Re: Hypothyroidism/Adrenal Fatigue/Menopausal age

[Guest guest]

>

> I haven't been in the forum for a few days - was finding it

> overwhelming and 'pushing' myself to keep up with all the posts

and

> information - my old behaviour which has to stop as a lifestyle

> change.

I think that's progress Keri. I used to be the same. Had to stop it.

Surprising what a difference it makes. For me lifestyle changes have

been pivotal. Good on ya!

>I had a hysterectomy in January 1996 for precervical cancer, my

>ovaries are in tact. All my symptoms appeared big time last

Feb/March

>and I wonder how much are related to age/menopause although I

gather

>that once you have an early hysterectomy you go through the

menopause

>then?

If ovaries are intact then you would go through menopause as normal,

although they do say that the blood supply to the ovaries is

interrupted during a hysterectomy even if they aren't removed, so

you might go through menopause earlier than if you hadn't had the

operation.

>Would be interested to hear your experiences. Was talking to a

friend

>who is a pharmacist and she was talking about the knock on effect

with

>the thyroid and oestrogen ... Haven't been paying much attention to

>these discussions.

I had a hysterectomy/oopherectomy in 2006. It was a few months after

the op that it was discovered that my thyroid was underactive. There

has to be a connection between the two. I reckon with what I know

now that my thyroid had been struggling for years and the operation,

with struggling adrenals as well, was just one step too far for it.

Because of certain problems I was facing, my GP suggested estrogen

which I was reluctant to take. Did a load of research, was beginning

to come round to the idea, then found out about my thyroid. Realised

thyroid and estrogen can affect each other, so held off the estrogen

til I sorted the thyroid. As there's a crossover of symptoms I'm

still not sure what is lack of estrogen and what is lack of thyroid.

That's about where I am now. As well as looking into progesterone,

which I have just learnt may help the thyroid.

x

[Guest guest]

Hi Keri,

I'd agree with you pharmacist friend. Following my hysterectomy I

was given oestrogen HRT patches as routine. Helped cushion the loss of my

ovaries somewhat, but had to have dose increase due to hot flushes etc. I

then became allergic to the glue in the patches- scarlet itching blobs to go

with the rings of glue that just didn't want to come off- very sexy!

I was very relieved to lose the uncontrollable periods and accompanying

pain and mood swings- my family just kept out of my way- it's a real wonder

that my OH didn't leave, but he knew it was the illness not the real me.

There was a true feeling that I was on my way to getting my life back after

the op. It wasn't long after this ( about a year) that I got connected and

started to research thyroid stuff. I'd been hypo for 16 years by then and

when I found Dr. P . His research paper made so much sense to me I knew I'd

made the right decision to see him. Along with changing my thyroid meds he

suggested adding Serenity progesterone cream to my HRT. I felt so much

better all round on Armour etc I can't attribute exactly what made which

improvement. After a few months I reduced the amount of oestrogen- this was

easy as I had a metered pump so I just discarded a small amount of each dose

until I was on about half- no menopausal symptoms occurred, but I did get

the hot flushes back when I stopped the oestrogen. I was still fine tuning

my thyroid dose, so again I'm not sure what did what. All know is after

about a year I felt really well for the first time in 18 years.

Subject: Hypothyroidism/Adrenal Fatigue/Menopausal

age

I haven't been in the forum for a few days - was finding it

overwhelming and 'pushing' myself to keep up with all the posts and

information - my old behaviour which has to stop as a lifestyle

change.

I am 49 and have obvious hypo t symptoms, high ab's, low cortisol and

dhea and waiting to see Dr P on the 28th March.

I had a hysterectomy in January 1996 for precervical cancer, my

ovaries are in tact. All my symptoms appeared big time last Feb/March

and I wonder how much are related to age/menopause although I gather

that once you have an early hysterectomy you go through the menopause

then?

Would be interested to hear your experiences. Was talking to a friend

who is a pharmacist and she was talking about the knock on effect with

the thyroid and oestrogen ... Haven't been paying much attention to

these discussions.

luv keri

------------------------------------

Messages are not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always

consult with a suitably qualified practitioner before changing

medication.

[Guest guest]

> Along with changing my thyroid meds he

> suggested adding Serenity progesterone cream to my HRT.

Hope you don't mind me asking but are you on Armour, estrogen

AND progesterone now?

x

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

Yup! After a while I reduced the oestrogen, but felt better

with some. My OH says I take so many pills I'll rattle one day. But it's

worth it to feel well.

Subject: Re: Hypothyroidism/Adrenal

Fatigue/Menopausal age

> Along with changing my thyroid meds he

> suggested adding Serenity progesterone cream to my HRT.

Hope you don't mind me asking but are you on Armour, estrogen

AND progesterone now?

x

------------------------------------

Messages are not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always

consult with a suitably qualified practitioner before changing

medication.

