Menopause driving me crazy

[Runaround50]

Quite literally.
I am exhausted and fed up with trying to find a suitable Hrt regime.
It seems i can't live without oestrogen, else my body breaks down. But the oestrogen I do take, is never enough to alleviate basic symptoms.

How are earth do people manage this frankly shite time of life??

My brain is taking a battering, I have teen kids, partner, house, pets, work and this shit to deal with! 😥😥

I hear you. I started HRT three weeks ago which coincided with the eldest going back to his own life after 2 years which effected me more than I thought . