Peri menopause - did anything apart from HRT help you feel better?

[Franticforties]

I’m 47 and think I’m having peri menopause symptoms. My main troubles are waking in the night multiple times and not being able to get back to sleep, irrational anxiety and my sex drive has dropped off a cliff.
I really want to make some changes to try to improve things and would be interested to know if anything helped you.

CBT might help your anxiety.

Exercise that you enjoy.

Magnesium helped my sleep for a bit but that’s stopped working.

Exercise, cutting out alcohol, strong supportive female friendships and getting rid of toxic relationships.

Yes to alcohol unfortunately. I’m ok if I have no more than a small beer a few times a week.

And greatly reduce sugar.

So at least you’ll be very healthy by the time you’re menopausal

I didn’t drink much anyway but there was always free booze and it was a bit expected to join in at works dinners and lunches. My goodness I
felt dreadful so just stopped. I made sure to walk an hour every day.

@Franticforties

I’m 47 and think I’m having peri menopause symptoms. My main troubles are waking in the night multiple times and not being able to get back to sleep, irrational anxiety and my sex drive has dropped off a cliff. I really want to make some changes to try to improve things and would be interested to know if anything helped you.

Just anecdotal but I see a lot of clients (I'm a PT - myself and other people's) get great results with aerobic and strength training really regularly and a really good mineral supplement and vitamin supplement.

You should look up dr Louise newson. ..she has some great advice re hrt and alternatives.

exercise, limit alcohol..I personally find magnesium supplements and the vogel menopace very good especially for sleep and anxiety.

I feel so good if I get up and do a 20/25 min yoga shred or flow.

I have started to feel like I'm poisoned with red wine and sugary fizz like Prosecco, it's really quite alarming how bad even a few glasses can make me feel.

I've started a tumeric supplement in the morning, and a peri menopause specific one at night and do feel slightly better.

I’ve found HIIT and weight training help with both anxiety and sleeping.
If you can afford a good PT, an intense session once a week will help you hit the levels you need for results.
Yes to strong supportive female friends too. It really helps to surround yourself with women who are in a similar position. You can feel you’re going mad otherwise.

I take magnesium daily. Helps me sleep and stops me aching from head to foot!
I'm 49

Funnily enough I have decided to cut out alcohol as I think it makes me feel massively anxious and my sleep even worse. I’ve also cut right back on caffeine but not noticed any improvement from that yet.
Definitely going to start exercising more and will look into supplements.
Thanks so much for taking the time to reply.

I’ve been through the menopause years ago and have not taken HRT.

I found Menopace a supplement available in supermarkets and online great in stopping feeling hot in the night and also eating well and exercising so as not to gain any weight.

I eat very well but my calorie intake has vastly decreased as it’s much easier to gain weight and harder to lose it as you get older.

Personally, I wanted to avoid HRT which is why my diet and exercise are important to me and it’s obviously worked as I feel great.

I took supplements: The Complete Woman from Boots..strength training and cold showers at the end of my shower each time when the flushes started. All were very helpful l thought.

Menopace stopped my thinking from going down dark rabbit holes.

Also I got vaginal oestrogen cream which has been very helpful in soreness I suddenly started living with....gone.

Another vote for Menopace. (HRT gave me stroke like symptoms which were found to be migraine). Yoga, keeping hydrated, upping my fruit and veg all helped.

I am going through peri and am not a candidate for HRT. The only thing that helps my anxiety is walking some 10 km a day. Everytime I feel stressed, I get out of the house and walk. I also don't drink any more.

I LOVE Menopace. Just the £5 ones from Boots. Bloody miraculous.

I also take St John's Wort, collagen, hair/skin/nails gummies, iron; don't drink booze; try to walk everywhere; drink Rescue Remedy from the bottle when I'm really anxious, and go to bed at 10.30pm.

The Menopace are the thing I really notice if I stop.

Thanks everyone. I’ve just ordered some menopace (which sounds really good) and a multi vitamin. I do feel positive about trying to get as healthy as possible. It’s the sleeping that’s the worst thing for me but hopefully exercise will start to help improve that.

Definitely HRT gel, magnesium and vit D3, barely any alcohol, low sugar etc. I did have to go on low dose Citalopram (20mg) for low mood/depression a couple of years ago - GP thought it was linked to meno but who knows. The episode preceding it lasted about 4 months and I couldn't shake it off. It worked a treat and am now on 10mg and likely to come off this year. It's not the first line of treatment (HRT or alternative stuff is obviously). However, I was doing all the other things and still needed help. Take care

@AdaFuckingShelby

Exercise, cutting out alcohol, strong supportive female friendships and getting rid of toxic relationships.

I second all of these things.

CBT is a load of bullshit in my opinion - if you need talking therapy, get a good therapist.

I’ve just ordered some menopace (which sounds really good) and a multi vitamin

@Franticforties, if taking supplements be careful of not taking more than the recommended amounts of vitamins and minerals, which can lead to unpleasant side effects. Always be aware of the amount of each vitamin and mineral you actually need (ie what you're not getting from your diet) and only supplement those. Treat it the same way as if you were taking paracetamol and then wanting to take something else that also contains paracetamol. Diet supplements can be useful but too much is definitely not a good thing!

Thank you for this thread.
I was about to call the doctor about symptoms, but I am not sure what I am wanting them to do!
I might start on the supplements you have all recommended.
Thank you.

Yes - Menopace IS a multivitamin, so you don't need both.

Magnesium ok has sorted out my hot flushes and improved my sleep slightly I think. I do still get brain fog though, I jumble my words up often which is a bit embarrassing (so I say oven when I mean to say freezer for example).

Cut concentrated carbs and upped veg particularly greens.
On days I indulge, I get hot!

Exercise
Reducing alcohol consumption, particularly white wine.