Hormone Replacement Therapy

[TrudyRN]

So what do you all think about it? Did you or do you use it personally?

I am so torn on this topic.

[Spidey's mom, ADN, BSN, RN]

Dr. Susan Love has a great book on menopause and hrt.

Here is her web site.

http://www.susanlovemd.org/

I am heading toward menopause. Irregular periods. Irregularly scheduled hot flashes . . mine are actually not that bad - like when you take Niacin . . . just a little flush. I don't think I need any hormones at this time - you have to be w/o a period for a year to be considered in menopause.

My good friend had hot flashes so bad AND insomnia that she ended up going on HRT for awhile - it saved her sanity.

steph

[SmilingBluEyes]

I think one of the reasons no one in my family talks of it, is my aunt went psychotic during the menopause. She went into deep depression and never slept more than a couple hours/night. I distinctly remember her walking her halls and crying at 3 a.m. some nights when I stayed w/her. She was sad ALL the time. She was also alcoholic, and this exacerbated her problem. She died of self-inflicted illnesses and neglect at only 62, alone and impoverished.

So now you know why menopause scares me so.

[magz53]

I have a very good friend who actually got psychotic and was diagnosed as bipolar during menopause with NO history of a problem ever in her life. Hormones are powerful and affect each of us differently. In addition to the horrible hot flashes and resultant sleep disturbance ( changing nightgowns 2 or 3 times at night as when the flash subsides, you are wet and cold ) I was blue all of the time right after my period stopped, functioning and not seriously depressed but crying easily,wondering where all the years went, how did the kids grow up so fast yadda yadda ( no empty nest here either, I STILL have a college student home ) Trust me, I was not about to wait a year. You can have FSH levels drawn and find out if indeed you are menopausal. About 2 weeks after starting on HRT, it was like a light bulb.......I felt like ME again. There are no words to describe it. My energy level came back with my good spirits. This is such a wonderful time in life when you are finally reaping all the rewards of hard work. House paid off, kids graduating from college getting good jobs and getting married, new grandbabies, doing a little traveling etc. etc................still working on an understaffed OB unit.....Ha Ha I want to look forward and not be meloncholy about how much of my life is gone. Like I said in a previous post, quality of life is important.

[Beverage]

I had a total Hysterectomy 2 years ago and tried to go cold turkey w/no hormones afterwards. Tried the Soy and black cohosh which didn't work for me. I had sleep deprivation and woke up every two hours along with drenching night sweats and hot flashes several times per hour. After 3 weeks I couldnt' take it and my GYN prescribed Vivelle dot 0.5 mg estrogen. Once it started working, all symptoms stopped. I'm supposed to change it twice a week. I've cut back to one patch a week and I'll get some hot flashes towards the end of the week because my patch is worn out but I can deal with the occasional flash. I couldn't handle changing my jammies and sheets twice a night and being awake every two hours.