Your Menopause Type book
Question:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Janev wrote: > On Thu, 14 Dec 2000 09:23:28 -0800, Pat Kight <kig…@ucs.orst.edu> > >My top two books on menopause remain Dr. Susan Love’s Hormone Book (for > >its good, clear descriptions of just what goes on in our bodies during > >menopause) and The Change, by Germaine Greer (for its strong, > >self-assured, wise-woman take on the other aspects of growing older in > >our culture). > >–Pat Kight > >kig…@peak.org > Pat, I read ‘the Germs’ ‘The Change’ ..yep, I agree, all very good, > as was the similar NZ book by Sandra Coney, but it does tell me how I > could have avoided being sacked for menopausal symptom induced > ‘incompotence’, how I can stop the day and night sweats (3 tee shirts > dreched by 11 a.m. each day) how I can get more than 3 hours sleep a > night – I really need help and I need it ASAP. (mind you I still have > a enough intellectual functioning still intact to generate my crap > detector!).
Well, that’s good! A functioning crap detector – along with an intact sense of humor – seem to me to be the best tools one can carry into Life After The Change. I hope you’ll take a look at the Web site I referenced in my other post re: methods for dealing with the sweats and flashes. They sound too simple, but they really do help a great deal. I went through a several-months period of the drenching nightly sweats and insomnia, and I do know how hellish the sleep deprivation alone can make one’s life. If it offers any hope, though, mine did eventually vanish as unexpectedly as they’d arrived, and I’ve been sleeping normally for over a year now. Once in a great while I wake up a little sweaty, but nothing like the nightly sweat-baths I was experiencing. > I will get our local library to order the Susan Love book – they are > excellent in obtaining menopause books.
Good idea. It goes by a different title in the UK – aaaaargh, I can’t remember it now (my most frequent "symptom" at the moment being menofog), but I’m sure the librarian will be able to find it. There’s a new edition coming out within the year, I understand, with updated research information. Meantime, you can visit Love’s Web site – it’s mainly about breast cancer, which is her primary specialty, but poke around a bit in the "Decision Making" section and you’ll find some solid information about menopause, too. http://www.susanlovemd.com/ > (PS Even though Germaine Gree is strong, intelligent and self assured, > in her own country, Australia, they consistently publish nasty > articles implying she is crazy – ( usually written/published by fat > old piggish men she sexually rejected 30 years ago)
Well, of cousers she’s crazy – old women have always been thought of as crazy by a certain population of men, right? Personally, I’m looking forward to it! Best wishes, –Pat Kight kig…@peak.org
Response:
What I thought – good, as I have been convinced for sometime that as different women experience menopause quite differently, there has to be some type of explantion for the difference. It amazes me how little research into menopause has been done and/or thought into tailoring appropriate responses for assisting women who are having difficulty with living with menopause. Like myself. I have constant drenching hot flashes day and night. I was sacked from work because my cognitive, reasoning, memory and writing functions deteriorated badly because I was averaging 3 hours sleep a night – menopause induced because of the drenching night sweats (intervention by the union, assisted by documentation from a teaching hospital sleep clinic resulted in a sustantial termination payment). (Iwas a policy researcher in my now past life). I have tried patches, premarin, natural ‘compounding chemist’ made hormones (tri-estrogen troches, progesterone cream and testorone cream), low dose BCP, higher does BCP, herbs (4 different mixtures in tincture form), herbal tea, Vitamins, (vitamin E, vitamin C, Zinc, potassium and magnesium), kava kava, acupuncture, chinese herbs and I’m still ‘up shit creek without a paddle’ as they say in Australia. so I leapt upon this book. i did the questionnaire and found out my type which is well and good – I have a deficiency of two hormones. But then, what to do? I have NEVER had a hormone blood test so I need to get one of those and a practioner who is willing to try the suggestions in the book, which here in Australia, need a doctor’s prescription. So the book is good for helping one identify a possible source of one’s difficulties, but no so good with specific self help measures. Jan
Response:
Janev wrote: > What I thought – good, as I have been convinced for sometime that as > different women experience menopause quite differently, there has to > be some type of explantion for the difference. It amazes me how > little research into menopause has been done and/or thought into > tailoring appropriate responses for assisting women who are having > difficulty with living with menopause.
You’re right on that account - the "one size fits all" approach to menopause that so many doctors take serves individual women poorly. But I’m skeptical of books which claim to have discovered The Truth — at least until I see the original research on which they base their claims. > I have tried patches, premarin, natural ‘compounding chemist’ made > hormones (tri-estrogen troches, progesterone cream and testorone > cream), low dose BCP, higher does BCP, herbs (4 different mixtures in > tincture form), herbal tea, Vitamins, (vitamin E, vitamin C, Zinc, > potassium and magnesium), kava kava, > acupuncture, chinese herbs and I’m still ‘up shit creek without a > paddle’ as they say in Australia.
That’s a *lot* of treatment, involving substances which may, in themselves, cause some of the problems you describe. Do you mind if I ask whether you’ve tried weaning yourself away from the pills and potions for long enough to see whether your system settles down a bit on its own? Many of us have found that the worst symptoms *do* subside as our bodies get used to their new, different levels of reproductive hormones. > so I leapt upon this book. i did the questionnaire and found out my > type which is well and good – I have a deficiency of two hormones. > But then, what to do?
I’m leery of any medical approach which diagnoses hormone deficiency – or any other condition – based on the results of a self-administered questionnaire. Would you stand for a doctor who did that? > I have NEVER had a hormone blood test so I need to get one of those > and a practioner who is willing to try the suggestions in the book, > which here in Australia, need a doctor’s prescription.
