Menopause: its effects on the endocrine system and how to deal with it. There is a choice we do not get told about, its plant-based HRT.

[Poppy_the_cat]

As women in the modern age we have to deal with the effects of the menopause. The whole approach to this topic is very loaded! We are confronted with attitudes of nothing short of disdain, contempt, positive condescension, downright misinformation and even obfuscation – we are kept in the dark., rather like mushrooms! Everybody knows what they are fed on!!!

Hopefully one day ‘modern medicine’ will come to its senses and realise that the endocrine system is the most important issue that governs life. From my own experiences and reflections on its treatment or lack of it, I consider it to be the Key to pretty much understanding everything that is likely to affect illness in one way or another throughout our lives. Everything is connected, nothing exists in isolation.

This wonderful forum allows everybody to learn something from somebody else’s experience and like a super-computer we can all link up our knowledge. I would like to share what I have learned and am experiencing on the topic of the state of ‘being pre-menopausal with relation to Hashimoto’s Thyroid’.

Period disruption raises levels of cortisol which in turn will affect thyroid metabolism- as I understand it, AND I should assume, period suspension with the menopause will have similar effects….so I also assume that attempting to stabilise one’s monthly cycle will have a beneficial effect on the whole show! This is my observed logic.

2 years ago I started having dreadfully painful water-retention symptoms leading up to a period. As a result an excruciating pain manifested itself in my right breast. It was eye-watering! Unsupported by a bra my right breast in particular was impossible. The pain shot from my armpit directly to my right nipple and felt as though I was being stabbed with an ice-pick. Just the recollection of it now makes me recoil in horror. I knew it was not cancer. I guessed it was thyroid related.

When I consulted the specialist female doctor in the practice the attitude I was confronted with shocked me to be perfectly frank! Her so called ‘bedside manner’ was more like the effect of a blunt instrument! I was astounded. Feeling as bad as I was I needed support – especially from another woman. All I got was a lecture on the dangers of HRT…and “why on earth” did I feel like I should go on HRT???!!! She was positively aggressive. All she did was give me a leaflet and a government website to look at before ‘we discussed it any further’.

Of course her approach was no doubt referred to only synthetic HRT which everybody knows carries risks of cancer and heart disease. All I wanted was help to know what my options were. I got nothing. I threw away the leaflet and did not consult the website.

Since I am now under the care of Dr P.

2 years ago I came off the contraceptive pill.

I am being treated for severe adrenal fatigue and hashimotos.

Having had blood tests I have been designated ‘peri-menopausal’. I was advised about the plant-based HRT cream by Dr P and have followed his advice.

My periods, after coming off the pill did eventually come back to normal, but of late, in the last 5 months they have lost their regularity.

The water retention pain has been pretty much constant. The ‘stabbing in the right breast’ has also been constant 80% of the time.

For the last 6 months or so I have been experiencing ‘wetness’ in the morning, as though I am about to start a period, only to find to my surprise that is it the slightest few drops of urine!! Since the summer a sever cough or a bad sneeze can cause me to leak slightly to my great consternation…and as I have an extremely acute sense of smell, I have noticed, when I go to the toilet that my urine is smelling stronger and somehow different in some way – all pointing to hormonal change.

We do not have to put up with any of this!

Why should we!!!

Recent research coming from Finland suggests by its findings that we should in fact be taking hormone replacement for the rest of our lives! With Synthetic HRT it seems it is administered for a short period – a few months only. A friend of mine initially put on synthetic HRT experienced relief from her symptoms but within 2 months was so very ill, she came off it in a hurry.

I myself am now using a natural HRT plant-based cream and have been for only a week.

The results are impressive.

I feel great on it, there are definitely no side effects.

The general pain in my breasts has disappeared. The ice-pick pain from armpit to nipple has vanished!!! After 2 years of agony, it has gone.

I no longer have wetness when I wake up in the morning.

My urine no longer has that strange smell.

Its all positive and I want to share it with every woman on this site!

All these improvements and only after one week! I am very optimistic and as such have not missed using the cream once! You apply in rotation on the body once in the morning and one before bed at night. Its as easy as that.

Please do not think it is your lot in life to suffer the ‘slings of the menopause’.

You do have a choice OTHER than the dangerous synthetic HRT.

This cream has been around since the 30’s. It has no adverse effects on our bodies. Because it is natural and plant-based it mimics what our bodies would produce.

It also seems to help bone density for women who have stopped having their periods – so this has to be good news.

The question that comes to mind is why do GP’s not tell us about it??

