Perimenopause symptoms.What are/were yours?

[PrincessHoneysuckle]

I'm 44 and not in the full throes yet but I want to be prepared.
So far I've been feeling a bit less settled and sometimes in fight or flight mode for no reason at all.I also feel more hungry and am struggling to keep to small portions.My hair feels slightly thinner too.

I'm glad you feel a bit better

What blood tests did you have?

I'm on the mini pill

I’m so itchy, I have hives on my chest and arms - anyone else get actual red hives with the itching? For what it’s worth OP not all GPs do blood tests, mine went by symptoms alone. I’ll be going back too because of the itching.

Fatigue! Poor quality sleep and a slump in the afternoon. Periods erratic of course and PMS cramps/headaches are worse than they used to be

Just to add to the list. The more recent symptom that alarmed me was I started seeing things. It freaked me right out. I'm on hrt now and it hasn't gone but not as often as it was. I don't think it's a common symptom though. Flushes have stopped at least

Would a full blood count during a Health Check pick up Peri?

I'm 51, the first signs for me were changes to my periods - coming less and less over the past few years. I've only had one this calendar year so wondering if that's it or if one will sneak up on me before the year is up.

Apart from that, then I seem to have had the full hit of everything except hot flushes and night sweats. At first I just thought I was losing my mind, I really did. Didn't put 2 and 2 together. Dwindling sex drive tested our relationship too. Then it all made sense when I Thought about it all togther and asked the GP for HRT. But they said no as I've got strong family history breast cancer risk, and have had blood clots too.

The rest of my symptoms:

Weak bladder (have to wear piss pads now) and find it harder to hold farts in now. 😬
Vaginal dryness.
Anxiety, quite bad at times that I have to force myself out of bed to go to work some mornings. I'm usually fine once I'm there, though.
Lack of confidence, a feeling of "I just can't do this".
Irritability and lack of patience on some days.
Brain fog (if too much happens at once at work my brain just freezes. I have to write things down or I just forget them half an hour later. To be fair my workplace is very busy and multitasking happens all day, perimenopause has made it very difficult.
Hair falling out.
Thickening around my middle. Never had a problem with my weight before so it's been quite a shock.
Fatigue the same as I remember feeling when I was first pregnant when I was 30. Having to have a nap when I get in from work each day.
Insomnia and night terrors.
Loss of motivation to "nurture", I suppose youd call it. I just want people to leave me be at home of an evening cos working full time takes everything out of me and I have nothing left to give at the end of the day. Just as well my kids are young adults now!
Can't tolerate wine so much these days, it gives me a very red face and neck, and makes my skin bad.

I've frankly found the past few years hellish, looking back, and I haven't felt like my true self, IYSWIM. I miss the carefree, slim and energetic person I was in my youth!

I didn't even realise!
My first symtoms were sporadic, intense, heavy periods. I didn't even realise since I had only just had DD2. These started when I was 39-40. I would occasionally have a high-speed, super heavy period: 3 days of scary bleeding and then - boom! done!. Compared to days and days of med to light drizzle bleeding, it was ok.
Since then, my peri-experience has been less extreme: ongoing dry-mouth, for years! Mostly normal periods during that time. As periods have tapered off, more hot flashes, mostly at night but the cotton-mouth has eased up.
A decade on from 39, nightimes are sometimes tough. I wake frequently and often have a hot flash as a part of it. These are milder and I have learned some self-soothing techiniques to lull myself back to sleep for an hour or two.,

Once or twice, after a horrendous night, I have called in sick. Don't be reluctant to do this - you are 'sick'; you are not well.

Terrible mood swings/rage/irritability, hot flashes, joint aches, itchy skin, brain fog, anxiety

Started with flooding clotting periods, then came anxiety, panic attacks, insomnia, hot sweats, brain fog, fatigue, memory loss, irritability, horrendous tearfulness, inability to drive at night, an almost permanent feeling of overwhelm, and a feeling of ever present dread.

Itchy ears, painful stiff joints, hair loss, dry eyes, stress incontinence, loss of strength, dizzy spells.

