<p>Ladies,
I have been having a terrible time lately. Lots going on and I don’t feel like I am emotionally all there sometimes. I attribute some of it to premenopause. Anybody out there had luck with more natural HRT? Sujpplements you can buy at health food store?
As I’ve said a lot of what I feel has to do with natural changes in life at my age. Oldest graduated from college and is home with part time non career work (not what any of us wanted), family business if surviving the recession but 60% off last year’s income levels, I feel like I am 48 and I can’t imagine doing what I am doing now for the next 20 plus years.
I’ve been considering some other chances and last week was very disappointed when I came in second for a career change/job change that I felt would have breathed some new life into this next phase.<br>
I do not feel like I need counseling (yet anyway) but I do feel that I am not really myself lately.</p>
<p>I can relate to some of what you are going through … it’s tough to essentially feel that you are sliding backwards in middle age, when you know you are very capable of moving forward. It is no fun to get passed over for the job you want, either (also have been there recently). </p>
<p>While feeling crummy is normal given the situation, hormonal imbalances can make it worse than it needs to be. I am in menopause without any issues, but during my perimenopause years, I did take a natural menopause support supplement. I can’t remember the name, but it had one tablet for morning & one for evening - I got it at a reputable local health food store.</p>
<p>Thanks Kelsmom. Headed to the health food store tomorrow!</p>
<p>Evening primrose oil is expensive, but good. Flax seed oil is a much cheaper alternative. They have the Omega oils that are so essential to health.</p>
<p>To me 48 sounds so young, especially to have one finished with college.</p>
<p>Things go in cycles. The economy will eventually improve and things will sort themselves out.</p>
<p>My H just completed a Masters at 59 and is finding new work. He hardly had to pay anything for it because of our kids’ tuitions. Hang in there.</p>
<p>Evening primrose oil is expensive, but good. Flax seed oil is a much cheaper alternative. They have the Omega oils that are so essential to health.</p>
<p>To me 48 sounds so young, especially to have one finished with college.</p>
<p>Things go in cycles. The economy will eventually improve and things will sort themselves out.</p>
<p>My H just completed a Masters at 59 and is finding new work. He hardly had to pay anything for it because of our kids’ tuitions. Hang in there.</p>
<p>Supplements are not fda regulated. They may not contain what they say they do on label. Consumers Rept analyzed some products yrs ago and results were not consistent. Consider asking your OB GYN, or NP in your community for suggestions, they might know of products available locally.
That said, I did try the black cohosh (sp?) when I was feeling miserable. Didn’t notice anything; quit & symptoms resolved. I was fortunate:).
I had also tried an RX estrogen cream–it made my legs hurt–I stopped that.
Good luck and share your results.</p>
<p>I can’t help with the supplements but want to tell you that you are not alone. It seems each time I get together with a different girlfriend the topic becomes just how much it “sucks” (excuse my language) these days. We’ve all lost jobs or husbands lost jobs or in one case they both lost jobs, lost savings, are working for far less than we were ten years ago, gaining weight, have multiple kids in college and the bills just keep rolling in, feeling blah and wondering if our lives will ever feel normal again and dreading if this is the “new normal.” I feel like that old commercial “Calgon take me away.” Friday I got annual fund solicitations from my alma mater, my husband’s alma mater and both my kids…all on the same day…yeah right. I need more than HRT and a bottle of wine.</p>
<p>Thanks for the shared vent! I just feel at loose ends and disillusioned. Normally I am a high energy optimistic person. I almost always tell myself how “lucky” I am and that there are lots of people worse off than me but I am not feeling it lately</p>
<p>But it’s still true. 3/4 of the world’s children go to bed hungry. We are unbelievably lucky, though it’s not always easy to feel, particularly when things used to be better.</p>
<p>We are lucky. I know this. I’m more often a half full person than half empty. However, since 2007 it has been really, really stressful for many, even those of us who are for all practical purposes “lucky.” I think most of us probably started the decade feeling very different than we feel today and it is really easy to stop and realize that in many ways we’ve been blindsided especially at a time when our children are leaving home and we thought we’d be relaxing alittle or at least as much as one can with parents in their 80s still alive…but none the less relaxing…just alittle. My friends and I feel like we have to “crank it up” and we just don’t have the reserves we had in our thirties… I take vitamins, I try to exercise alittle more, try to get a good nights sleep, try to think strategically at work and hang on for dear life as my body and hormones go crazy. But yes, in the grand scheme of things we are lucky.</p>
<p>I am the same age; not experiencing much in the way of symptoms yet, but it’s a very stressful time of life. Luckily, H & I are employed, but the job I am doing used to be done by three people a few years back. So I constantly feel I am not doing an adequate job.</p>
<p>Paying college bills is putting pressure on our budget; the younger kids don’t understand that we don’t have the money to do a lot of things or buy things right now.</p>
<p>I recently had to put my mother into long term care.</p>
<p>And I’m going gray, wrinkles are coming out of the woodwork, things are getting jiggly and settling around my middle. I haven’t made the time to exercise as I should.</p>
<p>So yeah, I think I’m gonna need more than a supplement ;)</p>
<p>I wasn’t being critical of you. I have my own pity parties. But we are lucky in the scheme of things.</p>
<p>I am going to be 60 and can’t even think of retiring. I’ll probably have to work until 70. Yuck. No money for luxuries either. And I am having an “it’s now or never” mentality, and just said no to cabinet reface.</p>
<p>But both my kids are coming home for Thanksgiving!!! Yipeeeeeeeeeeee!!! I’m a happy camper.</p>
<p>LOL, no I was merely reminding myself that I could feel a whole lot worse. So ebeee you feeling any better now that you know there is an entire generation of intelligent, hard working, strong women standing right in line with you?</p>
<p>I have been using a cream daily in the last few years, Wild Yam by at last natural. Many Asians eat a lot of Yam (sweet potato), and they think it may be why they don’t have as many menopause symptoms. I get it at Whole food. I find I am less moody, not having the sense of "I am going to wring someone’s neck. " I recently moved to a new place, new job…and I managed it without any melt down. I am few years older than you, I think I am going through some changes (sweaty at night sometimes), but nothing unmanageable yet.</p>
<p>momofthreeboys…makes me feel better than you can imagine. 
