Hi all you lovely ladies,
I am dealing with some awful symptoms after a gall bladder op! A few days after surgery i started having strange symptoms which have caused me concern, drs all say nerves. Now six months on i have anxiety, shakes, hot flashes, feeling sick, dry facial skin, itchy skin on belly, I also have CFS. My blood test show I am in menopause, I had a hysterectomy in 2011. Could the surgery have escallated menopause symptoms? Im thinking of trying a low dose hrt patch, does anyone have advice for me please? Thanks
Hi Carol, yes it is possible that the surgery could have escalated the menopausal symptoms. Did your doctor offer you a low dose hrt patch? It would be best to consult with your doctor since she/he knows your medical history and can guide you into the right hrt for you.
Hi Carol,
How long has it been since your operation? I'm not sure whether hrt would help, but I would suggest that you see your doctor, and consult with a nutritionist to make sure that your nutritional needs are being met.
Best of luck to you! Let me know how you do.
Thanks so much for your reply, Drs have been pushing anti ,deps meds on me, i know i need something! I changed drs recently as i wasnt happy with a Drs attitude Drrr. New Doc suggested the low dose patch but she wants me to have a mammogram, and more blood tests my viens collapse and only vien is scarred from so many tests this year! I also saw a naturopath and was hoping he would offer me bio itenditical hrt but he ., he just sold me herbs for my digestion. Im so confused right now!
hi, thanks for your reply, ive seen a few DRS since my op in march 2016, most say nerves, i say menopause is here too, health anxiety and CFS is not a nice mix. Yes ive got lots of vitamins magnesium, B12, pro biotics, etc, eating good foods. Very little sugar, caffiene, fats. Im 59, since the op ive just hit the brick wall! Lovely to have some feedback on this forum, thanks again!🌺
Hi Carol, I worked in an ob/gyn clinic I have known many women whom have had their gall bladder's removed and taken hrt successfully, and other women with far worse diseases, and some who have had bypass surgery, and had success in taking hrt. While nutrition is important when I went on hrt, I didn't have to worry about what I ate, my hormones were balanced well enough to allow me to eat what I wanted. However, I'm not a junk food junkie, nor do I drink alcohol, and I eat mostly healthy foods with an occasional burger maybe once every few months. Unless your doctor suggests otherwise, from what you've said here, I don't see any reason for you not to be a candidate for hrt but your doctor would be the one to give you that right.
I am going crazy with similar issue. Cannot get resolved! Spinal fusion back surgery July 2016. I'm 65. Doing great. But had hysterectomy 10 years ago. Was on patch low dose 9 1/2 years. Stopped before back surgery. So. Since surgery have major hot flashes all day and night. I do t want to go back on estrogen, doesn't seem healthy. And doc says at age 65 I do t need it! Well why all these hot flashes? I do t k ow what to do. Had thyroid checked. All ok Help! Any suggestions. I think surgery messed up hormones!
Antidepressants are given to a lot of women nowadays for menopausal symptoms. I would refuse the mammogram, you can request for a manual breast test, as for your veins collasping, only time will heal them. But have they exhausted all your veins?
It has come to my attention that acupuncture is good for menopausal symptoms. From my experience, if you don't take medication you can always try St. Johns wort as long as you don't have high blood pressure, don't take other herbs with it, or drink alcohol. It worked well on me. But it's only good to take for 3 months because after that it becomes ineffective. However, I took for less than that and my symptoms went away. I do hope you find something that helps you.
Hi Sochima822,
sounds like you know what you are talking about! Thanks for your input. Its so good to get opinions from others that have experienced these issues. I have some herbals ie motherwort, american ginseng, golden seal, and a couple of others in mix a thyroid clinic gave me. I will take it again, anything is worth a try? I often wonder if modern drugs are all they are touted to be?? Id love to be back to normal!, wouldnt we all. Best wishes to you!🌹
Hi Judy,
sorry my reply to you earlier has been deleted by the moderator, i must have broken a rule lol. There are herbs that can help with hot flashes black cohosh is one. Just make sure you research herbals becausesome can interact with anti dep meds. St Johns wort is one herb that isnt advised when on ad meds. I take anti dep meds so i have to be careful even green tea is a no no believe it or not! The health food shops have a range of menopause products. Have you had a look there? Im in Australia where the heat can be oppressive, i have a fan on all the time! And i use a damp face cloth on back of my neck. Best of luck i hope you come through it all!
Hi again,
i just wanted to add a little info about high blood pressure, we recently started eating more cashew, almonds, brazil nuts. Guess what, blood pressure dropped to normal, partner tried an experiment didnt eat nuts his bp went back up to high, next day he took nuts bp went back down to normal. Good result but make sure they are natural and no salted. Peanuts are not nuts, so try the above mix and see, also pumpkin seeds! Cheers!
Judy, sage is excellent for hot flashes, as is Macca. Black cohosh doesn't work, I tried it for 3 months and it made no difference. Macca takes about 1 or 2 to feel the effects. Sage also takes about a month. I, also use to take Flax seed oil which worked after taking it a couple of times. Hope this helps you find some relief.
oops where is the edit button, lol. Macca take about 1 to 2 weeks to feel the effects.
Hi Carol, I've been eating nuts now for a long time. I have low blood pressure, and it can get below normal at times which I have to watch out for. I don't eat peanuts very often but thanks for the tip. Cheers & have a good day!
Do you take macca sage and flaxseed all same time each day. How much. Of it.
