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 I would have topped myself without HRT. I was getting 2-3 dozen hot flushes a day and my sleep pattern was just about destroyed. I also had palpitations, dizziness and my migraines were worse than they've ever been.

I tried the patches but had an allergic reaction to the adhesive, so am on the gel these days. Works a treat and I take progesterone tablets for the other component. I take the lowest dose that I can possibly get away with, so I still have low-level symptoms, but it's immeasurably better than the alternative.

blue do you find the hrt affects your migraines? I hadn't had one for ages as they seemed to be linked to my periods and stopped with them but when I took hrt I had almost constant migraines so I stopped taking it. I'm going to talk to my gp about it this week. The flushes are awful but the inability to sleep much is driving me mad. I consider myself lucky if I get 5 hours of broken sleep a night

@itsmeaga1n luckily for me, it didn't seem to make affect the migraines particularly. I'd already seen a neurologist who said they had been made worse by dropping hormones, so I think the HRT redressed the balance a bit. Hope you can get some help from your GP.

Thyroid issues can also cause a lot of the probs mentioned - it affects pretty much everything, anxiety, mood, concentration, weight gain, hair loss. The blood test does not identify everyone with a thyroid issue - it's better to go by the symptoms.

GPs hugely under diagnose thyroid problems and their knowledge is usually very poor on the subject.

I've got vertical lines above my lip....I'm 45 and never smoked 🙄

Lines I can live with, although I did notice that one of my eyelids is more hooded than the other! Now I can't stop looking at it.

I've noticed how my facial skin has changed this summer. I don't think I have melasma...yet...but i looked tanned! Usually I'm white. Now I can't stop looking at myself.

Got the hooded eye too. Looks like 1 smaller than other.

Same with the eyes, one looks smaller.

I had a blood test for thyroid but it was negative. I was told to retest in 3 months which is about now so I'll request that on Thursday too.
I'm getting extremely stressed about seeing the gp, does anyone else write a note for the gp? I forget half of what I wanted to say because I always feel rushed and as if I'm taking up too much of their time . So this time I'm going to write down what I want.

The thyroid threshold for what is considered a problem in the uk is much higher than in many other countries, so thyroid is very under diagnosed, with many people being told it's fine when treatment would actually really help them.
Worth looking at the thyroid uk website.

It's difficult though isn't it ... symptoms could be menopause or thyroid ... easy for gps to say it's probably menopause at my age of 54. They hate you telling them what to do anyway. I can't see her running different tests.

I had to see two different GPs and insist to get thyroid treatment. Worth it though.
It really shouldn't be so difficult. It was dead easy to get HRT though.

I've now changed GP practice but too early to say whether my new practice is better.

It's really hard to get good GP support at this time of life, GPs have real gaps in their knowledge eg on menopause, thyroid and sometimes NICE guidance can be inappropriate and problematic.

OMG - YES! This is me, all of it, and has been for about a year. I'm 48, almost 49. Went to the doc's when it started and hormone levels came back normal so they wouldn't do anything to treat my symptoms. Am going back later this week and this time I'm not taking no for an answer. I feel like I'm a worse version of myself and I can't be easy to live with. I only got remarried 4 months ago and I feel like it's taking over and ruining my relationship (although hubby is very understanding of it all). The people saying that HRT makes a real difference is giving me hope.

Yes write down what you need to say / ask / or know from the GP and think in your head what do I want to walk out of their room with. It helped me focus when I went to see my GP and I was slightly thrown when she just said yes you can try HRT after 2mins of my “elevator pitch” . But seriously I treat it like that as you only get 8mins face to face time normally so use that time well. Especially if it’s taken 3wks to get the appointment!

It's difficult because I'm not sure if I want/ need hrt or antidepressants. I had some post menopausal bleeding earlier this year, I should get an appointment soon, unsure if this will affect whether I can have hrt . So I have to consider both. Then I want to rule out certain side effects. It's all going to take up time I know they don't have. I get really anxious about it just thinking about it. I can't go on like this, it's ruining my relationship and we've only been together three years. Last time I broached the subject she said to talk to the hospital when I have my appointment, but they have no time either and I really can't wait any longer. If hrt isn't suitable for whatever reason I'm going to ask for an antidepressant that helps with hot flushes ... I can't work out if that's maybe the best thing to go for anyway ... who knows if my symptoms are all menopause related as I struggled with anxiety and depression before but looking back that may have been due to perimenopause?? who knows? I'm getting really anxious ...

Gp’s should not be testing hormones post age 45 to assess the need for hrt. Nice guidelines state that women should be assessed on the basis of their symptoms only. Hormones can fluctuate hourly in perimenopause so a hormone test ‘coming back normal’ means nothing.

@MichelleC69. Your blood tests confirmed that your hormones were normal. So that’s why they didn’t give you HRT. It’s hormone replacement therapy. If your hormones are at a normal level, it would be utterly wrong to give you additional hormones because too much can lead to awful side effects.

Day four of hrt. Hot flushes have stopped. Still waking up a lot to wee.

michelleC69 gps should go on symptoms as blood tests are unreliable in peri. See the NICE guidelines. poster Notsohorriblehistory isn’t correct.

michelleC69. Go back yo your GP after reading the NICE guidelines and ask for a different GP.

Hey.... My last GP visit was 12-18 months ago now, going back tomorrow. There ain't no frickin way my hormone levels are normal now, I'm a mad woman. I'm not leaving that surgery without drugs!

@Miladymilord me too; I started patches on Thursday. I feel 'lighter' somehow, and last night almost slept through (though I was pooped from a long weekend).

HRT is fabulous. I have no intention of ever coming off!

@MichelleC69, also suggest patches over tablets. Not sure why but GP seemed keener on tablets but patches worked whereas tablets seemed less effective.

Because I had a period back in Feb (despite nothaving one for 5 months before hand) I have to take Elleste for a couple of months. Then can change to patches I think.

I feel a bit 'younger' and more cheerful today although of course that could absolutely be a placebo effect!!