Hi Harriet--ah, I'm glad you remember. I would definitely suggest getting seen soon, although it's not an emergency situation (or even urgent care). But I would make clear at the earliest possible opportunity that you want meds to get your bp down to 120/80. Every day that it's high does permanent damage to your organs :(. If you exercise and get it lower, and you find you can go off the meds, that's great. But IMO (and of course this isn't official medical advice, just my experience and what I've read, so do more research--I'm just a lonely data point : )), getting it down as early as possible is what's important. The meds may very well knock you for a loop until you adjust to them, too. The docs said no driving for a month but I was back behind the wheel of a car, no problems, in a week and a few days. terri, that was another odd thing - my cholesterol is beautiful. I'm not the highest in HDL, but my LDL was *quite low* (blanking on the #s) at the time of the heart attack. As much as I believe in taking bp meds (within reason), I was *staunchly* against statins, and got out of it only by digging my heels into the ground and saying I'd take red yeast rice. I took that for a while and then stopped. My LDL isn't bad enough for me to worry about. There's also debate over what numbers are o.k. and what are worrisome wrt cholesterol anyway. But this little lonely data point would encourage you to take action on the bp as soon as you can (non-rush).

So far, I have seen 4 different cardiologists, 3 of which are electrophysiologists who specialize in arrhythmias. I have had every test under the sun. I even wore a portable heart monitor for a month. I do not have A-fib, I have "ventricular tachycardia" and PVC's -- they have seen it on the monitor so they know exactly what the abnormal rhythm is. When I ask why it is happening, they say that some people are born with abnormal pathways in the heart that can get irritated and misfire, especially when exposed to things like caffeine, adrenaline (from exercise or stress) and hormonal changes. I have had bouts of palpitations on and off since I was in my 20s, but each time, cutting back on the caffeine fixed them. This was the first time I've had the VT as well as the palps, and while cutting back on caffeine helped a lot, it hasn't made them totally go away -- and like I said, they seem to be related to my menstrual cycle. So I'm guessing that if I was prone to palpitations my whole life because of some inborn tendency of my heart, menopause may be rough going for me....which is why I would consider the HRT, even though I am normally very anti-hormone meds in general (like I said, I've never even taken the pill). I did see the endocrinologist for a thyroid workup after one of my thyroid numbers came back abnormal. But apparently, it wasn't an important number because they tell me my thyroid is fine -- all the important numbers like TSH and T3 and T4 are right in normal range. I do have an appointment with a second endocrinologist in a couple weeks -- I made it a few months ago (she was out on maternity leave) before I saw the first endocrinologist and I figure it can't hurt to get another opinion on both the thyroid and the menopause stuff. Thanks for all the suggestions so far, and for the links. I will spend some time checking out those sites today and see if there's something I can try supplement-wise that might help before I go the HRT route. Please keep the feedback coming if you have any experience with any of this -- supplements, HRT, or menopause in general. I am so not ready for this, LOL!

Hi joan, Poor you! I can SO relate with your situation. I'm sure you've probably checked your neck for pinched nerves, right? How about your vitamins? Have you read up on which ones, when deficient, might cause your symptoms? I honestly believe that some of us cannot physically handle menopause very well, because so many of our systems have become so dependent on our hormones. I'm thinking FSH has some funky effects on some of us. I even wonder if we have some ovarian-type cells in areas we shouldn't have, and they react to increasing FSH levels too, when they shouldn't. I just wish more research was done on this, but because it just affects aging women, I don't think they're interested. :( To be honest with you, I've been afraid to use acupuncture for my various problems. I went through about 5 years during perimenopause of having horrendous headaches. In retrospect, I am very suspect of the PPI I was on, since now when I try to use them, I get a bad headache. I have a friend who is on MAO inhibitors for her migraines, and she tried acupuncture, and it worked for awhile, but then she had the worst headache of her life. So I'm afraid to have that rebound problem with acupuncture. My whole body would go crazy with hormone fluctuations. One day I had an estrogen level drawn and it was something like 45. A few days later it was 440!! So I'm not sure testing those levels is helpful. Plus......some of us are fine with certain levels and some of us go crazy with them. I'm sorry if I'm rambling. I have major thinking problems too! When I was going through perimenopause, I had a hypertensive crisis type thing. My heart rate was about 110 at resting, and my BP went through the roof. I was eventually put on Toprol, a beta blocker, and everything calmed down. Last December I decided to come off the Toprol after being on it for 5 years, and my BP has been pretty good, but the rest of my body started going crazy. I started having lots of pains, GI problems, and now the dizziness and nausea. It makes me wonder if I need to go back on the Toprol......even though its not really meant for those symptoms. (unfortunately, the Toprol has its own set of side-effects that I hate). But.....my point is, perhaps there is a drug whose off-label use could help you? I would do this: 1. figure out what vitamins you're low on make sure you don't have neck nerve problems 3. Go on a test dose of an H2 blocker or PPI. 4. Keep a really good food diary, in case your having food intolerance problems 5. Maybe consider a beta blocker for migraine variants. When I was on Toprol, it was like a miracle, the way it took care of my headaches. Are you finding you have other symptoms anywhere in your body? your bowels? your nervous system? I'm really pursuing my GI tract as possibly causing these problems for me. Do you have any stomach problems? Our vagus nerve is very close to our esophagus and when irritated can cause some funky problems. I have fibromyalgia, and was just reading that nausea and dizziness is common. Is it possible you have fibro too? Again, please forgive me for rambling. I have ADD/fibro and am in menopause, so its sort of good that I can even talk at all! lol!

Ladies you are not alone. I have prayed so hard for a way to get better because my depression was 'hurting' me so bad. I had repeating negative thoughts that were 'speaking' to me so loud I could hear myself sometimes. You know with the help of God, I found books and articles directing me to use yam base progesterone cream and pregnenolone. I apply my organic yam base progesterone cream according to dr. John Lee's guideline and take about 10 to 20mg of pregnenolone daily, plus vitamin B complex with Co Q10, Lady's Mantle herbal tea and Oatstraw tea. I avoid growth hormone by eating natural beef and organic milk. I also avoid preservatives, not just parabens also phenoxyethanol in my topical creams. With a little bit of melatonin, I can sleep with no anxieties and get up happy. Hot flashes, abnormal bleeding and headaches are all better. I hope I am able to help you too. I am leaving you a link to Dr. Ray Peat's website, He is the pioneer in using natrual hormone replacements for better health. God bless. Here is a link that might be useful: http://raypeat.com/articles/