Re: Ok another post... menopause is knocking here

[Guest guest]

You know, Debra you must be psychic because I wanted to ask this very

thing today. I was going to ask does menopause cause the fibro to be

worse. Then I was going to ask does fibro make the menopause worse.

I am also wondering if women with fibro have more female related

problems. I know all the women in my family have or had endometriosis.

My doc put me on the pill at 17 and that's kept endo at bay, but I still

have some problems. And the past year or two I've had some subtle

peri-menopausal issues I guess you could say, but the doc says they are

normal.

I am on a pill method where I skip periods and have it every three

months. This has helped my 'hormonal flares' I used to get. I used

flare every month during period week without fail, does anyone else get

those? I never realized back then it was the fibro, but maybe it

is/was. But I stopped getting those with this pill method. It also

leveled out my moods. I told the doc I was borderline psychotic during

my pms time, I would throw things and the mood swings were so intense.

She said then let's just not have pms, we'll try this method. Okay...

it seems much better but it results in random spotting and cramping,

which totally sucks.

But I guess I'm asking so many questions so I can gain the knowledge

since knowledge is power and I want to know what to expect in the future.

I'm 36 and I think Mom started meno during her mid to late forties.

Melody

debra van ness wrote:

> Gosh my mood swings of late have been horrific. I have been so mad lately as

you all can tell from the last week or so. I get periods of anger. I get so

depressed. I get this damn fibro flaring and hormones flying out of range, and

it takes me over. I am 43. I think my mom had menopause at 44. I have been so

irritable, my periods are heavy when they get here and then they stop in about 2

short days. I get flashes of heat sometimes where sweat pours off my face for

no reason. Well, all you females get the picture. (sickening picture too...

LOL)... sorry.

>

> Coupled with the fibro, it is beginning to be a real challenge. I believe

that the hormone changes are making the fibro worse at times. I do not want to

take any hormone replacement therapy though....... unless I absolutely have to.

I guess I will start taking the black cohosh again. (natural remedy). It

seemed to help a little when I took it about a year ago.

>

> I still love you all. Dont know what I would do without you.

>

> Debra V.

>

[Guest guest]

Dear Debra and Melody,

I went into menopause immediately following a hysterectomy for uterine cancer. I

found that Effexor works great for menopause symptoms. I have other friends who

also take effexor for menopause symptoms. They are also happy with it.

Now, about my younger years. I had VERY BAD periods. I missed one day a monthof

school. I took a variety of pain meds so I could go to school. My menes lasted

for 7-9days. I also had very painful ovulation .

My daughter has been blessed with bad periods. She has such mood swings that I

can't be on the same planet as her. Needless to say she has been on bc since

shortly after she began her menes. Hers are also painful. She is also on the 3

month type so I don't have to commit justifiable homicide. LOL

JudyMer

---- Melody wrote:

> You know, Debra you must be psychic because I wanted to ask this very

> thing today. I was going to ask does menopause cause the fibro to be

> worse. Then I was going to ask does fibro make the menopause worse.

> I am also wondering if women with fibro have more female related

> problems. I know all the women in my family have or had endometriosis.

> My doc put me on the pill at 17 and that's kept endo at bay, but I still

> have some problems. And the past year or two I've had some subtle

> peri-menopausal issues I guess you could say, but the doc says they are

> normal.

> I am on a pill method where I skip periods and have it every three

> months. This has helped my 'hormonal flares' I used to get. I used

> flare every month during period week without fail, does anyone else get

> those? I never realized back then it was the fibro, but maybe it

> is/was. But I stopped getting those with this pill method. It also

> leveled out my moods. I told the doc I was borderline psychotic during

> my pms time, I would throw things and the mood swings were so intense.

> She said then let's just not have pms, we'll try this method. Okay...

> it seems much better but it results in random spotting and cramping,

> which totally sucks.

> But I guess I'm asking so many questions so I can gain the knowledge

> since knowledge is power and I want to know what to expect in the future.

> I'm 36 and I think Mom started meno during her mid to late forties.

>

> Melody

>

>

>

>

> debra van ness wrote:

> > Gosh my mood swings of late have been horrific. I have been so mad lately

as you all can tell from the last week or so. I get periods of anger. I get so

depressed. I get this damn fibro flaring and hormones flying out of range, and

it takes me over. I am 43. I think my mom had menopause at 44. I have been so

irritable, my periods are heavy when they get here and then they stop in about 2

short days. I get flashes of heat sometimes where sweat pours off my face for

no reason. Well, all you females get the picture. (sickening picture too...

