Hi oilpainter thanks for your feedback i tried every herbal product i could get as well as soy products flaxseed even went to a chinese herbalist i only tried the hrt as a totally last resort i was on one called elleste solo at first and that was fine for 3 weeks no hot sweats not tired to death i felt much better and was finally getting some sleep it was only in the 4th week i started to feel sick and my breasts were so sore but i decided to see the doctor and try the premarin which made me sick almost immediatly im so dreading having to come off them for good because the hot flushes and sleepless nights were making me so ill and depressed i feel so confused now i dont know what to do so i guess its back to the doc tomorrow morning to see if its worth just taking a tablet every other day dont know how that would work out i suppose it depends how bad the menopause is affecting you on a personal level i know other women who are on hrt have been for years and they wouldnt live without it and they have no ill effects from the tablets its so confusing isnt it but anyway thanks so much for your feedback i know exactly where your coming from

pleblanc, I know you posted this a while ago but I have just read it and wondered if you got the itching and skin dryness sorted. I have had exactly the same symptoms as you only on the soles of my feet which makes even standing up some days excrutiating. I have been near to tears on a couple of occassions recently. Mine started two years ago out of the blue and I thought it might be menopause related as I had some severe hot flashes start at the same time. My doctor doesn't think so and has been prescribing creams for Pompholyx excema. I am finally seeing a dermatologist next month so we shall see what happens. I also for a few months have had the vaginal and rectal itching. I thought it was thrush but I have no other symptoms. I have been using canesten cream which gives me relief. I find it worse during the night which could be related to feeling hot. Finally, I also get the joint pain deep in my right hip if I lie on it too long and it also wakes me during the night. I would say all my menopause symptoms started about 8 years ago but in the last 2 years it has been constant and I have been trying everything I possibly can to help myself. I am of the belief that if these problems happened to men there would be specialists in every major city in every part of the world. Unfortunately because it is the other half of the population, Drs with a special interest are few and far between. P.S I tried HRT but had a horrendous migraine which was really scary-thought I was having a stroke-and my doc took me off them immediately. My BP and cholesterol were also sky high. Sorry this is so long but wanted to let you know you're not alone.

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.

Estroven is for the most part soy and vitamins. Soy beans have natural plant estrogen and do help with menopause symptoms. It seems to me if you drank soy milk and took vitamin B12, Calcium and Vitamin D you would be getting just about the same benifit as the Estroven. Soy as I said has plant estrogen, Vitamin B 12 is the stress vitamin. The Calcium and Vitamin D are for bone loss which occurs as we get older, which are by the way among the cheapest vitamins there are When I was going through menopause I drank soy milk--the nicest tasting one I found to be chocolate-- and found it helped with hot flashes and things