To think you get your 'spark' back post menopause?

[SlB09]

I'm stuck. Stuck in the perimenopausal everything feels flat, my body and mind are following their own tune right now, UTTER RAGE and generally a horrible person esp to my husband which I feel terrible for.

Do you get 'you' back once all this settles down?!

I’m on patches - 75mg and progesterone tablets every night 100mg.

I have googled histamine intolerance funnily enough. That’s why I’m back on the fexofenadine but it’s not done much. I should try a low histamine diet but it’s so restrictive and I didn’t think Christmas week was a good time to start! I’ve cut out coffee and cows milk for now but no real improvement. I think I might ask for HRT gel next time, in case I’m not absorbing it properly.

Please read my posts above and look at getting your levels of B12 and folate checked (vit d and iron as well)
Poor methylation can lead to high histamine levels in the body. There is a lot of research on this. You may have a mutation of the MTHFR gene and need to take methylated supplements but get proper bloods done first and get everything up to ‘optimal’

O ... K .... I'm 50 and this is more or less the exact opposite of what I want in my future

Thank you I will. I do take B12 although a recent full blood work only really showed low ferritin, 27 I think so GP said was fine 🙄
I take an iron tablet and vitamin d every day too. Have done for several months but it’s not really made any difference. I take the iron with 1000mg vitamin c, although admittedly, it’s a low dose of iron.

What happens when you stop taking it though? Surely you can't stay on it forever?

@zaxxon There is no answer to this post because - just like before menopause - everyone is different after menopause too.

Please tell us more about this..

GPs are useless at diagnosing deficiencies. I’ve read peer reviewed papers suggesting that a woman’s ferritin level should be above 75 in the absence of iron deficiency symptoms and 100 if you have them. If you get palpitations, fatigue, restless legs etc. My ferritin was 34 when I got it checked and I started taking ferrous sulfate (contains 66mg of iron rather than the meagre 14mg you can usually get) and it completely changed how I felt within a few weeks. If you only take a low dose, it won’t get you up to where you need it to be! My latest Ferritin result was 66 so I’m going to carry on taking ferrous sulfate for 2 more months and then drop down to a lower dose.

Folate deficiency also makes you feel like shite. Ditto Vit D. Sorry to be so enthusiastic about all of this but I am honestly amazed at the change I’ve experienced by supplementing correctly!

Do you know what your last B12 reading was? How strong is your B12 supplement?
One of the weirdest B12 symptoms is drenching night sweats so it’s easy to see how it can be mistaken for hormonal changes

@BlackStrayCat I realise this, the question was put in an unambiguous way so people would know what I meant.

@IBlameTheDog it sounds like histamine to me. More oestrogen can make that worse. Is it utrogestan capsules you are on? Body identical progesterone is supposed to help with histamine. I think if you are on anything higher than a 50 patch/2 pumps gel the guidelines from the British Menopause Society are to be on 200 mg progesterone a night continuously (or 300 cyclically).

Look at mastcell360 for a list of low histamine foods and stay away from the worst culprits. No processed food (I'd include anything in tins and cans in this). No fermented foods (yoghurt, kim chi etc), no alcohol, no aubergine, spinach, tomato, dried fruit, aged meat, smoked anything, bacon, ham, fish. Fresh chicken is best. Onions, broccoli, apples and blueberries for fruit and veg all contain quercetin so can actually help, but most fresh fruit and veg are ok. Citrus can be aggravating but it can all be quite personal too. Best cheeses are soft fresh cheeses, mozzarella and ricotta, that type stuff. Basically the older the food the more histamine it has. Not all probiotics are suitable, and I dont know which ones are, that could be personal too. Try a quercetin supplement, and a DAO enzyme supplement if you can get it. Tea blocks DAO enzyme or something like that, can't remember.

A short period of time should tell you if you're on the right track. Do you think you got worse since upping the oestrogen? Diet is restrictive but if you do it properly for a short time you should get answers quickly and can start adding things back in. Also a little bit of something might make no difference to you, so a few leaves of spinach might be OK but a whole spinach salad not OK. People talk about histamine as a bucket, fine to a certain level but can overflow and cause problems. Also if your mast cells are overreacting they can calm down on a low histamine diet and not overreact to every little thing when you start to add food back in.

