To ask if after menopause it gets better?!

[MrsMouse03]

Currently having a bit of a tough time with everything.

Menopause symptoms really getting me down. I constantly feel like I'm really sweaty especially my face which is so embarrassing.

Also my memory is awful. I can't even remember names of objects sometimes.

I haven't had a period for 9 months now.

Please tell me it gets better!

Yes, it gets better. The sweats and hot flushes will go. And not having periods is great.

Thanks mere dinto it's really getting me down at the moment.
I can't even seem to cook at the moment. I feel like I am going to pot!!

Can you take HRT? Why suffer if you don’t need to. Newson Health website has lots of free up to date advice re HRT and the menopause, it’s run by Dr Louise Newson who has a lot of content on You Tube. I started HRT aged 38 for early menopause and it’s been life changing for me. I have a lot of autoimmune conditions and was really suffering.

have you seen a GP?

I possibly got off lightly. I did get hot flushes and night sweats and still do but fortunately I have a ceiling fan in my bedroom. I have always been a bit inclined to overheat anyway. Everything else has been fine and period free is great.

It doesn't just get better - it gets brilliant.
No more periods, pain, discomfort, embarrassment, no more mood swings and being convinced that everyone I loved was about to die in a tragic mass accident. The menopause itself did go on a bit but your brain will still be there afterwards. I think mine improved actually.

@MrsMouse03 I used to get a really sweaty face which absolutely mortified me, but then I found a facial anti-perspirant gel called 3B FaceSaver (you can get it from Amazon). It's so good - put it on the bits that get sweaty - for me it was my forehead and upper lip - let it dry, then moisturiser on top. Just a little thing in the grand scheme of life but it made such a difference to my confidence

In perimenopause I had really heavy periods; eventually I had a mirena coil fitted to sort that out; my periods stopped immediately, which was brilliant.
Had the mirena removed a couple of years after it should have stopped working. That was about two years ago, still no more periods, so I presume I've had the menopause.
No HRT, mood swings, hot flushes....
Sorry, that's probably just really irritating!

Agree with @weaverbird It's so much better, no flushes, no flooding, such a relief

It does get better ( honest) but I still forget things and the names of things.
Not have periods is brilliant and I take menopace tablets which help me.
I'm mid 50s and the hot flushes are slowly going although I know not every woman have them just go just like that! I can't tolerate hot weather at all but it wasn't as bad this year and didn't feel as hot or overwhelmed as last year.
Can't shift the weight but eating less does help and I've tried to increase my veggies and salad and not drink as much.
My early fifties was awful so I can sympathise. I didn't want HRT but I've heard that can help.

I didn’t start with symptoms until my periods stopped 2 years ago. The hot flushes are worse than ever 😕.

I dint want to take HRT and it seems most alternative stuff is soy based which I dint want either. The memory loss and feeling hit nearly all of the time is draining.

What about the hormones or lack of? I’m a slave to mine and would love to hear there is an end to that

What about the aches and pains?

HRT is a total game changer.

I had an easy ride physically. No hot flushes to speak of, night sweats only very occasionally but dear god the mental symptoms - awful mood swings, free floating anxiety, terrible outbursts of temper. It does get better though.

I can't take HRT because I am hypothyroid and it would interfere with my thyroxine absorption.

I'm early 50s and have been incredibly lucky. No symptoms at all. I've been pretty forgetful but to be honest, I always was so can't blame the menopause for that.

Not having periods is brilliant: no back ache when I'm due on, not starting unexpectedly when I'm out and about or at work, no danger of leaking, no need for contraception. I suppose I'm starting to save money as well because I no longer have to buy tampons.

I was diagnosed as peri-menopausal last year and it’s horrific. I was on HRT for 6 months and it eased the symptoms but I piled on weight that I haven’t been able to shift, and so because of that I stopped. Am seriously considering going back on it though...the symptoms are endless. Hot flashes, night sweats, itchy skin, restless legs, brain fog, NO SLEEP ....it goes on and on. And I’m suffering from muscular injuries all the time....only have to stretch in certain ways and I’m in agony. Did my neck in at the beginning of the week and have just pulled a muscle in my back this morning. I’m so fed up, can’t face years and years of this...

I had a surgical menopause at 51, the hot flushes etc were horrendous initially, but 3 years down the line and I feel like me again. I do still get the odd flush, but much milder and not as frequent. I didnt take hrt.

The sweats, the poor sleep, the mood swings, the panic attacks, low mood, bad mood...all absolutely shite.

Am on the other side of it now and it's a whole new world..honestly.

You'll get there.
Starflower oil capsules.
Vitamin B complex.
Sage leave tea.
The three life savers that my friend told me about.
Game changer.

Hang in there.

@SerenDippitty I’ve never heard this before re hypothyroidism. I have hypothyroidism- and Addison’s disease, and lupus, sjorgens, pituitary tumour, asthma etc. Everything autoimmune. I take oestrogel and utrogestan. The oestrogel isn’t absorbed through the liver like the tablets etc used to be so I have no issues using it. Even women who have previously been told they can’t take HRT often can now. Worth re checking. Oestrogen is important for our heart and bone health particularly if you are in your late 30s-early 50s when you start the menopause as potentially you have a very long time to go / live being hormone deficient.

@SerenDippitty

I can't take HRT because I am hypothyroid and it would interfere with my thyroxine absorption.

I didn't know that. Of course, a lot of women do develop hypothyroidism about the same time as meno - in retrospect some of what I thought was meno was actually thyroid - related. I felt so much better once I was on 50mcg thyroxine. Fortunately I don't need full scale HRT, just vagifem ... highly recommended. I'm put in mind of the old Heineken slogan...

For me no, I feel on the one hand as if I've died but on the other placid like a cow. i can't imagine ever feeling really excited about anything again.

I'm not there yet though my DM went on HRT in her 40's the GP insisted she came off it in her 60's she was 25 years on it, she got very depressed and suffered horrendous sweats at 66.
I think I'd try to sail it out.
Maybe HRT doesn't prolong the inevitable for everyone.

OP, with your symptoms I really recommend HRT. I have just gone onto it and it's been life changing.

I was reluctant before because it's "not natural", I was worried about the breast cancer link and generally I try to avoid taking medicine, but then I watched a video by Dr Louise Newsom explaining how most women's bodies can't function properly without oestrogen. The breast cancer link is much more tenuous than was previously thought. Also, women taking HRT are less likely to have strokes, heart disease or suffer from osteoporosis.

Don't suffer in silence.