To ask you to share your unexpected menopause symptoms

[GraceMarks]

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?

Vertigo? Well that explains my recent bouts of dizziness. Brain fog is terrible, regularly forget words these days, spent 5 mins looking at a picture of a puffin internally screaming because i couldn't remember the bloody name. FFS. And the fatigue, i could sleep for the whole weekend . No hot flushes/night sweats yet though, for which i am very thankful.

Yes, vertigo and dizziness. Horrible and took quite some time to accept it was linked to it and not some terrible illness.

Pins and needles, tinnitus, twitches, restless legs, terrible memory, concentration of a 5 to!

Didn't realize vertigo was.linked.I had hideous dizzy spells and stopped driving.

And exacerbated my 'ADHD' tendencies
Oh yes, this. I feel so alert, especially evenings and nights. It's what is totally ruining my sleep. I wake up at 2pm and could get up and save the whole neighborhood in a military fashion as I'm pumping so much adrenalin!

@whatisforteamum, it affected my driving too, especially in the mornings and in the dark.

I never thought then it could be linked to the menopause but I've been surprised to hear the same from a few of my friends going through it too.

spent 5 mins looking at a picture of a puffin internally screaming because i couldn't remember the bloody name.

This plus I give you male pattern baldness. I look more like Dave Vanian every month, and my shins are so smooth I look like I shave my legs.

The worst breast pain ever. Can be for 3 out of 4 weeks.

Brain fog.

Stiff hands (although I do wonder if that is a side effect of the meds I take for breast pain).

I have found that reducing dairy in my diet reduces breast pain. When I reported this to my doctor she said she wasn’t remotely surprised.

A burning ear. My ear gets incredibly red and hot and the heat radiates down my neck. It happens within a two hour window around the same time every day. It has been known to affect both ears at the same time but it's usually just one. 🤨

And yes to the breast pain!

Horrific breast pain.

I have started taking Vit B6, magnesium and taurine and has made a huge difference - a bit sore for a couple of days before my period, far less weepy and sleeping much better! Found it on researching PMT and PMDD treatment.

Oh, and you may not even be able to get pissed to take your mind off it!

My tolerance for alcohol went through the floor soon after I hit 50. I went from being a champion drinker who could match rugby players of the same age pint for pint, to being the wuss who could manage 2 glasses of wine or 1.5 pints before vomitting.

It's taken 12 years for me to work my way up to 3 pints/bottle of wine (but only white - red wine still makes me ill after 2 small glasses). I didn't have a drink problem, but I liked to get pissed ocasionally.

If I want to get merry now, I have to drink strong* G&Ts, and even then I can't get beyond tipsy and wobbly.

*By strong, I mean strong enough to make my lips feel numb, not like a pub double.

Palpitations

I couldn't think what they are called for about 5 minutes while I was trying to write this, and memory loss

This is so helpful.It was assumed I had panic attacks I even stopped bus travel.I did have a blood test and gp didn't think I was menopausal at 51 Almost 53 now.
I can walk alone.Next step driving.!!

Leg sweats from the knee down.
Brain fog (which is tough as I am a teacher and forget things mid lesson!)
Aches and pains
Exhaustion like I have not had since pregnancy

Swollen ankles and severe deep muscular and joint pain - to the extent that I was unable to stand up from a chair without assistance. I really thought I had rheumatoid arthritis developing.

One week into HRT and all this vanished.

My mums unexpected one was severe anxiety and not being able to sleep. She is better now but it was a really tough time for her. She thought she was going mad.

Belly fat/protruding belly. I am a healthy weight but I look a little misshapen now.

Fatigue, occasional vertigo, tinnitus, palpitations...but the worst is always having hot hands and feet. Once the temperature goes over 18 degrees any idea of feeling comfortable vanishes. Can not tolerate heat at all!

The aching and tiredness. I'm self-employed and so have a pretty flexible schedule and sit at a desk all day but I often wonder how people with a physical job that they have to do every day manage to carry on.

Is anyone else reading through everyone else's list and having a lightbulb moment? As well as what I've already said I so get dizziness occasionally and my driving has gone to shit, to the point I get really anxious reversing off my drive, something I've done safely and successfully for many many years.

Brain fog. Oh the brain fog. It's really not good. I'm a teacher, it really impacts on me. I've had to stop what I'm saying and ask "What was the question again?"

And calling pupils by the wrong name - "Thomas? Why did I just call you Thomas?! I know you're called Daniel, not Thomas! Sorry Daniel!"

And to answer the post about how we got diagnosed, the simple answer is it's MN and Dr Google that have diagnosed me. I keep toying with the idea of going to the doctor to rule out any other possible causes, but I'm 98% sure I'd be wasting their time.

Not being able to warm up in June. Total opposite of a flush.
Restless legs.

Brilliant read, this, as yep, not much info on less common symptoms.
Mine have been;
permanently repeating infections eh colds, urine infections that don't show on testing
anxiety worsening to the point of not socializing any more
Enormous belly
Tiredness, legs heavy especially in heat, shortness of breath
B.O. for the first time
Brain fog & IQ reduced drastically (can't cope in my academic environment job)
Nit picking nature (not my style)
Inner ear/balance problems (e.g. after a flight I had severe dizziness for months)
Severe itching, sleep problems
Just started getting night sweats

(no idea I was perimenopausal until I just thought...ill ask GP for hrt & see what happens, tablets made me sick..but the estrogen part was a miracle - energy, mood, sex drive, the taste of food even! etc all went through the roof :) but progesterone is making me so anxious I can't leave the house, I'm going to try different doses/hack myself as GP has admitted no ideas or knowledge in menopause.

(PS have tried many vitamins, trace elements, etc, to no avail).

Gum disease. Fabulous.

When I was perimenpausal I was SO clumsy. I was also so full of anger and despair I thought I was mentally ill until I realised what it was.

I haven't had hot flushes but I am a huge fat bastard nowadays.