I would love to hear how the OP is doing now. I found this website because I was trying to find reviews on Estroven. It seems the "Estroven?" thread that was here is now closed. Hopefully, something in my experience will help "Tired & Weepy". I had a partial hysterectomy in 2006 at the age of 42 (removal of one ovary and uterus due to innumerable fibroids). I did have "surgical menopause" symptoms following surgery, but they subsided within a few months. During the two months following recovery, I went back to my Dr. complaining of cramping and other symptoms *similar* to what I had been complaining about prior to surgery. My Dr. sent me to a specialist and I learned that, along with the fibroids (and disrupted hormones due to same), I also had IBS. IBS cramping pain and other symptoms are triggered by certain foods and above-normal stress. 5 years later, I am now having what I consider to be very serious hot flashes and night sweats - so much so that I looked into OTC remedies as I wait to find an OBGYN in my new city. I found and just started Estroven last night. Right after my surgery, I turned down all meds from my Dr. to treat "surgical menopause" and was ok until now. I have noticed a direct connection between IBS "trigger foods" and hot flashes (and for me, the trigger foods are the same for IBS and hot flashes!). The only difference is that caffeine causes cramping for people like me with IBS (my hot flashes do not come with or from cramps, but caffeine does trigger hot flashes). These are my NO foods: chocolate in any form, caffeine in any form, sugar, sweets of any kind - even fruit (but I still take in fruit), spicy food, and large meals in general. It has gotten so bad that I will start face sweating just while eating a small bag of Skittles! Last night was my first night with Estroven Extra Strength. It did give me an increased heart rate so I had difficulty sleeping. I woke up sweaty, and I only got 4 hours of sleep, but that was just the first night on it. It is morning now and I just took my Estroven pill again and am keeping a diary to track the number of times I hot flash, what I eat and what happens, and the effects of exercise. I know it takes time to work, but I am dedicated to finding relief (I, too, am weepy and cry). In the past few months I gained a little weight. I am not convinced that menopause and weight gain are foregone conclusions because I went to see my primary care Dr. in late November and told him I was trying to lose weight. He told me it wasn't going to happen as long as I was not sleeping through the night. He stated that getting a good night's rest on a regular basis is critical to weight loss. From September through late December, I was not sleeping through the night because I was nursing my dog who was dying and I would wake myself up every 3 hours to check on him. He passed away in December and then, all of a sudden, I can't sleep through the night because of night sweats onset. If I do get a lot of sleep, it's only because of a prescription sleep aid. I do believe that exercise -- I recently started again with jogging/running, swimming, Pilates, dance, and yoga -- goes a long way toward keeping hormones balanced, but lately this menopause thing has TAKEN OVER MY LIFE no matter what I do! I will report back my Estroven results. Based on the "research" I've done on the web, it seems that lots and lots of women simply can't tolerate anything - or find longstanding relief - with any supplement. I hope I'm wrong about Estroven. I need to add that after learning about fibroids and having a hysterectomy because of them, I learned to HATE estrogen. Estrogen feeds fibroids, as I understand it, and I had too much estrogen to begin with. Too much or backed-up estrogen gave me Chloasma (facial skin darkening) which was treated by Dermatologists with bleaching creams and skin peels, LONG before the accurate "cause" diagnosis was made! My OBGYN at the time was incompetent. I am so grateful for the Dr. who diagnosed the fibroids as the source of so many of the problems I had been experiencing. After the hysterectomy, my skin issues resolved themselves. She gave me a lot of information about electing to have a hysterectomy -- I would choose to do it again, I only wish I had known years earlier what my problem was. I just now have to deal with menopause -- which is what I think is happening. I'm now past the peri-menopaus part because I'm getting cold flashes following the hot flashes and night sweats. I didn't have those before. After the hysterectomy and subsequent diagnosis of IBS, I lost 15lbs. What with being unemployed right now and having recently lost my dog, I gained 10lbs. I'm hoping that with increased exercise and Estroven, I can lose the 10lbs. Right now, though, I would be utterly grateful to just sleep through the night without sweat and -omg- the occasional enuresis that has just started. Anyone else having that in menopause?! It just started. Will address it with doctor). Although I mentioned that I have a "hate" relationship with estrogen, I'm willing to try Estroven (which I understand is a plant-based product) in the event that I'm wrong (theoretically, I should now be under-producing estrogen, right?). When I see the Dr., I will explain all of this to her and if Estroven hasn't helped, I will try progesterone cream or anything the Dr recommends with the exception of HRT. I will NOT do it. One of the other symptoms I noticed last night after taking Estroven was cramping. I will not know until later today if the cramping was due to the Skittles or the Estroven (or my morning coffee which I cannot do without!). Aside -- has there been a discussion of the impact of menopause to spouses? I can no longer even sleep in the same bed with my husband because of the sweating and tossing and turning. Driving is a nightmare for us. Too hot for me, too cold for him. Even the cats don't like sleeping with me anymore. Thanks for letting me share.