Apparently anti histamines can make your body think it needs more histamine so it ends up producing more, so they can help short term but not long term. They don't actually clear histamine from the body, they just block cells from receiving it or something like that.

@Apileofballyhoo
thats amazingly helpful! Thank you 🙏🏻

I feel like this with the ear fullness and TMJ pain. Think mine is post covid symptoms though in the mix.
I feel hungover and achey every morning despite drinking a lot of water.

It certainly felt like coming out to a better brighter side to me. Life without oestrogen is infinitely better, in my experience (although I wouldn't be without my pessary).

Post-Meno here - but TEN long years of allsorts of symptoms/GP was utterly dire/innapropriate HRT regime without adequate monitoring.
Eventually in desperation, went to private clinic - "ok" but ultimately a waste of time and money.
FINALLY - went to a Dr Louise Newson trained GP - am only 8/9 months in but it's been LIFE CHANGING.
Am several years past menstruation, but anyone who's had a period within the last 10 years is possibly "suitable" & my blood tests indicated my areas of need
Have since been on a "good" HRT regime/Dr Newson's GP now communicates with my GP practice who will now do the blood test/dispense the prescriptions etc
As for the symptoms - MANY life-enhancing improvements in certain areas/steady progress in others

Without the input of different hormones every two weeks and the ups and downs and anxiety that comes with it, the complete absence of hormones makes you really quite calm and peaceful.

Absolutely. I just have a much more even temperament. my health is overall better. I have more energy, sleeping better. No more periods, no more mess, no more abdominal pain. Menopause is wonderful.

Thankyou to those suggesting nutritional deficiencies/iron/b12 etc I will certainly explore this.

And also thankyou all for sharing your experiences, it is so important to have the support of other women at different life stages x

Hi can I ask what optimal levels are for B12 folate etc, you've obviously done your research

Hi Several GPs have said to me that estrogen blood tests are unreliable. I tried Newson clinic but can't seem to increase my estrogen levels without feeling awful. Do you know what your levels are now that you feel better and what they were before please. thanks

There is a difference between the hormones in contraception and certain types of HRT. I've suffered with PMDD for years which has always been exacerbated by oral contraception. I'm now on HRT (started at 45 symptoms from aged 40....not sure why I waited so long!) and most PMDD symptoms have gone. (I should add I also still take citalopram which was initially for PMDD)

HRT has been completely life changing for me. It isn't for everyone but I always maintain it's worth a try. I take utrogestan and everol patches but I've also had gel oestrogen which worked too. I had provera (which is a different form of progesterone and I believe is more like oral contraception) when there was no Utrogestan to be had and that was not good for me and acted similarly to oral contraception. I believe it's because utrogestan is a more "body identical" form of progesterone.

I'm 53, about 2 years post meno, I just feel normal. Peri wasn't that awful for me though, I had a few symptoms but not life changing. I do have some weight to lose, having always been pretty slim before.

No HRT other than vaginal oestrogen and a supplement which has killed off the hot flushes. I am super focussed on diet, exercise and general wellbeing - textbook really. I'd recommend looking into clean/Mediterranean eating and weigh training if you haven't already.

Folate needs to be between 30 and 45 nmol/L and B12 should be between 70 and 150

However, even at the lower end of these ranges you could still be feeling unwell. GPs will do a FBC and in the absence of anemia will not bother testing iron, folate or B12 when the effects on red blood cells are one of the later symptoms you would develop

What supplement killed off the hot flashes please?

Same. Peri was awful. When it was finally over everything levelled out and now I feel like me again.

No HRT and I’m glad of that.

It is so sad. I feel almost (almost - I am hugely grateful that she's still with us and in reasonably good physical health) bereaved when I think of how she was pre-menopause. She's a completely different person now, and I grieve for the mum I used to have, and for the life she used to enjoy.