Hot flashes Migraines and Hormones....OH MY!

Well it's been an eventful week for me. For the past two years or so I have been dealing with the increasingly annoying symptoms of peri-menopause. All the while I have insisted on not getting on the HRT bandwagon. I was insistent upon doing it all natural. And the black cohosh has worked to help with the hot flashes, but on tuesday of this week I gave up my all natural fight, waved the white flag and asked my GYN to give me the hormones!! LOL After having at least two episodes of migraine headaches that lasted for 3 days or more, I could no longer take on menopause by myself. I can put up with a lot of things, but I can't be in the bed for days at a time with the worst headache ever and nausea!! I have to remain active and keep up my exercise routine. Nothing is more important for me to remain stable with my Pulmonary Fibrosis. So for now I have gone on the estrogen patch, Vivelle Dot and cyclical progesterone. I am still having hot flashes but no where near as many. No headaches so far. She did give me a prescription for Imitrex in case the migraine comes back, but I haven't had to take that so far. I will also be seeing a Neurologist just to make sure there is nothing else going on, but she's 95% sure I'm having hormonal migraines. OH JOY!  Getting old is NOT for sissies. Especially if you are a woman. It's an everyday battle to stay healthy, eat right, exercise, keep your hormones in balance and live your life. So to my sisters out there, BE STRONG!