To be sick and tired of the fucking menopause?

[Miladymilord]

I'm in bed. Feel wide awake, alternatively hot then cold. I've got leg cramps, greasy hair (wtaf), I feel really grumpy. Can't relax. I know ill wake up again in about 3 hours, drenched in sweat with restless legs. It's totally shit.

I think the whole discussion around menopause needs to be shaken up and given a contemporary vibe - put into the context of the lives of women now. There is hardly anything in this country. Doctors know shit, for the most part. I love Menopause Matters forum, some of the women have been amazingly helpful but the site looks prehistoric.

although I recommend Dr Louise Newsom's website - she's a highly recommended meno specialist in Manchester. Her website is fresh and packed with info

Thanks blogsshogs and it does make sense. You are right there needs to be far more discussion about it all because if we can get it in context and know it's likely to pass hurry up eventually that makes it all not seem so scary or isolating.
Will check out those websites and start exercising.

I have been to the doctors for HRT this week. Decision was based partly on an article in The Times
www.thetimes.co.uk/article/hormone-therapy-why-everything-you-thought-you-knew-about-hrt-is-wrong-b7bnwbb0p

I don’t know how to do a share token I’m afraid but the article discusses that HRT “is the only medicine clinically shown to reduce the risk of dementia, by 45 to 60 per cent. (Exercise, olive oil and crossword puzzles, not so much.) Oestrogen also lowers the risk of heart disease by 50 per cent. And while vitamin D and calcium help to strengthen bones before menopause, they don’t prevent fractures in older women. Oestrogen, however, protects by increasing the internal flexibility of bone.”

Based on reasearch published in a book by Dr Avrum Bluming and Dr Carol Tavris called Oestrogen Matters.

The hot and cold thing is irritating.
I'll put a cardigan on and immediately have to take it off again as I feel the heat boiling up like a kettle!

My memory is bad short term and my inability to absorb what someone is saying to me is annoying. I wasn't like it before.
Getting a good nights sleep does help.
Achieving this is another matter.

I am 46 and on HRT. I couldn’t cope with the insomnia and anxiety. It has really helped with that. I still have aching joints, but that has improved with the hrt. I had to try various different types as I don’t tolerate the progesterone part very well. But I definitely feel much better with HRT than without.

Morning all hotties.

I took two ibuprofen before bed last night and slept pretty well. Only one brief waking (pee, duvet off/on) at 2.30, then again at 6.30 when I get up anyway.

Intense restless legs last night on the sofa, had to beg dh to rub my feet - as he has arthritis in his hand that's not easy what a pair we make.

Whilst I don’t want any one else to suffer - is it bad that I’m glad I’m not alone!! Sorry
I’m late 40’s and peri. The worst for me is the brain fog and exhaustion, my sleep is terrible.
I don’t want to do anything but sit and eat cake which makes me sluggish and more exhausted and so I crave more cake and so on.
I know when I break the cycle and exercise and eat better I feel slightly better. But nothing helps the sleep. So I’m permanently exhausted.
I have tried to think of it as a phase and just take each day as it comes as I found I was falling in to a pit of despair. Still have bad days but try to be nice to myself 🙂

I am truly amazed that so many women feel that they can't talk about this! I've talked openly about my hot flushes on the side of the pitch while watching dd play football! I've made a couple of good mum friends through it but the younger ones think I'm mental

Having battled with bad sleep through meno for years, this is one of the good finds:

Valerian drops. It's easy to take, non addictive, non drowsy, herb. It might not stop all the wake ups, but it usually takes me a level down into a deeper sleep.

Really recommend it.

www.amazon.co.uk/Vogel-Dormeasan%C2%AE-Valerian-Hops-oral-drops/dp/B006D57OJQ/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?keywords=vogel+valerian&tag=mumsnetforum-21&ie=UTF8&qid=1537345306&sr=8-1

Good shout blogshogs

For those with restless legs and sleep issues, have you tried magnesium glycinate before bed.
It can really help.

