Perimenopause: why did I not know I’d feel this shit?

[CaptainAwkward]

Christ I’m tired. It feels exactly like the bone deep aching fatigue of my early pregnancies (definitely not up the duff before anyone asks!)

Why isn’t common knowledge how rubbish it can be? Well, it’s obviously the patriarchal medical/social model that dismisses ‘women’s problems’.
I’ve got the GP in a couple of weeks who has my blood results and will hopefully prescribe HRT.

Any tips?

@Jenthefredo

Oh, the rage! I am angry about everything. Every fucking thing. Its the patriarchy. On the plus side I have absolutely zero fucks to give anymore. I no longer do things I don't want to do, or see people I don't want to see. Its rather freeing.

Absolutely! Went the whole hog and got divorced.

SO FREEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!

The power of having boundaries is magical. And I agree about having no fucks left to give.

Consoling to read so many mentioning itchy and sensitive skin. My skin is so sensitive now even the breeze blowing against my bare arms and legs is horrible.

Dry eyes... check... didn't realize that was another symptom.

Yep weird eyes here too

I’m having PMT similar to when I was a teen. Fucking horrendous.
I read somewhere that really, during the few days of PMT is when women act truthfully with their emotions and behave socially more ‘like men’. Those pre period days are when we are truly ourselves and the rest of the month we go back to the socialised ‘niceness’ that as women and girls we’re expected to show.

@lockdownalli

Has anyone else had to cut all the labels out of their collars because of the fucking itching they suddenly cause?

Mystifying.

Me! I thought I had just gone hypersensitive!

I’m 44 and don”t know what might be peri or something else.

Very tired but there is so much going on that could be stress.
Irritable but again stress
Frequent headaches, but then I am very tired.

Maybe I should think about perimenopause a bit more.

Wow. Came on as I am peri curious. Staying on as I am clearly peri! Itching, palpatations, dry eyes, zero motivation, mood swings, 45 years of age (or am I 46???!) < See!! I have Joseph, Mary, sweet baby Jesus, the wee donkey and a pile of steaming donkey shit.

Thank you for this thread.

Amen.

Any tips?

CBD oil has been a life saver for me.

Even more effective in a less refined form, if ya know what I mean...

Terrible anxiety from age 40 that I sorted with citalopram..didn’t connect with peri! Now 42 and terrible night sweats for about 10 days before periods, so all through ovulation I believe? Apart from that less energy, and horrible horrible periods, with flooding that last for 7 days. Have resorted to period pants, with towel and tampon still have to change every hour 😭 also look like crap during ovulation totally bloated and miserable.

My HRT has helped reduce my rage and improved my concentration levels but the bone deep fatigue remains. I’m on a pretty high dose of oestrogen as I’m pretty young (premature menopause) and there doesn’t seem to be anything else the early menopause clinic can suggest. It doesn’t help that I also have B12 deficiency so my tiredness just gets blamed on that, even though I do get the B12 injections.

Oh my headaches have reduced too, so at least the HRT is doing something which is good because I really hate taking it, especially the progesterone.

I was vit d deficient and low in folic acid but had supplementation and both are ok now (alledgedly)
My thyroid has always been borderline underactive but not low enough to treat (alledgedly)
All in all its a total clusterfuck

It finally dawned on me acouple of years ago that I'm progesterone intolerant.
Dr confirmed it due to my symptoms.

@Divebar2021

My mum was a menopause trained nurse and this dependence on blood tests used to drive her nuts. Blood tests are a snap shot of one day and shouldn’t be used in isolation. If the GP is any good they will consider all the symptoms together not just rely on one test.

Absolutely! My GP was happy to diagnose on symptoms and said blood tests in the peri menopause years are usually pointless as your hormones are fluctuating daily.

My dr did do blood tests (which I didn't question) which apparently showed low fsh?
Or something.
She said I was definitely in peri menopause- I'd never heard of it before

The itching and crippling joint pain are the worst for me. Walking is becoming so painful - my hips are so stiff and achey.

Following

Whoever came up with “vaginal dryness” to describe the itching, soreness, ludicrously painful sex, & shrinking lady bits of peri & menopause can seriously get in the sea

I have HRT & topical oestrogen but even that doesn’t get rid of it completely

Started mine aged 38 and knew fuck all about it.
Am over the worst of now and waiting for my friends to start theirs so they might understand why l was so miserable. The worst bit was nobody understood what l was going through.
Just horrible and nobody talks about it like they do periods and pregnancy.

@Jenthefredo fsh is follicle stimulating hormone

I felt much worse during the perimenopause than during the menopause itself, if that's any consolation. The insomnia, the aching from head to toe, the periods like niagara. . . If you're lucky like I was, it will get better once the periods more or less stop.

Hang on in there as there is life on the other side. I had mystery knee pain and the RAGE. So, essentially I went furious and limping into my crone-hood. Our hormones are so finely tuned it’s not surprising they affect so many random things. I also got suddenly bald shins which at least saves money on razor blades....and hair loss, which has recovered. There was that frightening stage of wondering if the me I knew was disappearing. I’m back, different, but ok.

I've suffered with clinical depression and used anti-depressants on and off for years. I've recently been had symptoms of peri-menopause and the doctor has prescribed the anti-depressants I have used before. They are helping a little bit but I'm not entirely happy as I know i don't have depression.

And having spent my entire life wishing I could just press a button and have my whole period in one go...I've recently discovered that's not so great.

I didn't realise that was a symptom, mine is short and seems to come in one go.

Also didn't realise about the itching... and now I'm thinking about the itching, I have started itching again .

PMT was bad but has got better since I started doing self reflexology every day, the pelvic area points around my ankles were sore and I noticed the PMT went when they became less sore. Very random but it works.

I had a second baby 2 years ago at 39, I think peri was starting just beforehand. A few months after the baby, I started to struggle to lose the baby weight. Brain fog is bad, that could just be baby brain...

Age 44 here.
Nosebleeds - tick
Vaginal atrophy (ugh) - tick
Itching - tick
Heavy periods with big clots that plop out at awkward moments - tick
The RAGE - tick
Low mood - tick
Totally no interest in sex - tick

Always feel like myself the week after my period, but then it all starts again.

Unfortunately, reading this thread has only made me feel worse. It's so unfair!

On the plus side, I now understand why my Mum was such a varmint in her forties.