Is it possible to have an easy menopause / perimenopause?

[battenburg100]

I'm so scared about what the next few years entail for me in terms of the menopause / perimenopause.

The media is full of tales about how destructive it is to the quality of women's lives - anxiety, depression, memory problems, mood swings, hot flushes, home and work life negatively affected - the list goes on........

Do some women ever sail through it with minimal symptoms or are we all doomed to go through a really dark period in our lives?

I guess I hope to hear some positive experiences from Mumsnetters , that it doesn't have to be all that bad!

Thank you

I had a year or so where the hot flushes were quite unpleasant but really nothing life changing.
I had an ok time of it with periods - always light and not much in way of tummy ache or mood swings. Not sure if it's related.
I went to GP when the flushes were bad and I seemed to have some mood swings and got put on HRT. Felt great for 3 months then felt sick and headachey so came off the tablets and realised my menopause symptoms had abated and I didn't need anything else.
It wasn't too bad at all for me.

Everyone is different so all I can suggest is try not to worry about it until it happens - you might sail through it !!

I'm ok, barely any flushes and no period in 2 yrs.
I think it's like pregnancy or even periods,ok for some and hideous for others and somewhere in between for most

Yes it is.
I had hot flushes, but nothing terrible. I had a few migraines, but they have stopped now. No other problems. My last period was 10 years ago. It isn't bad for everyone.

Mines a bit different as mine is artificially induced, after seriously heavy bleeding and 2 failed ablation my gynae put me onto prostap permanently until natural menopause (I'm 44) I did have a few hot flushes so she also dropped in hrt (livial) not because the flushes were a great problem but more to ensure my bone density was protected. I haven't had a period for a year now and haven't had any menopause problems either.

I honestly feel like it's the best thing ever, no fear of flooding or huge clots like I had!

I also had hot flushes but found sage tea really helped. Lasted around a year or so, but nothing too bad so I consider myself one of the lucky ones. That's it really. I was advised against HRT because in reality it just holds back the menopause and for me I felt I'd be more able to deal with it in my early 50s than 70s. Everyone's different.

So yes, some women do sail through, some don't.

I think the majority of women are not greatly affected by it. I wasn’t. I did have hot flushes, but not very strong, and I had some difficulty in sleeping. Some mood/anger issues, but as long as you are aware of these and take steps to address, they don’t cause a big problem. Set that against the cessation of periods, and the mood swings around the menstrual cycle, I was delighted to go through it.
I took nothing, and I think HRT is less prescribed now. My theory on that is this: your ovaries produce estrogen, but so, too, does your adipose tissue (fat). And that continues after menopause. If you let your body re-balance, the adipose estrogen will help to compensate for the ovaries shutting down, but it takes time. I think HRT can interfere with that.
If you do get severe symptoms, then see your GP.
Also, ask women you know who are post-menopausal how it went for them. Most that I know are like me.

I’ve had PCOS all my menstruating life so have gone literally months and months, and occasionally years, without periods. So now I’m perimenopausal, it’s been the shock of my life having periods every month and a life’s worth of PMT to go with it. How did you all do this for 30 odd years?!!!

My mum says it was easy for her. I think I might be peri but no massive signs as yet. My mum's migraines stopped so that was a bonus.

The best way to get through it in my opinion is to look after yourself as best as you can on the lead up to it.
All the usual health advice is supposed to help, Keep your weight in check, exercise regularly including weight lifting , cut down if you need to on heavily processed foods and alcohol.
It may be fine for you but if you need help, go for it. Get through it the best way you can.

I had irregular periods. That's it. No hot flashes, no night sweats, no mood changes. Just wasn't able to predict my period.

I had it easy. But 45-50 were hard years; work, kids, bills etc. Didn’t see how pills would help that part.
When I looked into HRT 15 or so years ago, I found most of the info on menopause was published/backed by pharmaceutical companies.

I had a few hot flushes for around 6 months, and my mood can be erratic at times but apart from that I think I have got through it relatively unscathed.

Yep. My periods stopped. That was it. No hot flushes, no mood swings, nothing. I generally feel warmer in bed than I used to so use lighter duvet etc, which may or may not be related, and since my mid forties I don't sleep as well as I did when I was younger, but nothing major and again, I'm not sure how related it is.

I had a few months where I would have gladly lived in a freezer, the hot flushes were a bit overwhelming. Apart from that I barely had any other symptoms.

Yep, a couple of weeks of feeling very hot at night and that was the height of it.

Another symptom aside hot flushes, leepnes night's mood swings etc I heard of recently was a constant feeling of itchin, as ifomething is crawling al over you . It's a bloody horrible feeling!

I had periods getting lighter then only coming alternate months, for 18mths. A year of hot flushes, night sweats, restless legs and the lack of sleep was unpleasant. Gradually I had increasing pain in neck, back and shoulders. I embarked on a weight loss and exercise routine and it all disappeared!

I had no symptoms. I'd also never had any problems with PMT or similar.
Most of my friends didn't have any symptoms too. I guess it just the luck of the draw.

I had no symptoms. My period just stopped. No migraines, no hot flashes, nothing.
To be honest, my daughters claim I was very irritable, but they were both teenagers at the time and were very Irritating.

I had three heavy periods, then, nothing. No hot flashes. No headaches. The only menopause symptom I have is I wake up at 3 am and am awake for an hour or two, no matter what. I just cruise the net on my mobile now at that time.

As I suffer Depression and stress and have Congenital Hypothyroidism it's hard to tell what's happening at any given time as the Thyroid issue can mimic other things as it's metabolism related. I have the odd hot flush but just a few seconds then it goes off but it's early days,for that. I do spend longer in the chiller aisle and turn the thermostat down at Mums as its like a Tropical Butterfly House!! So yes it's kicking in I think😁😁

I had about 6months of not very bad hot flushes (maybe 10seconds long if that, open a window/take off cardigan, job done) & 3very light periods 14days apart, that was all. I thought 'is that it?' . I was expecting 2years of misery.

I deplore the media hype, too.

I know a lot of women personally who had a tough time around 50yo, so I was braced for that. So far... Nada. Nothing specific. I see folk on MN menop complain about things that DH has gone thru, too, so not female-specific. Complete non-event. I'm only 51 so maybe something will change. I don't mind irregular periods (mine also lifelong irregular) & not prone to anxiety. I'd take HRT if miserable without. Instead, I am probably healthier, stronger & more resilient now than at any previous time in my life.

I am an insomniac, hence awake now, but that's since I was 2yo. Don't think I can blame hormones for that.

I know a lot of women around my age at work who seem to be sailing thru magnificently well.

I’m 55, my last period was at 51. Since then I’ve had the occasional hot flush, usually at about 5am but nothing else.

I found I crave more green veg and granary bread instead of white. That resulted in losing weight which has meant fewer flushes. Otherwise I feel the same, no less energy,