what symptom of the menopause have you found the worst?

[ohreallyIsee]

For me the itchy skin, so intense it almost felt like my skin was crawling/burning, it was reducing me to tears, thankfully I've found magnesium has helped

People assuming you have symptoms

you could have phrased that better

I guess people without symptoms don't have to respond?

OP it's the eczema for me. Never having had any skin problems in my life, not even teenage acne. I am now plagued with it. It coincided with hot flushes and other symptoms so I am assuming menopause, as hormone changes can cause skin changes.

Heavy periods, clots and flooding.

Mental health

brain fog and anxiety

Sweats, night sweats in particular

Get a mirena coil! I never liked the thought of them and did it reluctantly, but has changed my life!

Absolute crushing depression. As in I just didn't want to be here..and I've always been a happy person..it hit me hard..
Luckily a friend spotted it (I'd cut myself off from everyone) and made me tell my Dr.. antidepressants did help.
And it did pass but I'll never forget the times I spent planning how not to be here without shattering my family..

We also have threads running about how greater awareness is backfiring - yet here is just encouraging highlighting the bad things only

and there is also evidence ( which people refuse to accept ) ( specifically cognitive behaviour therapy actually works to reduce symptoms ) that your attitude does matter and if you think you will have bad symptoms you are much more likely to - so threads highlighting the bad things will actually be making things worse for sone people

so this isn’t a neutral thread title

Brain fog
hunting in my head for a word or phrase that I know I know
seeing family and friends watching me whilst I flounder
Feeling less fluent in conversation

OP: Tell me the worse thing about owning a dog.
PP: <missing the very obvious point of thread>People assuming I have a dog.

I'm still in peri but the mental health effects have been the most debilitating for me, so far. Anxiety, rage, paranoia, extreme tearfulness, swinging from complete numbness to suicidal ideation. Horrific. Thankfully, they seem to have been alleviated by HRT.

That’s because it’s not a neutral thread! Bore off.

For me it was crippling anxiety and tingling in my limbs. Felt like insects crawling all over me. Magnesium solved the tingling and HRT helped massively with the anxiety. I also changed jobs - after 20 years in a very stressful job I took a pay cut and went for something with more work / life balance.

Personally, aches and pains in joints, dry skin. Not sure if that is definitely menopause though, or just getting older.

In other women, pedantry and grumpiness.

Hot flushes, night sweats, brain fog, exhaustion .
All compounded by living in an EU country that doesn't have HRT as a first line treatment.
Got so severe that the Gynecologist was happy to prescribe HRT .
Also the lack of compassion from certain women who had sailed through with no symptoms < eyes up primary care doctor >

Feeling anxious, loss of self confidence and joy, and dry eyes.

Anxiety and panic attack, restless leg leading to really poor sleep so heightening the anxiety more. Paranoia, rage and wanting to end my life.

Anxiety, feelings of panic and that I would suddenly find myself tearful for no reason.

I have always been cheerful, calm and practical. I had absolutely no coping strategies for panic or anxiety as I'd never had to deal with these sorts of feelings. It was dreadful feeling completely alien to myself.

Feeling like I was losing my mind and not knowing who I was anymore. It was miserable and frightening. Thankfully has disappeared since HRT kicked in

Insomnia.

Fatigue - I am exhausted by 3pm and then I struggle to sleep at all at night. I am currently 27 days ‘late’ and the fatigue seems even worse at the moment, usually especially bad just before I start my period but as they stretch out is a permanent state of being

The rage. My previously lovely DH hasn’t developed these habits in line with my menopause, I’m fairly certain.

They include, but not limited to: loud eating, performance sneezing, generous farts and the inability to stack a dishwasher. (Then complain it doesn’t work properly)

Anxiety. Brain fog. The absolute worst was vaginal atrophy. Like having a permanent wee infection. Estrogen cream has sorted that and I take anti depressants x

I'm finding that although I'm not really suffering from hot flushes/night sweats that I am lot less tolerant of warm temperatures.

As previous posters have said, anxiety/poor mental health. My eyes were dry before peri menopause now they are horrendous.