To ask you what more I can do- Peri menopause

[Locksticks]

Hi. So I’m 40, and almost two years ago I noticed a few changes in myself. At the time I chalked it down to stress as I had a lot going on. Things didn’t improve and i started having problems with my sleep, then along came the hot flushes, night sweats, itchy skin, brain fog, unusual aches and pains, more frequent urination, and then all of a sudden I was an emotional mess eg crying over nothing, feeling irritated etc. Well fast forward to now and I still have all these symptoms along with rage, low mood, dark thoughts, loss of libido etc.

Back in 2021 i went to see my Gp and she prescribed me anti depressants. I didn’t know what was going on with me at the time and certainly didn’t suspect peri menopause so I reluctantly agreed. I stayed on them for 8 months and then eventually weaned myself of them as they made me feel worse and did not help alleviate my symptoms.

I went back to my doctors on two occasions last year and they agreed to do blood tests to check my hormone levels which came back normal and so that was that. Fast forward a year and I’m now feeling what I can only describe as utter desperation. My mood is terrible I’m constantly snapping at my husband which he does not deserve, I have reduced contact with friends and family because I’m exhausted as I get around 4 hours sleep each night. I am also autistic and since my peri symptoms got worse i’m less able to mask so don’t feel comfortable being around certain people.

FWIW since starting with these symptoms I’ve done what the doctors have suggested eg quit smoking, changed my diet and lost weight, reduced my cholesterol, took more exercise, tried anti depressants, stayed on the contraceptive mini pill despite not wanting to etc yet my symptoms have not improved. All I want is my old self back yet my Gp clearly thinks I’m just depressed as opposed to peri menopausal.

Another one here saying if you can, go private. I recommend the Newson Clinic.

The one thing that helped with my night sweats was buying “Coolmax” bed sheets from M&S, other brands available. I never again woke up in cold wet sheets, they were amazing, and not (iirc) any/much more expensive than normal sheets.

I'm 42 and have been having issues with sleep and anxiety. Supplementing with a multi-vit, magnesium and zinc have made a huge difference to me.

In people of northern European heritage about 1 in 8 people are symptomatically affected by vitamin b12 deficiency. But it's much, much higher in women of menopausal age. It's very likely to be part of menopause as it causes a significant amount of identical symptoms, and in many cases B12 treatment drastically reduces women's menopause symptoms. If left untreated however, it can cause permanent injury to the lower spine and drastically reduce bone density. As it is, women of European and Asian heritage have an over 50% likelihood of developing Osteopenia, and over 20% likelihood of Osteoporosis. Early diagnosis of B12 deficiency can prevent that.

Not enough doctors are aware of the link and many women aren't diagnosed until their 60s, by which time it's too late to prevent a lot of very preventable problems. And while oral B12 will help many women, for a lot of women, the issue is being able to absorb the vitamin due to reduced intrinsic factor production. So they will need injections rather than oral supplements. It's actually very likely that untreated B12 deficiency is contributing to the OPs symptoms, especially as smoking, which the OP says she recently quit, contributes to reduced intrinsic factor production. If it is B12 deficiency, it can become be easily treated and massively reduce what she's experiencing. It it's not, it just required a blood test, so nothing is lost.

Argh! The 'you're too young' argument enrages me. I was 40 when I was diagnosed but I know I started it around 38.
I think in time we will see a shift in what the 'normal' age for peri is. It took some battling but I did finally get onto hrt with my gp. They referred me to gynae in nov 2021 and I've still not seen anyone so I went private. I feel like a different person.
My advice would be to get informed as much as you can. Listen to the louse newson podcast. The first one is very informative. Track your symptoms on the Balance app, have a look at this scale https://www.jeanhailes.org.au/uploads/Health-professionals/MenopausesymptommscaleGreeneeClimacteric.pdf
And then ask for an appt with a gp at your clinic with some menopause knowledge. If they don't have anyone I'd be letting them know I would be going through pals and I would want them to write on my notes that they refused me care for peri menopause.
Sadly a battle to get hrt is incredibly common but it's worth it in the end.
I truly hope you can get somewhere op x

I am 38 and experiencing peri symptoms. I had a blood test which has come back normal. GP told me I'm depressed.Feel very ignored. Not sure how being bloated and having hot flushes is depression. Feel very ignored

How are you doing now, Locksticks. Did you make any progress with feeling better since March?

Go private. The practitioner will then write to your GP to sort regular prescription for HRT.
And try Selaura supplements. Expensive but they are the thing that has resolved the brain fog for me.

I have a friend where the mini pill turned her into a complete wreck of a person, absolute shell of herself and I was genuinely worried she would do something to harm herself it was that bad. As soon as she came off it she was a different person. So perhaps it's your contraception? Also I have suffered all the same things as you listed in your original post. I was eventually diagnosed with a a PUJ obstruction which is kidney related and meant I was anemic and low in vitamin D as a result which was causing me horrific PMDD, night sweats, low mood, tiredness, heavy periods and I genuinely thought I was peri menopausal at 34. I'm not sure if the periods have improved as I got fed up and had a coil fitted, but now my kidney is fixed my levels are going up slowly and I feel better. Things aren't perfect, I'm now sub clinically hypothyroid but not enough for the GP to bother doing anything so that still causes issues but my anemia and vit D issues are better. I would recommend one of those medi checks tests - I use Thriva and they can check for all sorts of things that the GP will say is fine but you can be far from optimal and it can cause major issues - ferritin being one of those things x

For anyone waiting for/fighting for hrt or who doesn't want to take it, couple of recommendations from me. Vagifem for vaginal dryness/itchiness/atrophy. Sage complex for hot flushes, although it can take a while to kick in.

I feel your pain op. I've seen two different GPs about the same thing - one said it can't be peri because I'm not having hot flushes, and the other said it's not because I'm under 45 (I'm 43)

I'm 52. Still have regularish periods and on the mini pill. Had various peri symptons but not hot flushes.
I would say hand on heart the majority of my problems are down to sleep deprivation. I practice good sleep hygiene and have absolutely no problems dropping off. I just wake up every half hour.
I feel most of my peri symptoms would be solved by decent sleep.