How about a chat forum for early menopause ?
How about a chat forum for early menopause ? Many people are now going into the menopause extremely early (i.e 20’s, 30’s & 40’s) due to cancer / medication/family history etc and when I looked at other information on the web about the menopause I fell isolated as I feel it is mainly aimed at people who are later in life and are going or are having the menopause natually not because of cancer/medication or because they had ovaries removed. It is often brought up on this site, but mixed into other topics and I for one would love to see a forum dedicated soley to this topic so us younger people facing or already in the menopause can help each other express our concerns, experiences and relate to each other more easily in one place.
Anyone else feel the same?
Courtney
— Hi there,
What a good idea Courtney.
I have been using this site less and less often these days because I feel there is so much on here which I don’t relate to anymore. I guess I’ve just moved on a step or two at last.
My main problems these days are centred around the early menopause you mention and they affect my every day life.
I think it would certainy be worth considering a forum for this. Lets see if we can stir up some more interest.
Like you, whenever I have looked at info regarding the early menopuse it’s all been geared towards either older women/natural menopause and doesn’t mention the menopause caused by breast cancer treatments. There’s so many things we CANT take for it due to drug interactions and yet it has a profound effect on our lives.
Lets hope BCC will consider our suggestion.
*pearly*
Excellent idea! How about it BCC ??
Oh, & PearlyB…I just wanted to say how fab you looked on your wedding day, it must have beeen such an emotional day for you ( most wedding days are, regardelss of having BC). Your wig looked excellenty & I hope lots of young women on this site see you looking so great & it gives them hope & confidence.
Kathryn x
Why not the younger womens forum? I don’t think separate forums are needed for specific topics. Surely the younger women’s forum is the place for threads on early menopause so the space is there already. I’m sure loads of women would be interested.
I think its up to forum members to start threads on whatever topics we want to…and then to join in with those that interest and ignore the ones that don’t.
Best wishes
Jane
Great idea… …Courtney,
I wasn’t as young as some of you (41) when chemo induced menopause hit me, but still regard it as about 15 yrs too soon!
I’ve struggled with side-effects, especially whilst on Tamoxifen. I’ve been on Arimidex for the last 10 months and was tolerating it better, but recently had a bleed which worried me greatly. I’m now going to have an oophorectomy.
We are lucky enough to have 8 yr old twins, but I feel so much for women for whom loss of fertility is an horrendous issue.
The loss of libido (caused by treatment) is also occasionally discussed on other forum, but perhaps would be of particular interest to this group. (I don’t mean to suggest it isn’t an issue for “naturally” post-menopausal women)
I think a forum specifically for this subject is a marvellous idea and can think of several “posters” who would qualify.
Please BCC, take note.
Sarah
Good idea! I am 38 and was really upset to be told that my Chemo could bring on early menopause, I already have 3 lovely (sometimes) children but to have that choice taken way on top of everything else was so sad.
I am sure that it would help if we had somewhere to talk about how we all feel.
Thank you for suggesting this.
Lisa XXX
I agree! I don’t often look at the younger women’s forum. I don’t think of myself as a younger woman, being 43 and post menopausal due to having my ovaries removed. I don’t think this is necessarily the right place for discussion of the problems faced by women who are not ‘young’ but who have been thrown into early menopause. I would like a forum where I could discuss the issues I face every day which relate to the difficulties of early menopause. This is a great idea, and I hope it is taken up by BCC.
Ellie
—early menopause —hi all,i dont realy understand the menopause side of cancer treatments it wasnt explaind to me,i have just finnished 6 sessions of fec,i had 1 normal period then went 38 days to a very heavey one with large clots and i havent had one scince,dose that mean i will not have anymore(i bet i sound realy thick).
I have had hot flushes scince my 2nd chemo which have got worse,i have about 30 a day,will these get less now i have finnished chemo or are they here for good?will i have HRT?.
bluebell.
Even though I’m 50 I was premenopausal when diagnosed on 30 September last year. Had an oophorectomy last November and started Arimidex in December. Having babies was not an issue for me (and I feel so sorry for younger women with BC who have to contend with this).
At the same time it was a big step and I’d like to find out more about the symptoms of surgical menopause. I’d also like to find out more about the long term side-effects of taking aromatase inhibitors like Arimidex. The medical reports seem to say that it’s too soon to know. Starting work again has been a bit difficult because of the symptoms I’m experiencing.
not sure I had a hystorectomy 18 monts ago and was on xoladex for six months prior to op so had all the menp symptoms which eventually stopped soon after op. they left overy`s as i was pre menopausal and said i could go years ( i was 44 when had op) so now i am on tamoxifen and starting with the flushes ansd have recently started feeling very nauseaus, hope this goes…
biggest prob is not for me, but others such as hubby i do not know if it is the bc or hormones but i am so short tempered it is unreal dont seem in control of my emotions will cry at the drop of a hat but can give looks that would make you cringe? why i have been like this before and it was due to pmt. as i do not have periods or womb do we still suffer maybe i have been pretty ignorant of my hormone status till now so a little confused, hubby keeps saying oh it must be that time of the month again?
