menopause meds

Has anyone had any success with a hormone med to help with pre-menopause and menopausal symptoms? The only thing that really concerns me about them is that having more frequent bad migraines.

I've been put only on Minestra, a bc pills for three consecutive cycles (?) in order to stop having menstruation and thus regulate hot flashes and hopefully remove hormonal M.

It helped in about 20%-30%, so IMO, not bad.
The hot flashes indeed were gone, and hormonal M greatly diminished. My hormonal M manifested as severe pain on the top and back of the head.

Risa

All I got was HRT patches and lasted no time at all.
Killer migraine, frightened me to death...

I think you just have to try it out. If it doesn't work, at least it is reversable. The worst that can happen is you have a bad time and you stop the meds. You then know for next time. If it is good, you may actually benefit from it in the long run.

Good luck with whatever you do!

Hi all, isn't Menopause a hoot !

I am a 55yo widow with an 11 an 13 yo still at home.
I live on disability due to Crohn's disease, it has taken it's toll long term.
Now, migraines, they suck and there were times I thought if I had a gun in my hand I 'd have used it. Good thing there wasn't.
I only got them 1 day with periods until I had my first child, and then it stopped.
Since I started menopause, all hell let loose.
The hot flashes were so bad I would throw up and feel like I would pass out, having to pull my car over at times.
I have tried all meds, all of them, and the food thing which was not the case for me.
Imitrex Amerge and Zomig are the only meds that work but you only get 9 a month, more sucking. So I have to cut them up is quarters and take the least amount dose as possible.
I am on the bio-identicals. I take progesterone capsule, testosterone cream, and the strongest Estrogen patch they make.
It took a month but it is working. sometimes I have to lay back on the Estrogen because that higha dose can cause migraine also. The balancing is the key, and a difficult one. We are all different AND we ourselves differ year to year.
I highly advise them. If they don't work, you are not getting the balanced dosing for your body.
Menopause does last average of 10 years after peri-pausal. I do know a 73 yo woman who still gets a migraine once a month.and has hot flashes.

I also want to inform you of why headaches/migraines are more prone in others.
Once you have had several migraines, the nerves get a bit stretched out and harder to shrink back to normal size. And it doesn't take much to blow up those mini ballons again. So the more headaches, the less time the nerves have to heal. Great news, eh?
So, bios are reducing the amount of headaches I have and the severity, giving my body a longer chance to heal in between episodes. i believe this is what causes re-bound.
It will get better, it has too, hang in there ...

loving you, joan

My doctor put me on Prevarin as I was having perimenopause symptoms (mainly night sweats). It gave me a period for 3 weeks strait. Who needs that? So then we tried Provera which made me severely depressed, which I usually am not. So after that I said the heck with it. Id rather face menopause cold turkey. 3 months later the migraines set in and I've been dealing with Chronic Daily Migraine for almost 5 years now. (I never had any headache problem before that).

So did the hormones treatments contribute to the migraines? I have no way of knowing for sure. But, after years of trying almost every migraine preventative out there with no improvement, and lots of bad side effects, I read a book by a doctor in Texas who claims a 80% success rate in curing migraines in women. His book shows pretty strong evidence that the artificial hormones in the pill and HRT really messes up our bodies and leads to many women's problems with migraines. He advocates only bio identical natural hormones.

Since starting on his program (100 mg bio identical progesterone, 5000 mg vitamin D, 400 mg magnesium, 12.5 mg iodide) I went from 80% headache days to 20%. Not a perfect cure, but certainly much better. If you have problems with migraines, I'd be very cautious of artificial hormones which could make it much worse Look for a doctor who specializes in natural hormones, or try this book by Dr Jones for more info.

http://www.migraine-headaches-information.com/
Www.omega-1000.com

YEEEESsssss, that is what I am talking about!
I started on the synthetics too with some bleading and cramps, and NO relief from migraines or hot flashes.
I also am taking natural
D3 promotes natural hormones
melatonin which also promotes the body to produce hormones
Omega 3
B2, which is known to stop headaches if you take 400mg a day, this is proven.
Cal/Mag, which is also known to help immensly

heck I'll try anything if it works. But remember it takes a month or more before you will notice any changes at all. The B2 takes 3 months.

