Never felt so bad in all my life ...

New here. I had a total hysterectomy mid April of this year. I keep waiting for things to get better, and they haven't yet. I know I need help, but I don't know where to go. Here's a quick summary.

I have a severe history of migraines. I've tried 4 different HRT therapies since surgery, all of which put me in a horrible cycle of migraines. I've been to 5 different doctors, ranging from my OB-GYN who performed my surgery to another GYN, and a couple of different GPs. I've been suffering from high blood pressure for the first time in my life. A physician I saw for the HBP suggested I go off everything to see if the migraines would level out, along with the HBP. So, I did. The good news is the migraines are almost gone and the HBP has leveled out. The bad news is I'm having horrible hot flashes, almost non-stop, fatigue worse than I've ever experienced, and generalized aching and pain in my joints hands, etc. To top everything off, in the last year I've gained 30 lbs. I've been trying OTC stuff, but nothing is helping so far.

The worst part though, is the way I feel emotionally. I have no doubt I'm in some form of depression or something. I've tried a couple of different anti-depressants, none of which made any difference. I feel as if I have no purpose in life ... I have absolutely no patience for anyone or anything ... extreme irritability, sadness, etc.

Just a little more history - this time last year I was running 3 to 4 miles a day, weighed 30 lbs less and was feeling fine emotionally and physically. I was side-lined by abdominal pain, which led to the surgery.

This post-op surgery has been the worst experience of my life. I'm open to suggestions from anyone and would appreciate any responses. My husband doesn't understand anything that is going on. Unfortantely, my circle of close friends have all "their parts" and don't understand either.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

You might want to research fibromyalgia. The aching in your joints and hands, while only one symptom, sounds like it could be fibromyalgia. I don't know about the hot flashes. Also, try a google search listing your symptoms to see if anything comes up. If nothing else, you might find various ailments to question your docs about. I'm so sorry that you're going through this. Sending a giant HUG your way.

it sounds like surgical menopause that youre suffering from. joint aches, hot flashes, depression, etc...are all symptoms of that. its tricky though because if you treat that, you are faced with the migraines and hbp. do bioidentical hormones cause the same kind of problems? do some research on them. try to research hormones and migraines...you might find a good website with some solutions. maybe one certain hormone causes hbp and migraines and you can get some relief from a different one? have you seen an endocrinologist? had your thyroid checked?
i'm sorry you are feeling so bad...i hope you find a solution

I've never heard of bioidentical hormones, so I'll definitely look that up. I've tried researching hormones and migraines and found that if HRT is a trigger, then I'm going to be hard pressed to find any kind of HRT that won't throw me into a cycle of migraine. I live in Arkansas and have talked to numerous people (including physicians) and I have yet to find a physician who can address this issue. The phyisicians that are recommended are either a migraine specialist or a HRT specialist, but neither MD knows about the other issue. My thyroid has been checked and just about everything else has been checked - with all results coming back as normal. I am far from "normal" though!

Thanks for listening and taking the time to respond.

I'm so sorry you're going through all of this. Don't give up. One thing I've learned through my experience is that we have to be our own advocates for health - nobody else will do it for us. Research everything you can on the internet, and push your doctors for answers. If you aren't satisfied, move on to another one.

As exhausting as this can be, there is someone out there that can help you!!! You deserve to feel good.

I'm sorry that you're experiencing all this!

I see that you're already getting some great suggestions for handling the pain that you're experiencing, but I want to take a moment to encourage you to talk to someone about the feelings of depression, if you aren't already. Those feelings shouldn't go unchecked as depression can go hand in hand with pain. There are some new anti-depressants out there (Cymbalta?) that treat both depression and pain.

Hi ~

How about seeing an endocrinologist? They deal with hormone issues all the time. They helped me resolve a needle in a haystack issue that other physicians could not diagnose. It restored my life my running everything which at the time had been taken away for 9 months. The other thing is I'm not to up on HRT, but are bio-identical hormones the same as compounded hormones?? I was worried becasue of my age (46) that I may need to do this even though I kept my ovaries. I am too close to my surgery yet to tell, but the women I asked all swore by compounded hormones. My BF is a pharma rep and I had her ask around in her Dr offices she visits and she got the same answer.

don't give up - you deserve a quality of life that is satisfying and enjoyable!!

Huge hugs!! Ask about the endo - I just know they can help!!!

Starbgirl

I have not seen an endo, and this is the first suggestion I've had about that. I researched the bioidentical HRT and found a good web-site that talks about it and sells a "program". I'm just skeptical about stuff bought over the Internet since there are so many scams out there. I think my next step will be to research an endo in the Little Rock, Arkansas area and see what my options are.

I went back and looked at my old prescriptions and Cymbalta was one of the ones I tried with no luck.

Thanks to all again for responding. I'm worn out by switching doctors and having to retell everything when it seems that they really don't listen and don't have anything to offer.

look up a compounding pharmacy in your area and call them. ask them what dr in the area prescribes bioidentical hormones. please dont buy any off the internet. you need bloodwork first to see how much of what hormone you need. if you can, go to the library and take out the suzanne somers book...theres lots of great info in there about all of this.

My two cents........the HBP was probably caused by the migraine which was probably caused by the HRT as already mentioned.

You don't mention any anti-depressants but Cymbalta so I am going to throw this out there. First, my gyno wanted to take my ovaries and put me on transdermal hrt because he felt he could help my migraines that way. I wasn't convinced and didn't do it. But, you might consider that if you haven't.

Second, one of the common first line attempts at controlling migraines is anti-depressants. However, I am not convince that the SSRIs work as well as the tri-cyclics. You might discuss that w/ your dr. I have found that nortriptyline does not cause the weight gain that the others do in a lot of people. In the SSRI category I believe that Prozac is sometimes used as an appetite suppressant.

Bottom line.....don't give up on anti-depressants because the drs have given you a few of the well marketed versions. I would bet there is something that might help you.

Good luck

CS