hi Peggy, Well I'm now on day 40 of my cycle and NO period in sight! ugh....also, since I started the Maca supplement Yes it has helped my emotional rollercoaster a lot and took away ALL my anxiety but it has given me some other stuff to replace it with lol I have more gas, more frequent bowel movements (tmi lol) and now I'm BLOATED...I have been this way for over a week now in my UPPER abdomen. I'm going to the Gyne Feb 12 ( I do not need to be told to go to the Drs lol) and I'm going to try going back on the mini pill...where its only progesterone. Also I'm going to ask them to do a transvaginal sonogram to check my ovaries. That is my update for now :) Lisa

To repeat some of what I've said earlier in multiple posts, I've taken a multi-faceted approach: sunlight therapy light for 30 minutes each morning during the shorter winter months making sure to eat healthily, esp. lots of legumes exercise (which for me also includes social partner dancing...not only provides exercise but physical interaction and music!) bamboo sheets have greatly helped with night sweats. I sleep much better. join a menopause support group or else start your own such Meetup group (I did, in NYC!) I take Rainbow Light Menopause One make it a point to be social....to get out of the house and be around other people. Go for walks...be around nature. If you are a night owl (like me), try your best to change your schedule little by little. Waking up earlier and going to bed earlier means you will have more waking hours in the natural light, and fewer waking hours in the dark, which in turn helps with serotonin levels and mood. Talk to a shrink if you are depressed and/or try to engage in cognitive therapy on your own. Be aware of how you are able to somewhat impact your own mood. For e.g., I noticed a pattern, whereby I was constantly assessing my mood multiple times per day. 'Am I feeling depressed right now?....Yup, I am. I am indeed feeling down...just like I was earlier today...just like I was yesterday. Ugh.' I realized that in doing that, I was then creating a sub-conscious 'reality' for myself, that if I am feeling down today, and I felt 'down' yesterday, and the day before that, that it stands to reason that tomorrow, and the next day, will also be the same. And how on earth can I expect to be in a good mood, if I believe this to be my reality, for the foreseeable future? Talk about creating a sense of doom for oneself. ;-) So.... I realized that this thought pattern I was exhibiting was not serving me one iota. Of course, we all know the expression of 'living in the moment'. I decided to purposefully try this at every moment of every day. 'Oh, doesn't this cup of coffee taste so good?.... this is so great that I just finished this work spreadsheet on my computer...I can now cross this off my to-do list.... this is great... Oh, this is a great song I'm listening to ...this salad I'm eating tastes so fresh!.... don't my two cats look so cute sleeping together..." And so on. By doing this, at the end of each day I found that I was able to look back and think 'you know...today wasn't that bad actually...'. And if I practiced living in the moment the next day as well, I could say 'this is great...today was pretty good...yesterday was pretty good...'. So that in turn helped to create my own new reality, which then helped me believe that the days ahead would also be pretty good! ;-) (If I assumed the days ahead would not be so good, they usually were not so good. But if I took on a more positive outlook, that my days ahead would be good, or 'pretty good', indeed, they usually were. While we can't control our emotions or mood entirely, much of it IS about perspective, and recognizing the ways we self-sabotage. And on that note....do not believe for one minute that 'older women are regarded with little worth' (as someone else here said). I am so utterly tired of women (and most often, it's American women) making this complaint. If you believe it, so it will be. No one wants to be around an older woman who is down in the dumps about her age. You could take two older women who look the exact same age more or less, and who have a similar appearance. One woman is confident, takes pride in her appearance, dresses attractively, does not feel her age is in and of itself a detriment; she is engaging, curious, outgoing. The other woman goes around believing that now that she's X-years of age, she's washed-up, and that society and men will 'ignore her'. She doesn't bother trying to dress nice, because she figures 'why bother'. Which woman do you think society is going to respond to more favorably. Which woman will more men find attractive? ;-)

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/

Dorishill I know it's been a while but just wanted to know how you are doing. I made a copy of all the vitamins you were taking so I can start taking them also. I have been going thru hell with all these symptoms...I don't know how much more of this I can take, I feel like I'm dying. These are the moments when I wish I was born a man..I never imagined it would be this hard. If you have any updates on anything that you think can help please let me know. My email to any of the ladies that want to talk..I'm here.. Intellectualbrat@aol.com I just started taking the Estroven Extra Strenght since the 3rd of September and I haven't had any hot flashes but still have the other symptoms. Hopefully it will kick in soon. Good luck to all.