepared for most GPs to know next to nothing about HRT and wave you off with a packet of pills.
Loads on the web about safest types, reducing risk etc.
Don't suffer- the risks were over-hyped and it is safe and effective - see Menopause Matters for stats.

I'm sorry pinkfrocks - you can't try and brush the risks away like this. You might decide that the risks are worth taking - but there are risks with HRT.

Awks I'm sorry you're suffering so much. As pinkfrocks says, though, EPO isn't a supplement for the menopause - you need to be considering things like Menolieve or Menopause (or any of the other supplements that have been recommended on this thread!)

I think Pinkfrocks means, that in her opinion the risks were over-hyped and in her opinion it is safe and effective.

despite her demeanor in this section she is not the last word or an authority on the subject

Awks Have a read of the latest information published by the BMS (British Menopause Society) - look under Consensus Statements. There is also a link much further down this forum to a youtube video by the International Menopause Society.

These doctors make the point that the risks which were reported 20 years ago were incorrect and new guidelines have since been published. The risks are very small - look at the stats- and risks for women under 60 (who have no health issues) are said to be outweighed by benefits.

suzanne if you continue to make personal comments about me, as if I am not reading them, I will report you as I have before. Feel free to quote stats and argue the point, but please refrain from being bitchy. It's very childish.