I don't think that means you have to "tough it out". These things can usually be alleviated when you have a fuller understanding of how it developed and take some simple steps to remedy it.

I had good results with progesterone cream, and so have other women I know. It is also helpful for people who are not in menopause or even perimenopause, but have developed symptoms of hormone imbalances.

Cheers!

Yep! I get night sweats too. This morning I woke up all tangled and stuck in the sheets.

Sabira, is that cream oil free? Since I moved to Miami, I have found when I use things like sun screens with oil in them I break out in a heat rash. Yuck!

I used Emerita Pro-Gest cream, which does have vitamin E, safflower seed, and sweet almond oils in the ingredients. But you use a very small amount, and I wouldn't assume all oils will give you that reaction. For instance, I find organic virgin coconut oil to be incredibly soothing and healing to my skin, and I use it liberally on hot, sweaty days. It has some natural anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties. I can slather it on to reduce pimples and unclog pores.

If all oils must be avoided, there are other kinds of natural progesterone products sold in health food stores. Maybe one of them will work for you. Or you can get it compounded at a pharmacy.

Cheers!

I find that here in Miami I break out in a heat rash with sunscreens that contain oils. I suspect it's because the oil isn't allowing me to sweat freely.

And, I still feel like [censored] off that birth control pill. I think I'll go over to Wal-greens and try an otc remedy and see if that works.

LOL, Jeanne I see you got [censored] but I think I know what you said Girl, it is cool today, actually have a sweater on but stay tune for tomorrow - may be hot again. Let me know how it goes with the otc remedy - thanks for sharing. It helps to have other women to bounce stuff off...

I wrote c r a p. Geez! I didn't know that word was on our censored list.

Well anyway, I have been dragging all week. No hot/cold flashes, but I'm exhausted to the point of tears and feel really down. I wake up in the morning and I feel like I haven't sleep, but I swear I slept all night. I can barely get any work done at all.

This evening I picked up some Estroven Energy - let's see if that helps me feel any better. Will give it a month. If that doesn't work, I'll try the next thing on the Walgreens shelf.

After that, I'll start getting things off the internet. Lastly, I'll just ask my doctor for prozac :-)

In general I try to stay away from all medications because I've read so many books that describe how the side effects of medications are far worse than the symptoms. For example they talk about how a lot of the cholesterol lowering medication gets into the brain and damages your brain cells. There's all sorts of things doctors don't know yet. Our rates of Alzheimer's is jumping through the roof and in many ways it relates to our uses of medications and pesticides. So I'm doing my best to avoid all of those things as much as I can.

Now that being said, I do feel strongly that eating healthy and being healthy is critical in having a body that can handle life's changes. So you could look at that as a form of "medication" - taking vitamin C, taking vitamin E and so on. You're doing it naturally. So I do accept that. I suppose I think that nature and good food does that job better than scientists can.

So I definitely agree in that sense that eating a lot of processed food for example could damage your health because it includes chemicals your body wouldn't normally ingest in those quantities. So just "eating food" in general isn't the answer, it needs to be (in my plan) fresh, healthy food.

I do definitely find that when I reduce caffeine from all sources that I sleep better and that my body is more even keel in presenting symptoms. When I am serene - regardless of what the world around me is doing - I feel better. So I think part of this is the mantra of knowing what you can't change, accepting that you can't change it, and finding a way to be perfectly content in that situation.

I can't change my neighbor's screaming kids. One could say "I live in a stressful situation" because of it. But stress is within a person's brain. It is only stressful if I choose to let it be stressful. It can be perfectly serene if I make that choice.

Most sunscreens are formulated with some mineral oil, etc., that may tend to clog things up. The tiny amount of progesterone cream in the dose applied per day is not likely to be a problem.

Cheers!