Menopause

[Poptart4]

There have been alot of stories in the press about celebrities going through menopause. The latest being Lisa Snowden. See Daily fail.

At this point I will hold my hands up and say I now very little about menopause even though I'm a women in her late 30's. But these horror stories are really scaring me. Does every women going through the menopause go through hell? Is this what I have to look forward to? And do these symptoms (memory loss, depression, rages, sweats... God knows what else) eventually stop?

I can't believe no one has ever talked to me about menopause before. It wasn't even mentioned in school.

[quote lollipoprainbow]@pussycatunpickingcrossesagain not really she has late stage dementia. Happy now ?! [/quote]

Precisely why we do need to discuss it. One of the big reasons for taking HRT is for its protective benefits in reducing the likelihood of osteoporosis, heart disease and cognitive decline, including dementia. Its well recognised now.

Well celebs always get everything much worse than everyone else don't they? I am 57 and apart from a few very heavy periods near the end, and a few months of sporadic hot flushes i didn't really have any symptoms. I didn't go to the doctor during or post menopause so not on hrt or anything else. I think luck plays a part, but having said that i was never a particularly hormonal person, never had pmt or anything like that. I don't sleep as well as i used to though but i don't know if that is connected.

@lollipoprainbow

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Thank god for empathy eh, where would we be without people like you?

I was wondering what people with Mirena coils experiences with menopause have been. I definitely have some symptoms and am older than my mum was so wonder if mirena has reduced impact of menopause. I'm 51.

I agree @DukeofEarlGrey. We do need to speak about it. We do need to share our stories and talk about the good and the bad just as we share childbirth stories, and tips for breastfeeding, and support each other through mental health issues.

Menopause happens to absolutely every woman. Lots of us have had to fight SO hard for HRT and that's not how it should be. I asked the receptionist at my surgery whether they had a menopause clinic and she looked at me as if I had two heads.

It's so good that we have so much information now and women can openly speak out and support each other. It must have been hard for the women of the past to go through it without being able to talk it through with anyone or really knowing what to expect. It must have been really frightening for some women and their families.

I'm 52 and think I'm in peri as have some manageable symptoms. Some brain fog, heating up around my neck and chest at odd times, irregular and often very heavy periods and occasionally I hit a wall of anxiety and have to push myself to make a phone call or leave the house. I didn't start my periods until I was 16 so I was a late starter and expect I'll be a late finisher.

My lovely mum didn't make it to menopause age so I've got no idea how it will pan out for me.

I'm very interested in diet and exercise advice for peri and hope by being as healthy as possible I will get through it but if it gets too bad I'll be on the meds. Life's too short to suffer.

@halulat

I was wondering what people with Mirena coils experiences with menopause have been. I definitely have some symptoms and am older than my mum was so wonder if mirena has reduced impact of menopause. I'm 51.

@halulat I had the Mirena when going through menopause too. I think it's one of the reasons my symptoms were fairly mild.

Mirena coil’s won’t reduce menopause symptoms related to low and oscillating oestrogen levels, since it’s a progesterone based device.

I think there's good and bad as you get older and start the (peri) menopause. On the very plus side, many women's confidence and happiness increases significantly in their forties.

I'm 56 now and have gone through the menopause. For me, it was a fairly easy ride with few symptoms. Certainly nothing I couldn't deal with and nothing worse than my 'fertile' period -- I only just realised that when I was having periods (from the age of 12 to 53) I was on a very unpleasant and uncontrollable emotional rollercoaster. I always wondered why I was so volatile; now I know it was my hormones!

I have been taking starflower oil daily for the past few years and I'm pretty sure it's kept any menopausal issues at bay.

It wasn’t discussed when I was growing up, but I knew when my mother was going through it without her even saying- she shouted a lot.

@Ionlydomassiveones I'm 47 my 'mummy' is very poorly with dementia, now who's being vile ?????

Peri was fine. My periods stopped pretty much 18 months ago. Then the hell started. Really bad stuff joints (had to crunch my fingers in the morning to get them working) , sweats, not sleeping, feeling low, brain fog.

