New Member 9 Months Post Op HELP

My story is kinda long but basically I had Hodgkins Lymphoma 10 yrs ago and treated with Chemo and radiation. I am 38 and due to months of continous bleeding underwent and total hysterectomy in Feb. I went through my surgery just fine although it took nearly 4 hours. I was sent home the same day and even managed my pain with 800 mg of ibuprofen and tylenol only. I had 4 weeks home from work to recover and after that hit the ground running back to Life working full time and being a single parent. I thought I would be ok since my surgery but now realize I'm not and haven't been in months. After suddenly developing severe hot flashes over the past 2 months I went back to my dr and he suspected I was In menapause and my tests confirmed. My FSH level was a 69 and Estrogen was 3.1. I have been losing so much hair and it has thinned so bad you can see quite a bit of my scalp. I have suffered with migraines several times a week and feeling very stressed and very aggrivated. He started me on Climara patch 0.5 mg but I cannot tell a difference. I'm reaching out for advice or guidance here. I just want balance in my life and am scared bc I feel to young to lose my hair and have to levels this low. Any advice on the patch and if it worked and also my levels being so low.. how long before I start to feel a difference?

Hi naiken 2007,

I'm so sorry to hear you are having such a rough time Menopause is no fun at all. The symptoms you describe are certainly consistent with low estrogen. I started off on the Climara patch, and I loved the way it made me feel. It can take a month or more to know if a new hormone therapy is working for you. How long have you been using Climara? It took me 5 weeks before I realized a patch was working for me. It really varies with different women with how long it takes to feel a difference. I hope you don't have to wait long to feel better. keep a symptom diary to help you track your symptoms so you and your doctor can look back and see what is working. I know it is difficult to be patient when you so desperately want to feel better, but that is the way it goes with hormone replacement. in there. It does get better. Here are a couple articles that may help you understand why you feel the way you do:

Hormones - the balancing act

Estrogen Patch - keeping it on

Hair Loss and Menopause

I do hope you feel better soon!

P.S. you may want to fill out your survey so others can see what kind of hyst you had, whether you have ovaries or not, and why you had to have a hyst. Those things matter, especially when talking about hormones. You can fill it out by clicking ---> here.