I've been perimenopausal for about a year now, and I thought I was pretty well-read about what it would involve. But some of the things I've experienced have come as a particularly unpleasant surprise and I was wondering if others had found the same! Perhaps if we share some of the things we've been through it will help other women to be prepared when they reach that time in their lives too.
So, aside from the usual hot flushes and night sweats and irregular periods, I've had:
Ovulation flu! I don't have a better term for it really, but every time I ovulate now, I get weird flu-like symptoms such as aching muscles, swollen neck glands, and suddenly feeling cold and tired all the time. It took me a while to make the connection with the time of the month, and I thought I was just getting a bit of a cold, but it only ever lasts for a couple of days and then goes away completely.
The fatigue. Even after getting what seems to be enough sleep.
Weirdly, the lower back pain I've suffered with for more than a decade has more or less gone, but now I get joint pain in my knees and elbows instead. It's much worse a couple of days before a period.
Anyone else had any symptoms they didn't expect, and did they go away once you were completely through the menopause?