Well, I am sure it goes along the same lines of Big Pharma monopoly and Dr’s kickbacks; If they promote their products over the natural option they get a sweetener…what else can it be?!

For more information about the natural HRT cream called Serenity from WELLSPRINGS go to:

wellsprings-health.com

wellsprings-health.com/page...

bio-hormone-health.com/2014...

One pot costs £15. It will last quite a while, but depends on how much you have to use depending on your own circumstances – please read the infos.

It is purchased from the company in the Channel Islands and is shipped from the States. Mine arrived within a week.

Everybody take heart.

I hope this has helped.

[111Angel]

Hi Poppy. I was really taken by your post. I have a slow onset of hashimotos but Dr wont deal with it until my blood results are out of range. I am now having a TSH done every 6Months and that is down to this forum giving me the knowledge I need to be able to stand up to the Dr's. 'Fantastic Forum' I have low B12, Vit D, low iron which have similar symptoms and might have candida or be pre-menopausal for which I need to be checked at the Dr's. It's strange that all these different ailments have similar symptoms, my Dr is just treating the depression I have instead of treating the cause.

I've actually gone on the wellsprings site and purchased a pot of serenity after reading your post. It sounds really good and well worth trying.

Thanks Poppy for sharing this.

[Marz in reply to 111Angel]

Have you also ordered your B12 and VitD ?? ( Previous thread of yours )

[111Angel in reply to Marz]

Hi Marz. I had B12 done last month through Blue Horizon and result was 442 which is low and my VitD was 63 in Aug so When I see my GP on thurs I am asking for a 3month test as last month when I asked for more vit D supplements I was told 63 was fine and that I don't need supplements.

[Marz in reply to 111Angel]

Hi 111Angel - if your D was measured in nmol/L then it is not good. Here in Crete they use the measurement ng/L - as they do on the website below ! So divide your result by 2.5 which brings it to 25. You can see on the website that 50/60 is ideal. So you have a way to go. Ensure your calcium levels are OK as D increases the absorption of calcium. Too much calcium is not good. I would suggest a dose of 3500IU's daily to bring your levels up - especially as winter is looming.

grassrootshealth.net

VitD is inexpensive to buy - it is fat soluble so take with a main meal or some good fats.

How are you addressing your Low B12 ? Needs to be around 1000 to prevent cognitive decline ( Sally Pachlok - Could it Be B12 )

[111Angel in reply to Marz]

Thanks Marz. Googled Sally Pacholok and found a video on youtube of her being interviewed over the phone. Really interesting Maz. Thank you for all your help with this. Without you and this forum I would still be in the dark, not knowing anything and just suffering my symptoms.

[Marz in reply to 111Angel]

You also need to take VitK2 with the D - ensuring increased calcium heads towards your bones. An interesting vitamin - so look it up and have a read !!

[111Angel in reply to Marz]

I will Marz Thanks again. x

[Poppy_the_cat in reply to Marz]

Hi Marz,

I am addressing it thank-you, but am wondering if I need to go for some kind of Vit D injection...the kind they would give to a horse!

;0)

[Marz in reply to Poppy_the_cat]

Sorry Poppy_the_cat - my post above was to 111Angel - apologies for intruding on your thread I had just read an earlier thread of hers.

Glad the cream is working well for you.

How are you addressing the D and B12 ?

[Poppy_the_cat in reply to 111Angel]

Hi 111Angel,

Well, I must say my levels or rather troughs of depression can be considerable and I do not mention it to anybody in my family...When Churchill complained of the 'Black Dog' when referring to his bouts of depression I think he summed it up pretty well. I would wager that you are not depressed as such, but rather have symptoms of depression that is totally thyroid/hormone related. I say this because 'per se', by my own nature I know I am not the depressed type- in fact quite the opposite.

What I have noticed is that my 'black fog' has lifted somewhat since I have started using the cream! Its can't be that we are having better weather and the sun has come out because it has most definitely not!!! I am somehow less down, less gloomy, more positive in my attitude...its very difficult to pinpoint, because I have enough to stress me out, but somehow things have improved for me physically/healthwise... I have done nothing other new, other than use the cream assiduously. Lets see how e both do on it and stay in touch.

Best of Luck.

