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

For those needing to manage weight. I find low carb / healthy fats eating is important. Eating healthy fats are essential to the manufacture of hormones in our bodies. There is loads of information on the internet but this is a good resource www.dietdoctor.com/

Pennifer, those are great low carb recipes in your link.

agree with you blueshoes I am going to make some of them. Cauliflower hash browns for a start!

Hello, new user here. Stepmum to very grown up children (nearly as old as me). I'm 49 - 50 in January, and things have been shifting with my cycle for a few years now. Always regular enough to set a watch by, now anything from 10 days to 40. Some night sweats which seem to wake poor DH but not always me, no accompanying sensation of heat at the moment though, so fingers crossed! I went mainly vegan about a year ago, which definitely seems to help energy levels and digestion, and hitting the gym seems to help too. By the way, can anyone help with changing the username? I tried and failed! Thanks.

I'm 54 and I'm convinced that I'll be the only old lady in the care home still needing tampons! Apart from an occasional 45 day cycle I'm still pretty regular and normal flow, but having hot sweats, restless legs and insomnia, along with the brain fog and tiredness. It's been good to read that all this stuff is "normal" though.

Peri menopause hit me like a ton of bricks. I can cope with the hot flushes but the joint stiffness and pain completely disables me at times. If it's a bad day I need help to get out of a chair and at one stage I was thinking I'd need to switch my car for an automatic as my arms were so bad.

Tests for RA came back negative and 6 months of HRT almost completely cured me whilst I was taking it so completely hormonal. Unfortunately I am contra indicated from taking the combined form and not yet eligible for the single hormone. I've had months of herbal HRT which had no effect and I depend on anti inflammatories.

I can only hope that one day this will be over

I am 47 and noticed symptoms last summer for the first time. I take black cohosh and dong quai plus multi vits and fish oils. I already drink soya and I have added flaxseeds into my diet. I cut down caffeine, carbs and sugar. It's definitely helped no more night sweats or hot flushes. I've just had the Mirena for other gynae issues so I am waiting to see what effects it has.

2ndsoprano you sound just like me. I've been on anti depressants for a month now. Blood tests all clear apart from low iron which is prob due to heavy bleeding. Gp3 had referred me for a scan.

I think the soya in my diet might help to some extent. I am on an 18 day cycle this month, so just in time for the festive season! Luckily so far I don't get heavy, painful or prolonged periods but not knowing when the hell to expect them to arrive can be a pain in itself. Feeling as if I am just about to 'start' for a whole three weeks wasn't unbridled joy either this month. For a while when my cycles first started becoming irregular I could sort of 'tell' when to expect a period, but now I have to just begin again each time and accept I have no idea. Exercise seems to be the key thing for keeping hormone levels under some sort of control and it has been lacking for me this month due to being unusually busy. Interesting to see if things settle again once I can get back into my gym routine.

Mine started not long after DS at age 43. I extended breastfed so put dysmenorrhoea down to that. Wasn't that. Apart from a few hot flushes and The Great Falls its been positive for me. I have much more energy than I did before and have had no skin breakouts. I had horrendous periods so am glad they are apparently ended.

I am 46 years old. I got my period and once my period ended it turned to staining now for 17/18 days. So basically in 17/18 days I have been having a period or staining. So its day 17/18 and I believe my staining turned back to a period again. Had a sono done 6 months ago with good lining. Went to obgyn and he said he thought it was hormonal and not cancer but worried. He was waiting to do a sono until things calmed down. Any experience you have had would be helpful and appreciated!

I am 46 years old. I got my period and once my period ended it turned to staining now for 17/18 days. So basically in 17/18 days I have been having a period or staining. So its day 17/18 and I believe my staining turned back to a period again. Had a sono done 6 months ago with good lining. Went to obgyn and he said he thought it was hormonal and not cancer but worried. He was waiting to do a sono until things calmed down. Any experience you have had would be helpful and appreciated!

Sounds a hell of a lot like it.... I have just been put back on the pill despite having no uterus. I have osteopenia (borderline osteoporosis) and am 45. Start weight bearing exercise to protect your bones and stay on top of your thyroid. My osteopenia was caused by being over-prescribed on thyroid medication.

12 to 14 day cycle and coarse black chin hair.

And periods are very painful.

Its the chin hair thats driving me mad I made my usual appointment to have it waxed at the salon and they cancelled on me. So i made another one at a salon i used to go to and went into the appointment today to find the therapist had gone home sick (not her fault obvs) but to have two failed appointments twice in one week is annoying.

What I remember was aching from head to toe, some nights. I did get off fairly lightly though. My GP said if I went through the menopause before I was 50 I’d need HRT but luckily I was 53.

My perimenopause lasted for about 8 years. The only symptom was more frequent and heavier periods. I remember a couple of periods that lasted for about 17 days.
Didn't get any hot flushes until after my last period, and they lasted a couple of years. They were bad during the summer. Cutting out caffeine and alcohol completely helped a lot.
I managed to lose a fair amount of weight, and exercised a fair amount during my perimenopause, and I believe that helped. I never went to the GP or took any kind of medication.

Flooding, passing massive clots and 10 days long periods... Severe anemia as a result. Taking iron supplements that have some unpleasant side effects for almost a year now. Such a joy being a woman

In another hand no hot flashes or dryness so far. Counting my -meager-- blessings