[Guest guest]

>

> Hi ,

> Yup! After a while I reduced the oestrogen, but felt

better

> with some. My OH says I take so many pills I'll rattle one day. But

it's

> worth it to feel well.

Thanks . I'm cheered by what you write. I was in a muddle enough

after the op about HRT but now the thyroid has come in to play as well

I'm truly confused over which way to jump!

x

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

Can you say exactly which estrogen you are on pls? I say because I am using vagifem pessaries & about once a week a small blob of estriol cream, but wondered if there is something better I can get on the NHS.

Val

Yup! After a while I reduced the oestrogen, but felt betterwith some. My OH says I take so many pills I'll rattle one day. But it'sworth it to feel well.

[Guest guest]

Hi , and Val - thank you all so much. I now realise that

this thyroid thing has been going on for years and obviously last

March was the straw that broke the camel's back and stopped me in my

tracks - had to stop work.

From what I've read on the complementary side, we lack progesterone

not oestrogen. We get overloaded with oestrogen in for example milk

and meat (with the growth hormones added). What do you think?

I'm not sure now which to treat first. My naturopath I saw last April

(whom I have let go now) felt that I would have gone through the

menopause after the hysterectomy in '96 - interesting what you said

about the blood supply being cut off.

This lifestyle change stuff - where is it going to end?

luv keri

[Guest guest]

For me lifestyle changes have

> been pivotal.

What changes have you made ? I had to stop work last March as

I couldn't remember anyone's names or why they were coming to see

me .... - however, I will need to work again but what???

luv keri

[Guest guest]

Hi Val,

I use Sandrena 1.0mg gel Estradiol

I use half a sachet twice a day. Hope this helps

Subject:

Re: Hypothyroidism/Adrenal Fatigue/Menopausal age

Hi ,

Can you say exactly which estrogen

you are on pls? I say because I am using vagifem pessaries & about

once a week a small blob of estriol cream, but wondered if there is something

better I can get on the NHS.

Val

Messages

are not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always consult with a

suitably qualified practitioner before changing medication.

[Guest guest]

Thanks

Val

I use Sandrena 1.0mg gel Estradiol . I use half a sachet twicea day. Hope this helps

[Guest guest]

>

> >

> I use Sandrena 1.0mg gel Estradiol . I use half a

sachet twice

> a day. Hope this helps

>

Hi

I also use Sandrena which has proved very effective (following total

hysterectomy & ovary removal).

I tried Natpro natural progesterone in addition but suffered mood

swings, weight gain and elevated body tempersature, almost like

having the hot flushes again. Did you experience any of these?

luv

Terri

[Guest guest]

Hi Terri,

I have used Serenity successfully for 7 years now- no ill effects.

I tried the Emerita as this is cheaper, but I got the hot flushes again- so

this is cheaper, but less effective - would need to use far more for the

same effect.

Subject: Re: Hypothyroidism/Adrenal

Fatigue/Menopausal age

>

> >

> I use Sandrena 1.0mg gel Estradiol . I use half a

sachet twice

> a day. Hope this helps

>

Hi

I also use Sandrena which has proved very effective (following total

hysterectomy & ovary removal).

I tried Natpro natural progesterone in addition but suffered mood

swings, weight gain and elevated body tempersature, almost like

having the hot flushes again. Did you experience any of these?

luv

Terri

------------------------------------

Messages are not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always

consult with a suitably qualified practitioner before changing

medication.

[Guest guest]

where did you get Serenity from, as I had hysterectomy and full ovary removal last year, and am having really bad hot flushes and night sweats. Many thanks Debbiejenny stenning <jennystenning@...> wrote: Hi Terri,I have used Serenity successfully for 7 years now- no ill effects.I tried the Emerita as this is cheaper, but I got the hot flushes again- sothis is cheaper, but less effective - would need to use far more for thesame

effect.Subject: Re: Hypothyroidism/AdrenalFatigue/Menopausal age>> > > I use Sandrena 1.0mg gel Estradiol . I use half a sachet twice> a day. Hope this helps> Hi I also use Sandrena which has proved very effective (following total hysterectomy & ovary removal).I tried Natpro natural progesterone in addition but suffered mood swings, weight gain and elevated body tempersature, almost like having the hot flushes again. Did you experience any of these?luvTerri------------------------------------Messages are not a substitute for professional medical advice. Alwaysconsult with a suitably qualified practitioner before

changingmedication.

[Guest guest]

>

> Hi , and Val - thank you all so much. I now realise

that

> this thyroid thing has been going on for years and obviously last

> March was the straw that broke the camel's back and stopped me in

my

> tracks - had to stop work.

>

> From what I've read on the complementary side, we lack

progesterone

> not oestrogen. We get overloaded with oestrogen in for example

milk

> and meat (with the growth hormones added). What do you think?

