Anyone got anything to say about the peri fucking menopause? Way TMI.

[MorningsEleven]

When I wanted to have children my ovaries went on total strike- I once went ten months without a period - and it took years to conceive. Annoyingly, post kids I developed a 28 day regular as clockwork cycle.

I'm mid forties now, have my family, DH had a vasectomy, all done. Suddenly my ovaries have gone into overdrive like it's my body's last shot at reproducing. I'm now on a 21 day cycle. And it sucks.
Do periods just get closer and closer till the eggs run out and then stop?
I'm so offended by my own reproductive system right now.

Yes, shorter cycle, hideous heavy periods and terrible ovulation pain - I picture my increasingly wizened ovaries struggling to pop an egg out from their dried up depths . Am glad I haven't got the broodiness though; I'm going the other way and find children (and all humanity to be fair) increasingly irritating and annoying, and quite fancy living in peace with my cat for a silent companion.

I thought my erratic heavy periods were perimenopause, turns out I had a couple of big fibroids..... One hysterectomy later, I couldn't be happier..... Although weirdly, as I still have my ovaries my pmt symptoms seen to be heightened even though no periods.

Well going by this thread sense of humour is excellent during Menopausal shenanigns

I'm like you OP, struggled to conceive and regular 28 day cycles ever since I called it a day on that. Except while they are still 28 days apart they last 14 days minimum and I am on my knees with pain for several of those days. Luckily my GP (not guinea pig) is an older woman and doesnt think anyone should suffer so ive had a scan to get the lie of the land. Her first recommendation is the coil.

Has anyone had the coil for perimenopause symptoms? And If so would you recommend?

I feel you

Last couple of years my periods went all over the place. Often short cycles of 20-21 days and on for 8-9 days. Pain ++ and heaveeeeee.

Then all of a sudden I have had missed a couple and just now I haven't menstrusted for more than 3 months.

Hoping this is the slide to nothing now.

How do I know if I’m in peri menopause? I’m on the pill (because before that I was bleeding for 5 weeks, stop for 2 days at age 35, no cause found) and have around 1-2 day light withdrawal bleed for the last few months compared to 6 heavy days for last 5 years. I’m nearly 41. Is this it?

I didn't get migraines although I've always been prone to headaches, but in the last 3-4 years I have suffered from migraine-type headaches with nausea and I seem to get more when I am on my period so I am sure they are down to hormones. Fortunately a couple of ibuprofen and a can of coke will get rid of it, or at least reduce it to a level where I can still function.

As mentioned, I've always been prone to headaches but found that if I could go to sleep for a bit even if it was only a few minutes, the headache would go. Now I can go to sleep with a headache and wake up the next morning with it. The good thing is that I can still sleep.

It probably does mean HRT is out for me, although my mum had migraines (far worse than mines) and has a patch on a very low dose so that might work.

Periods are heavier and more erratic, but otherwise I am ok and hoping it will stay that way.

Some women are done and dusted with periods in their early to late forties - I was peri for a number of years but my periods only stopped at 52 and a blood test showed i am now in the actual menopause.
I love not having the monthly misery of bleeds, but the weight gain and all the symptoms are still horrible.
My GP was sympathetic to be fair, but i've been warned off HRT from other women so I am trying to ride it all out myself. its hard though and i can feel my temper getting shorter every day.
I often used to wonder why some women became ' miserable old miseries' now I can understand why!!

Anyone got dry feet? And dry hands?

Dry everything. I'm shrivelling up.

I've never had migraines before although they run in my family, but since Mother Nature has gone all peri on my ass, I get horrible headaches before my period.

I had a perfect 32-day cycle for many years but that's shortened. I generally only bleed for 3-4 days, but two of those will be horrendous - I bled through all my clothes last time.

The weirdest symptom is that a day or two before my period starts, I'll have a day where I'm really energetic and focused and feel invincible. It must be some sort of hormone surge.

