Hello All Feeling a little low at the moment having been dealing with LS for almost two years now. Seems like the menopause has hit in big time. Night sweats, flushes, feeling extra sensitive downstairs and so dry! I have appointment with my gyne next month. We did touch on trying low dose HRT on last visit. I definetly feel im not just dealing with the LS but now also the symptons of the menopause. Im 55. Has anyone deal with both and will a low dose HRT help in your experiences?
Hi Su,
Have not done the oral HRT but am doing the cream, compounded by local pharmacy. It helps a little with dryness and there lots of ways to replace estrogen there without the oral dosages of estrogen which are risky. Are you using coconut oil or olive oil or something to help with the dryness?
I too had both hit me at once 2 years ago. I can not do any hormones due to my sis with breast cancer and I had genetic DNA test confirmed. I cant use the topical steroid cream either , so I use Emuaid Cream. Coconut oil works too. The night sweats - heat inferno flares sadly I must deal with w/o HRT so I use 2 fans - cotton nightie. Certain foods trigger my LS along with heat inferno flares so you might want to keep a food diet log. There are a few private LS sites on FB. You are not alone and everyone very kind and helpful if you’d like to join. Great info and tips to help. Sharing is Caring about LS is one - Lichen Sclerosis Support Group is another that I belong to. There are other groups too. As for HRT - I do know women who have the pellets put under skin and they swear that helps with night sweats etc…I have another friend who takes HRT rx oral form and is menopause symptom free. Your doc will discuss all options. Best of luck !! Sadly, I do feel your pain and discomfort . Hope you feel better!
Hi Su,
One thing I am realising is that at this menopausal point in my life I am having to open myself up to accepting more support and can no longer present that I can do it on my own. Accepting hormonal support was a big one for me and I am working with a specialist who also discusses what is going on in my life to assist in making decisions about treatment in a more holistic understanding of what is happening for me in menopause.
In my case I am also working with adrenal exhaustion and vagina atrophy as well as LS which we feel relates to long term stress. It’s important to find the right support for you and your body and to work with people that will allow to you express how you feel. A wise person said to me that our periods offer us a clearing of the momentums we have been in every month, with menopause we are clearing a lifetime of momentums and one of those for me is that I can do life on my own. I have been very independent and now my body is saying enough, I need some help. My main menopausal symptom is issues sleep and vaginal atrophy which is being treated with localised oestrogen, DHEA and melatonin which is being monitored through my specialist and using bio-identicals from a compounding chemist.
It’s such a shame it takes so long to get into a specialist but if you can get onto building a regular rhythm with appointments with your chosen practitioners this helps a lot.
Take care,
Suzanne x
Hi SuO2,
I have been hit with both as well.
I don’t have much insight to offer as far as the LS other than coconut oil does really help with dryness.
Also…caffeine was a HUGE trigger to having a heat flash. If I ate chocolate or had a coke…it was would always lead to a heat flash. I chose to have heat flashes every morning with coffee…love my coffee! Other than that…I stayed away from caffeine the rest of the day.
As you are learning…they hit regardless. Tips from my friends that actually helped
- Run your wrists under cool water during a heat flash. It really helped me.
- Sleep with a fan and different blankets…lightweight to heavy so you can change them throughout the night if you are in a cold climate. During winter, I would be cold…wake up and be too hot…grab a different blanket that wasn’t so warm. I also had a tee shirt on under a warm PJ top and would be able to just pull the warm one off. When I woke up drenched…I had the fan by me to cool off if I was still in the heat flash.
- Summer is my enemy for the last 3 years. If it is above 75 degrees…I am pretty much in a heatflash. So hang around the coolest places…do outside work during the coolest parts of the day if that is possible or you need to.
- They have sheets that are geared for heatflashes.,.they stay cool. My sister loves them…I haven’t tried them yet…
That’s about all I know to do…and all that I have tried other than the sheets. Good luck with it all. It’s not a pleasant part of life…but hope you find things that help you. Caffeine, warm temperatures and during night was and is the worst for me.
Deep breathing relaxation techniques are supposed to help with hot flashes. Just heard a nurse discussing it recently on the radio. Meditation with deep breathing is supposed to help just about everything actually. Can’t hurt to try. I haven’t had much of an issue with them, but I do notice I sleep much better and wake less often with an overhead fan on the lowest setting. There are also many herbs that are supposed to help with menopausal issues as well as foods like yams and tofu that contain phytoestrogens which are naturally occurring compounds.
