Any advice please? Alternative to HRT (alongside chemotherapy) .

[yoohooitsme]

Hi All

Seeing my oncologist today and second chemotherapy treatment too.

Ovaries were out in January due to ovarian cancer, chemo is 'precautionary' but will take place over several months.

Alongside the taxing nature of the chemo I am finding my night flushes DRAINING in the extreme.

I am also somewhat anxious having had a lot to take in in recent months, as it were.

I am having nothing for the surgical menopause at all, age is 45.

I am doing the yoga and it helps (a bit maybe) says the optimist in me. But I am not sleeping at all well and wake up drenched several times some nights [yummy].

Would an antidepressant be a reasonable option does anyone know?

Thanks in advance

Sorry to hear about your op. Your consultant should refer you to another specialist who can help with this. If you are nr London I can give you names. This is not something you should be tackling on your own; you need specialist help. A starting point could be the NICE meno guidelines. There are some links there for use of ADs in women who can't have HRT. At the same time, not sure if ovarian cancer means HRT is a complete no-no anyway. There are women who have had breast cancer being treated with certain types of HRT for meno.

Thanks Polly.

No HRT allowed for me according to my oncologist. I also have endometriosis not sure if this is part of the reason or not.

Anyhow: Have started a low dose of Citalopram, review in 4 weeks, fingers crossed.
Will start a basic vit D supplement and up calcium in diet rather than supplement. Bone density scan recommended for a baseline sometime this year I think.

Yoga too of course ;)

Night sweats and hot flushes have been very unpleasant and I think they are exacerbated in Chemo week also so I am certainly keen for something to help.

Will update in case this helps others at any point.

Thanks for the update.

I think each consultant has their own opinion- it's not black and white.

I know you may not want to consider this, but there are a couple of really top meno consultants, London based, who are really at the top of the tree with all of this and who work in conjunction with oncologists and surgeons.

I know my consultant treats women who've had BC with HRT in discussion with oncologists for example.

Just saying so if you get desperate you could always pursue it.