LOL)... sorry.

> >

> > Coupled with the fibro, it is beginning to be a real challenge. I believe

that the hormone changes are making the fibro worse at times. I do not want to

take any hormone replacement therapy though....... unless I absolutely have to.

I guess I will start taking the black cohosh again. (natural remedy). It

seemed to help a little when I took it about a year ago.

> >

> > I still love you all. Dont know what I would do without you.

> >

> > Debra V.

> >

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

>

> You know, Debra you must be psychic because I wanted to ask this very

> thing today. I was going to ask does menopause cause the fibro to be

> worse.

******************

Okay, I am with you both on this question! So, does fibro make

menopause worse, or menopause make fibro worse? I don't think I can

concentrate long enough to figure that one out! LOL!!! Maybe someone

can offer some good suggestions to whichever it is!

Vicki

MN

[Guest guest]

One of my drs said that hormonal changes do affect the fibro and you should have

them checked if you are in menopause. I am going to also since I had a full

hystorectomy in 2001.

vicki wrote:

>

> You know, Debra you must be psychic because I wanted to ask this very

> thing today. I was going to ask does menopause cause the fibro to be

> worse.

******************

Okay, I am with you both on this question! So, does fibro make

menopause worse, or menopause make fibro worse? I don't think I can

concentrate long enough to figure that one out! LOL!!! Maybe someone

can offer some good suggestions to whichever it is!

Vicki

MN

1. While it is wonderful to share our experiences with everyone on the list as

to what treatments do and don't work for us, pls always check with your dr. Some

treatments are dangerous when given along with other meds as well as to certain

health conditions or just dangerous in general.

2. If you are in a difficult situation (doesn't matter what it is) pls don't be

afraid to ask for help. It is the first step to trying to make that situation

better.

3. To unsubscribe the e-mail is:

Fibromyalgia_Support_Group-unsubscribe

4. Also, it is not uncommon for more than one member to be feeling bad at the

same time when it comes to flares and b/c of that potentially take something

another member says the wrong way. And that includes the things that one member

may find funny (even if it's laughing at fibro itself) even though we who deal

with illness whether one such as fibro or multiple illnesses try to keep a sense

of humor.

5. Pls let's be gentle with each other, and if you are having a bad day pls let

us know so that we can do our best to offer our support.

Have a nice day everyone.

[Guest guest]

Debra - What you describe does sound like menopausal symptoms. The only

thing that concerns me are your extreme feelings of anger and frustration.

This is where I was at about 18 months ago. I almost thought I'd have to be

hospitalized because even though I wasn't suicidal, I wanted to try hurting

myself by cutting to see if physical pain could relieve the emotional pain.

Luckily, I got help before I actually did myself any harm.

If you ever get to this extreme, please seek help. I know you don't

have insurance, so getting psychiatric care could be really difficult. But

I know how awful it is to feel that almost out of control anger and

frustrations and not know how to make it better. I hope you feel better

soon.

Jeanne in WI

> Gosh my mood swings of late have been horrific. I have been so mad lately

> as you all can tell from the last week or so. I get periods of anger. I

> get so depressed. I get this damn fibro flaring and hormones flying out

> of range, and it takes me over. I am 43. I think my mom had menopause at

> 44. I have been so irritable, my periods are heavy when they get here and

> then they stop in about 2 short days. I get flashes of heat sometimes

> where sweat pours off my face for no reason. Well, all you females get

> the picture. (sickening picture too... LOL)... sorry.

>

> Coupled with the fibro, it is beginning to be a real challenge. I

> believe that the hormone changes are making the fibro worse at times. I

> do not want to take any hormone replacement therapy though....... unless I

> absolutely have to. I guess I will start taking the black cohosh again.

> (natural remedy). It seemed to help a little when I took it about a year

> ago.

>

> I still love you all. Dont know what I would do without you.

>

> Debra V.

[Guest guest]

Melody - We've talked before that I am on a similar type plan of reduced

periods from taking the pill. To answer your question regarding menopause

and FM, the books say that once we've reached menopause, it might help our

FM symptoms. I guess this is because we won't have the fluctuating hormones

adding to our problems. But, it takes years of peri-menopause before we get

there. My PCP says I can stay on the pill until I'm 50, and then we

experiment with going off of it. And also, there are plenty of women on

here who've had hysterectomies and our past menopause, and I'm sure they'll

tell us they didn't notice any improvement in their symptoms. So, my answer

is, regardless what the books might say, YMMV. LOL!

