Peri menopause moans

[veronica71]

Have to say HRT has helped my tiredness and brain fog - although I’m also taking lions mane for brain fog too. I may have said this before but I didn’t think I was that bad and doubted in some ways I was peri but now I’m on the HRT I can see how bad I was.

It’s just the usual isn’t it - women’s health and treatment isn’t valued so I imagine there’s no enough research into HRT for them to give better clearer advice cos we are supposed to just put up with it.

 

[Cinnabun]

I can't remember much else but the scared of the dark stuck with me, it was just so bizarre. It went as suddenly as it came around 6 or 7 mths later.

I have just found this https://www.avogel.co.uk/health/men...rful-during-menopause-and-how-to-overcome-it/

it says about suddenly being scared about things especially loved ones dying. I remember being very fearful of my children/grandchildren dying,l but I put that down to my sister dying and other family members passing in a short time of each other. The dark thing I just went with it and got a nightlight in the bedroom and hall but the constant thinking about family dying actually drove me to the point of ending it so I would not have to face it. I never contacted the two as they were at different times (one peri one menopause )
That has actually pissed me off because its not that it isn't known. why are these things not in every Dr surgery or other places where people can see them and see its not unusual at this time.

This is so interesting. My first symptom was anxiety, including waking up in the early hours with my heart pounding thinking somebody had broken in. Then I kept having thoughts about my parents dying: utterly convinced that I'd be getting a phone call to say my Dad had had a heart attack etc. I still have these thoughts.

I'm another who has been told they are too young for HRT - by the so-called Menopause expert nurse practitioner.

At the moment I'd say the worst symptom was having zero energy or enthusiasm for anything - I feel like life is passing me by.

 

[Flowergirl14]

So happy to have found this thread. I'm 42, my mom went through meno at 40 she tells me. I have very regular periods but the last 12 months the pre menstrual stuff is insane. The pains in my legs and my full right side really from 7 days out is crazy. And then when my period hits . It's really affecting my work.

Maybe this is just me but I've noticed my body odour changes now when I'm pre menstrual. It's so changed i worry it's noticeable to other people.

I suffer badly with brain fog. In work meetings I have to write everything down or I won't remember.
Sleep deprivation doesn't help either....

 

[BingoFlamingo]

Can anyone recommend any supplements for insomnia please?

I'm so tired and find it easy to go to sleep but then I'm awake half the night. My brain seems to think that 5am is a good time to get going atm

My doctor has recently referred me to “sleep station” which is a service where you get people to help you make changes to improve your sleep. Worth looking into.

I’m in week two of six and it’s hard going but I’m trying to persevere. Firstly I’m having to go to bed much later than I used to. Then get up as soon as I wake up. It’s CBT effectively. Retraining the brain about sleep. There are sleep diaries to fill in on an app thing and you get help from messages with the experts.

one thing they suggest when you wake up and can’t get back to sleep is repeat the word “the” every couple of seconds for as long as you need, and it switches off other intrusive thoughts.

 

[50sGirl]

How is everyone’s memory?
Mine is shocking. It worries me immensely.

 

[Chocolategoggler]

Oooh, what's the name of the book?????

I always assume melons are ripe when I buy them and they always seem OK. Some avos never seem to get to the right stage and stay like bricks. Same with mangos. Bananas always turn fruit quickly so the same sort of principle could be true with avos - put them near a banana and it might do the trick.

Oh! I'll try it with the banana trick. I put it in with the apples but nothing seems to be happening.
I used to buy a part of a cut up melon but they don't seem to do that any more and once you cut into a melon you're committed to eating it.
I'm a bit embarrassed to mention the detox book as I get a load of abuse when I do.
The plan was devised by Ko Chohan but there's no mention of her name on the front. You have to turn to the back cover for that.
It's fronted by Carol Vorderman so you think it's all her and she's pushing the weight loss (2 dress sizes).
I've just bought the book secondhand for £2 odd. You can't seem to buy it new any more.
I'll screenshot it......but don't come for me I'm only detailing my experience on it. I don't need the abuse about Carol Vorderman!!!

 

[petitspois]

Is anyone else suffering from hairs suddenly sprouting on your chin and jaw line. I’m literally plucking 8 hairs + a day out from my face every evening. I’m pale and blonde yet these hairs are either white or thick and dark.

Yes! And always much more noticeable in the car mirror for some reason.

 

[Notworthy]

Absolutely. I wish I hadn't waited so long, I probably should have gone a month or so ago. But better late than never!

All the staff were fantastic, from the moment I booked in to the moment I left.

I'm sure the hysteroscopy won't be at all pleasant and I absolutely will NOT be watching it on screen but I'm grateful to be having it.


I feel really let down by my GP's, I think they really did just fob me off. It's shocking because both of the practitioners were women, one in her 30s and one in her 50's...you'd think between them they could've realised that it's not perimenopause 🫤 Anyway I shall let that go now I've got a plan so I'm moving forward.

I'm always surprised people assume a female GP is a better option for gynae stuff. I've found no difference, some GPs are great, some are shit regardless of what sex they are

 

[50sGirl]

Mine is awful. My short term memory is really poor.

I struggle a bit at work. A lot of my colleagues take the Mickey now but it does worry me.

On a few occasions I’ve been talking to my husband and I stop mid sentence because I’ve forgotten what I was going to say. I used to have a good memory so it does concern me.
My ‘phone is full of alarm reminders too.

