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?

you are all me! I've had to give up driving due to balance problems (diagnosis of vestibular neurontitis), joint pain and general all over pain (diagnosis of fibromyalgia), always had tinnitus, but hearing aids re helping a bit, horrific brain fog (only work part-time, and mainly from home, I have to plan my week around when I'm out at a client's offices), constantly far too hot, hair falling out everywhere (DD always moaning about finding my hair in random places).

I have one month's supply of HRT, but am not supposed to start it till after I've had a clear smear test (have an appointment at the hospital after the GP failed twice - tbf to her, she did try, it just hurt too much - but haven't yet got the paperwork which tells me which clinic, so I can ring them to see if they want me to time the HRT so I'm guaranteed not to be bleeding), plus these patches are supposedly in short supply, so I'm reluctant to start, then find I can't get any more.

20 years ago, Id have been all over sorting this, but now I panic at the slightest thing, flush bright red if anyone talks to me, and have pretty much given up on social activities, as I struggle to explain why I'm panicking, blushing and forgetting words . But, if it's all mostly menopause, then HRT might give me some of my life back, which would be amazing!

Anger
Night sweats
Deep fatigue
Clicky joints
Spots
Moustache
Can’t find the right word for anything
....but the bastard periods still keep coming despite me having these symptoms for about five years now.

God just looked back on previous posts and just realised about my loss of taste...I was complaining the other day how tasteless everything is

The itching. The terrible awful itching.

I had no idea about the vertigo but it makes sense!

Can totally relate

Hot flushes,
Smellier body odour,
Fortnightly periods,
Itchy all over,
Nausea,
Javelin arse,
Lethargic,
Greasier hair,
Acne,
Spotty scalp,
Horrendous period pains,
Migraines and headaches,
Dry skin and flaky nails,
Increased appetite for junk,

None, I assume it must have happened though!

I have had minimal flushing (found sage capsules helped) but have had anxiety, sensitivity to sounds, short temper, body odour, vertigo and painful feet - the latter seems to have gone with turmeric capsules. My last period was September, and they were light up to then so no flooding which I was dreading.

In fact, the last month or so I have been feeling really well. I don't take HRT.

Oldraver what, more of it or less? Or a different consistency? I haven't really noticed anything in that area, but then I am single so I tend not to pay much attention.

Libido issues... just before the onset of the symptoms last year, it went through the roof, it was really utterly ridiculous. Everything made me think about sex, and I was having all sorts of dreams that I wouldn't have told anyone about! Shortly afterwards - nothing. The very thought of it makes me recoil now. Looking back, I suppose it was my body having a last ditch attempt to make me want to get pregnant.

I've had the greasy hair, extra long hair on my chin, sweats at night and during the day, aching feet when getting out of bed, itching like mad, but the joy of knowing it is the end of the torture that was (for me) having periods wipes out all of this stuff.

Yes to losing body hair but on the plus side you dont need to shave your legs any more and bald arms are nicer than hairy ones. Not so keen on the chin whiskers

In no particular order
Breast pain sometimes for months I actually wondered how the fuck I had mastitis.
Night sweats but only my head
Pins and needles in my hands
Palpitations (had to google cos couldn't remember the word) of the really slow but almost jumping out of my body hard type.
The wonders of being both too hot and too cold at the same time, so sweating and itchy but shivering too.
Every period is completely different from barely noticing to all out mess and pain >>> bearing no correlation to the breast pain.
Knee pain
A particular stabbyness that comes over me
A sudden tiredness that waves over me at odd times, also a general weariness.
The loss of common words that I have always known and the frustration of trying to explain 'say' carpet without using the word carpet.
A general thing of being much too hot when its 10° or over. 18° is murder on me. 22° or hotter and I may as well give up.
The inability to suffer fools at all. I used to be able to be polite and kind, lost that ability a while ago now.
Lost sex drive completely.
Spots but only on my bum????
Had a lot of silent migraines, never had before.
Hair like straw
I no longer care what people think of me when I say totally inappropriate things, I just blame the menopause on everything, why not, my dr does the same.

oldraver what is that?

no longer care what people think of me when I say totally inappropriate things, I just blame the menopause on everything, why not, my dr does the same

That’s bloody brilliant. I’m going to do that

I didn’t realise vertigo was a thing but it would explain the episodes of the twirly wirlies I was having before starting oestrogen patches.
I have a Mirena coil ( have done for 14years) so lack of or irregular periods not an issue but decided to add in oestrogen last year. It doesn’t solve everything but makes the whole more tolerable.
Thigh and hip pain is the worst symptom for me, fortunately it’s cyclical and goes away with paracetamol.
My boobs have become lumpy with the oestrogen but again it comes and goes.
I have just come to the end of a very stressful year selling my business so combined with full on menopause it’s not been much fun. I am now only working a couple of days a week and have recharged my batteries and starting to feel more like my former high energy self.
Looking back I think that perimenopause is when the exhaustion starts, premenopausal is the gradual onset of most of the symptoms and menopause the gradual disappearance of most of the symptoms.
Apparently I’m a lot less shouty now according to my very shouty DS14😂😂

Ah yes, the stabbyness and the sensitivity to noise. I've never liked some sounds (like people eating noisily) but it's become much worse, so it's now things like people clumping round the house or very rustly coats. Which makes me stabby. Again DH thinks it's a joke so does it all the more.

But we are about to have new patio laid which might remove one problem at least

There are so many weird symptoms, I have just remembered one which was a cold ear. It was just one ear that felt cold, not numb or tingly but as though it was full of ice cold water.
I remember as a young HCP using the term MAMW in patient notes (when we could use made up terms) when they complained of odd unrelated symptoms.
MAMW middle aged menopausal woman
I was always sympathetic but I fully understand now.
We used to see a large number of MAMW with burning mouth syndrome and I suggested to the consultant that it could be menopausal to which HE laughed and told me not to be ridiculous. That was 30 yrs ago. It was a female clinician who eventually documented it.
I am hoping that NICE will approve a testosterone replacement therapy for women soon since this appears to be the next leap forward in treatment.

Insomnia, actually that's the main symptom. Dr even did some checks but everything adds up to peri menopause age wise. Sweats (not necessarily at night) are cyclical.

I posted earlier about breast pain, but just noticed people talking about vertigo which I have right now, I had no idea it could be a symptom. The itching too. The joy 🙄

OP...I've never really had much discharge, just a little at ovulation.

But oh my it's like a river down there. I've taken to wearing two pairs of knickers as it will go through one pair (and I dont want to use panty liners). I get what I call 'knicker stick', where as you can guess my knickers stick to me the hairy bits and have to be peeled off.

GP did test me just in case it was anything else and concluded I was 'lucky' I wasn't dry

The river - yes! I use my mooncup...

This is very comforting reading (48, super anxious, huge tummy).

Blimey, I haven't had anything so awful (yet), one strange thing though is that I am having 'cold flushes'. Seriously I get the shivers and can't stop even under my warm duvet. I'm blaming it on the menopause because I blame everything on it right now .

Can I ask how old people are please?

I'm convinced I'm at the start of this.

Periods have been bad my whole life but could predict every single date for years to come, 27 day cycle since the age of 10. Now they're getting slightly earlier and lighter.

I have the worst pain in my right leg during ovulation and during the first few days of my period. It's like my knee has severe toothache. That's the only way I can describe it. Hot flushes all the time and have recently been through the diagnosis process for ADHD and am awaiting formal diagnosis. I am 41.

Lots of this thread resonates with me.