Good luck. Let us know if you do end up taking oral estrogen and if that affects the LS.
Thank you Cilla its always good to hear tips and get support from other groups i will take a look. yes im starting to realise some food and drink triggers. Im hoping to start some HRT oral when i see gyne next month along with LS checkup. Then aim to see gp inbetween to keep on top of things a little bit better
Yes i trundle along with stuff but agree getting into a rythm with appointments is key!
Anything is worth a try! I will endeavour to share how the HRT works for me
I have tried a few things suggested by gp via pharmacy which didnt help just stung. I do use castor oil on a regular basis which can help. Hydromol for bathing. Think i may try some other stuff eg coconut oil. I may do a little natural research too!
hello
i really do sympathise i have had a real bad menopause and i have LS.
i wont take HRT as have cases of breast cancer in the family.
a friend told me to try Clonidine for hot flushes. apparently it opens the blood vessels have to say been taking fir about 3 months, whilst i still get the odd night sweat and hot flush, it is much better.
doctor prescribed estrogen cream to use internally.
i use alternate between coconut oil and vtamen e pessories and always use an emollient, touch wood it is under control at the moment.
good luck to you menopause and LS can be miserable
what vitamin e pesseries do you use Rachael?
This whole LS thing is so confounding. I see here that most of us have menopausal symptoms: hot flashes, sweats, dryness, atrophy, etc. I must be atypical because I have never had ANY menopausal symptoms, absolutely zero. (I wish I had hot flashes because then I’d be warm and not cold). Twelve years out of menopause and now LS shows up. Can’t figure it out since girls (and men) get LS, estrogen deficiency cannot be the only cause. Used to be called “white spot disease,” and while not a terribly sophisticated name, doctors knew decades ago it was not an estrogenic disease. If you find any doctor who claims to know it now, hang on to that person! Maybe I should go back to the old literature from the turn of the century.
Dear Cilla,
What does the EmuAid cram do for you? I assume you use it topically on the spots? I have some but it seemed to burn, initially, and so I stopped using it. Would love to know as it cost me $50. Thanks.
Hi Suzanne,
I totally understand where you are coming from when you say you have to accept support for this problem, hormonal or otherwise. That’s a hard thing to do when you’ve been independent your whole life. You make an interesting point about periods being a clearing mechanism…Think that is correct and now they’re gone. Were you tested for adrenal fatigue? What was the test? Blood test? Thanks. biscuit
biscuit, it comes with a 30 day money back guarantee. How long ago did you buy it? The max version contains tea tree oil which can most definitely burn. Not sure if it’s in the regular version. It’s recommended for hemorrhoids though, so maybe it’s a case by case basis.
eggbiscuit, I’ve tried everything from coconut oil , almond oil, castor oil, jajoba , emu and so many others. They just seemed messy and did not help with irritation. One of the FB LS groups suggested emuaid. The original works well, as does the emuaidmax. The max can tingle at first so use sparingly. I find one container lasts me 5-6 weeks. Its personal preference for me and for 50 dollars every 5-6 weeks for a product that I can rely on I don’t mind spending the money.
I now use all the other trial products that I listed on my arms legs feet as I have many.
Yes I was tested for adrenals via a blood test. They were below the lowest marker but fortunately we have been able to bump them up with hormonal support so it is not Addison’s disease … they are reviveable! When we talked about the first lot of blood tests and what has been going on in my life I cried and cried and cried. It was like my body was relieved it was getting some support. I live what some people call clean living with diet, lifestyle choices and healing an established consistency that has kept be vibrant for some years now but this along with the LS feel like are long term stresses that have been dormant and now are appearing for me to look at more deeply in Menopause. x
Cilla,
Thank you for sharing. Maybe I will go back and get the EmuAid and weaken it with some coconut oil and retry. Yes, if it works well, $50 every few weeks is not that bad. ON Earth Clinic, some women had luck with a few drops of frankincense oil in castor oil as a carrier. I think we are starting our own little drug store here, the ladies who have tried a plethora of compounds… Tomorrow I am going to an allergist to ask him to check my immune system. We’ll see. If I learn anything I will post it.
Suzanne, Believe me, I understand long term stresses. Some of mine are coming out now and like you, I think that has a bearing on the LS. Allergist may tell me tomorrow. When you lose a sense of self, due to whatever trauma and your reaction to it, the physiological effects often don’t show up for awhile. Half of our problems could be the emotional, mind,body connection. I think that’s the Chinese theory of LS