To think people offer up this as an explanation too often on here?

[Kejmagpie]

I’ve been noticing it more and more regularly, that ‘peri’ seems to the the answer to everything.

Loss of sex drive - Peri
Newly found sex drive - Peri
Shouted at the kids - Peri
Dodgy tummy - Peri
MIL pissing me off more than normal - Peri

You get the gist of it I’m sure!

Well it probably is.
The same that "puberty" is used as the reason for teenagers being general arseholes 😂

All of those things can be caused by perimenopause so seems a fair suggestion. Could be a number of other things of course and those should be considered to. Should always consider all possibilities.

Or neurodivergence.

You'll never know though will you??

Here's a bit more peri wisdom for you -

If you haven't got ALL aspects of your own shit together by now.....how can you criticize others??

In the same way that being autistic or having dementia is used as an excuse for vile or rude behaviour.

Given how many things in humans are controlled or affected by hormones, why would you find that surprising? Hormones are very powerful. They drive behaviour, moods, emotions, human interaction etc. That's a fact. It's not a made-up 'excuse'.

I'm post menopausal. All symptoms described apart from newly found sex drive. So yes maybe it is mood influences....

🙄 Because every thread about anything needs a bit of autism-bashing, eh?

I’m way beyond peri now, and I’ve just booked a rage room with a female friend for Twixmas. I cannot fucking wait.

Peri is just the amuse bouche for the liberating joy of menopause, when you really don’t have any more fucks to give.

@Kejmagpiejust out of interest have you reached peri?

I went through the menopause in the 1990s and Id never heard of perimenopause.

I started HRT, just at the time when there was the scare linking it with breast cancer so I stopped taking it almost as soon as I began it.

I found the menopause absolutely dreadful because I didn't understand the person I had become. And I had no one to talk to about it .

I do find it refreshing how openly these previously taboo subjects are discussed now.

Oh I agree! I was told by someone on here that the menopause could last up to 30 years, until well into a woman's 60s. Hmmm.

My mother went through the menopause in her 60s - it’s certainly not impossible. I’d question the 30 years before bit, though, if your menopause is that late.

Seriously peri menopause can explain a lot but ive an overactive thyroid and the symptoms match that too

Pretty much everything is put down to; Peri, dementia, anxiety or ND.

Is that you Kevin? 😉🙊

Plus everyone who behaves selfishly or coercively is narcissistic.

Yes it’s too much. A lot can be put down to people not looking after their health and feel shit because of that.

Personally, as someone who has suffered really badly with menopausal symptoms and spent at least 18 months trying to get a doctor to listen to me, it can be an explanation for a lot of anger, rage and generally not giving a shit any more. And in my case, wanting to kill myself.

It is POSITIVE that so many women are discussing menopause, discussing how it affects them, both mentally and physically. If you have a woman on here who is 48 or 52 and is discussing lack of sex drive, or all over itchiness, or insomnia, then suggesting menopause is not outrageous.

What is outrageous is the numpty armchair shrinks on here who love to pigeonhole anyone. Anyone over 65 - have you considered dementia? Any woman standing up for herself - could it be menopause? Anyone who is a bit socially awkward - are they autistic? Anyone a bit selfish - clearly a narcissist.

Sometimes, people are just selfish, rude, or do stupid things.

Well I suppose that's a new spin on the "just pull yourself together and get on with it" angle.

Is it a problem @Kejmagpie? The threads I read are usually where something like perimenopause is suggested are usually the OP reporting difficulties/not coping so well/changes in responses to day to day situations. It’s not unreasonable to mention some of these things as possibilities that might be worth investigating.

I really wish perimenopause had been spoken about when it happened to me. Three things on your list happened to me but I also became, almost overnight, actively suicidal. At the time I didn’t realise how much perimenopause could affect mood. If someone had said, ‘have you thought about perimenopause’ it might have saved me a lot of difficulty. People are free to dismiss it but it is usually suggested from a good place even if the OP says ‘it can’t be perimenopause causing my dodgy tummy as I’m a 32 year old man. It’s probably the Vindaloo and 10 pints of larger I had last night’.

Same as every personality trait is automatically ADHD or autism

I agree OP. I am heartily sick of hearing about the menopause all the time and all the woes of the world being attributed to it.

I’m glad net/net that people are breaking the taboos around it but I could really do, once in a while, with going out with friends and not having the conversation revolve around it.

Also, as you say, it’s become a bit of a catch-all boogeyman foe anything that could go wrong in your health or personal life, preventing people from interrogating their health or emotional wellbeing in more detail or thinking critically about their lives.

And by God its boring too.

Nope. I said a lot, not all, can be put down to not looking after yourself. But of course some things can be put down to peri and need hrt etc.

Eg I’ve known many older women suffer through their 50s but were drinkers/smokers/ate crap.

I'm pretty sure that I know why you are feeling crotchety about it...

I'd forgotten about that one 😁