Popps x

[111Angel in reply to Poppy_the_cat]

Hi Poppy. I don't think I'm depressed because really I'm in a good place at the moment with my life, family and work. I am a very positive person as well and find I am good at helping others in bad situations. I don't let things get to me. I get upset when I see the GP coz they don't seem to be listening to me. they just see depression and anxiety as my problem without taking all my symptoms into account. Or what's the cause. I absolutely love my job in the NHS on critical care, but I've been off now for 5 months due to being undiagnosed with anything but symptoms killing me. My sick note says Fatigue/Anxiety. Got appointment tomorrow pm to ask for more blood tests, as I am not happy. My ant-depressants have been changed but I don't feel any better. It's my brain fog and feelings of dementia that worry me, trying to recall names or words and short term memory is awful, I have to concentrate really hard to do any one thing, when I have always been very good multi tasking. that cant be normal for someone in their early 50's surly?.

Can't wait for my cream to arrive, to give it a go.

Thanks Poppy

111Angel x

[Poppy_the_cat in reply to 111Angel]

Serious loss of short term memory, brain fog...golly its all so familiar. In the last 2 weeks I have had 2 serious incidents of forgetting where I had put something very important, so important that not finding it put me under such pressure I thought the strain would virtually kill me- no joke!

Its terrible.

I could be held a gunpoint and I still could not remember to save my life!

You might want to do the private Genova labs test for cortisol to see if you have adrenal fatigue? Its just an idea? Its a saliva test done in the morning and costs about £70 or £78 its the memory that is going again!

I am so thankful for this Serenity cream - funnily enough I never forget to apply that! My crippling breast pain from my armpit to my nipple has just disappeared completely...keep it in mind that I have it pretty much constantly in varying degrees of pain for 2 years! That is at least one thing to be thrilled about!

Good luck with it, it arrives very quickly and its very nice cream to use too!

Popps x

[111Angel in reply to Poppy_the_cat]

Aww brilliant Popps, can't wait to try it. You've really sold it to me I get sore breasts every month.

I do silly things like making a cup of tea I'll stir it, put milk in and then go to the draw and get a spoon out to lift the tea bag out then realise I already had one, It upsets me then to think I totally forgot after less than a minute.

[Marz in reply to 111Angel]

B12 deficiency is a neurological condition. I actually went to the B12 conference at Loughborough University earlier this year where Sally Pachlok was talking. You must read her book. They have made a film about her - the trailer is out there somewhere. Only released in the US. How she diagnosed herself when a nurse and then how she saw it in her patients all the time but the Docs just laughed at her. Oh Sally - we love it when you get angry

b12deficiency.info/signs-an...

I lost my Terminal Ileum at 27 with ileo-caecal TB - where B12 is metabolised - did anyone tell me I would need b12 jabs for the rest of my life - NO ! I started weekly injections 18 months ago and I am now 69 !! I had spinal surgery in Germany in 2007 for stenosis. I now think it was de-myelination of the spinal cord due to B12 Deficiency...... hence my passion ! Onwards and upwards

Hope all goes well with your tests...

[111Angel in reply to Marz]

Wow Marz, that's awful, fancy letting you go that long without. I have a spinal problem. Suffered 30 years with what I was told was just sciatica with no scans or anything. Then 12 months ago the pain was so excruciating and on both sides I couldn't stand sit or lie down for long as the pain was unbelievable. Went to physio who said it sounds like stenosis of the spine and gave me some physio which didn't do anything. I asked for an MRI scan and was told there's no point unless your'e willing to have an opp if anything shows up. I kept insisting and 9 months later had a scan which revealed osteoarthritis, small haemangiomas, modic type 2 endplate change which is unfixable able and causes constant chronic pain, no amount of physio would help it. Disc bulges and and a small annular tear at lower disc. I was referred to the pain clinic where I now have accupuncture which is fantastic. I don't need to take painkillers now. Looks like I've gone off on one there, sorry. Once something is triggered it all flows out

Thanks Marz

[Marz in reply to 111Angel]

Yikes - sounds complicated ! Glad the Acupuncture works. My Physio here in Crete does it for me and even reduced my thyroid anti-bodies with a month long treatment....

[Hidden]

Hi, I hope it continues to work for you. I was considering using the cream but instead after my own research decided to just of recent to use Bioidentical HRT in the form of a micronized progesterone pills and transdermal oestragel. I have only just started this week, I've not long come off norethisterone for heavy periods due to Peri menopause that I did great on. But getting back to BHRT.

I think bioidentical hormone replacement has been around many years in Europe and woman shouldn't suffer these distressing symptoms and not be put off for fears of cancer etc, as you can be at possible cancer risk from just being out of balance with oestrogen dominance untreated. So trying to balance your hormones giving yourself good health benefits by eliminating Peri & menopausal symptoms whilst protecting your uterus and bones your skin and hair and mental health giving you quality of life is a wise choice in my opinion for myself. There are risks to bio hrt as with anything natural , still risk, but the body appreciates what it recognises as the same hormonally instead of synthetics. Hopefully you can research and make informed choices for yourselves. BUT don't be scared of using Bhrt as more damage and suffering can be done by just doing nothing. May our journey into later years be our best.

