C'mon...with a thread title like that you had to know that men are gong to flock to it like bees to honey. I have nothing more to add. :)

I think any bleeding after menopause (defined as a year of no menses), it should be taken seriously. It probably is nothing, and related to the exertion and pressure in the area. But I really think you should go to your general practitioner and just have it checked out.

I am 51 and have not gone the full year past my most recent period. My doctor did tell me though that any bleeding after the one year needs to be checked immediately.

http://www.mayoclinic.org/...er-2009/may-08b.html

go to your doctor. sooner rather than later.

I use a lot of natural progesterone and DHEA with my clients, it is probably from the start of the progesterone- what is your protocol for using it? on you cycling on and off of it? You should check with the person who recommended it, or your doc to be sure. Good luck,
Melissa

Nothing to add but keep us posted on what you learn.

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No coasting in running and no crying in baseball

Thank you for your response and to all others who posted as well. Indeed, when I tracked down my health care provider, as well as another OB-GYN, they both confirmed what you said-that progesterone was the culprit. I am cycling on for 25 days and off with 3% progesterone cream. The 25th day hadn't come yet and nobody said that menses returning could occur. It does make common sense though.

The upshot of the treatment is that it works and I feel much more energetic because I'm sleeping better and the hot flashes are greatly diminished.

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DFL > DNF > DNS

Great news! Mostly that nothing is wrong, but also that the med is working. Phew!

I also went thru the same rx when I started progesterone. I also had sore breasts. My APRN dialed back the progesterone a bit and it stopped without a decrease in effectiveness. Have they also tested your testosterone level? I found mine was low and they added a bit of that too. Now that stuff makes a huge difference!!! I have more energy and sex drive. Just something to think about. Good luck.

I've been thinking about testosterone for lack of libido. I'm still premenopausal at 51 (maybe due to soy milk? seriously?) but have sweats every morning about 4 am or so. Period is somewhat monthly still. I guess you'd need to see a doc and have blood draws to see how much of the big T you need?

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http://harvestmoon6.blogspot.com
https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/katasmit

I see a holistic oriented APRN. She can write scripts and yes I have my blood tested every 8 weeks or so as we fine tune everything. The testosterone has helped but there are some down sides for me which is increased appetite. At first I was hungry every 3-4 hours. Gained a bit of weight, lol!! Now that has leveled off. I'm only 47 but have been full menopause for over 1 1/2 years. Hope this info helps. Good luck. The progesterone helped with the sweats but honestly I felt like I could deal with them. It's the wide awake around 3 am that sucks!!!! That has gotten better too, not gone but better. Look for the professional that will take the time to really get your levels straightened out. You will feel better. T

Yes, everything was low. THe DHEA I'm taking is a precursor to both estrogen and testosterone. My sex drive has increased as well as energy levels. Since I'm strong enough to train, I have lost 7 lbs since November 21 when I began treatment. I haven't had my blood drawn again, but I know that the menopause symptoms are gone.

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DFL > DNF > DNS

Hi, do you mind if I ask you how much DHEA you are taking? (Or pm you about this) I have had severe fatigue problems for quite a few years. My dhea is VERY low and I have recently started taking it (reluctantly) but so far it has not helped. I am taking a fairly low dosage and am not sure if the dosage is high enough to have any positive results... My DHEA reading is 0.3 - prints out low on a blood test :=(

Really appreciate any feedback.

DHEA is a prohibited substance per WADA.

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clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com

I know that you mean well here. But honestly, have you ever experienced severe and ongoing fatigue. I do not think that WADA is interested in penalizing legitimate middle of the pack athletes with legitimate health concerns. Have you aver been to a race when 90% of the field has downright cheated by drafting and watched the officials let the packs roll by. (picking on perhaps the one or two that draft in a pack of only 2) because they are downright scared to penalize 95% of the race? It happens , more frequently than you would like to admit. After one such race a bunch of Americans proudly admitted to jumping into the draft packs because they saw their medals disapearing, they stated this in Triathlon magazine, no less. But that is a digression (i have given it just to show how silly the whole thing can get)

. I am sure that there are a small number of athletes that take these subtances to just cheat and with no legitimate health concerns. But I do not think that this is the case of the people/women posting on Slowtwitch. Anybody wishing to use DHEA as a performance enhancer as opposed to requiring medical treatment would not post their health issues on Slowtwitch. Also, they would be taking substantially higher dosages than those required for theurapatic purposes. I have heard DHEA doses of 100mg plus for performance enhancement. To everybody but pros, triathlon is a HOBBY. Should they ignore their health in order to pursue thier HOBBY. I , personally do not think so.Amateurs connot be expected to follow the rigorous requirements of pros. For a start of, some of us live in counties which have scialized medicine. Do not let me get started on that. it is difficult enough to get treatment, let alone waivers for pursuing hobbies. I think that if you emailed the Ironmen people etc. you would discover that they are not really interested in nailing poeple with genuine health concerns but perhaps the age group athlete (of which, I understanf there are a fewa) who REALLY use druga as a performance enhancer. These people also probably know how to "beat the drug testing system" and do not mess around with the kind of levels that people require for theurepetic treatment.

