Menopausal symptoms

[LadyEL03]

Hi, this is my first time on this site, although I have been a member of the SCS for many years now. Just wondered if any one knows of any research etc linking hot and cold sweats from menopausal symptoms with increasing the risk of a crisis. I ask this as I am experiencing severe change in body temperature from one second being boiling hot/extreme sweats and the other freezing cold which doesn't bode well for someone with sickle cell and I have had an increase in crisis and hospital admissions. I live in an area where there are no specialists in sickle cell. I mentioned this to the hematologist who looked at me bizarrely, and said they have never heard of this.

Or do you know of anyone else that has had this experience? How does one cope with this?

[SCSZoe Partner Sickle Cell Society]

Hi Elaine! One of the reasons little is currently known about menopause and sickle cell crisis is that life expectancy for people with sickle cell has increased dramatically: people didn't live long enough to worry about the menopause. This might be why your haemotologist has never heard of it.

You know your own body, and you know that being hot or being cold and sudden temperature changes can provoke your crises. Because of this, it might be worth alleviating the symptoms of your menopause by taking HRT, which can reduce the hot flushes. You might need a little extra monitoring with HRT because you have sickle cell, but you ought to be able to take it.

And of course, as usual, stay hydrated

Anyone else got any tips for keeping healthy for Elaine?

[Nicola-B]

Oh my Life I am from England and have been going through the same thing. I have been well most of my Adult life but now that I am going through my menopause I seem to be having a lot of episodes of crisis. Because when I researched menopause I learned that it is causes stress on your body which is what leads to crisis. I am trying to get my menopausal systems under control now.