My cycle has shortened from 28 to 21 days, i'm 43. I've got a fibroid and am waiting for an op to remove it along with an endometrial ablation.

Am currently losing 2 days a month due to heavy bleeding which is tough as it's unpaid.

Mirena was great for me for years until it was displaced by the fibroid.

My cycles started shortening after having DD1 at 41. Had previously been 28 then afterwards dropped to 24/25 days. Had blood tests done at 44 which showed I was perimenopausal and the following month conceived a baby out of nowhere (literally a one off act, at wrong time of month but turns out I was ovulating early)

I've since been through a forced memopause due to having cancer so it's all done and dusted now!

Is waking up a 4/5 am a peri symptom? My periods have moved to a 21 day cycle then back to a 28(ish) and the occasional 32 day thrown in for extra randomness. But the past couple of weeks I've been waking up at 4/5 am. Have put it down to needing a wee, but have not had to do that previously. I have health anxiety so was thinking bad things about this nocturnal habit but if it part of the general craziness of peri that would reassure me! Am 45 but don't have some of the other symptoms like dry skin etc (well I have psoriasis but that's because I'm just a lucky gal 😒)

I went from never wanting children to a deep, burning, urgent desire. Gave in to desire, had a tulmutous series of miscarriages, realised it was hormones, stopped ttc. Straight into hot flushes. Current routine is to have a migraine and hot flushes as a precursor to a week-long period with day 1 from last period only 3 weeks apart. My skin is both suddenly aged and acne prone. My skin and hair otherwise is so dry. I'm exhausted all the time. My life was so easy before all of this. My periods were 3 to 4 days, light events that never caused me any discomfort. Now I get the cramping, sudden flooding, emotional. .. honestly. Women are amazing for carrying on as if this wild fluctuation wasn't haopening.

It all goes to show how controlled we are by hormones, more so than men are.

There's a thread in the "Sex" section about period sex - with many of the responses from women saying they love it!

They are clearly not having a bloodbath every month like me

Yep, massive insomniac here

Drop off to sleep easily then generally awake from 2-3am to 5am

My cycle was always 30 days, then it moved to 21/22/23/24 days. PMT x1000000000. I can feel my body 'ramping up' to the next period. That starts about 5 days after the end of my period. So that's nice - I'm in a perpetual cycle of PMT/Rage/Period. My hair has become very, very greasy and I've started to get a dry, itchy patch of skin on my chin during every period, plus a boil/huge spot in my right armpit. And awful, pain in my finger joints in the run up to my period too. Plus hot flushes and night sweats. Lovely.

Well thank goodness for this thread.

I thought I was losing my marbles with my fantasy of wanting to live alone in the woods with a cat or three.

I find most people completely irritating.
But babies are suddenly endearing.
Struggle with tiredness but then bursts of restlessness.
Ridiculous and horrible 21-day cycles. That can get to fuck.
Weight creeps on and then refuses to shift.

I sound charming don’t I? I promise I am alright in real life, but it’s becoming an increasingly difficult struggle some days.

How much would I have to beg for a hysterectomy?

I was having a little moan about a shorter cycle/heavier periods to a friend this morning so funny to see this thread pop up.
It hadn’t occurred to me that it could be peri menopause! I’m 44.
No broodiness though! Quite the opposite

Oh yes, the 2am wake ups are fun aren’t they?

I give up some nights and just get some work done to try to be productive.

Is constantly needing to wee a symptom of peri? I'm 46 and wiser, older friends and my mum are convinced this, constant muscle aches, forgetfulness and anxiety are due to peri. They say the peri is worse than the menopause.

Oh I forgot the constant weeing Keel. I've got that. Don't know if it's a sign of peri. Probably is.

@ProseccoThyme

Period sex? Never not ever.

My libido is so low that Christmas and birthdays are about where it's at.

I get the insomnia, batshit dreams, night sweats and huge anxiety. I'm supposed to be shopping for clothes for my new job today but I just can't function.

Oh and literally no self confidence any more.

I am on a short cycle too, how long does it last for?