Jeanne in WI

> You know, Debra you must be psychic because I wanted to ask this very

> thing today. I was going to ask does menopause cause the fibro to be

> worse. Then I was going to ask does fibro make the menopause worse.

I am also wondering if women with fibro have more female related problems.

I know all the women in my family have or had endometriosis. My doc put me

on the pill at 17 and that's kept endo at bay, but I still have some

problems. And the past year or two I've had some subtle peri-menopausal

issues I guess you could say, but the doc says they are normal. I am on a

pill method where I skip periods and have it every three months. This has

helped my 'hormonal flares' I used to get. I used flare every month during

period week without fail, does anyone else get those? I never realized back

then it was the fibro, but maybe it is/was. But I stopped getting those

with this pill method. It also leveled out my moods. I told the doc I was

borderline psychotic during my pms time, I would throw things and the mood

swings were so intense.

She said then let's just not have pms, we'll try this method. Okay...

> it seems much better but it results in random spotting and cramping,

> which totally sucks. But I guess I'm asking so many questions so I can

> gain the knowledge since knowledge is power and I want to know what to

> expect in the future. I'm 36 and I think Mom started meno during her mid

> to late forties.

>

> Melody

[Guest guest]

Hi Debra,

I don't know what effect hormones or menopause have on Fibromyalgia. This is

mainly because I was dx when I was around 40 and had my last period when I was

40. I don't know if this is coincidence or not.

I don't take any hormone replacement, but sometimes wonder if I should. I

guess there is a test to determine if you need estrogen or not, but I don't know

what it is.

I'm 59 now and so menopause is long gone. I still have mood swings - like a

pendulum. Mostly it depends on how I feel and what I can or can't do and how

frustrated I am over all of that. I can be way up and plan all sorts of things

and do lots of things one day and then the pain hits hard and the fibro flu

comes on and the fibro fog settles in and I can't do any of the things I've

planned and I get down, way down.

It's not fun, but it's the way my life goes right now. Now if I can just stay

together enough to finish getting ready for the boys to come this weekend, I

will be happy. I make a plan of what I'm going to do any given day and it seems

doable, but when the day is over and only a smidgen of it is done, I get

frustrated!

I hope you feel better soon,

Blessed be, Marti

debra van ness wrote:

Gosh my mood swings of late have been horrific. I have been so mad

lately as you all can tell from the last week or so. I get periods of anger. I

get so depressed. I get this damn fibro flaring and hormones flying out of

range, and it takes me over. I am 43. I think my mom had menopause at 44. I have

been so irritable, my periods are heavy when they get here and then they stop in

about 2 short days. I get flashes of heat sometimes where sweat pours off my

face for no reason. Well, all you females get the picture. (sickening picture

too... LOL)... sorry.

Coupled with the fibro, it is beginning to be a real challenge. I believe that

the hormone changes are making the fibro worse at times. I do not want to take

any hormone replacement therapy though....... unless I absolutely have to. I

guess I will start taking the black cohosh again. (natural remedy). It seemed to

help a little when I took it about a year ago.

I still love you all. Dont know what I would do without you.

Debra V.

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

Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your homepage.

[Guest guest]

Yeah Marti. I think fibro itself causes the mood swings too. I think anyone

living with this is bound to have mood swings.

Hope all goes well with the visit with the boys. I bet you will enjoy it

though it may be tiring.

Take care. You are such a sweet wonderful positive person.

Have the best day you can today.

love ya,

Debra

Marti Boguski wrote:

Hi Debra,

I don't know what effect hormones or menopause have on Fibromyalgia. This is

mainly because I was dx when I was around 40 and had my last period when I was

40. I don't know if this is coincidence or not.

I don't take any hormone replacement, but sometimes wonder if I should. I guess

there is a test to determine if you need estrogen or not, but I don't know what

it is.

I'm 59 now and so menopause is long gone. I still have mood swings - like a

pendulum. Mostly it depends on how I feel and what I can or can't do and how

frustrated I am over all of that. I can be way up and plan all sorts of things

and do lots of things one day and then the pain hits hard and the fibro flu

comes on and the fibro fog settles in and I can't do any of the things I've

planned and I get down, way down.