As an aside, while training in Texas for the Texas Ironman, I got a very nasty insect sting which caused my whole thigh to swell and turn very red and irritated, I gave it 3/4 days to clear up. However, it was not. So I went ot a doctor (Under my out-of-country insurance), Part of the treatment was a corticosord shot, which helped to clear the problem up, starting with 3/4 hours of the shot) Strictly speaking, as a pro this would be illegal without a TSU. My "out-of-country" insurance does not cover getting a TSU. And. again, do the officials at these events really mean for the average competitor to not have treatment for an allergic reaction to a bee sting?

We can go offline with this discussion if you like. But when i read posts by older competitors wondering if they should take the heart medication prescribed by their doctor becuase it is on the banned list, I do think that this is going too far. Young pros rarely, if ever, require heart medication.Again, I do not think that it is intended by WTC or WADA that older competitors/participants put thier lives at risk by following guidelines clearly intended for young pros and elites.

Long email but we can go offline with this if you wish. I am wondering how old you are and if you really understand the medical conditions that affect the older competitors?

I am well aware of all of that. I am 52 and have had discussions with my OB-GYN about racing under a TUE (therapeutic use exemption) due to some medication I used to take, so you can spare me your diatribe.

My point is (1) it IS a banned substance and (2) if you race while taking it, you'd damned well better be aware of that fact. Whether one races with a TUE is between that athlete and their doctor. I happen to race in a sport and at events where there is drug testing of Masters. Better to have knowledge than not, especially if one plans to race outside of their local race and may become subject to testing.

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clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com

Cathy, I am not trying to give you a hard time or a diatribe.But I do , at times. disagree with your approach and have a dissenting opinion to it.

I am simply trying to point out that there are circumstances where it is not so easy as one may imagine. As I said, I live where there is a socialist medical system. Personally, I HATE socialist medical systems, It is hard enough to get treatment - yet alone TUE. However, it is a system that those of us not living in the USA have to live under. This includes Canada and Europe.

I have tried to give you reasons why WTC and WADA have not truly thought this out. And I do not believe that they have.
I do not believe that WADA and WTC truly want to be inundated by TUEs from the 50+ crowd struggling to deal with the effects of menopause.The extra burden of paperwork on them alone is not something that I believe they would relish and not what they arre intending to unleash.

It also will always strike me as ridiclulous tha they would go to these extremes while allowing blatant drafting. Sorry, I always will find this a ridiclulous approach.And that is my opinion.I attende the world Duathlon Championships in Spain and I have to tell you that in a non-drafting event - 95% of the field wer drafting, because thy could. And they were proud of it too. Surely, their resoursces would be better applied to cleaning up thei problem first.
.
These posters that you have repled to have GENUINE health problem and a little softer approach would at times not go amiss.

No one is disagreeing with you. That's not the matter at hand.

Quote:

However, it is a system that those of us not living in the USA have to live under.

The OP does live in the US and she could very conceivably qualify for a national team so it should be considered. I was responding to her and her situation.

Quote:

It also will always strike me as ridiclulous tha they would go to these extremes while allowing blatant drafting.

Again, no one is disagreeing but you've gone away from the subject at hand.

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clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com

I guess it is just that your one-liner does not give much information and, as such, fails to be informative on the subject.
It can actually came across as intimidation. You may not mean it to. But it can.

Sorry for the delay; I had to find my blood work. My DHEA reading was a little lower than yours. Since I haven't had my blood rechecked, I'm not sure if the progesterone cream or the DHEA is making the changes. My dosage for DHEA is 25 mg 2X dailyand for the progesterone cream is 3%, also 2X daily.

I hope this helps.

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DFL > DNF > DNS

I know that, but thanks for the reminder. My TUE will go on my packing list for racing.

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DFL > DNF > DNS

Hi, Thanks for the information. Yes, it was very useful. I am currently only taking 2x8mg a day (from literature that I have read this is a pretty low dose). So, I will try this for a while and then see if dr will increase if the fatigue does not improve. Really can not do this level of fatigue indefinately :-(

They test for levels not synthetic replacement. If the HRT used replaces only to minimal levels (i.e. Not even those of a healthy 40 yr old woman) then testing will reveal nothing. The testosterone replacement therapy I am on (under a physicians care) does not bring my T levels anywhere near levels considered suspiciously high. Females aromatize testosterone to estrogen so by simply replacing testosterone via subcutaneous pellets, both estrogen and testosterone levels are high enough that I no longer feel worn out and continually fatigued.

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Nor do I use punctuation in the way a child sprinkles glitter over a ribbon of glue on construction paper - Trash Talk