To ask if anyone has found menopause just fine?

[ChristmasGutPunch]

Another day another article about how I can expect my brain to fall out my ear any day now. "I forgot how to do my job!" and so forth. I'm sanguine about ageing (saggy jaw aside) but I really don't want to become wrong in the head so young. Please can you reassure me it's ok for some women??

And new evidence suggests that can be for the rest of your life…

Literally the same for me

There are. And you can do those as well as HRT. In fact you should.
It’s not an ‘old skeleton’ so much as well evidenced science.

It is well-evidenced that being a low weight is a risk factor for osteoporosis. Don't see that mentioned much if at all on the menopause board.

Couldnt we put lower tolerance for idiots and shorter fuse down to age and not specifically menopause?
Men get that intolerance too as they get older
I have so many friends going on HRT because of their mood. People seem to blame menopause for everthing.
Sometimes aren't we juat tired or emotional because of lifes pressures?
I am just grumpy old cow at work as I get older
I think some people have it worse than others but everyone ia so quick to jump to the HRT
I for one will hang fire and see how it unfolds

I'm 46 so think I'm entering it (my mother started at about the same age)
I've got sensitive teeth (down one side of my mouth) the joints in one elbow aches all the time,brain fog and a bit of anxiety (nothing major)
I did see red the other day when dp broke my mug and just stood there,handle in one hand and the cup part in the other (I was FUMING!i really wanted to bury him under the patio,only the fact i dont have a clue if we own a spade or not stopped me) but soon calmed down

It's just a waiting game for the rest

(I'm nc with my mother,so can't ask her but I think she didn't get it that bad-she is the type that if she stubbed her toe,she'd claim it was broken all the way to her knee and demand endless sympathy but refuse a lift to the hospital so I'm praying she used it as another excuse to scream at my father even more than usual)

It seems to vary a lot, I was lucky, hardly noticed except for irregular periods. Had an early one too, I don't know if that's a factor. I do use Vagifem now though as did find I had some vaginal dryness. But in general I find it all quite easy, certainly no harder than menstruation. But that was just my experience.

Perhaps because being low weight isn’t generally a symptom of menopause?

Most women do not take it for life. Yes guidance is available to say longer term 'may be ok' but they're aren't any stats to back this up. Infact breast cancer increases risk wise after being on it 5yrs, small risk yes based on the old kind of hrt but who knows if the newer types won't have the same effect long term.

Up to the individual and if someone take its at 80 yrs old then great, but it is the exception not the norm so you shouldn't make sweeping statements about dementia prevention. Some studies find hrt may indeed increase that risk.

I neither made sweeping statements about preventing dementia or said it was common for it to be taken long term.
There is evidence to suggest it has a protective effect (not preventative, I didn’t say that) as regards dementia, osteoporosis and other conditions. Current evidence suggests new bio identical hormones will be safe long term. Obviously the evidence may change, but there’s no sign yet.

What?

Apart from periods stopping I wouldn’t have known I had been through menopause at all.

60's now, I had easy menopause, had been dreading it as worked with women who really suffered with hot flushes etc. As I tend to get hot easily I was a bit worried but luckily didn't suffer, just sometimes felt a bit warm, just dressed in layers and stopped drinking hot/caffeine drinks, that helped. The sheer joy of no more periods is something to look forward to, I love planning holidays, days out etc without having the hassle of periods.

😂😂😂😂😂

OP don't worry. Some women do sail through the menopause but if you don't, then we have HRT which is fantastic. It got rid of the brain fog in a week.

The only symptom I had was my periods stopping. Normal period one month and then nothing.

When your brain falls out your ear and you forget how to do your job, you will know about it because it's fucking horrible!

Knowledge and awareness is power. Be aware that if it wants to, your body can do what ever it likes menopause wise.

Take heart OP, I had an easy menopause. My periods just stopped, that's it. No hot flushes, weight gain, anxiety, sleep issues etc.

It's great not to have periods or hormonal migraines anymore.

I think menopause is like childbirth. The bad experiences get amplified above the boring, nothing to see here experiences.

You wondered why there was no discussion of low weight as a cause of osteoporosis on menopause threads. I’d have thought it was fairly obviously because it’s pretty irrelevant to menopause.

Relatively easy here. I'm late 50s and about 7 years out from my last period. Only a few hot flashes and very minor occasional memory issues. It has also gotten much harder to lose weight and my alcohol tolerance is now very low. I can't say about depression and anxiety as I've had those throughout my life, and it doesn't seem either worse or better now. (Plus, the joyousness of no periods is a real mood booster.) The only real challenge has been temperature regulation: I'm crazy hot when everyone else is in jumpers, and wake up with night sweats frequently. Still, of all the possible menopausal issues, I'll take that one over the others.

I realise though I'm super lucky as friends of similar ages have had much, much worse experiences. For some HRT has been excellent and made an enormous difference to them; others have passed through the worst or found other ways to cope.

The only symptom I noticed at the time were hot flushes. I went to the GP & told him I wasn't keen on the idea of HRT. He suggested taking red clover. I did & the hot flushes stopped. Thinking back, I did have emotional highs & lows. I didn't attribute these to menopause then, but now suspect the 2 were connected. Otherwise absolutely fine. Last period was 11years ago.

@EvangelicalAboutButteredToast A period every 28 days means you have not gone through menopause….

I’m 54 and my last two years periods have started to “skip dates”, I would get them either every two weeks or every 3 months. For the last year I’ve been getting them every 4 months, now it’s not even that, I’m not getting them at all! I’m not sure if this is menopause or not (?). I no longer suffer those roller coaster hormonal changes and I feel just fine.

is this menopause? ( I get a little bit sweaty sometimes but nothing major). Should I go for HRT? 🤔

Why do women think they go 'through' the menopause? There is no such thing. Women remain in menopause for the rest of their lives 1 year after periods stop. Symptoms can and do arise at any time from periods stopping. Atrophy for example can start in your sixties or seventies or even eighties if you're lucky. 80% will have at some point. Please everyone stop with the misinformation that you went through the menopause at this age or that. Even if you have no symptoms up to now, they can start any day any time.

Menopause is one full year of no periods. After that you are (forevermore) post-menopause

The time leading up to it, which often includes erratic periods, is called peri-menopause.

Why do women think they go 'through' the menopause? There is no such thing. Women remain in menopause for the rest of their lives 1 year after periods stop. Symptoms can and do arise at any time from periods stopping

@Tootsey11 The phrase "going through menopause" has become part of the vernacular; nobody thinks they revert to a premenopausal state after a year without their period.

Symptoms can arise at any point which is why women should always be proactive about their health, know their risk factors for age-related disease and take steps (where possible) to minimize risks. You are your own best advocate.