I too have found that the migraines have gotten so much worse since entering peri-menopause several years ago. I am trying to find a Dr. who will work with me on measuring my hormone levels so I can try bioidentical hormones. What kind of DR are you folks who take the bioidentical hormones working with? I cannot find any physician in my area to help me with this and it is frustrating!

We migraineurs need to be careful with hormones in general because they can exacerbate the problem for some of us.

I have read that if one as experienced migraines from puberty, even if they have gotten worse in pre-menopause, one stands a better chance of the migraines improving after menopause, as opposed to those whose migraines appeared later in life. I do fall in the prior category and am holding out hope for menopause to come soon and for things to get better. I do still have hope (at least today I do!!)

Joan~ Where specifically did you read that the "nerves get a bit stretched out and harder to shrink back to normal size"? In all my reading on the current research about migraines and from what my migraine specialist has written (The Migraine Brain), I have never heard that theory. I am interested to know where you have gotten that information.

Thanks,
Jane

Hey Jane,

I worked for a Neurologist, the best in the my area. We even had a headache clinic going on with John Hopkins involved, and that was one of the descriptions they told patients that is happening inside the head that causes pain. Pain is caused by inflammation. If you blow up a ballon and let out the air, the next time you blow it up it is much easier. It is basically that. Nerves are the one part of the body that will generate back, even if you cut them, burn them, they will grow back around the injured area.

I went to an Anti-Aging Physcian specialist. She drew 15 vials of blood and tested for every level of everything! I had 0 hormones in my body and had a lo Thyroid which never showed up before in the many many times I was tested by other MD's. She did a Dexiscan too which show lower muscle mass and bone loss.
I have gained 4 lbs in muscle just from the testosterone cream!
The energy has gone up from taking Amour Thyroid and the hormones.

If you are still having periods, most Doctors will not give you bios, but I know that some do, just not in my area. It had been 1 yr since my last period before I started the bios.

It is expensive and Ins. does not cover bios and the bloodwork is costly. I had to take out a loan from Care Credit but I do not regret it, I have a life again. I thought menopause, it would stop too but it got soooooooo much worse!!!! As it is the same with most women I talk to. My Mother in Law is 61, and hers finally stopped at a tolerable level. My sister is 57, and hers are still daily but not as bad, she can work but takes meds daily. She is on a strict diet. No bad starch or sugar or anything with aspertame. But she doesn't believed it stopped the headaches at all. Just something her and her husband are into right now. Yes, they eat plenty of protein too.

the sun will come out again........knowing this gives you hope, and hope gives you belief, and belief gives you strength to go on.

Hope any of this helps.....
joan

Jane,

I just order mine online. It does not require a prescription, and accoding to Dr Jones, your body has no trouble getting more of it. (we get way more when pregnant).

http://Www.omega-1000.com/

No the insurance does not cover it, but is not that expensive and is working way better for me than all the medications did. And the copay on most of those was just as much.

Finding a knowledgable doctor is much harder. I did a google search on bio-identical hormones and found several in my area.

If the on-line hormones work for you, that is AWESOME!!!
They did not for me, mine ARE prescription strength and a Dr. script IS the only way to get them.
I saw my Neuro Dr. today, and he suggested trying the Botox ( which is ridiculously expensive). I told him if he needed me to be a guinea pig, I'd do it! and we laughed and laughed......more me than him........

Went to the Zoo today with 6 kids and it was awesome. Just a bit of a tense neck, took 2 Excedrin and then gone alllllll day long. These are the days you know life is worth living. My grands are so witty and clever, it is one laugh after another.

joan