[Poppy_the_cat in reply to Hidden]

Hi Jobeth,

Thank-you for your comments. It is true of course we need to do our own research - sadly as my GP Practice highlights the lamentable approach to finding alternatives- alternatives that work and have been around since the 30's.

The Serenity cream is both lovely and easy to use and I cannot be more happy with it. I hope your combo choice of tablets and transdermal cream work well for you too and its wonderful to share our experiences with everyone. I look forward to hearing your impression of it as you have had more time on it, I would be very interested to know.

;0)

[Hidden in reply to Poppy_the_cat]

Hi , just wanted to say so far so good , getting the best rest I've had in a long time and all my hot and cold flashes have settled, also I feel mentally uplifted . Breast tenderness among other symptoms have all settled that fast. I look glowing. I'm very relieved and just amazed at how much relief in such a short time really. Hope it continues as you just never know, but I'm hopeful.

[catrich]

Just want to say that bioidentical transdermal progesterone has worked wonders for my PMT...migraines, overly emotional, breast tenderness, water-retention. Applying a cream is far more efficient than taking a pill or pessary. However, I think it is vitally important that women read as much as they can before using either progesterone or oestrogen - and to say it is my understanding that the majority of pre-menopausal women will not need oestrogen in any form. At all.

Dr Lee's books are a good place to start.

[jacrjacr in reply to catrich]

creams bypass the liver

[Angel_of_the_North]

I think all bioidentical HRT is made from plant sources and tweaked in a lab (as opposed to being made from horse pee and who knows what).

[thyr01d]

I LOVE all these posts. How many know that for us to have HRT the horses really suffer. They are cross-tied which means they cannot lie down, can barely move, cannot even turn their heads around to rub an itch or stop flies crawling over them. Such misery - and presumably some of them feel as ill as we do but can't communicate that.

[Hidden in reply to thyr01d]

Premarin, that's the hrt's name that has pregnant mares urine, oestrogen extracts from.

It's natural, but just because it's natural doesn't mean it's safe. It's full of other hormones the human body has never seen.

I'd never touch it .

[thyr01d in reply to Hidden]

Mmm, Jobeth I agree, but I am far more concerned about the suffering of the horses, it' horrific. Can you imagine being tied up like that even for 12 hours?

Our admittedly very unpleasant symptoms cannot compare with the loneliness and suffering of the horses.

I'd imagine they are anxious too, being prey animals separated from their herd, and that, I reckon, might be an explanation for a lot of the unexplained anxiety around these days, with so many people on hormones, whether for preventing pregnancy or other reasons.

[Hidden in reply to thyr01d]

I understand, but there not in everything. As I said I wouldn't go the horse hormone route. However saying that I'm on pig hormone, nature throid.

[thyr01d in reply to Hidden]

Mmmm, I understand, being so ill one feels forced along this path, even as a vegan I have times when I wonder should I return to eating meat or try nature thyroid? At the mo I can manage but there are some of you too ill.

[Hidden in reply to thyr01d]

I was dying on levothyroxine. I am alive on nature throid. That's not a difficult choice for me.

[Hidden]

Bioidentical, meaning it is chemically identical to what your body

produces. Still from a lab

[jacrjacr]

Maca is a adapt from root in peru and many people take gelatized maca hence a friend of has just been put on maca gold and black cohosh ,ground flaxseed and evening primrose oil instead of bhrt by her gynecologist.....to raise her estrogen progesterone and balance her hormones and also grape seed extract for hair. She is losing hair and feeling tired and fatigued.

[TammyV]

Thank you Poppy Cat! So many women are so afraid of the bio-identicals because there is so much misinformation out there on the HRT synthetics. Not just the women but then our doctors! I too have started using a great cream and instantly had similar results to you (years of fibroid pain immediately stopped, slept better, no hot flashes, brain fog beginning to clear, etc.) And the more research I do and talk to women in the 70-80's that have been using it for years - the more I am convinced this is right. We need the progesterone too for our bone health. And what a safe way to get them. Here in the states (USA) a great company that I use is Organic Excellence - they are one of the cleanest of the creams out there and you can get them with or without phytoestrogens. You can tell a great forumla when it lists things on the label that are identifiable and when used it absorbs into your skin without a trace. Thank you for spreading the word and helping others feel comfortable in their choices too!!!