To wonder why I'm suddenly so thick?

[ProcrastinatorsAnonymous]

I'm hoping someone can help me figure out what's wrong with me! Or at least what sort of tests to ask the GP for...

I've always been reasonably on the ball and do an intellectually demanding job. I'm now 2 kids in, early 40s and my brain has shuddered to a halt. I can't think straight and am really struggling to deliver on my work commitments.

It could just be that I'm knackered - I don't always sleep well, could probably eat better and I'm breastfeeding an 18 month old (only a couple of times a day now - doesn't really affect my sleep). I'm constantly unwell - have had an almost constant series of colds over past 12 months, culminating in shingles which was AWFUL.

OR - I wonder if this is peri menopause brain fog? Hard to know, as my periods haven't come back postpartum (they took well over 2 years after first child). I do sometimes get something that could be a hot flush.

OR - Could this be long covid? I've tested virtually every time I've had a cold and the tests have always been negative, but maybe I did have symptomless covid and this is a long tail on it...?

If there's something I can do to change this, I would really like to. I was planning to get blood tests for the following -

Full blood count, Kidney Function, Liver Function, Lipids, Ferritin, Thyroid function (TSH, T4 and T3), HbA1c, Oestradiol, Testosterone, Sex Hormone Binding Globulin (SHBG), Vitamin B12, Vitamin D, Folate

Is there anything else I should get tested for?

I work in a competitive creative industry and my ability to produce quality work is closely tied to my self esteem. I'm finding this alarming!

Honestly my first thought was peri especially when you say your periods are irregular. By all means get blood tests but download the Balance App and have a read.

my brain is mush when my b12 falls under 300.

The 12 months of colds stood out from your list for me - by the time I got my fourth bad chest infection of the year, I asked for blood tests and I turned out to be extremely anaemic. My main symptoms in hindsight were crushing tiredness and getting really breathless when exercising (I just thought I was getting older and less fit). So I’d say your blood test suggestion is a good starting point. Hope you get some answers.

I'm 44 same happened to me. Periods regular etc but GP advised me to try HRT. Within a week, I was completely back to normal. I was so relieved, it was really scary!

Blood tests for sure, or just try a multivitamin aimed at nursing mothers. Pregnancy, breastfeeding and early parenthood takes an awful lot out of you, and often we don't have the energy or brain function to take care of ourselves with proper nutrition afterwards. It's very common to be low in iron and other vitamins. In many cultures there are traditional foods fed to postpartum women which are high in nutrients for assisting the body in recovering and rebuilding after birth. I think we've kind of forgotten/lacked this in our culture and tend to live off ready meals from Tesco, tea and biscuits!

@GiveMyHeadPeaceffs Thank you! I've got the app and also her book - I do have some of the symptoms, but they are all also things that could be something else... It's not so much that my periods are irregular, but that they haven't returned at all. They took almost 2.5 years to come back after my first child (BF for that long), then had a few and got pregnant again - and now no sign of them now after 18 months (but again, still BF). It's possible that I'm just transitioning from postpartum / BF straight into perimenopause... Joy. (Although at least then I'd know what it was and have some idea how to combat it!)

With having two children fairly close together as well - I know a lot of my friends have suffered with this kind of thing. I was blood tested at the hospital (not UK) and automatically given iron before discharge when I had my second baby in three years. Brilliant service!

@BertieBotts Haha - ready meals, tea and biscuits are my three main food groups! I do also take Pregnacare breastfeeding, but I wouldn't be surprised if I was still deficient in something... You are right about us having lost the cultural knowledge about rebuilding after birth.

@Dustland - Great that HRT was so transformative! Did you take testosterone too or just the HRT?

@ProcrastinatorsAnonymous it certainly could be something else as pps have suggested but it just sounded so similar to me when I basically gave birth and 6 months later I was full steam ahead to the menopause. HRT has been a godsend for me. I really hope you get sorted.

@Changedmynamefor - Thank you! I'll definitely get bloods done. I was low in iron after my first birth (lost a lot of blood) but didn't take iron after this one, except what's in the postnatal vitamins.

@GiveMyHeadPeaceffs Thank you! xx

@biggreenhouse - Thank you for replying. How do you track your levels? Do you have regular blood tests?

My first thought on seeing your thread title was I wonder if it's long covid?

Just oestrogen and progesterone. It was miraculous, my brain had just stopped working!

Thanks so much for the responses. I think I might get the bloods done privately as I imagine NHS lists quite long and don't want to clog up the system. Does anyone know of a good provider or private GP (London)?

@ProcrastinatorsAnonymous I was similar, together with flat mood and 'rages', (but 48 with older child) and put it down to stress of pandemic/lockdowns then covid then thought I was depressed/ageing.
I an now trying HRT and am feeling a bit of my old spark coming back but it's early days!

I'm in a similar position.
I'm slowing down.
My friend thought she was developing amnesia she is 42, she is peri menopausal with regular periods.
I think I might be too.

@Arcadia - Really hope it does the trick for you!

I had a friend who felt similar a year after her second child was born, also early 40s. She was convinced she had something awful, went to the docs and had bloods, turned out she was well into her menopause. The doc described her pregnancy as a bit of a miracle considering her hormone levels!

@EmeraldShamrock1 - Sounds like it's fairly common! Eek!

@Matchofthedayrubbish - It's so confusing because BF reduces oestrogen which then mimics menopause - so I'm not sure how I'll get to the bottom of whether or not it actually IS menopause while I'm BF... But not quite ready to stop yet!

Early 40s and having recently had 2 kids and still BF… I would say generally run down and probably iron/nutrient deficient is more likely than peri menopause. Especially given the shingles.

I’ve had problems like this since having COVID, I’ve had it 3 times now and was quite ill each time. The only thing is I’ve also had burnout from a public service role so I’m not sure which it has arisen from if any of those.

Oh yes agree with pp, low iron caused brain fog for me.