All my friends took Sage and Macca and had success with it. I tried to take Sage, but it made me sick. I took Macca, it worked really good on me, I just took whatever the recommend dose was on the bottle. Years later, and my most recent supplement was the flaxseed oil. Just a tablespoon at night. I would not suggest you take these all at the same time. Just pick one. Start with Sage, you may not need to go any further than that if it subsides the hot flashes. xx
Hi carol I too had my gallbladder removed in December 2014 and got dramatically worse after the operation. I was in hospital 4 times with vomiting, nausea and the same symptoms you describe. That shaky feeling is horrendous. I've gone through absolute hell only to discover it's menopause. My GP tried to get me to take anti depressants last year as I was crying all the time I felt so unwell. I didn't take them. I also had a large cyst on my ovary as well as the gallstone which they neglected to tell me about until after they removed my gallbladder. Out of desperation I went to an acupuncturist who really helped me and explained so much to me. I then went to a natural clinic specialising in women's health who did saliva tests over a cycle which showed my hormones were all low and they recommended I ask my doctor to test my fsh and lh levels as they suspected I was near menopause. They also told me that without a gallbladder your liver has to work harder and also take over the function of the gallbladder which explains a worsening of symptoms for some of us when they remove it. They recommended some dietary changes, multivitamins and some herbs too. My doctor wanted me to try hrt but I react badly to hormones. The herbs are definitely helping me and a lot of my symptoms are gone. I have much more energy and can think clearly for the first time in a long time. My GP and endocrinologist both admit now all my symptoms including the gallstone and cyst were as a result of my hormones! I just wish they had of checked these hormones levels regularly and I might have saved my gallbladder! Have you had your hormone levels tested?
Wow Ace, our stories are so so very similar! Amazingly so, late in 2015 i saw a thyroid clinic who did tests showed my thyroid was hypo. Was given herbs, selenium zinc and iodine tabs as my levels were zero! Was taking them when i had gall b attack which wasnt real severe but of course docs all said get gb taken out. So two days after op i woke up with nerves in tops of legs shaking and belly throbbing, off to er i went to be told its prob gas from op leaving your body via small vessels. Crappola the gas come out via burps and farty whops, so i felt i was fobbed off. Next week i had a home dr visit he said its nerves! Increase your anti deps and take valium. I didnt feel anxious then, but after increasing meds and a few weeks later im a basket case! Tests all ok cept for hormones, well of course i already knew i was in menopause, coz i had hyst in 2011. So i now have health anxiety, im sure the drugs that are used in surgery have triggered all this, and having CFS means our systems are very sensitive. Now i dont know which way to go, HRT, or more meds. Im doing all i can eating well, vitamins. Iv been told snap out of it, you have to be stronger or get control blah blah. Its not that simple... the awful body and mind sensations are the pits! Ive learned the thyroid controls so much and if thyroid doesnt work gall bladder and liver are also not working well. So my next move may be hormon patch, going to do some research first! Thanks for your post, im glad we are not alone in our adventures that life throws us, cheers💐
Oh you poor thing. You've gone through the mill too. I was attending an endocrinologist for 8 years as I had ulcerative colitis and had my bowel removed and then reversed over 22 years ago and was ok until I had a coil fitted and it triggered more bowel inflammation so was on steroids enemas for 3 years which wrecked my whole body! I ended up in hospital with suspected Addison's 8 years ago but thankfully it wasn't that but low dhea from the steroids. I believe they triggered perimenopause but my endocrinologist never checked my progesterone estrogen or testosterone in the 8 years I attended him! he put me on dhea which I've since discovered can convert to estrogen which can make things a whole lot worse if your in perimenopause with low progesterone and erratic estrogen! I totally know where your coming from in regards to which way to turn. That's the real difficulty. I never suffered anxiety in my life until after my gallbladder was removed and sadly like you was told once you get pain take it out! Mine wasn't inflamed just had 1 large stone but lots of hormone symptoms!! My surgeon who has done all my surgeries told me on the operating table that gallbladder problems are linked to hormone imbalance. I just wish these doctors treat the cause and not the symptom. Have you tried milk thistle? I took it for 10 months and found it really helped. I got it in drop form and started slowly with it but it did help. Try what you can. We are all different and what works for one may not work for another. I took maca 3 years ago and developed really high blood pressure and felt really unwell but lots of people swear by it. I've started using an essential oil 2 drops twice a day with lots of different herbs and that's really helped too. For me diet alone didn't help and I don't drink caffeine or alcohol and haven't in years or take dairy either. I hope you find something that helps. I have some friends who swear by hrt too. Do whatever you can to get through this nightmare and remember your not alone. Take care xx
Oh my goodness heres me complaining woe is me but you have had a far worse experience with many health issues! ive learned the hard way that Drs dont always have the right answers or approach, the TSh test for example we can fall into the normal range but have classic thyroid symptoms, that never get addressed. The range is way too broad, old school drs didnt have blood tests and disgnosed by symptoms and always did reflex test, they perscribed nd thyroid, hey presto women got well! I read that only 200 people were tested on the new tsh test in 1972 when it was invented whats the world population? A tad more than 200.after 1972 CFS and fibromyalgia became a new disease, far more women are being diagnosed with auto immune diseases, i believe the thyroid is linked to so many of these health issues. Yes we do whatever we can to get through and look for the light, thank you so much for your kind wishes and i wish the same for you xox