Perimenopause
Last night I attended a meeting, put on by a friend of mine, that discussed Perimenopause. This is something that is VERY real, that many women suffer from, and something that doctors dismiss as "oh, it's just stress and hormones, you'll get better."
Perimenopause is the 10-15 years before actual menopause. Symptoms include irritability, fatigue, weight gain (especially in the middle and in the thighs), visual disturbances, thyroid problems, night sweats (or daytime sweats if you're like me), blood sugar problems, and many more.
Now, I guess I first must say that although I have training as a Registered Nurse, I am in no way qualified to give medical advice, and I'm only telling you what I found out and what I'm going to do about my perimenopause symptoms. I will have NO advice, mostly because I'll be learning, right along with you! I will post several websites where you can look up information to help you get healthy, get informed, get over this not so small, but not so pleasant, bump in the road.
Here are some things I learned:
The first thing I am going to do is get a saliva test for my hormone levels. I learned last night that getting a serum (blood) test for hormone levels does no good as "we don't care what levels are circulating around in our bloodstream, we care about what levels are in our tissues." You will be able to find out how much hormone you have in your tissues from a saliva test. A local pharmacist does this here---it doesn't take a doctor's order to obtain.
We, as women, need a good balance of progesterone and estrogen. Being estrogen dominant (or having too much estrogen and not enough progesterone) leads to cancer.
CHRT--Conventional Hormone Replacement Therapy. THIS IS NOT WHAT WE WANT. We want a natural replacement therapy.
Progesterone. It balances out the estrogen. A study shows that women with good progesterone levels the day of surgery had double the survival rate than those with low progesterone levels. Something to think about. Progesterone is best used as a cream (rotate sites from inner arms, neck, chest, and stomach.) A good balance of progesterone to estrogen is 300 to 1.
We do not want to be taking Provera or Premarin.
Okay, you really have no idea how excited I am about this. I actually cranked up the radio and DANCED on my way home from the meeting. My kids would have been mortified---no Motley Crue headbanging, but a steady head bobbing jig at the wheel, I was SO EXCITED! I am SO ready to start feeling good again. I'll probably go and get my saliva test in the morning when the kids are at preschool. It will take about a week to get results, then there will be another consultation, then the results will be sent to specialists in bio-identical medicine. All this for around $60. Not bad for me to feel better---I'm worth it! I'll let you know what information I learn.
Here are some websites that I'm going to study:
www.salivatest.com
www.womentowomen.com
www.pccarx.com
www.acam.org
www.acatoday.com
www.worldhealth.com
I have not checked out these sites, yet. If you do, let me know what you think.
Here are some books that were recommended:
"What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Premenopause." John R. Lee, M.D.
"Premenopause" John R. Lee, M.D.
"Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom" Christiane Northrum, M.D.
"Restoring Your Hormone Balance" George Gilson, M.D., Ph.D.
"Guide to Better Health Through Hormonal Balance" Eldred B. Taylor, M.D. Ob/Gyn
I have not read these books.
I also have here a "HORMONE HOTLINE DIRCTORY." (Help! I'm wigged out and can't get the hammer out of my hands!!! You know, that feeling that someone MUST DIE TODAY? Not normal, but can BE HELPED!! WHOO-HOO!!) Actually, it's not that kind of hotline, but hey, THEY SHOULD MAKE ONE!! I'd be calling, let me tell you!
"The Hormone Hotline is a 24 hour taped audio-library with a growing list of topics on every aspect of hormone balance, saliva testing, and blood spot testing. You can access the hotline by phone at 1-503-466-9166 or also at the site listed above, www.salivatest.com
Is anyone else out there suffering from these things? I would love to hear from you.
Peace, ladies and gents, our homes may one day be normal again!
Perimenopause is the 10-15 years before actual menopause. Symptoms include irritability, fatigue, weight gain (especially in the middle and in the thighs), visual disturbances, thyroid problems, night sweats (or daytime sweats if you're like me), blood sugar problems, and many more.
Now, I guess I first must say that although I have training as a Registered Nurse, I am in no way qualified to give medical advice, and I'm only telling you what I found out and what I'm going to do about my perimenopause symptoms. I will have NO advice, mostly because I'll be learning, right along with you! I will post several websites where you can look up information to help you get healthy, get informed, get over this not so small, but not so pleasant, bump in the road.
Here are some things I learned:
The first thing I am going to do is get a saliva test for my hormone levels. I learned last night that getting a serum (blood) test for hormone levels does no good as "we don't care what levels are circulating around in our bloodstream, we care about what levels are in our tissues." You will be able to find out how much hormone you have in your tissues from a saliva test. A local pharmacist does this here---it doesn't take a doctor's order to obtain.
We, as women, need a good balance of progesterone and estrogen. Being estrogen dominant (or having too much estrogen and not enough progesterone) leads to cancer.
CHRT--Conventional Hormone Replacement Therapy. THIS IS NOT WHAT WE WANT. We want a natural replacement therapy.
Progesterone. It balances out the estrogen. A study shows that women with good progesterone levels the day of surgery had double the survival rate than those with low progesterone levels. Something to think about. Progesterone is best used as a cream (rotate sites from inner arms, neck, chest, and stomach.) A good balance of progesterone to estrogen is 300 to 1.
We do not want to be taking Provera or Premarin.
Okay, you really have no idea how excited I am about this. I actually cranked up the radio and DANCED on my way home from the meeting. My kids would have been mortified---no Motley Crue headbanging, but a steady head bobbing jig at the wheel, I was SO EXCITED! I am SO ready to start feeling good again. I'll probably go and get my saliva test in the morning when the kids are at preschool. It will take about a week to get results, then there will be another consultation, then the results will be sent to specialists in bio-identical medicine. All this for around $60. Not bad for me to feel better---I'm worth it! I'll let you know what information I learn.
Here are some websites that I'm going to study:
www.salivatest.com
www.womentowomen.com
www.pccarx.com
www.acam.org
www.acatoday.com
www.worldhealth.com
I have not checked out these sites, yet. If you do, let me know what you think.
Here are some books that were recommended:
"What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Premenopause." John R. Lee, M.D.
"Premenopause" John R. Lee, M.D.
"Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom" Christiane Northrum, M.D.
"Restoring Your Hormone Balance" George Gilson, M.D., Ph.D.
"Guide to Better Health Through Hormonal Balance" Eldred B. Taylor, M.D. Ob/Gyn
I have not read these books.
I also have here a "HORMONE HOTLINE DIRCTORY." (Help! I'm wigged out and can't get the hammer out of my hands!!! You know, that feeling that someone MUST DIE TODAY? Not normal, but can BE HELPED!! WHOO-HOO!!) Actually, it's not that kind of hotline, but hey, THEY SHOULD MAKE ONE!! I'd be calling, let me tell you!
"The Hormone Hotline is a 24 hour taped audio-library with a growing list of topics on every aspect of hormone balance, saliva testing, and blood spot testing. You can access the hotline by phone at 1-503-466-9166 or also at the site listed above, www.salivatest.com
Is anyone else out there suffering from these things? I would love to hear from you.
Peace, ladies and gents, our homes may one day be normal again!
posted by Lisa at 11:14 AM
2 Comments:
All those symptoms sound familiar to me. did you learn of any dietary changes, or lifestyle changes that would help?
Yes--sugar and starches are a no-no, which we all know, but can't stay away from! ha. Whole grains, fruits, veggies, all with no pesticides, and meats with no added hormones.
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