To ask for Perimenopausal horror stories and ask if there's any respite?

[celestialbows]

We touched on this subject in the hideous wedding story thread and I think that the responses and shared experiences warrant their own thread.

I believe that I started perimenopause 5 years ago aged 35. My periods became heavy and erratic. I was ttc and the only solution GPs could offer for the erratic bleeding was to put me on the pill.
Luckily I saw an amazing locum who referred me to the fertility clinic and I now have two beautiful children.

Since having the kids my cycle has got worse, periods are either really late or bunched together. I have embarrassing flooding, crazy mood swings, inappropriate crying at work and in public places as well as 'middle aged spread' dry hair and skin (dry everywhere...) and the list goes on.
Once again the. surgery has been unsupportive, my GP says that I'm too young for menopause and I'm only presenting with PMT and it is the same for all women!

I resorted to private hormone testing which showed that my oestrogen is persistently low. The GPs won't acknowledge the tests as they are notoriously unreliable and have offered me anti Depressants and the pill to counteract the mood swings and irregular cycle.

Has anyone else tried these methods and found them helpful or do you have any experience of other things which helped you?

Please wade in with your tales and help me to see I'm not alone!

[MardyBra]

I also second the use of a towel in the bed. I'd found that sometimes I would sit up in bed and find that the outline of my labia had been imprinted onto the sheet.

Sorry TMI again.

[DiamondDoris]

Perimenopausal here and 47 - haven't had a period for 5 months (but think it's not the end yet). Sweat a lot, smell quickly, hot flushes, dry skin etc. Foods containing soya and oily fish are meant to help with menopausal symptoms.

[emmelinelucas]

I thought I had finished, and got off lightly to boot, but no, after months the flooding started and after seeing my GP,started taking the highest dose of ibuprofen which helps. A bit. I use toddler size nappies at night, its fiddly to get the gusset bit comfy (sorry but stops me from waking every hour to change.
Tampons leaked and were very painful to use for some reason, though they weren't before.
The sweats are like being dipped in steam.

[Abra1d]

I use a mooncup and an old cotton sports sock at nights stuffed into pants and PJ trousers and towel. The sock is great--absorbent and softer than disposable pads.

Dead sexy, me.

[comingintomyown]

Nobody has mentioned hairy chins ?

[Maverick66]

Hi, just want to add my experience peri menopause started for me aged 38 symptoms are:-
Sweating excessively anything from 3 days to a week prior to period
Migraine headache
Itchy palms and soles of feet
Itch high up in vagina similar to thrush for 3 days b4 period
Excessive sweating in bikini line
Sleepless nights b4 period
Restless legs
Sensitive teeth 3 days b4 period
Solutions ?
Antihistamine for vaginal, feet and hands itching
Sensodyne toothpaste for teeth
Tonic water or paracetamol for restless legs
Betahistine for headaches dizziness and nausea. :)
Exciting eh????

[Maverick66]

Ps you ladies with heavy bleeding Merino coil is the answer :)

[MardyBra]

Good point about how men would react babybarrister.

Yes, I do find it restricting socially. My "flooding" usually occurs about 3 or 4 times a period, but the problem is that you never know exactly when, so I'm always on edge when I'm at risk.

[MardyBra]

Maverick. Having read some of the threads about the mirena coil on here, I'd rather stick a bargepole up my foof.

[Slipshodsibyl]

People who don't get on witht the Mirena are
More Likely to post about it I think. It is fantastic for many.

[Ishtar2410]

I'm 42 and get night sweats and hot flushes. My sweat smells more (sorry for TMI), periods erratic and sometimes very light, other times it's like a massacre.

Don't mention the 'leaking' when I laugh or cough.

Saw the GP a year or so ago about it and was offered the Mirena coil to help with period symptoms, which I declined.

Oh, and the middle aged spread - I've put on over a stone in the past couple of years, the majority of which is around my belly. Losing it is proving very difficult.

