[HolisticGal]

I was just researching vitamins to take with my Tegretol and I realized the ones for menopausal women are loaded with stuff. (I really wish there was a specially made vitamin mix for Tegretol or AC users instead of having to guess.)

Also included on a few vitamin bottles for menopause is soy estrogens which help block regular estrogens from binding and causing cancer or something like that. But this one bottle explained the soy estrogens were for mood.

Does anyone here take soy estrogens and see any help with it? I drink a couple glasses of soy milk daily but have been doing so for over 15 years. I am contemplating to take some in pill as well if it helps with mood, cancer, and bone health.

[BeyondtheRainbow]

My personal experience with menopause with no hormonal intervention, no soy (at all because I'm on an MAOI and they don't mix), no nothing, has been that letting my hormones drop is the best thing I can do. As my levels lower and menopause is more complete I am having fewer episodes. This one is a bear but it is the first bad one in 2 years; 2-3 years ago the bad ones were constant.

I've been fine with a daily multi-vit, calcium and Vit. B complex. I also take vit. D after a bloodtest showed that I was extremely deficient a few years ago (because the meds keep me out of the sun). That's it, no changes for menopause. So far so good. I do need to ask if I need to go to a vitamin for older women as I've had early menopause (I'm 39 and nearly done) but that's it.

Just my experience.

[HolisticGal]

That's good news for us females!

Just curious, have you had a bone density test? My Mom has osteoporosis and so I'm taking Vit K also. I'm extremely worried about that more than anything after reading posts on long term AC use.

[BeyondtheRainbow]

I haven't yet and I worry about it too. My mom also has it and she had early menopause as well and was diagnosed with osteoporosis not that long after (she was young for that too). But I drink a lot of milk and eat a lot of yogurt which she didn't so I'm hoping that helps. I am planning to talk to my dr about it when I get my physical in August though. I also have to find out about mammograms; if they want to start at 40 it's time in a few months. If they are delaying that now it doesn't have to be but I don't know what the early menopause does. And to make it more complicated I had a hysterectomy so we'll never know 100% when it is all over although my hormones certainly are calmer about things like hot flashes now than they used to be. I'm just glad it has been positive; I'd heard people say they were so afraid of it and for me it's been the best thing ever.

[HolisticGal]

Yes, I think this is one advantage that men with BP do not have. If the hormones are out of the way, that would seem to equate with less destabilization. Like coffee destabilizes and so I drink half and half now.

But I really think you should get that bone density test done ASAP if it's possible for you to go to a rheumatologist. Also make sure you do weight lifting a bit. My Mom did zilch and all her bones in her arm splattered into a million pieces when she fell.

I wonder don't they put you on HRT of some hormone therapy if you've had a hysterectomy?

[BeyondtheRainbow]

I kept my ovaries with the hysterectomy but they cut the blood supply so they would gradually but more rapidly than usual, die. Normally I would have had the ovaries taken but my sensitivity to hormonal changes was known before surgery and they were afraid that removing the ovaries or trying HRT would lead to "catastrophe". I had had a Mirena IUD in and the tiny bit of hormones from it had made me very unstable and very dangerous to myself (and when it was removed things improved for the first time since it was placed, within a few days). Birth control pills caused problems and any steroid causes mania (even my inhaler for asthma does to the point that I just am a little wheezy but only use the steroid if I'm sick or having allergies and I've also reacted to topical steroids in a gel that increased absorption) so HRT was out because it would have made things much worse. I'm not sure how I would have felt about it anyway; knowing how my body has responded to declining hormones I can't imagine replacing them but I had no way of knowing this until we tried it. My gyn surgeon thought that this might happen because I was so much better without the Mirena hormones but there was no way of knowing and apparently there is a sad lack of research on women with bipolar and menopause/responses to drastic hormone shifts/early menopause/etc. I was the first person that my surgeon or pdoc had known to react to the Mirena that way but once I did and it was clearly that they started finding more people with the same reaction almost immediately. I think they may be working on a paper about that. But it is still unusual enough that my blog post about it is one of the most read ones I ever wrote as others find themselves in the same situation.