Culkie
Ps why can we not stay in bed anymore. once i am awake i am up like a shot regardless of time and can not get back to sleep?
excellent idea! I would certainly welcome a chat forum on early menopause. I am currently facing the decision of having an oopherectomy or hysterectomy (age 41). I too, feel isolated, and would value other’s experiences. How about it Breast Cancer Care?
— Myplek,
You have hit the nail on the head. “ISOLATED” is such a good word to descibe how I and many of us younger women here on these forums are feeling with regards to having an early menopause.
Perhaps the reason why I haven’t been writing on the site anymore is because my biggest problem-early menopause ( aside from the fear of reoccurnace,of course ) is not included in the given chat forums.
When I was diagnosed in 2004 this site had everything I needed at the time. I will not forget how much it helped me understand what was happening to me from diagnosis through to surgery and especially during the grey days of chemo.
I am however,now struggling with something which affects me every day, and which has ‘arrived’ about 18 years too soon. I have been married for just over a year and to say the side effects of my treatments such as early menopause hasn’t affected my daily life is like saying BC wont change you!!!
I think this IS indeed a valid reason for including the topic in the chat rooms providing there is enough demand and interest in it.
Thankyou Courtney for highlighting it, and others for supporting it!
Regards,
*pearly*
KathrynR Forgot to say in my last post - thanks so much for that lovely compliment about my wedding day pic. It was such a difficult and exhausting day and to be honest I wish I could do it again as hopefully there wouldn’t be as many tears all round. I think it was also due too being so soon after treatment had ended ( about 3 months )
I still have all the websites I used during chemo regarding excellent wig sellers - some very trendy AND cheap AND good quality if anyone would like info in the future.
Thanks again Kathryn, hope you are well and happy.
Lotsa love,
*pearly* x
It is time other people accepted us younger woman face moder Am I the only one who feels I am a younger woman trapped with the older womans symptoms, I seem to constantly hit brick walls with everyone else who refuses to acknowledge that it does happen in younger woman, (many treat me as if I do not realise what I am saying, when I say I am having the menopause in my early 30’s). By having a seperate chat forum for this topic, we could help people realise and accept it is now a fact of modern life and for those going throught it or about to face this challenge earlier on in life, we would have a site where we could go and share experiences or fears, and a place to gain knowledge and a understanding. I haven’t found a single one yet that does have a site dedicated soley to woman in the early menopause. Well BCC team how about it !
Anyone else feel the same?
Courtney
Early menopause Early menopause - great subject for younger women’s forum along with other subjects that affect us such as( in no particular order):
sex and libido issues;
fertility;
how to get hold of sexy underwear, tops, swimwear,etc after a mastectomy;
herceptin;
campaigning;
what to tell the kids;
mortgages, life insurance, etc.;
scuba diving, mountain climbing, politics, careers, men and all the usual stuff that younger women are interested in (and quite probably older women too).
At 44 am I still a younger woman?
YES!
Sue
Early Menopause Think Sue has the right idea - use the undergoing treatment / younger women forum and reintroduce the topic whenever it is required. If there is another forum created for this topic, then we’d need another for issues for the childless, another for issues around telling the children, another for herceprin availablitily (or perhaps we can split that one further primary, secondary, short course, long course)…
What I’m trying to say is I value greatly the advice/support etc. I have gained from these forums , and hope I have been of assistance to others. That support has come from people (men as well as women) of a variety of ages and with a great range of experiences between us. We have one uniting factor - Breast Cancer. Producing lots of very specific forums would make it difficult to know exactly where and what to post as topics often “blur” which would have the potential to reduce the amouthof information/support/help.
This doesn’t mean in anyway I underestimate the issues of an early menopause . I’m 42y and my abdomen is still sore from the removal of my ovaries last week. I understand the decisions, I worry about what effects this wll have on many other aspects of my life. I too feel isolated about going through all I do now ( I too had hoped for another 10 years before the natural onset of hot flushes) when for example I walk into the waiting room of my Breast Care centre and see women on average 15 or 20 years older than me, and I know all too well I am not particularly “young” when dealing with this nightmare.
Early menopause forum? Hi everyone
As you may know as part of the ongoing development of the forums there will be a questionnaire soon for chat forum users. This will aim to provide an opportunity to express your opinions about the current forums. In the mean time the online team are taking note of the views which are being expressed on this thread.
Kind regards
BCC Host
Really agree with slp11 Of course early menopause is an issue for many women but slp has summed up my views exactly. It would be unpractical and unwieldy to have forums for every topic. There’s probably a few too many forums at the moment and to start having separate forums for individual topics doesn’t make sense to me.
Jane
good idea i like the idea it would be good not to have to trawl through old pages to find the thread,if it was just a forum post.
as i’m 35 and not seen since i started my chemo in nov i’d like to know if this is now happening to me …i get enough hot sweats LOL
kim x