Hi Qinz, I'm very happy for you! I was forced on HRT about 5 years ago, when I had a horrible vaginal bleed, and needed a D&C. The doc had me on lots of estrogen to keep from repeat bleeding. When I tried to come off it, my Fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue got soooooo much worse, so back on I went. 2 years later I tried to come off my combi-patch, and the same thing happened. I gave it 2 months, and I kept getting sicker and sicker. I don't get hot flashes. I have, in the past few years, lost alot of faith in the medical community. Money is at the root of all the decisions made, and not the best thing for us......... So, now I'm rethinking this combipatch. But.....I'm not as lucky as you.........I appear to get sooooooo much sicker with the Fibromyalgia when I try to come off it. I truly believe that our bodies get "addicted" to extra hormones, and it becomes almost like going through detox to get off them. I will start to think about trying it again. Good luck to you!

Hi ladies! Glad to see I'm not alone. I had an endometrial ablation July, '07. (stopped my periods) I'm 49 now and for the past month I have been having what I think are hot flashes. All of a sudden I'll feel very warm from my chest up. My face and neck get red to the point that people have been asking me what's wrong. I just laugh and tell them it's a hot flash! I average one per hour. I noticed when I had my physical a few months back that my blood pressure has increased also. I'm usually a very, very, good low. Now, I have prehypertension. It never hit me, but I have suffered from migraines the last ten years. (never had a headache in my life) My dr. thought they were just menstrual migraines, but now I think they were due to perimenopause. Good Grief!! Anymore, my skin is so dry (my hands snag clothing), I can't concentrate, I'm forgetful. I take Lexapro for PMDD, (guess I really don't have that anymore either!) which could be why I am not experiencing severe mood swings. My appetite seems to have lessened in the past six months also. I've lost about 15 lbs., and am now down to 132 lbs., which I am very proud of. lol Here it goes! I'm having a hot flash as I'm typing this!!!! Does this sound like Menopause to anyone other than me? (I have no one in my family to compare to. My mom went through an extremely early menopause at 35. Weird. My sister had a hysterectomy at 32 and has been on hormones since. She is now 52.) Thanks!

Labmomma, I am sorry, you are wrong. buyorsell, I didn't say that dr's don't get perks from drug companies. I said they dont' get perks from giving certain prescriptions. drug companies can not legally give dr's something for prescribing drugs. They CAN and DO give them lunches and trips so that the dr can hear about their drugs. However they DO NOT get perks for prescribing a certain drug. They get these perks regardless of the drugs they sell. The drug reps come here EVERY week and give free lunches regardless of the prescriptions given out. They do not count how many of a specific drug goes out. Not only that, how WOULD the drug companies know what script a dr wrote you?? Sally, You should have said something. you should have asked "is celebrex the right drug for me?" if the dr said yes, then you should have taken the free samples and tried it. Drug reps do give dr's free samples. You do not have to take those samples. you can ask for a different drug. I used to give back samples from my dr, because I have insurance and would get drugs for free. I wanted him to give samples to people whom couldn't maybe afford the drugs. The protein they are extracting can be extracted from humans also. However, much of the urine is used for testing and to make a lot of drugs you sure would need alot of people urine ! Also, ya, testing is an issue. The red cross can't even keep up with blood, I can't imagine some company testing all the urine. flu vaccine is produced in chicken eggs. Alot of vaccine/drugs used animals or animal products. I am not sure if that would stop me from taking or not taking drugs. Anyways, it is your body and you have control over what you do, so if you don't agree with how a drug is made, don't use it. It is all about you educating yourself, you can't blame someone for not pointing something out. You only have yourself to blame.