Menopause is really not that bad.

[DaisyRayi]

Misleading title kind of hoping for more traffic.

I could probably do some research and read up about it but what exactly is it that happens to women when they go through menopause.

You hear about women having their careers ruined etc.

Not comparing things but during pregnancy and post patrum I was feeling very doom and gloom but only realised the feelings were due to the pregnancy hormones now that I’m back to normal.

Don’t think there’s any “one size fits all” menopause. I had no hot flushes, just felt a bit warm occasionally. Thought I’d been so lucky until the vaginal atrophy which caused endless urine infections, horrible aching pains and the need to wee every ten minutes. Really suffered. Now on estriol HRT cream which has been like a miracle x

i don’t appreciate the current medicalization of natural life cycles. What we need is awareness that if women say they are having difficulties, they should be heard. Doctors should take the time, listen to symptoms, rule out serious conditions, and if nothing else explains the issues, talk about the pros and cons of hormonal therapy with the patient

Well, this is a good principle, to a point.
What will actually happen, if things have got so bad that they are affecting your life quite considerably, and you can't overcome being worried that it's just possible that a serious condition may be somewhere in the background, is more likely to be this.

You will first be told to lose weight, stop drinking any alcohol, and stop having coffee and tea.
If things don't pick up, the first line treatment is for anxiety, depression as a side order. You'll be given antidepressants, and perhaps, if indicated, the coil.
A lot of the time, these won't do very much for menopause, but they may cause weight gain, libido destruction, and sweating (as well as whatever else you went to talk about, which likely includes the 3 side effects anyway).
So you'll be told to exercise and lose weight...
If you can stay the course of this rolling around a few times, then you can pass go for actual peri or menopause, but they'll think you a pain in the ass for the lack of progress on the antidepressants.

I’m on thyroxine and have been for 25 years. HRT is fine with it.

Hmm "not that bad" for you OP.. let's see how bad its been for me..
Brain Fog- is actually not ruining my career but its making my performance at work a struggle, work level hasn't changed but I have.. HRT is helping but its still not up to levels I need to be
Bleeding, non stop, 9 weeks/4 weeks/6 weeks this has left me aneamic and tired with muscle aches everywhere
Energy levels are at least 40%less than me in my 30s and early 40s. Negative impact on work and home.
Mood swings, feel like a teenager in first flush of adolescence without the accompanying Energy to slam doors..
Insomnia..can often only get 3/4 hours of restorative sleep, but that is interrupted by night sweats, waking up with sweats and the sheets soaked. The bed can still be warm after I've showered and returned to my room. The office is kept at 22degrees but my flushes mean I often have to sit with a small fan blowing on me. All of this whilst I'm at the highest level of my professional career expected to perform at a level as shown by my age and experience.

It's not too bad for you.. that's very lucky, count your blessings but others have it worse than me I know that and my menopause quite frankly is shite. Impacting my life in ways I never thought. It is that bad.

All of this whilst I'm at the highest level of my professional career expected to perform at a level as shown by my age and experience.

Yes, I had quite a major project to manage in my last 4 years of working [ie my reports went to No 10 important]...having to host meetings when all you wanted to do was to stretch out your legs every 2 minutes to crack your ankles, and knees and then cycle them and then stretch them out and crack your ankles and knees...it was torture to be honest. Restless Legs syndrome doesn't come anywhere near trying to explain the pain that you get when you can't stand up and walk round and lunge round the room like a Monty Python sketch. I was so happy when Covid meant all our meetings were done on line and I could do all the above, in the privacy of my own home, with a spreadsheet on the screen.

Need more Lego...
Me neither.
I just am carrying on. I am 57 and have just stopped having periods in the last 6months.

I feel like I really want to say to those who haven’t read my updates or even my first post properly; I haven’t started the menopause process yet. I might well end up suffering terribly.

The title was to attract a range of people to come and comment.

well, if you ask a bunch of random women about 'menopause' you'll get wildly different answers, for as you've seen, experiences vary quite a lot.

I got mild hot flushes in the second half of every cycle from my early 40s on, and was aware of having a 'good' and a 'not so good' half of the month, which got worse until I felt pretty low about three weeks in four. My moods were all over the place mid-40s. With hindsight, I should have been on a low dose of HRT from about 46. All you can do is note the changes that are happening; if they become troublesome or start to have an impact on your physical or mental wellbeing, you can ask to see a GP.