To ask how perimenopause makes you feel

[Letshaveablackcelebration]

I feel really flat with it. It’s worse some months but it makes me feel really not myself. Like empty and low - it’s really horrible. I have had one go at HRT but it made me feel rubbish in a different way - headachy and a bit drugged. I maybe need to try something else as that was the gel and my friend said she got on better with the patches.

But this weird sad empty flat feeling is just so horrible! I have other physical symptoms too but it’s the emotional stuff that makes me feel worse at the moment.

Loss of libido, joint pain, terrible memory but most of all rage.

RAGE! Absolute fury all of the time. It was exhausting. Thank Christ for the patch.

Like shit.

Not sleeping, hot flushes almost constantly, anxious and constantly on edge.

Feeling a bit better on HRT but think I need a stronger patch.

I’m 42 and fairly sure I’m in peri too. My worst symptom is anxiety which started last year. I am anxious all the time but it soars out of control the week before my period is due. It’s really awful, I shake and feel physically sick with it. I also get that flat feeling where I can’t be bothered with anything.

I’ve also noticed that I cannot lose weight at all. I’m not overweight but I wouldn’t mind losing a few pounds. Despite exercising a lot, walking everyday and eating well, the scales never move! So frustrating.

I'm in peri. No period for 5 months.

Aching joints
Tingling hands and feet
Heart palpitations
Fuzzy head

I also have colitis and low B12 which has similar symptoms so it is hard to know what to attribute to which problem!!

Do GPs treat peri? I haven't spoken to them about it.

Jesus, if men had half of these symptoms there would be a cure!

I'm 50 and it's hard to say - everything's rather nebulous. Periods were regular until this month (late by 2 weeks). Were more painful but about 6 months ago became much less painful. Occasionally heavy bleeding, but mostly not. More irritable, originally in the few days before a period but now pretty much constant.
I feel flat, most of the time. I've always been low energy but now it's really hard to get out of bed in the morning and I've stopped exercising almost completely. I just can't be bothered.
One wired symptom: a painful bum after sitting for too long. Not sure if it's perimenopausal or not, but just wondering if it's linked to vaginal atrophy at all. It's hard to describe but feels sort of squashed underneath as if support muscles have given up or something and it actually hurts when I stand up after sitting. Or it could be the lack of exercise (see above).
None of this feels bad enough to warrant going to a GP, it's just a mild greyness to life in general, and the classic feeling tired all the time.

I feel anxious and lots of joint pain. Cannot sleep at night. Lucky I was not put on hrt as found breast cancer, no family history and no lump until end, and hormone receptive.

Wineloffa it's the anxiety that's the worst for me too. I've always been an anxious person this is on a whole other level. I have about 5 worries that I cycle through, my brain will fixate on one and just go over and over it. I'm really bad this weekend. Spent the night waking up with a start, heart pounding, feeling sick. Its terrible. I need to get it worked.

I've just ordered these

MangoSeason thank you for confirming that I’m not going mad. My mood disturbance is also mid cycle.

Fucking awful.

Raging anxiety, totally not myself, bloating, hot flushes, night sweats, panic attacks that come out of nowhere and wake me from sleep with no trigger.

HRT has just given me a different set of problems and I’m on oestrogel + utrogestan which is supposed to be the gold standard.

Constantly tired, majorly forgetful, aching joints, no libido, weight gain … also had severe anxiety. Now take sertraline for the anxiety, which has been life changing. Periods are becoming less frequent: had one last week, which was the first in four months. Much heavier than usual. Luckily I haven’t had any hot flushes yet. I’m 52.

RAGE, forgetfulness, weight gain, insomnia, anxiety
, heavy periods and joint pain. Went to my gp who was great had a mirena put in, and have oestrogen patches. Most of the symptoms have reduced massively, no more periods is great.
What I didn’t realise before reading a fair bit was how protective hormones are to our cardiovascular health as well as bone health etc.

Very very flat most of the time with a huge huge dose of can’t be bothered with life.
Rage before my period and irritability with everyone/ everything
Dry everything
I’m on oestrogel and utrogestan which has taken away the rage but given me bloating and made the flatness worse. I’m 49. Regular periods still but closer together and lighter.

@userxx

Jesus, if men had half of these symptoms there would be a cure!

How very true!!!

I still have regular periods but they are heavier I don’t think I could be peri menopausal if I had regular periods

My symptoms
Feeling flat
Insomnia that impacts my life so much
Itchy and dry skin and hair like straw
Low libido
Brain fog is terrible
Increase in anxiety
Dizziness
Heart palpitations
Breathlessness

I just feel different and look different I suddenly looked much older

Started HRT a few weeks ago and already feeling better as sleeping better I think that is such a huge issue. My GP was very supportive which I’m so thankful for

And of course weight gain but not on the usual places

@Dembones292 the fixating on worries and cycling through them sounds familiar! It’s like my mind can’t shift away from them? Even worse that some of the things I worry about are scenarios I’ve probably invented in my head? The catastrophising is dreadful!

I do get some relief from regular sweaty exercise, yoga and long walks listening to podcasts which shift my focus. High strength magnesium supplement has taken the edge off a bit too.

The forgetfulness is very embarrassing at times and work tasks take longer I forget how to word an email so have to copy and paste old emails and change dates/names

Thank fuck for modern technology

Am 44 and I think peri has kicked in with a vengeance over the past couple of months or so:

Weight gain
Sudden increase in headaches (have had headaches for years but by god they've ramped up)
Cycle much shorter and lasts longer
Really painful boobs, one is constantly hurting (been checked - nothing sinister)
Low mood a lot of the time, just feel hopeless/flat
Night sweats
Brain fog
Insomnia
Palpitations - have had them to a lesser extent for years off and on, but they've really gone through the roof recently, and they bloody terrify me.
Anxiety

I'm not sure if I can have HRT as a had a massive pulmonary embolism a few years back. Need to speak to the doc I guess.

I'm 38 but think I may be perimenopausal. I did start my period at age 9. Is 38 too young for the perimenopause?

I have never ending periods that are heavy and painful.

The anxiety is crippling. I come home from work on a Friday and worry about things that probably don't warrant worrying about, but I do and then it ends up ruining my weekend!

Rage too. I feel extremely angry at everything. Nightmare dog next barks when it's owners are out. Last night it started barking at 11.00pm and I was so mad, I shouted some obscenities and banged my hand on the party wall. It hurt.

Flat, gutted, old. I'm 40.
Could cry daily tbh.

Plus side is I don’t care so much what other think

I’ve always been a bit of a people pleaser to not be so concerned is liberating

I’m going to call the doctor again next week as I thought I was coping with it but I’m not . Today is quite bad .

Low mood
Anxiety
Bursting into tears over really silly things
Headaches
Really heavy periods even though I thought they had finished
Getting very angry about anything
A feeling of dread

I saw this link on another thread and thought it was really useful. I have every single one of these.

menopausesupport.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/MENOPAUSE-SYMPTOM-CHECKER.pdf

48. Regular periods. Perimenopausel for over ten years and recently started HRT without any improvements so far (early days). Mainly I feel completely flat. I can barely get off the sofa to heat up some soup. I would live entirely on biscuits and telly if I could get away with it. The feeling of inertia is overwhelming.