I stumbled on this topic and was so glad to see that I am not the only one who has struggled with this. I have been having issues for the past 3 years. My periods stopped almost exactly 2 years ago. I had gotten so bad in the past 6 months that I could not walk when I got out of bed in the morning and could barely walk after sitting for longer than 10 minutes. I finally found a combination of things that have been working for me. I hope it may help somebody else! I admit that my diet has been terrible. I've had a bad case of the "busys" and I have relied heavily on the "bag and box" convenience approach. I read that people who eat a lot of fast/convenience food have magnesium and potassium deficiencies--which affect muscles. I began eating a banana--sometimes with peanut butter for breakfast. I eat baked potatoes (with all the good stuff; even then it 's better for me than fast food!). I concentrated on getting food with real nutrients; particularly potassium. You can google and find lots of options. I began taking a magnesium supplement. I only take about 1/2 the therapeutic dose. Do some research and find out which formulations are best absorbed to avoid diarrhea. I found out that artificial sweeteners can have an affect on nerves over time. (I recalled working with a client in my past job who turned to drinking Listerine as a source of alcohol. It permanently damaged the muscles in his legs.) I have been a HEAVY diet coke drinker for decades. I limit the diet soda to one or two small bottles per week and I began drinking water. Lots of it. I bought a compact fold-up exercise bike so that I could get in non-weight bearing exercise. The treadmill just seemed to aggravate things, especially my foot that had begun swelling. The bike allows me to work my legs--releasing lactic acid build-up that can lead to tightness--without causing new problems. A rowing machine might work too. I do at least 30 minutes a day, sometimes breaking it up into two or three sessions. I like the bike because it is totally silent and I can stop for brief breaks. I watch TV while riding. (I've read that deep tissue massage is also excellent in releasing lactic acid build-up, but I haven't tried it.) I began taking vitamin D3 for muscles and bones. I began taking Krill oil to help with inflammation--and it's just plain good for the human body. On mornings when I am still feeling pretty tight by 9:00am or so, I take 600mg ibuprofen. Previously, this did nothing to help. Now, it makes all the difference. I can feel it within an hour and one dose is all I need for all day. It took about 6 weeks, but the difference has been amazing. My stiffness is not totally gone, but it is remarkably lower!!! I can stand up and loosen up in a few seconds.

I am so glad this discussion is on here! I am 52, and was just told to go off the combo pill in August, after being on it nearly continuously since 17 when I picked it up in college. My blood pressure had started to go up last year, so we figured this was the cause. I had never had high blood pressure before - usually the opposite. I tried reducing salt and increasing exercise for a bit, but it had little impact. So, I was recommended going off or switching to the mini-pill progesterone-only. The first two weeks were fine, then I had a couple of weeks of constant overheating(no 'flashes', just constant hot). I read about how sometimes when you go off the combo pill, your insulin levels can be weird as your other systems take over estrogen and general thermostat regulation, so I cut out all the high spiky insulin foods(think sugar and white rice along with the rest of the online lists of foods to avoid) and reduced some caffeine, and the heat problem turned off completely. Now it has been three months of progesterone only, and I can see my skin aging, and hair growth slowing. I had been having a lot of brain-fog issues the past few years, and those have not changed, sadly. It's very annoying, and I hope that part at least sorts itself out by 60. Bonus and unexpected - my internal base stress level has gone down. It's just easier to cope. I have added rice and sugar back with no problems, and overheating is completely gone. I am sleeping better, although now I have weird little dreams, when I have never been one to remember dreams much at all. I do not have more energy, and some of my hand strength is just gone. Also, mentally, I find I am more detached from things and people, but not in a depressed or destructive way. More the feeling of having a choice about being involved or not, rather than having an immediate reaction (like wanting to scream at the grocery clerk that eye-rolled when asking a valid question). Hoping I am just done, but it's too soon to tell. I get mild cramping with no period, and some spotting during the week I would have normally had one in the '4th week off' time. But it's too soon to write off periods altogether. I am hoping most of the worst of it was masked during the past 5 years. But...I do have female relatives that didn't hit menopause until 56-65. One would have thought with half the planet going through this in their lives that there would be more medical study and progress on this in the last 50 years, but apparently no. lol I think starting a better workout routine and nutrition plan is next on the agenda. Wondering how much of my personality and priority-setting is hormone related. Will be interesting to see who I become now. Maybe my ten year old self has a chance again. :) She was fun.

It is interesting to read this lengthy list of so-called adverse effects. No information is given as to how many women in a control goup also had these same adverse effects. I would venture to say, the incidence of many of them would be the same in the control group. The drug company is required to list every complaint presented by a test subject whether there is any correlation to the trial drug or not. Elaine 8. The truth is that women are not all the same. After hysterectomy, there is no way to predict which form of estrogen, and/or which combination of estrogen/progesterone/testosterone will most benefit an individual woman. Some experimentation has to take place if the the first prescription is not satisfactory. For many years the general medical belief was that estrogen alone was needed after hysterectomy because there was no endometrium to protect. When Premarin was first touted as the panacea for women's menopausal woes, many cases of endometrial cancer were found in the women taking Premarin. Since progesterone was not absorbed when taken orally, Provera was invented. It is a drug somewhat chemically similar to progesterone and did work to counter the endometrial cancer problem. So when women had a hysterectomy, it was thought they did not need anything but estrogen. Today, more is being learned about the effects of all the sex hormones on all the tissues of the body. Since some women after hysterectomy feel better with both estrogen and progesterone, some doctors are prescribing it initially. Prometrium is the first oral progesterone chemically identical to the progesterone our bodies make. It is called "micronized" progesterone because a patented process makes it able to be absorbed from the gut. I believe it is a completely different drug from Provera and other molecularly altered progestins and can not be compared to them, yet most research makes no distiction between real progesterone and the altered "pretend progesterones". Many naturopaths and other alternative medicine practitioners turned to otc natural progesterone creams because it was the only way to obtain the molecularly identical progesterone. Drug companies did not want to manufacture and market this cream because it was not patentable, therefore not profitable. Also many doctors are skeptical of the transdermal route. My own internist, who is pretty open minded for a medical doctor, had the audacity to say to me when I was having excruciating breast pain from transdermal estradiol patches, that perhaps I wasnt absorbing it well through the skin. I looked incredulously at him and asked, why was I having the breast effects if I was not absorbing it; he became embarrassed and said, oh, I see what you mean; well it's my experience that many people do not absorb drugs well through the skin. I believe he has a set belief about transdermal drugs and leaves no room for differences in this area, even though he is open minded about others.

About a 1 1/2 months ago my doctor increased my bi-est cream to 2.4 (2 clicks in the am and 2 clicks in the pm), progesterone pills (200 mg) 1 at night remained the same. I was also taking DHEA 10 mgs in the am. My DHEA level was extreemly high. All other levels were within normal range. My hair started thining, weight gain in the stomach/hips and internal itching from scalp to legs. Took a saliva test and doctor took me off the DHEA. Hair still looks thin, itching has continued and the weight has not come off. (side note - I exercise 4 to 5 times per week). Went to see a dermatologist. He said hair loss has stopped even though my hair still looks thin and he gave me pills for the itching. I believe the hair loss/thinning, weight gain and most of all the itching is due to the bi-est. I have only had one ovary removed. Can you shed some light as my doctor is not listening to me. Monica