Peri menopause/menopause..do most women have terrible symptoms

[Grinchpyjamasalready]

And what age did your symptoms start?
Reading about all the horrible symptoms, i’m starting to feel a bit freaked out.
Suffered with endo and hormone imbalances & bad pmt all my life, will this mean a horrific menopause
I’m 44 and seeing possible signs…long, horrible periods with clots and the moment and constantly emotional or angry 😫

Not heard of itchy skin being a menopause related issue

Round the vulva it is. Part of atrophy. One of the reasons I switched back to a pill with oestrogen. Just hoping it doesn't kick off endometriosis symptoms.

@Benjispruce4 itchy skin in any part of the body'is actually a well documented peri symptom.

There are some silly comments on here about this debate being somehow antifeminist. In my workplace no-one would assume you must be 'struggling' just because of your age. But if you are struggling, what a breakthrough if you now feel you can talk about it and get support.

Women did not all "sail through" in times past either. Where do you think the clichés about housewives on valium come from? DM feels she had an easy menopause and didn't need HRT but I wonder looking back if she was suffering badly with brain fog. She seems to remember almost nothing of my teen years and she suffers now with dry eyes and osteopenia, both hormone related.

I have been on HRT for 2 years and am 45. Much improved although I still have symptoms and it is not a miracle cure.

I agree. It’s easy to say that Davina et al are ‘doing my head in’ if you’re not the one this affects.

It’s not about labelling all women as a sweaty, incompetent mess, but raising awareness of an issue that has been neglected for centuries. There is still huge medical inequality for women and lack of education about the menopause is one of the main causes.

It’s no coincidence that the highest suicide rates amongst women are in the 45-55 age group. Davina and her ‘bandwagon’ just might be saving lives.

Women did not all "sail through" in times past either.

Agree. And even for the ones who did, some of them will have gone on to develop conditions like dementia and osteoporosis, which are exacerbated by lack of oestrogen.

Research should have been done into the link between menopause and these two big killers decades ago.

I'm 46 doing all the right things - no alcohol, healthy eating, exercising, and honestly, I feel awful most of the time. So do some of my friends. The ones that are on HRT aren't feeling any benefit yet. I have other friends who are sailing through it. I'd say it's about 50:50. Nobody seems to be in the middle though ... it seems to be horrendous or great!

I was talking to my mum and she says looking back she took early retirement due to menopause in her mid 50s. It wasn't the conscious reason but her sleep, her emotions and anxiety etc were all shot. She went on hrt but had to come off it.

I have a gp appointment on Friday to talk about hrt. I am 48 and so far not awful but definitely achey joints, increased migraines and a feeling of lethargy and low mood I just can't shake.

It's this last one that is causing me the most issues as I am trying to make some lifestyle changes to make myself feel better but mentally it's too hard. So it's a bit chicken and egg. My hope is the hrt may lift me enough to help myself more but we'll see.

I completely disagree.

Womens health has been a joke for years. Menopause has been used in the workplace for years by some as the punchline for jokes and for putting women down.

Women are often not seeking healthcare due to feeling inadequate as it's a "natural process". Gp's are often inadequately trained in womens health issues.

Thanks to these documentaries more are now realising they don't have to just survive that period of their life - there is help out there. Symptoms beyond hot flushes and mood swings are being openly discussed. That's a good thing!

Great, if you didn't suffer. But rather than be dismissive of people trying to make menopause less taboo be grateful you haven't suffered like others have.

I am grateful and glad that woman's health issues are now being openly talked about rather than being a dirty secret like they were for my mum and grandmother. That can only be a good thing.

I’m getting really short cycles just wondering if that is a sign of peri? I’m 43. Also wondering how long this will last till menopause kicks in as I’m drained with constant heavy periods anyone offer any words of wisdom? Was going to make a gp appt but will probably be a waste of time.

My cycles became shorter and heavier. Then I became anaemic. I knew I had to do something about the bleeding or I’d just keep getting anaemic, so I had a Mirena put in.

Severe daytime tiredness, night-waking and pronounced anxiety.

Also had thinning hair, weaker nails etc.

On HRT now - much better for it.

Will be 48 in April.

I’m 43 and have just been prescribed HRT by my supportive GP.

I can’t sleep, spend hours awake. My hair is thinning, I’m irritable, anxious, no confidence, and I have terrible mind fog, my skin is dry. I don’t feel like me.

Tranexemic acid tablets on prescription from the GP knocked the outrageously heavy periods on the head for me ( I’d forgotten about that)

I hated having periods but dreaded the menopause. Initially I was fine. Then I was very down and had brain fog. I started a light dose of HRT which helped.

Then I was having night sweats which ruined my life. I then went onto capsules and gel and within a week I was back to normal.

HRT is a life saver!

I second the recommendation for tranexamic acid to reduce bleeding and get flooding under control.

It’s easy to say Davina etc are making a drama out of the menopause when for some of us it is a drama.

Or maybe we should all go back to pretending it doesn’t happen. 🙄

I’m getting really short cycles just wondering if that is a sign of peri

yes. My cycle went down to 21 days, which was what prompted me to go to the doctor. The other symptoms I hadn’t really connected with the menopause until HRT cured them!

No, I was extremely fortunate. Just the flushes, which were easily coped with. My jumpers were on & off faster than a whore's drawers.. :-0

Thanks for the thread OP.

I am feeling less frightened over the near future.

I am 52 and have not had a period for about four years now. I didn’t really notice any symptoms, the only thing that changed for me is that my periods became lighter and then longer between them and then they stopped. It is great to have that behind me.

I'm 50. I have had very heavy periods for about ten years (they were always quite heavy anyway, got a bit better(and less painful) after ds was born and then about a decade ago got much heavier so eg I have to get up twice in the night on my heaviest day to change my protection.

I've had times when they have disappeared for a few months, including earlier this year but impossible to know if the disappearance this year was down to the covid jab.

Other than that, I haven't had any obvious symptoms. I did go through a stage of having hot flashes but they were exactly that, a couple of seconds of feeling very hot and sweaty, not a few minutes. They stopped after a few weeks. Also had lots of migraines but they've become much less frequent and I wonder if they had more to do with squinting at a laptop screen for work, I now have a separate larger screen.

Periods still happening but about every 6-7 weeks but last for about two weeks (although only really heavy for 2-3 days)

That's interesting. I do too. I suspect it has more to do with my consumption of vegetables than hormones though

As for only being supposed to take HRT for 2 years, my mum has been on HRT since she was 42. She is 83 now and intends to take it until she dies.

Womens health has been a joke for years. Menopause has been used in the workplace for years by some as the punchline for jokes and for putting women down.

I work with a lot of younger people, office based but mostly WFH. When i first started there i was in an office with a "safety window" that doesn't open and i boiled. Got a fan, but didn't help much. So i asked if i could move and hit resistance until i got a bit fed up and said why. And then they found me the best desk (for me) never gets sun on it at any time of day, window opens, it's cool, not too noisy and it's fantastic.

And nobody jokes, and whenever i have to leap up and open the window, most of the time one of the others will do it before i even get there. The young fellows are the best. It does help to be open about it and the more we talk about it the better. We also have older chaps who are telling all the young ones to get their prostrate checked too. Germans tend to be very open about health issues, though

Let me tell u something that will shock you all! A female work colleague once asked me why I'm wearing short sleeve tops in the office in October. I said I find the office warm. She said 'oh are u menopausal already!' I'm in my late 30s and she's around 15 years older than me!

i haven't worn winter clothes for years, and i now know why older women have so many cardigans.

Ive had a few just before my period starts since my 20s so assume it can be a pmt symptom too?