[joshandjamie]

So pleased I found this thread. It has been eye opening (and jaw dropping). I am 40. Things that I have noticed in the last six months:

Period cycle getting shorter and shorter so that I now have a period about every 17 days. The periods last about five days but no flooding yet.

Getting spottier skin

Crazy assed pmt where I become the amazing screaming banshee

really stinky (underarms and in my lady area which seems to get more sweaty)

Really painful hip joints. So much so that I went to a hip specialist and had a full MRI scan to see if there was a problem. But no. If I sit for any length of time and then try to stand up it is agony.

Restless legs - often and really bad

Piling on the pounds. I have now started the 5:2 diet to try shift some of it.

Tmi alert: about five days after the end of my period I get ragingly horny for about two days. I also have a huge amount of clear/ white gloopy stuff coming out of me.

I had had the mirena coil in for five years but had it removed a year ago as my dh had the snip and I didn't need contraception - I put all the changes in my body down to that but now I am not sure.

[digerd]

SIS went on the pill in her early 30s and came off it at 55. She was through the menopause with no symptoms before or after and looked 20 years younger.

[digerd]

She did age slightly after coming off the pill, but still looks years younger than her age.

[celestialbows]

Wow loads of replies since I was last on! I had a horrible day at work yesterday and I was feeling uber sensitive which seems to be run of the mill now!
A few people have mentioned sweating, I have become very conscious of 'lady smell' and have even bought feminine wipes, something I have only ever scoffed at in the past.
I had an appointment somewhere recently where I had to sit on a plastic chair.
It a hot day and when I got up there was a clear, wet imprint of my intimate bits on the chair. I have never been so repulsed by myself as I have during the last few months!

[KatyDidItAgain]

Sweating, yes.
Itchy hands and feet, yes.
Hairy chin, yes.

Good job I'm not writing an advert for a dating site isn't it?!

And weight yes, suddenly fat accumulating on my stomach.

[KatyDidItAgain]

Oh yes, the imprint on the chair. We only have plastic chairs at work and it's a common problem. I stand up rather than sit down.

[digerd]

DD also had an early perimenopause. She is fine now on HRT and no periods at all

[celestialbows]

Oh katydiditagain that must be awful for you. It's not great to be permanently conscious of your body and constantly about what parts of yourself you might leave behind!
I agree with the poster who wrote that if men went through this the treatment might be different.
Digerd : did it take long for doctors to acknowledge your dd's early perimenopause?

[celestialbows]

joshandjamie: yy to the raging horn, often at inappropriate times!

[OhMerGerd]

Lol and nods sympathetically at the sweaty imprint on the chair. I now try to sit a kind of side saddle if it's a plastic chair. Basically one cheek touching at a time as if leaning nonchalantly to the side. And I use an A4 note book or big handbag so that when I stand up i can deftly leave it on my seat during coffee breaks, looks like I'm keeping my place and always, push seat right under table at the end of meetings in case of imprint or flood!

I am just so grateful for the fashion of oversized handbags because it means I can legitimately carry the spare clothes and gubbins around whilst looking stylish.

Do you know I could put up with all of this, 2 months of heavy bleeding until sore with having to change giant tampons so often, flushing, sweating, feeling generally dumpy and grumpy if I didn't have this frickin spare tyre thing around my middle. I'm not a skinny minny always had a lovely curvey bottom and thighs but now this big wadge is developing around my middle ( I keep catching it with my elbow and thinking what's that?). I've gone from eyecatchingly womanly to roll out the barrel. I need to find a way to get rid and quick.

[joshandjamie]

You know women really do get the shitty end of the stick, don't we?

[celestialbows]

We do indeed joshandjamie, we do indeed...

[joshandjamie]

celestialbows yy to the raging horn, often at inappropriate times!

Do you mean like when you're the chair of the PTA and you're in a meeting and the rather good looking headmaster walks in and sits next to you and you lose your train of thought because all you can imagine is him flinging you over the desks and ripping your clothes off?