“Menopause has been brutal for me”

Hello,
I would like to preface this by saying that I am not a medical doctor and cannot diagnose you. I believe that my email address may have been somehow attached to a physician by the same name. I am, however, a doctor of pharmacy and do have over 10 years of practice in recommending prescription, over-the-counter and natural medicine to patients.
You may want to be evaluated by a physician for a diagnosis, especially if you are having heart palpitations.
I understand that many patients do not want to take estrogen prescriptions. One positive thing about taking estrogen is that it not only helps you with your menopausal symptoms, but it also helps to prevent bone loss. If you choose not to take estrogen, you may want to talk with your physician about taking something that will help prevent bone loss. Of course, you should always take calcium supplements AND vitamin D to aid in the absorption of calcium.
There are some studies that show an over the counter progesterone cream, called Pro-Gest cream, can help with menopausal symptoms. It is very highly rated on Amazon and they have over 1000 reviews you can read about the product there. (It is available in many stores and websites. I have no association with Amazon, however I do order from them at least twice a week and find it is a great place to read reviews of products).
Another option that is effective in clinical studies is taking a prescription SSRI such as Prozac or Paxil. There are several more in this class of medications and have very low cost generics. I do want to note that studies have shown SSRI's to be effective for hot flashes ONLY and not other menopausal symptoms.
Many patients do find that bioidentical hormones are a better choice than traditional set dosed oral prescription hormones. These are a mixture of 3 different estrogens, progesterone and testosterone that are naturally found in your body and are specifically compounded by a pharmacy to match your needs based on your blood levels. Keep in mind that not all physicians prescribe bioidentical hormones. The prescriptions are usually in cream or lozenge form and are almost always not covered by insurance, so it is likely to be more expensive than prescriptions hormones available on the market.
Be sure to talk to your doctor about all of the options that are available and safe for you to take.

Your best option is to find a doctor who evaluates and treats menopausal women with something called bioidentical hormones. These hormones are made by prescription at a compounding pharmacy. They are plant-based and the structure of these hormones is virtually identical to human hormones, making them extremely safe and effective. The problem with synthetic hormone replacement is that premarin is made from urine of pregnant mares, hence its name. This estrogen is totally different from human and not well accepted by the body. The other issue is that there is no synthetic progesterone that can be taken to balance the premarin, therefore estrogen dominance occurs and the risk of breast and uterine cancer rises significantly. With bioidentical hormone replacement, first the blood levels of your hormones are checked to see what hormones are needed and how much is needed. If estrogen needs to be replaced, progesterone is replaced with it to prevent estrogen dominance. Also, other hormones such as testosterone, DHEA, thyroid and Vitamin D (more of a hormone than a vitamin) can be checked and replaced, if needed. Based on your symptoms of hot flashes and insomnia, you will most likely need at least estrogen and progesterone. Hope this helps!!

You can do something called bioidentical hormonal replacement therapy. It has no side effects and will improve your menopausal symptoms. I offer this type of treatment at my office. Please call 516-262-3612 if interested in learning more about this type of treatment.

Sometimes Effexor is a medicine that proven to help symptoms of menopause but you should ask your local doctor.

You can consider taking bioidentical hormone replacement (natural estrogen and natural progesterone). Bioidentical means it is the same exact structure as your body produces as opposed to the medications made by pharmaceutical companies which use estrogen extracted from horse urine. You would need to find an integrative doctor with good training and experience to do this. The bioidentical hormones are made in a compounding pharmacy and the dose can be individualized to your need. Research shows us that this is very safe and effective.

Not 6 items i need only two star lights.

While menopause can explain all of the symptoms you are experiencing, you should still see your Primary Care or Gyne to exclude other causes and have a detailed lab work to make sure there are no other causes like thyroid disorder or underlying cardiac disease. If you have not had your hormonal levels checked, it will be prudent to do so. Menopause can be a time when estrogen declines but so does progesterone and create an imbalance. All of your symptoms can be alleviated with compounded progesterone but only after thorough testing and mammogram etc have been done. Any treatment nerds to be monitored with repeat hormonal levels. You should seek a consultation with a physician with expertise in menopause. Good luck.

Most women are given estrogen replacement therapy in the form of estrogen tablets (unless contraindicated) to relieve Menopausal symptoms.

Make sure your doctor checks your thyroid.

There are treatments for the symptoms. we use antidepressants and some neurologic medications. You can talk to your doctor about it. I agree that estrogens are risky.