It’s the fact that I have been in a pity party that makes me thinking I need supplements. I’m always the glass half full person and lately not only is the glass half empty but I want to chuck it at someone!</p>
<p>I know the feeling. Not only is my glass half empty … but it’s not the first glass of the night. ;)</p>
<p>Yes, we are incredibly fortunate. It’s not difficult to remember that on my (ridiculously long) commute each day, since I drive right through the heart of a VERY depressed city. Yet I do find myself at that pity party from time to time, just the same. H’s company changed the rules of the game 30 years in (making it such that retirement isn’t in the cards anytime soon, but there is no guarantee the company will feel the same). At work I get no respect (and not much money). The value of my house is … well, not very valuable. No vacations, no new cars, no badly needed home renovations. A year from h*** due to mother’s illness/passing & dad’s cancer. Yes, there are many great things in my life - kids are doing so well, managing to get by without borrowing, health is good (although I don’t appreciate this belly fat age has decided to bestow upon me for the first time in my life), marriage is wonderful, cars seem to be hanging in there with minimal repairs needed, etc.</p>
<p>So vent here, try to some things to try to help the situation, and above all know that you are not alone.</p>
<p>I think that consuming quantities of soy has been helpful for me–soy milk, soybeans (edamame), tofu. I was going through about a quart of soy milk/day and finally decided to stop, since it’s not good for H, who has a thyroid issue.</p>
<p>H has been at his current employer for over 40 years and plans to hang in there as long as he can, since D has just NOW gotten her major and plans to get her BA in another 2 years plus possible grad school. We are able to pay wills with his salary but it would be really tough if he stopped working. </p>
<p>I feel like I have way too many hats in my job and am never sure about funding (we run 95% on grants and social/health services are being eyed for cuts all the time, especially in this economy). I’m glad I love what I do but do NOT enjoy the challenges the economy is bringing all of us.</p>
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<p>You have to be careful on terminology. Yam (Dioscorea) is NOT the same as sweet potato (Ipomoea) although it is a very very common mistake to use the words interchangeably, particularly in the US. There are many medicinal uses of real yam, even as a source of steroids with contraceptive and other uses.</p>
<p>Sweet potato can have a lot of antioxidants. Some of the claimed benefits come from eating the leaves, not the tubers.</p>
<p>I find it’s best not to focus on just one aspect of your body, such as the “sex” hormones (there are many more hormones). The way you feel is normal for someone going through the life changes and stress that you are. I would start exercising if you don’t already. If you do, you might want to add to it or do something aerobic to increase endorphins. Also focus on your diet by cutting our processed foods and simple carbs (white stuff) and eat whole grains, fruits, vegetables, seeds, and nuts. I would take a Vitamin D supplement. most people are deficient. </p>
<p>There is usually no quick fix for feeling out of sorts.</p>
<p>The best thing I found and used for years were prescribed by my gyn, although I had to ask her for them because she was not familiar with the products. They are bio-identicals (estrogen, progesterone) mixed in a cream. I believe the dosages were different than the ones you buy at Whole Foods. I learned to use the estrogen in the morning and the progesterone at night (helps with sleep). After a few years, I have stopped using either one. I also have used rhubarb root extract which is quite effective for hot flashes, but by the time I discovered that product, I really was able to tolerate discomfort on my own. I’ve heard that a morning swim helps cool the body down for most of the day. A friend of mine used an herb combination for a number of years. I feel for you, really, I do . . . especially in the summers. Ugh. The worst part of all of this was the memory loss and confusion.</p>