[HolisticGal]

I too am sensitive to corticosteroids and it's sad how many doctors are not aware of the dangers. I also use a daily asthma inhaler! That could be why it's so hard to stabilize. I have Flovent and Albuterol and my pdoc had said no stimulants (albuterol) so I had stopped that but now I might have to stop the Flovent too! I get that stimulants hits dopamine and causes at least for me psychotic symptoms. The pulmonologist had said there wasn't much steroid in the Flovent. Ha! And when I had back epidurals, the spine doctor said not to worry. Oh boy! I became manic for months! Not that i didn't enjoy it. I mean, corticosteroids always make me hypersexual, euphoric, etc.

I was on bp pills and I didn't really notice any change except headaches and weight gain. But this was at a time when I wasn't self aware of moods. But I'm glad you discussed here the Mirena because I was thinking about it as a safer option.

[BeyondtheRainbow]

I'm having a lot better time with Dulera as my inhaler. It doesn't agitate me nearly as much as others I've tried (Symbicort is the one I used the most previously, also Alvesco and then random others but those 2 definitely agitated me). It's newer I think and my family dr gives me samples. I only use it if I'm sick; I just have a baseline of slight wheezing and if that goes away great and if not then it's normal for me. Singulair helps a lot.

I can't say that the Mirena is bad for everyone, just that it was for me. The good thing is that if you go with it and go in knowing people have had problems you can go in knowing you may need to remove it. And removing it is very simple.

[HolisticGal]

I just read up a bit on Dulera. It has two meds similar to Advair. The long acting component of Advair was the thing that made feel like crap. I know Dulera's is a different kind but idk. And the Flovent works so nice in terms of controlling my symptoms. Not only that, since I have sleep apnea it's even more important to control symptoms.

I only take one puff of it tho even tho my doc wants me to take 2. I had another doc who wanted me to take 4!! I'd be swinging from the tree branches!

My baseline use to be air hunger but not so much now that the Flovent is here. Too bad you just have to deal with the weezing! In fact Advair changed my voice and I was wheezing from it. I wonder how you'd feel on Flovent or just a corticosteroid alone. Then again mine is considered mild asthma and the anxiety use to exacerbate it.

[Crazy Hitch]

Yeah that's really interesting! I've never taken Soy Estrogens but I did at one stage only use soy milk.

[HolisticGal]

You know what? I'm going to try the soy estrogens and report back!!

I've drank soy milk, but I have never taken estrogen (cause you know, im a guy haha) but i have heard that things like soy and other healthy eating can improve mood so it would seem that the same could apply to vitamins?

[HolisticGal]

Originally Posted by ChaoticInsanity

I've drank soy milk, but I have never taken estrogen (cause you know, im a guy haha) but i have heard that things like soy and other healthy eating can improve mood so it would seem that the same could apply to vitamins?

Good point, if you're a guy you prob don't want to take estrogen supplements!!

Yes I believe some vitamins may help or hurt mood-I just don't know which ones. We're just so darn sensitive to everything - even small amounts of coffee. I drizzle cold flax seed oil on food for the omega. Won't go near fish or krill oil being a vegetarian and can't imagine those burps. Yuck!

[BeyondtheRainbow]

I'm surprised Dulera works for me if it's a relation to Advair. Advair was a nightmare when I tried it. I think I was on it a week at most because it did nothing for my breathing and so I just got sicker.

I've been on Flovent when I was IP; they didn't have the alvesco I was using at the time so they used flovent instead. It seemed to be ok and not make me too agitated (although it was hard to see more agitated that admission).

I just feel lucky I can get by on Singulair and not need anything else unless I'm sick or having allergies. Needing my inhaler and albuterol is the horrible when I am sick and just want to sleep and then inhale what feels like liquid rocket fuel. I'm so glad I don't have to do the nebulizer every 6 hours like I did when I was first diagnosed. As along as I avoid chemicals I stay in pretty good shape all the time.