I would love to hear how the OP is doing now. I found this website because I was trying to find reviews on Estroven. It seems the "Estroven?" thread that was here is now closed. Hopefully, something in my experience will help "Tired & Weepy". I had a partial hysterectomy in 2006 at the age of 42 (removal of one ovary and uterus due to innumerable fibroids). I did have "surgical menopause" symptoms following surgery, but they subsided within a few months. During the two months following recovery, I went back to my Dr. complaining of cramping and other symptoms *similar* to what I had been complaining about prior to surgery. My Dr. sent me to a specialist and I learned that, along with the fibroids (and disrupted hormones due to same), I also had IBS. IBS cramping pain and other symptoms are triggered by certain foods and above-normal stress. 5 years later, I am now having what I consider to be very serious hot flashes and night sweats - so much so that I looked into OTC remedies as I wait to find an OBGYN in my new city. I found and just started Estroven last night. Right after my surgery, I turned down all meds from my Dr. to treat "surgical menopause" and was ok until now. I have noticed a direct connection between IBS "trigger foods" and hot flashes (and for me, the trigger foods are the same for IBS and hot flashes!). The only difference is that caffeine causes cramping for people like me with IBS (my hot flashes do not come with or from cramps, but caffeine does trigger hot flashes). These are my NO foods: chocolate in any form, caffeine in any form, sugar, sweets of any kind - even fruit (but I still take in fruit), spicy food, and large meals in general. It has gotten so bad that I will start face sweating just while eating a small bag of Skittles! Last night was my first night with Estroven Extra Strength. It did give me an increased heart rate so I had difficulty sleeping. I woke up sweaty, and I only got 4 hours of sleep, but that was just the first night on it. It is morning now and I just took my Estroven pill again and am keeping a diary to track the number of times I hot flash, what I eat and what happens, and the effects of exercise. I know it takes time to work, but I am dedicated to finding relief (I, too, am weepy and cry). In the past few months I gained a little weight. I am not convinced that menopause and weight gain are foregone conclusions because I went to see my primary care Dr. in late November and told him I was trying to lose weight. He told me it wasn't going to happen as long as I was not sleeping through the night. He stated that getting a good night's rest on a regular basis is critical to weight loss. From September through late December, I was not sleeping through the night because I was nursing my dog who was dying and I would wake myself up every 3 hours to check on him. He passed away in December and then, all of a sudden, I can't sleep through the night because of night sweats onset. If I do get a lot of sleep, it's only because of a prescription sleep aid. I do believe that exercise -- I recently started again with jogging/running, swimming, Pilates, dance, and yoga -- goes a long way toward keeping hormones balanced, but lately this menopause thing has TAKEN OVER MY LIFE no matter what I do! I will report back my Estroven results. Based on the "research" I've done on the web, it seems that lots and lots of women simply can't tolerate anything - or find longstanding relief - with any supplement. I hope I'm wrong about Estroven. I need to add that after learning about fibroids and having a hysterectomy because of them, I learned to HATE estrogen. Estrogen feeds fibroids, as I understand it, and I had too much estrogen to begin with. Too much or backed-up estrogen gave me Chloasma (facial skin darkening) which was treated by Dermatologists with bleaching creams and skin peels, LONG before the accurate "cause" diagnosis was made! My OBGYN at the time was incompetent. I am so grateful for the Dr. who diagnosed the fibroids as the source of so many of the problems I had been experiencing. After the hysterectomy, my skin issues resolved themselves. She gave me a lot of information about electing to have a hysterectomy -- I would choose to do it again, I only wish I had known years earlier what my problem was. I just now have to deal with menopause -- which is what I think is happening. I'm now past the peri-menopaus part because I'm getting cold flashes following the hot flashes and night sweats. I didn't have those before. After the hysterectomy and subsequent diagnosis of IBS, I lost 15lbs. What with being unemployed right now and having recently lost my dog, I gained 10lbs. I'm hoping that with increased exercise and Estroven, I can lose the 10lbs. Right now, though, I would be utterly grateful to just sleep through the night without sweat and -omg- the occasional enuresis that has just started. Anyone else having that in menopause?! It just started. Will address it with doctor). Although I mentioned that I have a "hate" relationship with estrogen, I'm willing to try Estroven (which I understand is a plant-based product) in the event that I'm wrong (theoretically, I should now be under-producing estrogen, right?). When I see the Dr., I will explain all of this to her and if Estroven hasn't helped, I will try progesterone cream or anything the Dr recommends with the exception of HRT. I will NOT do it. One of the other symptoms I noticed last night after taking Estroven was cramping. I will not know until later today if the cramping was due to the Skittles or the Estroven (or my morning coffee which I cannot do without!). Aside -- has there been a discussion of the impact of menopause to spouses? I can no longer even sleep in the same bed with my husband because of the sweating and tossing and turning. Driving is a nightmare for us. Too hot for me, too cold for him. Even the cats don't like sleeping with me anymore. Thanks for letting me share.