When you had the hysterectomy it could be that the ovaries

spluttered a bit because of the interruption to the blood supply and

you had a few hormonal problems then which eventually righted

themselves or it could be that you're just going through meno now or

maybe from around last March when your present symptoms began. You

have no marker of periods stopping of course so it's difficult to

know if and when you are in menopause. All supposition at the end of

the day but if you're like me you'll like to at least try to work

out what is happening and why.

Interesting about the progesterone. It's something I'm looking into

myself at the moment. I've completely changed my mind having always

thought it was only estrogen that could do the trick. The thing that

threw me was that when I had saliva tests done as suggested by Dr P -

six months after going into surgical menopause, no HRT - they showed

normal estrogen and high progesterone. Now, 12 months afer the op,

blood tests show I'm extremely low estrogen. Don't know about the

progesterone.

And you're right of course about all the exogenous estrogen we

consume. I was horrified when I read up about that.

But reading the experiences of others on this forum and also a great

ebook that Val sent me, it seems that progesterone has helped a lot

of people to find hormonal balance. But it does seem to be a very

individual thing. And like you say - which do you tackle first? I'm

holding out for treating the thyroid first but after 12 months of

terrible brain fog since the op I'm now beginning to wonder if

that's been wise of me. I genuinely don't know.

And BTW Keri I know this is from another post - but I too didn't

get on with nutri adrenals.

Hope you're keeping better. Not long now til you see Dr P! Good luck

with that.

x

[Guest guest]

>

> For me lifestyle changes have

> > been pivotal.

>

> What changes have you made ? I had to stop work last March

as

> I couldn't remember anyone's names or why they were coming to see

> me .... - however, I will need to work again but what???

Hi Keri

I understand about the work situation. I haven't been able to work

for years. Have managed a few bits from home but nothing really

financially viable. However, I'm trying to change that in the

foreseeable future by planning to do some online teaching and

freelance writing both of which of course can be home based. I think

you have to use what qualifications you have and work around them

and do something where to a certain degree you're in control but

even then I find it hard to trust myself to be reliable enough

health wise to hold a job down. But both for financial reasons and

self respect, I have to be courageous and go for it.

Are you thinking of going back to your old job or doing something

different? Were you home based before?

What lifestyle changes have I made? In no particular order:

Changed diet - for me the greatest improvement came with this

Improved sleep - I did make a conscious effort to do this but it was

almost incidental as I implemented all the other changes.

Laughter - deliberately encouraged this by watching situation

comedies etc. I have never been one to laugh out loud at anything

until recently. I've loosened up considerably.

Pacing myself - very hard to do. Lowered my expectations of myself.

Realised I had nothing to prove to myself. Set more realistic goals

and stopped getting up tight if I didn't reach them.

Rest - I see this now as being as important as work. I count it as

necessary for my health and not something I've opted out of the

important things to do.

Me time - again always though this was a luxury. Felt guilty about

taking it. Not any longer. Me time is about recharging my batteries.

Vital.

Letting things go - I used to be like a dog with a bone! It's not

worth holding onto things that you can't do anything about, big or

small.

Spontaneity - spur of the moment stuff can be fun. If I feel like

doing it, I do! No more mental committees for days deliberating this

that or the other. Just enjoy!

Don't have to be there for everyone all the time - a biggie for me.

I was a people pleaser, could never say no. Now I think before I

offer, or before I do.

Perfectionism - out of the window!

Cognitive dissonance - I learnt to be myself. Which sounds silly but

for me that meant a complete change of religious beliefs which had

held me down for years and caused a gulf between who I really was

and the face I presented to the world, causing a lot of inward

tension. I feel at ease with myself at last.

Hobbies - taking up things I naturally enjoy but have let slide.

Allowing myself time to do that without guilt.

Attitudes - " reframing " them as puts it, although I'd

been doing that even before I'd come across the term. Changing

attitudes is probably the greatest and most important change I've

made and has had the biggest knock on effect.

Reading through what I've written it all sounds very airy fairy.

It's really what we all know I guess but never put into practise.

I'm lucky in that my kids are grown up and I have more time to

myself than most. Thereagain maybe it's even more important to look

after yourself when you have younger kids.

All I can say is that the changes I have made have had a profound

effect upon me. I'm a long way off being sorted but I do feel a good

50% better for taking stock of things and altering what I can.

Hopefully the other 50% will follow after I've got the thyroid meds

sorted.

x

[Guest guest]

Hi,

try http://www.progesterone.co.uk

You may need to order by post or phone, but they will do automatic repeats if requested. Depending on how much you use a jar will last for about 3 months- but may be less for the first one to get the system under control. It comes with good information booklet.

