Coronavirus and menopause

[Flumpwump]

Just that really. Do menopausal women need to be extra cautious? I am 54, as far as I know no underlying health issues and a non smoker but over the last couple of years menopause seems to have hammered my immune system - utis and other infections when I never had them before, and I seem to get general viruses much more easily. Anyone else? I worry I am more at risk.

[jackdawdawn]

Yes, I know what you mean. Though I am not yet 48, I feel about 148. I hear accounts from people who have suffered C19 complaining about being weak, shattered, hardly able to climb the stairs, and that worries me, because I feel like that most days anyway. My doctor refuses to give me HRT, are you taking it? I think oestrogen may give some protection. I think the lack of it at menopause may be a factor in making us less able to fight off infection. It seems to be vital on so many levels - heart, bones, cognition etc. But if you don't smoke and aren't overweight/diabetic etc, you have more of a fighting chance. Hard to say, it is such a weird unpredictable virus...🤔

[Dilbertian]

Why are you refused HRT? Is there a clinical reason? Because unless you are at high risk of certain conditions, NICE guidelines are that you should have it.

I'm doing my best to support my general health. So Vitamin D and Zinc supplements, as both have been shown to be necessary for the immune system. I'm being a bit more sensible in what I eat, especially upping my fibre intake and reducing my intake of sugars and processed foods. All this has been shown to improve the gut biome, which in turn is necessary for a well-balanced immune system.

I'm also doing deep breathing exercises. It sounds kooky, but I figure that improving my breathing could help with coping with an illness that affects your ability to breathe. Can't do any harm, anyway.

But good god I couldn't do it without my HRT. If I miss a patch change, or a patch comes off without my noticing, I can cope. But if both happen together or one after the other, as happened recently, I just go to pieces. It is truly hideous. And then I feel the call of the biscuit tin.

[jackdawdawn]

I am taking vitamins too. Couldn't hurt.

My doctor said I was too young for menopause. It's an awful situation to be in because I can neither get a second opinion, change GPs or get private help at the moment, or for the foreseeable. I am very upset about it really. Northern Ireland, where I live, is a dreadful place to be a woman seeking healthcare. There are no menopause clinics in GP surgeries or anything like that. I just feel awful every day, I feel as if I've been run over this morning, but I just have to put up with it.

[Dilbertian]

too young for menopause

What a load of rubbish! If you have the symptoms, and especially if any other possibilities have been positively excluded, then you have menopause. And if you have an early menopause your bone density needs to be protected even more.

I've been on HRT since I was 43. I thank god for science every week twice a week when I change the patches. It has transformed my life - and my family's life, too.

This is what informed my decision to practice deep breathing:

m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=u7sJw5ecFUU

[jackdawdawn]

the problem is I can't have blood tests etc to preclude the other possibilities.

I know my bones and joints are suffering. Also my mental health.

Mind matters, don't suffer in silence, always feel free to speak to your doctor - what a joke that turned out to be!

[Polly02]

I’m 46. Been peri menopausal for years but I’ve not had a period since before lockdown started and am having frequent hot flushes. Never had this before.

It’s confusing me and I keep wondering if it might be an on and off Coronavirus temperature.

[jackdawdawn]

I think it sounds more like vasomotor symptoms if on-off. The weather has been warmer than usual and that makes it worse. But I agree, the prevalence of the virus makes you very unsure.

I get far worse flushes in spring and summer and also in the second half of my cycle. If your period is due/late/widely spaced, your hormone levels are probably in the dirt and you are suffering accordingly.