I just had my 2 month anniversary on Dec. 21. I love Curves! I'm Somersizing (religously - no cheats) and as of my weigh-in and measuring last Friday, I've lost 14.5" and 12 pounds. I can feel that I'm getting very toned. Curves isn't the only exercise I do, but I haven't missed a day. I go M,W&F. Since starting SSing 9 months ago I've lost 69#. *Ã*

A woman up the river gave me wise advice ten years ago when my metabolism shut down. She is in excellent condition. She told me she eats whatever she wants but has to work it off. Her approach to food is like budgeting and saving money: 'do I want to waste calories on this junk or do I want to save up and have a really good dinner later on?' she asks herself. This way she has always has a choice. She's never backed into a corner. She also turned me onto this little tip and by golly it works! Get an exercise bike or a treadmill. Rent one or buy at a second hand store if you can't afford new. Park it in front of tv. In the evenings, while you are watching tv, ride the bike or walk the treadmill during the commercials. I do this three nights a week. My average ride on the airdyne is FIVE MILES for a one hour show. At first take it easy but as you get stronger, up the speed/resistance. I've never kept track of the time I ride but it's a well known fact that without commercials a one hour show would only be something like 1/2 hour long....LOL I've lost a little weight since Christmas. How much, I don't know but my clothes fit better. I keep a big tupperware bowl of celery, carrots, radishes, green onions, etc in the frig so I have a choice between eating that cookie(s)or veggies to hold me until time for a real meal. I love how the bike riding tones me up and makes me feel strong. My sister lost sixty pounds (over a two year period) by eating anything she wanted. She cut her portions by a third and doesn't allow herself seconds. She will eat desserts but cuts that portion by half. You can do this. Just don't look at it as a chore or make it into something you dread. Give yourself some choices. Most of the time you'll make the right choice. Lori

I had to rub my eyes and pull my ears to open my ear canals to make sure I was reading and hearing this correctly: The most fanatical expression, I think, of wanting to deny history of the U.S. is that of those who would like to 'demote' Thomas Jefferson from his position as a "Founding Father" of the U.S.A. and as founder of the University of Virginia, among other accomplishments. Some have said they would be willing even to scrap! The Declaration of Independence in order to reverse or expunge his influence -- all because Jefferson was a slave owner and he might have fathered at least one child (perhaps more) with his slave Sally Hemings (who also happened to be his deceased wife's half-sister). In some minds it is settled: recent DNA testings of Sally Hemings's male descendants indicate someone in the line of Peter Jefferson (father of Thomas) fathered at least one of Sally's sons. It is very possible it was Thomas, but it's also possible that it was Thomas's brother or either of two nephews who were known to be in the vicinity. So the evidence is not conclusive. Is that reason enough to negate everything else Thomas Jefferson did? These same fanatics would like to see all monuments and memorials to Thomas Jefferson changed, including Mount Rushmore. They have floated the notion that the heads of Jefferson and George Washington, another slave owner, should be re-carved to represent more worthy presidents. The four with the most mentions are Franklin Roosevelt, John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and Barack Obama. I doubt that anything will come of it -- the hoopla has since died down a bit from about five years ago when I first got wind of it. I would say that nothing ever will be done that drastic, but now I'm not sure that redress seekers for grievances will ever completely let it go.