Re: Hypothyroidism/AdrenalFatigue/Menopausal age>> > > I use Sandrena 1.0mg gel Estradiol . I use half a sachet twice> a day. Hope this helps> Hi I also use Sandrena which has proved very effective (following total hysterectomy & ovary removal).I tried Natpro natural progesterone in addition but suffered mood swings, weight gain and elevated body tempersature, almost like having the hot flushes again. Did you experience any of these?luvTerri------------------------------------Messages are not a substitute for professional medical advice. Alwaysconsult with a suitably qualified practitioner before changingmedication.

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

I'd go for the progesterone, after all you can stop if you don't

like the effects,but hot flushes are misterable. It does help with transport

of thyroid hormone it may well do some good even withou thyroid

supplementation at this stage- if you then go on to thyroid meds they will

work better .

Re: Hypothyroidism/Adrenal

Fatigue/Menopausal age

--- In thyroid treatment@

But reading the experiences of others on this forum and also a great

ebook that Val sent me, it seems that progesterone has helped a lot

of people to find hormonal balance. But it does seem to be a very

individual thing. And like you say - which do you tackle first? I'm

holding out for treating the thyroid first but after 12 months of

terrible brain fog since the op I'm now beginning to wonder if

that's been wise of me. I genuinely don't know.

And BTW Keri I know this is from another post - but I too didn't

get on with nutri adrenals.

Hope you're keeping better. Not long now til you see Dr P! Good luck

with that.

x

------------------------------------

Messages are not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always

consult with a suitably qualified practitioner before changing

medication.

[Guest guest]

>

> Hi ,

> I'd go for the progesterone, after all you can stop if

you don't

> like the effects,but hot flushes are misterable. It does help with

transport

> of thyroid hormone it may well do some good even without thyroid

> supplementation at this stage- if you then go on to thyroid meds

they will

> work better .

Thanks . I'm almost persuaded!

[Guest guest]

You know what - reading all these things about you and your attitude, I am certain I would like you very much. You're my type of gal!

Luv - Sheila

>> For me lifestyle changes have > > been pivotal. > > What changes have you made ? I had to stop work last March as > I couldn't remember anyone's names or why they were coming to see > me .... - however, I will need to work again but what???Hi KeriI understand about the work situation. I haven't been able to work for years. Have managed a few bits from home but nothing really financially viable. However, I'm trying to change that in the foreseeable future by planning to do some online teaching and freelance writing both of which of course can be home based. I think you have to use what qualifications you have and work around them and do something where to a certain degree you're in control but even then I find it hard to trust myself to be reliable enough health wise to hold a job down. But both for financial reasons and self respect, I have to be courageous and go for it.Are you thinking of going back to your old job or doing something different? Were you home based before?What lifestyle changes have I made? In no particular order:Changed diet - for me the greatest improvement came with thisImproved sleep - I did make a conscious effort to do this but it was almost incidental as I implemented all the other changes. Laughter - deliberately encouraged this by watching situation comedies etc. I have never been one to laugh out loud at anything until recently. I've loosened up considerably. Pacing myself - very hard to do. Lowered my expectations of myself. Realised I had nothing to prove to myself. Set more realistic goals and stopped getting up tight if I didn't reach them. Rest - I see this now as being as important as work. I count it as necessary for my health and not something I've opted out of the important things to do. Me time - again always though this was a luxury. Felt guilty about taking it. Not any longer. Me time is about recharging my batteries. Vital. Letting things go - I used to be like a dog with a bone! It's not worth holding onto things that you can't do anything about, big or small. Spontaneity - spur of the moment stuff can be fun. If I feel like doing it, I do! No more mental committees for days deliberating this that or the other. Just enjoy!Don't have to be there for everyone all the time - a biggie for me. I was a people pleaser, could never say no. Now I think before I offer, or before I do. Perfectionism - out of the window! Cognitive dissonance - I learnt to be myself. Which sounds silly but for me that meant a complete change of religious beliefs which had held me down for years and caused a gulf between who I really was and the face I presented to the world, causing a lot of inward tension. I feel at ease with myself at last. Hobbies - taking up things I naturally enjoy but have let slide. Allowing myself time to do that without guilt.Attitudes - "reframing" them as puts it, although I'd been doing that even before I'd come across the term. Changing attitudes is probably the greatest and most important change I've made and has had the biggest knock on effect.Reading through what I've written it all sounds very airy fairy. It's really what we all know I guess but never put into practise. I'm lucky in that my kids are grown up and I have more time to myself than most. Thereagain maybe it's even more important to look after yourself when you have younger kids.All I can say is that the changes I have made have had a profound effect upon me. I'm a long way off being sorted but I do feel a good 50% better for taking stock of things and altering what I can. Hopefully the other 50% will follow after I've got the thyroid meds sorted. x

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[Guest guest]

>

> You know what - reading all these things about you and your

attitude, I am certain I would like you very much. You're my type of

gal!

Aaahhh Sheila! You made me cry! In an nice way of course. Thank you.

x