It's not fun, but it's the way my life goes right now. Now if I can just stay

together enough to finish getting ready for the boys to come this weekend, I

will be happy. I make a plan of what I'm going to do any given day and it seems

doable, but when the day is over and only a smidgen of it is done, I get

frustrated!

I hope you feel better soon,

Blessed be, Marti

debra van ness wrote:

Gosh my mood swings of late have been horrific. I have been so mad lately as you

all can tell from the last week or so. I get periods of anger. I get so

depressed. I get this damn fibro flaring and hormones flying out of range, and

it takes me over. I am 43. I think my mom had menopause at 44. I have been so

irritable, my periods are heavy when they get here and then they stop in about 2

short days. I get flashes of heat sometimes where sweat pours off my face for no

reason. Well, all you females get the picture. (sickening picture too... LOL)...

sorry.

Coupled with the fibro, it is beginning to be a real challenge. I believe that

the hormone changes are making the fibro worse at times. I do not want to take

any hormone replacement therapy though....... unless I absolutely have to. I

guess I will start taking the black cohosh again. (natural remedy). It seemed to

help a little when I took it about a year ago.

I still love you all. Dont know what I would do without you.

Debra V.

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

Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your homepage.

[Guest guest]

Yayyyy about the meno and fibro. That gives me SUCH hope. And an even

bigger yay if your pcp says you can stay on the pill til 50, I haven't

asked my gyno how long I can stay on it, but I'm scared to get off of it

due to endo.

So onto another fibro female topic - I've heard from many in groups over

the years that during pregnancy the fibro kind of subsides a bit. I

told this to my sister during her pregnancies, but she was quite the

opposite. She hurt SO BADLY that during her second pregnancy she

decided no more kids, and had her tubes tied after. She said if it

wasn't for the horrible fibro pain, she wanted to have many more kids.

Melody

Jeanne and Dave wrote:

> Melody - We've talked before that I am on a similar type plan of reduced

> periods from taking the pill. To answer your question regarding menopause

> and FM, the books say that once we've reached menopause, it might help our

> FM symptoms. I guess this is because we won't have the fluctuating hormones

> adding to our problems. But, it takes years of peri-menopause before we get

> there. My PCP says I can stay on the pill until I'm 50, and then we

> experiment with going off of it. And also, there are plenty of women on

> here who've had hysterectomies and our past menopause, and I'm sure they'll

> tell us they didn't notice any improvement in their symptoms. So, my answer

> is, regardless what the books might say, YMMV. LOL!

> Jeanne in WI

>

[Guest guest]

Well in my case it seems to have made it worse! maybe it is just the shock of

having had normal hormones and now having none, since I had the hysterectomy.

all I know is yes I have had times where I have felt like this in the past but

it is worse now. Could also be the stress my body went through with the surgery

too.

To: Fibromyalgia_Support_Group@...: melodyanna@...:

Tue, 12 Feb 2008 13:20:31 -0600Subject: Re: Ok another post... menopause

is knocking here

Yayyyy about the meno and fibro. That gives me SUCH hope. And an even bigger yay

if your pcp says you can stay on the pill til 50, I haven't asked my gyno how

long I can stay on it, but I'm scared to get off of it due to endo.So onto

another fibro female topic - I've heard from many in groups over the years that

during pregnancy the fibro kind of subsides a bit. I told this to my sister

during her pregnancies, but she was quite the opposite. She hurt SO BADLY that

during her second pregnancy she decided no more kids, and had her tubes tied

after. She said if it wasn't for the horrible fibro pain, she wanted to have

many more kids. MelodyJeanne and Dave wrote:> Melody - We've talked before that

I am on a similar type plan of reduced > periods from taking the pill. To answer

your question regarding menopause > and FM, the books say that once we've

reached menopause, it might help our > FM symptoms. I guess this is because we

won't have the fluctuating hormones > adding to our problems. But, it takes

years of peri-menopause before we get > there. My PCP says I can stay on the

pill until I'm 50, and then we > experiment with going off of it. And also,

there are plenty of women on > here who've had hysterectomies and our past

menopause, and I'm sure they'll > tell us they didn't notice any improvement in

their symptoms. So, my answer > is, regardless what the books might say, YMMV.

LOL!> Jeanne in WI>