You should be aware that these blood tests are notoriously unreliable. They only measure the hormone levels at the instant the blood is drawn. Since our hormones fluctuate a good deal in the course of a normal month (menopausal or not), that single measurement is all but useless. We’ve had women here report that their doctors have told them they were "fully menopausal" based on the blood tests, yet they were still having regular periods! And there’s good reason hormone drugs require prescription – they can be quite dangerous when taken in the wrong amounts, for the wrong conditions or in combination with certain other drugs. > So the book is good for helping one identify a possible source of > one’s difficulties, but no so good with specific self help measures.
The best self-help, IMO, involves simple "lifestyle" changes aimed at making one more comfortable during this time of transition. If that approach appeals to you, you might want to take a look at: http://www.oxford.net/~tishy/beyond.html – the Menopause and Beyond site, which isn’t selling anything and which pulls together a great deal of solid information about various aspects of menopause and in particular this section: http://www.oxford.net/~tishy/dealhf.html which brings together many of the discussions we’ve had here in the past about ways of dealing with hot flashes and night sweats. Best of luck, –Pat Kight kig…@peak.org
Response:
Janev, I would suggest that you have bloodwork done to check EVERYTHING. It is quite possible that you and your doctor have jumped to the conclusion that your problem is menopause. Many of the symptoms you describe are also symptoms of many other things. You should definetly have your thyroid level checked. The intense thinking problems and night sweats can be caused by a thyroid problem. Gwen
Response:
>That’s a *lot* of treatment, involving substances which may, in >themselves, cause some of the problems you describe. Do you mind if I >ask whether you’ve tried weaning yourself away from the pills and >potions for long enough to see whether your system settles down a bit on
(Sorry, not premarin – I would never take that). Yes, I have tried nothing e.g. leaving well alone, but I do have to earn a living and that requires sleep, (I had 3 years averaging 3 hours a night), memory, cognitive functioning, dry clothes, a memory etc. The ‘crones year away’ is all very well, but I have yet to find a funding body who will give me a grant 
.
Response:
Thanks Gwen, have done last week and I’ve gone off everything to get a ‘correct’ hormone reading. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text –
Response:
In article <95rm3t8eeadcipsu8105q3uosgrm4n8…@4ax.com>, Janev <newc…@syd.comcen.com.au> wrote: > Yes, I have tried nothing e.g. leaving well alone, but I do have to > earn a living and that requires sleep, (I had 3 years averaging 3 > hours a night), memory, cognitive functioning, dry clothes, a memory > etc.
It may not be much consolation, but it’s been my experience that just when you think you can’t take it anymore, the symptoms go away on their own and your whole outlook changes. This is what "symptom" #23 on the list is about, Exacerbation of existing conditions. Aside from that, can we offer you companionship, a place to vent, and mutual experiences? Here’s hoping you get a good night’s rest tonight. Cool Runnings, HomemakerJ Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Response:
has anyone read this book? What opinions do people hold about the veracity of the theory and the suggestions the book contains? (Excuse me if the topic has been previously discussed ad infinitum, but I am a newbie to this list). Thanks, Jan
Response:
Janev wrote: > has anyone read this book? > What opinions do people hold about the veracity of the theory and the > suggestions the book contains? > (Excuse me if the topic has been previously discussed ad infinitum, > but I am a newbie to this list). > Thanks, Jan
I am, like you, a newbie to this group and would also appreciate hearing some thoughts. What did YOU think of it, Jan? Susan in WA
Response:
Janev wrote: > has anyone read this book? > What opinions do people hold about the veracity of the theory and the > suggestions the book contains? > (Excuse me if the topic has been previously discussed ad infinitum, > but I am a newbie to this list).
I’ve thumbed through this book (because I make a habit of checking out new meno-related titles in bookstores), and it looked to me like simplistic b.s. But then, I’m more skeptical than most, and I find most of these "self-help" style books to be high on faddishness and low on reliable, accurate information. My top two books on menopause remain Dr. Susan Love’s Hormone Book (for its good, clear descriptions of just what goes on in our bodies during menopause) and The Change, by Germaine Greer (for its strong, self-assured, wise-woman take on the other aspects of growing older in our culture). –Pat Kight kig…@peak.org
Response:
On Thu, 14 Dec 2000 09:23:28 -0800, Pat Kight <kig…@ucs.orst.edu> >My top two books on menopause remain Dr. Susan Love’s Hormone Book (for >its good, clear descriptions of just what goes on in our bodies during >menopause) and The Change, by Germaine Greer (for its strong, >self-assured, wise-woman take on the other aspects of growing older in >our culture). >–Pat Kight >kig…@peak.org
Pat, I read ‘the Germs’ ‘The Change’ ..yep, I agree, all very good, as was the similar NZ book by Sandra Coney, but it does tell me how I could have avoided being sacked for menopausal symptom induced ‘incompotence’, how I can stop the day and night sweats (3 tee shirts dreched by 11 a.m. each day) how I can get more than 3 hours sleep a night – I really need help and I need it ASAP. (mind you I still have a enough intellectual functioning still intact to generate my crap detector!). I will get our local library to order the Susan Love book – they are excellent in obtaining menopause books. thanks, Jan. (PS Even though Germaine Gree is strong, intelligent and self assured, in her own country, Australia, they consistently publish nasty articles implying she is crazy – ( usually written/published by fat old piggish men she sexually rejected 30 years ago) well they would wouldn’t lthey – is is a revolting bastion of male chauvinist piggery ( I can safety say this as a ‘wetback’ New Zealander. JAN
