Best Of
Re: Can I take HRT as a Breast Cancer Survivor ( 11yrs ago)?
Hi again.
Is your GP up to date on menopause? My GP is an absolute dinosaur and not got a clue he told me I needed a scan due to bleeding so sent a referral to the FGM clinic lol. If your GP isn't overly knowledgeable on it then it may be worth going to somewhere like Holland and Barrett and asking in there as they are very clued up on menopause. Your GP can't just write you off because you can't take HRT. They need to keep searching until they find something that does agree with you and is safe to take.
Don't give up X
Julie20
Re: Can I take HRT as a Breast Cancer Survivor ( 11yrs ago)?
Hi @Hasu
Firstly congratulations on beating the big c. Unfortunately HRT isn't advised for post cancer sufferer's as HRT can slightly raise the chance of cancer during menopause.
Anti depressants such as citalopram are generally given instead of HRT, not necessarily for depression but for anxiety, mood swings, insomnia and hot flushes. It may be worth speaking to your GP and asking their advise.
You can take menopace which also helps these symptoms but you always need to get professional advise beforehand. X
Julie20
Please can anyone help regarding my hapless husband
Hi all,
I am at my wits end and could do with some support.
I am menopausal and feeling so low.
My periods have stopped and all symptoms are in full flight now. Hot flushes, sweats, itching like something is crawling on my skin, dry skin, thin hair, hair growing where I don’t want it, bloating, wait gain, insomnia, vaginal dryness, total lack of sex drive, painful sex on the rare occasion it happens, headaches, joint aches, memory loss, anxiety, low self esteem, crying randomly and anger like I’ve never felt before.
The hormone fairy has been good to me !
The worst part of this is the total lack of understanding on my husbands part. He is behaving like a spoilt child. I’m sure he thinks this is like a virus and will clear up in a week or two !
Unfortunately he is metaphorically speaking walking around with his privates out ! (Mid life crisis) devouring young females with his eyes. Making me feel ten times worse.
He keeps asking me what’s wrong with me ? Why don’t I want him ? Am I having an affair ? Is he serious ? He raises his eyes up when I say I’m tired or aching like I’m using this as an excuse to not pay him attention. Why am I crying ? I tell him I have absolutely no idea and he stomps off in a huff.
I keep asking him to please read about menopause symptoms to help him understand. He got to the sex part and lost interest in the rest !
I am taking some herbal supplements but so far they are of no benefit. I am scared to talk to the GP as antidepressants have never suited me and HRT makes me think I’ll get breast cancer or something as my mum kept banging on about how bad it is. My dad also thinks it’s funny to say ooh you’re going through the change ! Big help ! I walk my dog daily which gets me out of the house it also gives me breathing space when I’m angry. I do mindfulness and keep busy to take my mind off things. I’m doing my best -alone.
Support network - zero (I have two teenage sons also)
I think just writing this has helped a lot as I have no one to talk to about how I’m feeling and venting is good.
I have always had a great sense of humour but even laughing seem futile now !
Thanks for listening/reading
Re: What tips can people give on sleeping after having mastectomy and reconstruction
Hi, welcome to the community.
I hope you are recovering well after your surgery.
After my surgery it took me a very long time to even try and sleep on my back or side.
I fashioned a support system, using several pillows to enable me to sleep in an semi-upright position. It wasn't ideal always especially with dealing with pressure points from sitting. But at the time that was preferable to the pain and discomfort of attempting to lie down.
How long ago was your surgery?
I was also given this little pillow by the breast care team at hospital, which I put under my arm area to ease the pressure from my arm touching the surgery area, if that makes sense.
Over time, eventually I was able to lie down to sleep, but it was still several months before I could lean/lie on either side.
Maybe someone else will have other suggestions too.
All the very best in your recovery and in any other treatment you may be having.
Everyone is very friendly and supportive here, I hope you will find it a good place.
Chat soon,
Lou x
Re: What tips can people give on sleeping after having mastectomy and reconstruction
Hi
Lovely to hear from you and I am pleased to read that you are finding it more comfortable to sleep.
So sorry to hear about the 3mm cancer within the removed tissue. It must have been a big disappointment after getting the all clear. No wonder you are struggling with the decisions you have to make. I don't think that I can add anything worthwhile to Lou’s very considered thoughts on the the matter. I agree with her point that though the proposed treatments will be gruelling and difficult, anything that will reduce the likelihood of the cancer returning is worthy of consideration.
I had some really difficult emotional issues following radiotherapy and with ongoing hormone treatment and my doctor suggested I contact MacMillan Cancer Support which I did. They gave me a huge amount of support and even provided me with a counsellor who helped me enormously. I am not suggesting that you necessarily need counselling, but MacMillan are incredibly supportive and informative and you may find it worthwhile popping in for a chat if you have one locally.
Please keep in touch. We love to chat and support one another.