I have tried magnesium and it didn't help BUT I may not have done it for long enough

Magnesium spray for legs is meant to be good but it is more messy

Acupuncture, too.

Always acupuncture. That's my motto.

Yes I was considering acupuncture. I've done it in the past and it's brill

Acupuncture is amazing, it's just pricey on an ongoing basis, like all of these treatments

Marv1nGay3 did you get hrt for hot flushes or other symptoms? My gp wouldn't give it to me for the other stuff (sleep problems, aching joints etc), said it was only to treat hot flushes. She was happy to give me antidepressants for the above (I don't have symptoms of anxiety/depression, none that I shared with her or believe are connected to the menopause).

I went to see a menopause specialist privately, ( she also works on the nhs) and now get my prescriptions on the nhs. My gp was not that knowledgable about hrt. The lady I saw just gave me a list of symptoms and asked me to tick which ones I had, before the appointment. It was a long list. Hrt carries no extra risks when taken in the perimenopause up to age 50. Hot flushes were about the only symptom I didn’t have. Hrt isn’t just for hot flushes! I don’t suddenly feel amazing but I am now sleeping and not waking up in the night feeling anxious. I can function whereas I was really not coping before. Maybe try a different gp?

Not meaning to hijack but ... I’m 56. I asked my gp about coming off HRT and he said “no, you’re ok to take it for a few more years yet” 😐. If I want to come off (and I do) can I do it myself? I’ve read that decreasing I’ve 2-4 months is a good rate. Anyone know or have done it themselves?

I take meds for high BP. Have a family history of breast and bowel cancers too. I’ve put on weight and go insists it’s nothing to do with HRT. Probably isn’t but, I hate it. I also have sweet food cravings like I had when I was having periods which is NOT what I expected. I feel it’s impossible to keep my gut/hips and backside from spreading.

I have found Magnesium Citrate good for restless legs. Has anyone lost weight on HRT? I'd quite like to have a waist again.

X post with Auntie. Gawd, I certainly don't want to get any fatter!

Marv1nGay3 according to NICE guidelines it's to be used for vasomotor symptoms (hot flushes) and low mood related to the menopause: www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng23/chapter/Recommendations#managing-short-term-menopausal-symptoms

They seem to follow NICE guidelines when they fancy it as I was given a blood test even though I'm over 50 and gp offered me ADs for, er, not sure why really.

Yes, I really should see someone privately. Not that things are so bad (I could use more energy but otherwise my symptoms are pretty minimal) but I'd like to know more about bone/heart health vs cancer/stroke risk. (Also secretly feeling a bit sad about the weird hyper-ageing of skin/flesh that seems to take place overnight every couple of months.)

AuntyJackiesBrothersSistersBoy bizarre that some people seem to be on hrt and asking to come off and others are being denied it. Like you I have a family history of breast/bowel cancer (and stroke) and would like to know more about increased risk vs bone/heart protection. Have you asked to try different meds? I think I read here that patches are safer than tablets re bc. (I'll see if I can find that thread just in case I'm imagining it.)

I don't have hot flushes, but every meno specialist I've spoken to has immediately given me HRT for other symptoms.

Doctors know shit about the menopause. They don't have the training.

NICE Guidelines, as I understood it, say that menopause symptoms should not be treated with anti deps. Which makes sense! It's a hormone imbalance.

As for having a waist - and weight gain - I have also explored this relentlessly and this is what is evidenced:

Portion size - you have to fairly significantly cut down on portion size during meno years to maintain a similar weight to the pre years. We burn calories far less effectively, need far less.

Also: cortisol is a real shocker to the system and assists in the lying down of fat around the middle. This means trying to minimise the stress and also be careful about doing too much exercise - the wrong sort too often can send cortisol flooding through your body which is then counter productive weight wise.

Actually, you have to do less exercise and the right sort of exercise in meno years for it to be helpful and also contribute to weight balance.

The Keto way of eating gave me my waist back. I lost a stone fairly quickly