menopause question

[Teacher Terry]

I had a very long miserable menopause. Hot flashes for over 10 years, excessive bleeding off and on for years, bleeding after no period for a couple of years, more biopsies to make sure I didn’t have cancer, etc. Not a fun time.

[SiouzQ.]

I thought I was done after 8 months of no periods, but low and behold, one month after my daughter died I had a period, out of the blue. I've wondered if that was a body response to having lost my only child. I am almost 57. I sure hope it's over but now I keep supplies in my daily bag just in case...

[Tammy]

I found soy milk at half price and bought a bunch. For about a month I used that instead of my typical almond milk. One month later was the period that showed up after 18 months of nothing.

I still think it was the estrogenic properties of the soy. Nurse practitioner and GYN both Pooh poohed my idea saying Asian people eat a lot of soy and it’s not enough to matter. But my point was that I eat almost none, and then suddenly had a lot of it. So the extra estrogen might have been just enough to push me back from the brink of menopause for one more month ...

I only casually mentioned it and didn’t repeat myself. They both know I’m a nurse as we work within the same healthcare system and they respect me. And yet I was pooh poohed. That’s the state of healthcare today, very little is individualized. It’s all according to formulas that fit large population groups.

I think the stress of your loss could easily have caused a shift in your hormones. Cortisol increases with stress. Hormones are inter-related.

[Zoe Girl]

Thank you Tammy, i just feel different and I wont totally know of course, it could be the stress caused the hormone change, or that a sudden hormone change caused the problems I was having. Most likely some of each.

[Gardenarian]

I have a seizure disorder (aka epilepsy) that became a great deal worse at puberty. Since menopause (about 8 years) I have been able to reduce my medication and have far fewer bad days (probably 80% reduction in symptoms.)

Goddess bless!