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.

I am up right now using my computer and everyone is settled-in playing cards, talking, or watching "The Natural" on American Movie Classics giving me a rest. Boy do I hear you for all the work involved! Sheeesh! However, my husband is a gem and I have NO complaints in that department. He is like a scurrying little elf trying to make it easier on me.. and sometimes makes it harder! LOL I just finished cleaning up for the day about 1/2 hour ago and I feel like I am going to die from the pain and pressure of this phantom period.. oh geeze. It is so much pain that I feel like sometimes I might throw-up with the intensity and chills it has. It is like I am in constant labor to deliver out of my whole bottom area everything above it! And, my legs ache with the pressure and pain. So far, I have been able to strive on and overcome it, but have had to slip away and lay down and take a few 750mg vicodin's and 800mg of naproxen anti-inflamatory pills. Which is only causing me to have a situation of constipation that isn't exactly a picnic either! I didn't shop at the sales today, it was too hard to stand-up and walk with the pain, but I am still in good spirits and have faith that tomorrow will be a better day.. My next gyno appointment is on January 8th.. oh, I can't wait.. I hope there is a CURE for this crud! Again, as I mentioned in a prior thread, this gyno is supposed to be a Hormonal Guru and know his stuff.. wish me luck! Merry Christmas to all of you who read this! And.. Happy New Year!!!!! I am woman, hear me roar..

Sueb20 - I hear ya girlfriend! This hormonal rollercoaster is not for sissies. On a good night I was sleeping maybe 4 broken up hours. I never nap during the day. I have always been an insomniac, but could sleep five hours straight before, now since menopause (5 years) I am plagued by hot flashes that give me sweats then chills. I use BI hormones and these help to a degree but do not completely alleviate. I don't know if my flashes and chills are worse than others but I do know, if I don't use BI, I literally cannot go out in public. Sweat pours off my face and I actually passed out at the office once. So... Then before the holidays I started to have a real problem period sleeping and tried all the OTC remedies and my usual melatonin/valerian cocktail and was getting no where. I cannot take script meds. Then I decided to move to the guestroom because I was waking my DH with my tossing/turning, up to BR etc. For a month I guess I went through a sort of sleep detox and reset my patterns- I've had to do this before. Went a couple nights where I got may be two hours sleep but now am where I can sleep maybe four hours, then wake for a flash but don't need to get up for a BR visit, then can go back to sleep for a couple more hours. This is revolutionary for me. I believe my DH was keeping me (he snores) from actually getting into a sound REM and I would get up, wake completely read and have to restart the process and never get more than 3-4 broken hours. We talked about it yesterday and he thinks he is sleeping better too without me there. So he's getting 9 hours of undisturbed sleep instead of 8...I hate him ;) So my recommendation get an hormonal evaluation have them check your cortisol levels (saliva test) too. Get on some hormones. Lack of sleep is worse for your health than taking hormones. The devise that helps me the most for cooling during sleep is a small vinyl covered pad I bought in a heating pad combo that is used for icing an injury. I just keep it next to my pillow and when I have a flash I pull it over to lay my face and neck on. It is cool enough without refrigeration to do the trick. I turn it over a time or two to a cool spot till the flash passes. I have cooling pillows and jammies etc but this one little thing has helped me the most. That and moving out of the bedroom... Also Arianna Huffington has a sleep book out - has any one checked to see what she's come up with?

Wanted to give an update. I noticed the sweating started to taper off and it has pretty much stopped. Not sure what the change was. I thought for a while it was linked to coffee. I started drinking it around the time they started. I experimented with drinking and not drinking and in the end couldn't link it together. I did go for blood work a few weeks back and my T3 (or T4 ?...only one was checked and I'd have to look at the papers) was good, but my TSH was low, meaning my thyroid is actually on the over active side right now. My D was also low at 15. My blood work from years past my were always good. I'm having my thyroid checked again in three months. She mentioned it could have been off that day. She has me taking 50000 IU of D once a week. I can absolutely tell a difference. The tired, no energy F O G left. (Which is why I started drinking coffee in the first place.) Actually I can tell when it's working and by the end of the week it has tapered off. I'm going to talk to see if I can take a daily dose. I've heard some people respond better that way. She spend a lot of my follow up visit questioning if I thought I was depressed, which I'm not. I can understand why she asked but I'm good. And the D's have made a 100% improvement on my mood and energy when they're full force. She ran some other tests checking out my WBC and others that could point to checking out other things/possible cancer and what not and all was good. She checked my testosterone levels and they were good too. If my TSH is low again she recommended a doctor's office that do more specific testing. She talked very highly of them and everyone she has recommended going there has had nothing but positive things to say. People that have had not good results over and over again going to specialists were finally able to get to the root and correct things instead of just a band aid. She gave me all the info. but I haven't checked them out yet. Hoping I don't need to go there.