HRT, Mirena, estradiol patches, testosterone gel, which someone will have to prize out of my cold dead hands because I don't want to go back there.

Horrible anxiety is the worst one. Poor sleep.

Mel Robbins has a good podcast on this subject recently... podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-mel-robbins-podcast/id1646101002?i=1000649951537

I’m 44.
For three or four years I’ve had:
Brain fog
Irritability
Spotting mid cycle
Thickening around my middle having always been a pear shape with very small waist
dry eyes
rosacea

Symptoms that started earlier this year:
Waking up in the night and being unable to get back to sleep
Even just walking making me sweat during the day
Erratic/ irregular periods - from a 49 day cycle one month to a 16 day cycle the next etc
Extremely heavy periods
Itching

I started HRT a few months ago.

My GP said that blood tests shouldn’t be used to diagnose peri menopause as hormones are up and down all the time. Mine came back normal but they said that the irregular/ erratic periods are a strong symptom.

Since I’ve started HRT I’ve been sleeping through the night every night (this happened within a few days of starting it), I’ve stopped sweating during the day and the itching has stopped!

They did take bloods to check for anything else and they came back that I’m very low in iron/ ferritin due to the very heavy and sometimes frequent periods. I’m now on ferritin supplements as well as the HRT. Symptoms of the low iron/ ferritin for me, which I’d put down to peri are:
Palpitations
Extreme tiredness, which I’d put down to peri/ the not sleeping
thinning hair

Irregular periods and migraines plus the hot flushes which weren't unbearable. I think I got off more lightly than most.

Post menopause my hair is much thinner and I have put on some weight.

@PrincessHoneysuckle the million dollar question x

I'm 50

On HRT (oestrogel, progesterone, mirena & testosterone)

My ongoing symptoms are:

Joyless
Angry
Sad
Suicidal at times
Exhaustion
Joint pain
Spotting
Loss of libido

It's fucking hideous

Feeling hot overnight, more anxious, tired all the time, terrible pmt, craving sweet foods....

Following as am 41.5 yo but still breastfeeding and yet have many of these symptoms

Worst symptoms were itchy vag and night sweats. From about age 48 so started HRT at 49 and fine from then on. Healthy diet also makes a huge difference.

Am 49, had fewer periods and have got a bit thicker round the middle. Apart from that no symptoms. I listened to a menopause seminar at work today and it was very interesting. Randomly I do a lot of the suggested things -

exercise every day - inc weights
priortise sleep
drink loads of water
avoid UPF
don’t eat any sweets or cakes or fizzy drinks
eat meat, dairy, lots of protein and lots of veg.
DH cooks from scratch
do yoga and meditation
take collagen
avoid stressful situations

I do drink a fair amount of wine tho.

so I know it’s just anecdotal but just to say it’s not a given that they’ll be awful symptoms.

before the talk I hadn’t realised that insulin changes will affect hormones and that concentration on low blood sugar will help.

Having never had any concern for keeping my weight controlled I’ve put 12kg in 18months.

my sleep has gone to shit.

ive tendonitis in wrists, elbows and ankles.

my periods are now irregular and heavy, when previously they were light and clockwork.

Itchy skin. Heart palpitations.

I'm 44. In the last few years I've developed:

Dry eyes
Dry nose (anyone else get this? So uncomfortable and I get no nasal mucus at all)
Occasional hot flush when eating
Gluteal tendiopathy
Palpitations
Loads of ectopic heart beats (all checked out but they still make me really anxious)
Tension headaches
TMJ
Very sore muscles after exercise
Pulsatile tinnitus
ANXIETY

And I can't take HRT due to breast cancer

Oh the itchy ears!! I feel like pulling mine off at times!! Do you drive? I’ve always wondered whether the dizziness would affect whether we should, as I’ve had the odd spell. Never when I’m actually driving though…for some reason having that focus seems to block everything else out!

My symptoms were/are off the scale anxiety, particularly health anxiety.
Itchy ears
Crying over everything
My clitoris has retreated into itself!
Being less patient
My body image has taken a nosedive to the point I have no self esteem
Periods every 3 weeks instead of 4

and probably other things I’ve forgotten!