I really wanted to go through it naturally but it was bloody awful.... then I watched the Davina documentary and decided to take HRT.

It was life changing. 9 months I've been on it and all my symptoms have gone.

Another one who sailed through it here. Not everyone has a bad menopause. You read things about hair thinning but if anything mine is thicker. I'm 57. I think I had perimenopause because I got quite fat for a bit in my forties but at the time just thought it was middle age spread. I started exercising and doing low carb, and I got slim again luckily. My mum had a bad, early menopause and so did my sister but I got lucky. Presumably I must have had other symptoms but would have just put them down to normal ageing I guess. I can't remember what they were now, and I definitely never had a hot flush.

Nothing major, some hot flushes, had to buy a cotton blanket as couldn't stand a duvet for a while but best thing ever having no periods!!

I thought Davina's TV programme was great and wished I'd seen it 10 years ago. My periods stopped suddenly, no change to warn me menopause was coming, and I haven't had a single hot flush. However, looking back I can see I was pretty anxious and angry for most of my late 40s, but I just didn't join the dots.

There is an awful lot of misinformation about perimenopause and menopause out there ('oh it's just a few hot flashes') so the more it embeds into the public consciousness, the better. Women after their late 30s often present at doctors with various symptoms that get looked at in isolation eg bladder issues, depression, joint pains, insomnia; just being aware that these may be connected to hormones is helpful and allow women to take better control of their own health.

The 90s ladette generation is hitting their 50s now and although some of it is self serving publicity, I think they are good spokeswomen who will make it easier for future generations. It is refreshing and brave to see women publically admitting they are reaching the end of their reproductive years since society often writes women off at this age, once they have served their purpose.

Every women's experience will be different, just like some women have heavy periods or suffer infertility issues. We are complicated beings.

I for one am glad this topic is getting more traction, it's been a taboo and women have just been expected to put up or shut up, which would never have been the case if men went through it.

@lollipoprainbow - ignorant comment

I am on the fence. On the one hand menopause has somehow been a real positive. I have lost weight, lost brain fog and am much clearer in my thinking. I can be laser focused at work. I used to get very bad PMT

On the negative I am very angry at stuff (objectively it's stuff I should have been angry about before) and my sleep is worse. I do worry about osteoporosis (family history) which is making me think about hrt.

Does every woman going through menopause go through hell?

No, but I have noticed on mumsnet that if you dare to say your own experience has not been hell you will be roundly told off and rebuked for minimising other peoples experiences (even though you haven’t).

My mum reckons she 'sailed through it' too. She didn't.

In her mid 50s my siblings and I actually went to doctors and a psychologist because we were so afraid that she was developing early onset dementia. In a few months she went from a very bright, organised, extremely compassionate person to being frequently forgetful, angry, anxious and so easily irritated. She had no physical symptoms, and from her perspective it was nothing to do with menopause, just that she'd finally got fed up with us all.

A few years later she is tougher than she used to be (quite a good thing, as women in our culture are often a but martyred) but seems much happier and we're no longer on eggshells around her. I hope to know better when it comes my turn, thanks to other women sharing their experience.

@lollipoprainbow

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Lucky old her, eh? I went through completely at 42, following a long period of fertility treatment. I was mental for about a year beforehand - thought I was too young for it to be that, and it coincided with the breakup of my long term relationship too. I had up to 30 flushes a day (not just the sweats, but a complete absence of being able to think/talk) which were utterly debilitating at work, night sweats, rage, hair and teeth(!) falling out, depression & anxiety. Oh, and it looks like my face has collapsed. HRT has been a godsend. Please don’t assume your, or someone else’s, experiences are what everyone will suffer from.

I’m 46 and have a Mirena coil but I think I am still having symptoms-insomnia, anxiety, brain fog, mood swings and a few others which at times make me feel really low. Should I go and see my GP? Could I need something else as well as the coil?

I'm post menopause, TBH I had a few years of heavy periods and the odd hot flush. That was it.