What do you take to feel better/keep going (beyond HRT)?

[PaperBlinds]

I seem to be in the midst of another massive drop in oestrogen (can't think of another explanation and burning mouth today is the latest of a slew of new or worse symptoms) and feel awful. I am absolutely exhausted, achy and feeling like shit. I prob need to up the dose on my patches (50), but am not keen to atm I was on too much before (100).

I am not drinking alcohol at all, trying to keep hydrated, taking Vit B regularly what else can I do? Trying to manage by keeping up blood sugar, but reduced to taking parcetemol or ibruprofen in order to keep going past mid day.

How do you cope with this? I just want to curl up in bed.

High dosage Vit D, folic acid, a "women's" multivitamin and Biotin in a vain attempt to help my hair.

Also agree that getting enough fresh air and walking/exercise is important.

I do resistance training 3 days a week to help maintain muscle mass and core strength - hormone changes cause me odd moments of vertigo and having more strength has definitely help me avoid falls etc. I definitely feel better for it.

Take menopace when I remember most days.

Try cutting carbs - this is the thing I find hardest tbh. Eat nuts and seeds a lot more - for magnesium and other trace elements.

Barely drink alcohol anymore. It absolutely feels like poison in my system these days.

The problem with excercise is that currently (the last couple of weeks) I can't excercise without having to flake out for a significant portion of the day. I am not even doing anything v vigorous. I feel like I am permanently coming down with something. Getting through the working day and a dog walk is about as much as I can mange right now.

I have just put all the major proteins on the shopping list. And remined to drink more water, I have got myself another glass, also had oily fish based lunch. I am never anaemic and no other symptoms that suggest thyroid, which I have been tested for a couple of times.

Its just a bit shit really. But you lot are very kind and helpful.

Could you have a virus? (Tested yourself for Covid?)

The burning mouth thing has been linked to low estrogen so upping your patch seems the first step.

But- maybe the aches and pains are something else?

So hard to tell - I have been on this cycle of post-covid, perimenopause, feeling crappy cycle for a few years. Tested for Covid last week and it wasn't. And if it had been it would be my 5th go round. Have had several round of blood tests and it's always fine - to the extent that it's embarassing - I am just old, very unfit? Drs will only go on symptoms, not underlying cause. Thank you for thinking about this at all @JinglingSpringbells I am sure you will have enough stuff on your own plate.

Coming back in with something more helpful than the "wine" suggestion 🤣

This supplement was recommended to me.
Magnesium, B vitamins, and many others mentioned above 👍

https://naturaldispensary.co.uk/products/MentalWellbeinggSupport900s-10003158-0.html

Other than that life's fecking exhausting isn't it....
Sleep enough, and well
Reduce stress levels. Stress raises cortisol which makes weight loss hard and negatively impacts sleep. Oh, both of which then make me stressed!
Skip or reduce alcohol.
Eat enough, but not too much. Too little and energy is through the floor.
Lots of protein (jees, I could LOOK like a chicken breast with protein powder gravy 🤣)
Don't ignore carbs, but don't go overboard on carbs either.
Exercise. Some cardio, not too much as it'll make you hungry , "lift heavy shit" as the recommendation goes.
Find some sunshine
Navigate HRT shortages

Not poking fun at anyone! I agree with all of the points and I'm mostly trying to tick these off. Just having a wry smile as to what a b1tch is all is! As if we haven't all got enough on our plates!

Personally I've quit alcohol recently. Am I glowing? Sleeping better?! No!! Saved 5,000 calories a week....weight unchanged!!!

Anyway @PaperBlinds I hope you find something that works for you! I agree that the assortment of Mg is hard work. Hope the link is helpful 🥰 Keep on keeping on as the saying goes

When I gave up drinking I also stopped the snacking that goes with it. I didn’t lose any weight either.

Listened to a podcast the other day with Dr Ayan Panja (the feel better live more one), interesting take on TATT symptoms and pinning down a root cause. Worth a listen.

The thing I took away was gut bacteria and probiotics to help with that. And also hydration (already mentioned above)

Good luck OP x

Oh you are so right @Gobimanchurian you've reminded me! Gut health, more fibre and 10 vegetables a day (it's that new 5 a day don't you know) to my list

Sure menopause can cause fatigue but this kind of exercise intolerance (poor exercise recovery) indicates something else. Have you checked thyroid? Otherwise it’s typical of post-viral states. When did you have Covid in relation to these fatigue symptoms?

@BrassicaBabe that is exactly it! It's a full time job working this stuff out and I'm still generally confused, doing something wrong.

@DustyLee123 it's just not fair. But moving more would probably help.

@Mirabai we had covid early and badly and then several times since. It took a long time to recover, each subsequent round seems to knock me out, so yes maybe post-viral in part but pretty sure this latest few weeks of tiredness and symptoms is hormone related- period was early and weird.

It's so boring. I am so grateful to be able to share here.

I am on HRT after a premature menopause caused by chemo. It msy be worth getting checked out by your gp re your hrt as i read a recent article that sais a lot of women are upping their hrt dose thinking they are doing the right thing but apparently that causes more symptoms, not less.

It's worth getting your b12 levels checked. I had to have b12 injections and now take a specific b12 tablet under my tongue and the levels have stabilised. They aren't sure why mine dropped so much but I was knackered all the time.

Some people find it hard to absorb from food and I appear to be one of them.

I think protein and wholewheat type carbs and beans etc do help keep blood sugar stable.

Also give yourself a break and if you need a nap, you need a nap.

@Bbq1 this is what happened to me, hence reluctance to up my dose. When I came down to 50 patches from 100 lots of things got better (mainly huge sore boobs normalised a bit). But here we are again now. I wish there was a fingerprick test or something so you could see your levels and dose accordingly.

FECK!! Really?!!

So also on the list is to find EXACTLY the right HRT dose. Not too low, not too high.
Then find a GP engaged enough to consider hrt, thyroid, vitamin/minerals in order to treat us as an "entire" bring.

Well, I'm about ready to rethink my approach to wine. Joining me?!

Exactly the right dose at that time. It will of course change over time. So actually on the list is trying to work out the right dose repeatedly until actually everything stops/drops off - ie menopause. Erm yay!

I had a wine yesterday, I blame you @BrassicaBabe.

I think on this occasion @PaperBlinds I did you a favour 🤣