To ask for your experiences of perimenopause?

[Youknowitmakessense]

The penny has dropped..
For a few month now I've been experiencing :

• night sweats

• painful cystic acne on my chin ( usually just the odd PMT zit)
• brain "fog"
• teariness and worse than usual PMT
• a shortened cycle ( 24 days instead of my usual 28)

I've just realised it all adds up to the perimenopause. My mum started hers at 30.

I feel pretty low. I'm 39 with one DS (4). Stressy life ( full time job with commute, no family to help nearby, sole earner whilst DH retrains). I'm also awaiting the results of a recent BRCA1 genetic test ( NHS).

I take sertraline already for anxiety, normal BMI, good diet and general other health. But this is making me feel awful.

Anyone have any experience of this? Advice? Suggestions?

Thanks

I haven't had a period for 16 mth yet my peri menopausal tests come back fine!??? it's so confusing. soun are you on hrt?

I've seen many articles saying that Black Cohosh can help symptoms. Has anyone tried it?

ladybird my GP wouldn't recommend hormone tests as she said they go up and down wildly through the peri stage so you would never get an accurate reading. She thinks symptoms are the best indicator to determine where you're at. Not exactly helpful!

Flooding - no one's mentioned flooding!

Really BringMeTea? I must admit I'm always sceptical about companies trying to flog stuff

I've got quite a high tolerance threshold and haven't even felt the need to visit my GP, but I have to admit the sore nipples are getting me down as there's no let up.

Dotty see my tsunami post

Oh there has been flooding and CLOTS like fucking huge jellyfish escaping from my body! Thought my insides were falling out

Well, I've had those floods for years now and I didn't put them down to peri menopause as I was like clockwork until three months ago. Now I just miss the occasional period. My boobs are twice the size they were has one one had that and I'm forgetful all the time. I hate it.

I'm 47. I think.

I'm perimenopausal too. I started taking menopace night supplement about a week ago as I was having sleep problems and hot flushes in the night, and I do feel it is helping already...I'm not waking up hot and bothered in the night so much.
I still have brain fog and tiredness but I have also started with a high dose vitamin D supplement which I think is beneficial generally, and I've felt less tired in the last few days.

MaisyMooMoo, I looked into black cohosh but decided against it after reading around due to possible risk of harmful side effects,

I'm 45 and my periods suddenly stopped about a year and a bit ago, no tailing off, they just stopped. Ruling out pregnancy with a test eventually led me to my GP and he did some hormone tests. They seem to show I'm in the menopause, just like that. It's a big thing to get your head round for me sometimes. Plus the hot flushes are awful, sometimes it feels like my body is going to spontaneously combust. So uncomfortable and if it happens during the day makes me feel all slowed down to, everything being so much of an effort to move. If it happens during the night Im restless and can't sleep. And yes I do think I'm more anxious now that I used to be!

I think I've noticed the forgetfulness creep in the past few months, before other symptoms if I'm honest. I was actually getting concerned that I had early onset dementia. I've always been sharp and can recall things quickly. Now I struggle to find certain words. Some days worse than others.

yeah

Periods 21 days apart. Heavy, flooding, very painful. Hot sweats at night. Crushing insomnia. Tearful. Heavy fatigue descending like a cloud, then feeling ok again after a 5 minute doze. Joints feeling a bit frayed around the edges and a chronically bad neck/right shoulder.

And yet, I feel ok mostly. I know that doesn't make sense. Sex life still great. On top form at work, even after an average 4 hours sleep a night. I climb some bloody big hills. Brain as sharp as ever with the experience to back it up

Swings and roundabouts

Maisy my GP seems to not want to identify peri menopausal because I'd have to start hormones which would restart periods!
dotty I went through a period(no pun) for 5-6 yrs where I flooded every month. I would stand still and have blood + clots pouring from me sorry for TMI. it was mega embarrassing and I felt trapped indoors. this no periods is great but need to know is this 'IT'

Periods all over the place - I once bled for 10 days - then nothing for months at a time. Not so much night sweats as just feeling hot, throwing the covers off. Coming out with the wrong word in a sentence (I still do that now, although not so much). Dryness "down there". Stiffness in limbs and joints after sitting or lying for any length of time, although that may be just a general age thing.

I had my last period in November 2014, when I was two months past 44, so I think that's me done with it. I took - still take - Tesco Menopause Multiplus tablets along with calcium supplements - Nan had and now Mum has severe osteoporosis - and tbh I think I've got through it all fairly easily. I may just have been lucky, though.

How to you get to sleep on a night? My mind starts racing. I bought a lavender spray which I'm going to try on my pillow tonight.

48 and had blood tests about two years ago which showed I was peri. Cutting down sugar and wheat helped reduce hot flushes, no idea what to do about the memory/recall rubbish. For years I'd had alternate heavy/light, painful/OK, bright red/ old looking blood going on then it settled to just 48hr light bleeding with little pain, now just vaguely every two or three months. On gp nurse advice I came off the pill which was ok at first but now I'm having episodes of very low mood and anxiety. She suggested merina coil which I'm reluctant to try after reading stories here. High dose evening promise helped me with breast pain. Really don't want drugs, but does get help with mood swings?

anyfucker I'm not like you I feel utterly exhausted and then some. I've had the mega periods etc but now no periods just pure utter exhaustion, total insomnia no energy, no fight left in me. hot sweats, chronic fatigue syndrome, what we poor women we have to fight through. I'd love to be my old self I was such a happy bubbly lady. I loved loved loved life.

I'm 55 FFS and still having pmt, acne and irregular tsunami periods. Don't want the mirena and keep thinking this must end soon. Dr has been muttering about hysterectomy.,.

I find Badger Balm helps, also, if it's really bad, I have pillow speakers connected to my tablet, playing long length sleep/relaxation music mp3s downloaded from YouTube. Sometimes I don't actually sleep, but just try to at least rest and relax, which I find is better than nothing at all. When really warm I'd just lie atop the covers with the windows open. I was still warm, but it was tolerable.

My GP recommended I continue to take Feroglobin Iron supplement as she thinks the fatigue can be a result of the heavy periods. I have to say it really helped.

I had a scan to see what might be causing the heavy periods just in case they might not be a symptom of peri and two small fibroids showed up in the womb. I don't need treatment, the GP said 50% of women in their 40s can have them and not even know. I think that combined with other symptoms I'm having it's definitely the peri menopause.

Thanks everybody. It seems like there's not that much known / recognised about this life stage really.

I think I naively thought I'd tick along with periods then they'd just stop. I'd have a few hot flushes and cut my hair off and become Helen Mirren....

Go to your GP and ask about HRT. Start menopace and high dose evening primrose. Try and get a little more exercise. I am going through peri menopause and the anxiety is not good. Also still getting night sweats despite hrt patches. I've been referred to a specialist.