 

[ThisIsMyGuiltyPleasure]

This 100% I'm so shocked too. I also still can't believe my own mum never talked to me about it. She went through early menopause at 40 and never thought to tell me until I was 38! Like wtf??? I'm so glad more women feel comfortable talking about it now

My mother was of the generation that didn't talk about anything at all. My GP once asked me when my mother went through menopause and I had absolutely no clue at all. My kids both know I'm going through it, I think they should be aware!

 

[Delia Smith]

Has anyone started to get more nervous about certain things ?
I’ve started to freak out at the dentist and also flying when I never really had a problem with the dentist before maybe a little bit of of anxiety but this year I had to abort having a filling cos I felt so panicky.

 

[Tangerine Cat]

Haven't read all of the thread yet but one thing that distressed me a bit was the 'twang' in the head, a bit like an electric shock. It happened sporadically and started happening a few years before the actual menopause. I didn't tell the doctor so don't know for sure if this was linked to peri-menopause or not, but it would be interesting to know if anyone else experienced this 'twang'?

Yes but you get those when you’re coming off anti depressants aswell? I hate them, brain zaps I call them.

——-

I’m really struggling again, I’m waiting for blood test results because I felt so bad. I’m going to play my doctor up until I get some answers.

I get depressed so badly I think the mirena coil is causing it as it doesn’t suit everyone.
my oestrogel HRT was making me feel like I was losing my mind, with racing thoughts, although it made me feel a bit better at first.
my weight won’t shift no matter what I do.
I’m now on metformin because my sugar levels are creeping up.
one day I’m full of energy, the next I could stay in bed all day.
I’m so irritable

I can understand why women leave home, get divorced or take their own lives when the menopause hits. It’s shit.

 

[HotesTilaire]

The trouble is that you don’t get taken seriously until after you need HRT most of the time. And a set of book tests can show you’re in peri, but the NHS won’t do a set, they will do one, usually long after peri has started.
A year of no periods means you’ve had your menopause! I note you said”he”…

 

[sistersofpercy]

Holy shit new symptom unlocked. I have the period from hell and a pain in my left armpit thats agony. Currently sat braless with an ice pack under my armpit. Apparently a peri symptom to do with hormones and lymph nodes.
This is NOT fun.

 

[petitspois]

Didn't know whether it was right to post here, but I feel comfy with you guys. But I got my wedding photos back yesterday. And I'm absolutely devastated. I just look.....old.
I'm 40 and obviously in peri from the symptoms I have and my mum having early menopause.....but god I just look haggard. Iv got a toddler which doesn't help atm, but my skin just looks loose and untoned and iv aged about 10 years in a short space of time. I feel so gutted that I look like this, its totally ruined the excitement of getting the photos back. The only softener for me is that we did it abroad with just me, my partner and my son. So no one saw me actually looking like that on the day other than them. But I just feel like I'm mourning I suppose, I feel like all my youth is now gone and I feel abit empty.
I don't know what I'm trying to say or why, but i just feel a massive loss and I'm really struggling with what this change is doing to me both emotionally and physically xxx

I bet you look lovely. AND, even if you didn't look as good as you can do be kind to yourself and remember you have a young child, that's a demanding time of life.

 

[ThisIsMyGuiltyPleasure]

Can I throw out a question to everyone?

Without giving it too much thought (just the first word or words that come to mind) how do you generally feel - physically - on a day-to-day basis?

Extremely fatigued.

 

[Suzesnooze]

I'm 55, I have a coil so no periods but I'm 100% convinced I'm not through it yet. I've just had a few weeks of poor sleep and a tooth that has been loose for years has been even looser. Last night I slept better and my tooth is more stable. My teeth have started moving all over the place in general over the last few years so I really recommend that you all keep up with your dental appointments.

I’ve lost 6 teeth during peri.

 

[Notworthy]

Generally, memory is okay (so far) except for names. I've never been great remembering names but it's awful now and the same with spelling. I'll check how to spell a word and by the time I've finished typing or writing it, I've forgotten again

The spelling issue is mad. I used to be a natural speller, now find myself googling words continuously. I also became quite disorganised which was a bit worrying. I did think I had early onset dementai

 

[DellaC]

Discovered this thread on another.....how helpful.

I am 48, periods still monthly, started having migraines in 2017 aged 43 once or twice per month, definitely hormone related, still have them. They are not as bad as they used to be thank goodness.

Other things I've noticed is irrational anxiety about things or things that haven't even happened, also indecisiveness and procrastination, not sure if those are hormone related or just me

Oh the migraines don't sound like fun. Hope they continue to ease.

Re: Irrational anxiety. On Monday my hubby set off to work at 6.30am and about 5 minutes later I heard sirens in the distance. I spent the next half an hour imagining he'd been involved in a car crash until he text me. I was so anxious I couldn't even phone him incase he hadn't been involved in the imaginary crash but was driving on the motorway and my call might cause him to crash.

Absolutely nuts.

I don't recognise myself sometimes.

 

[Cupcakemum]

The thing I hate most is that you go along tracking your 1000 different symptoms and then all of a sudden they start disappear and you start doubting yourself
Then they start creeping back, but in dribs and drabs, so for a while you don't realise - then BAM they're all back and you're spiralling again.

My body is literally gaslighting me!
Roll on my GP telephone consult soon, I just hope they help because I don't have the energy to fight