Rob x
RobertA
Re: Any tips for keeping engaged at work whilst dealing with menopause symptoms?
lack of sleep at night affects me during the day - after recent surgical menopause I saw a nutritionist who suggested eating something (healthy ..not sugar!) every 3 hours to regulate blood sugars - I don’t always manage that or remember but when I do it helps ...
JuJu23
Re: What tips can people give on sleeping after having mastectomy and reconstruction
Hi,
Ah, ok. I hope it all goes well for you next week. Recovery is different for everyone, yours might be better than mine, I was just out of chemo when I had surgery and so was very poorly afterwards.
The thing to remember is it will get better...it is a time thing, just take it day by day. Do the physio exercises as soon as you possibly can, this will help too.
The breast care nurses will tell you everything you need to do, what to check etc.
Assuming you have someone at home with you, or a friend who can help you. That would be necessary.
Let us know how you are doing when you feel up to it.
Take care
Lou x
Pausitivity Campaign
Things have been fairly quiet on the forum lately - but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been busy!
I helped start a campaign - and I wondered if you might like to hear about it?
We are Pausitivity – a group of four ordinary women, who have never met, but who have joined together to raise awareness of menopause symptoms. Our aim is to inform women and enable conversations about menopause with GPs, family members, friends and work colleagues. We have no funding. We simply want women to recognise their symptoms and be able to have the conversations they need in order to get help.
It’s a simple concept – we want people to download and print our poster, share a selfie to social media to raise awareness, then put the poster on a wall anywhere that women (and everyone else!) will see it – GP surgeries, gyms, shops, workplaces. The aim is very much to encourage conversations about menopause – and just eight weeks since the campaign started, that’s exactly what has happened. A couple of weeks ago, we reached 951k people!
We would like to see our posters in every GP surgery, and on notice boards in hospitals, cafeterias, staff rooms and waiting rooms all over the UK. Anywhere where women, and everyone else, will see the poster and begin to recognise the symptoms.
We already have the backing of the Scottish Government, with the poster being used around Holyrood, we’ve been asked to take part in Menopause Awareness sessions at Holyrood, Bradford University has used it during their Menopause Awareness Week, and East England Ambulance Service has recently launched its own menopause survey and are going to link the poster into that. Manchester City Council have given their backing and we also have interest from Health Boards in Wigan, Sheffield, Newcastle and East Lancashire. We have MPs, and GPs (including Dr Sarah Jarvis, Dr Amir Khan and Dr Zoe Williams) supporting us, women all over the UK and North America are joining in and the momentum we have established in such a short time is a sure sign that there is a not only a huge appetite, but a definite need for menopause information.
We're off to the House of Commons on 14th October for World Menopause Day! We'll be there as guests of Eddie Hughes, raising awareness of the campaign.
We would love to work with all the Health Boards across the UK, but as the Scot in the group, my interest to begin with is driving this forward wherever I can in Scotland. Moray Council have already shared some poster selfies for us, and now that recess is over, one of our local councillors is aiming to get the poster distributed as a part of their menopause policy. We’d love your help to get our poster in prominent places to help end the taboo around menopause.
NHS Grampian have been incredibly supportive and are sharing the poster across their social media outlets. I'm in talks with Prof Grant Cumming to improve menopause services across my home area of Moray.
Schools in England will have menopause added to their sex and relationship lessons from sometime next year - I'll be working with local MSPs to see the same happen in Scotland.
Lots of exciting things happening on our new website - find out who we are, and why we’re doing this
www.pausitivity.co.uk
Twitter @Pausitivity2 and @Karen_Kenning
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/health-48288573/what-we-wished-we-d-known-about-the-menopause
https://www.northern-scot.co.uk/news/campaign-calls-on-women-to-share-menopause-symptoms-179881/
https://www.audreyonline.co.uk/i-got-so-angry-i-started-a-campaign/
Kaz
Re: Change of plan
Hi David
I am sorry to hear of your wife's diagnosis - it is not surprising that you are both feeling anxious. It is at least good to know that your wife will be having surgery next week as the waiting is often the worst part.
I think that your best option will be to speak with Janet's specialist about your concerns as he/she will be in a good position to discuss them with you.
There may well be other community members who have experienced a similar cancer and will be happy to chat with you about their experience.
Thank you for writing to us. We may have different cancers but we are a friendly group and always here to chat and support one another through the cancer journey and I hope you will keep in touch and let us know how you get on.
All the best
Rob
Re: Irregular periods
Morning @Graphia
sorry to hear you are having problems, unfortunately what you are experiencing is quite normal during menopause. I also had the same thing, tranexamic tablets are very good and will lighten the bleed quite quickly and will also stop the cramps. you will probably have an internal scan as well as external when you go so don't be alarmed when they tell you to undress.
I had 3 scans and 3 hysteroscopys and they have found fibroids, they like to put in a Mirena coil when the bleeding is like this so that may be something you are offered.
try not to worry as many women are experiencing exactly the same but if you start to have a lot of big clots and more pain then you should speak to your GP as they can get you in sooner for a scan.
good luck
Julie20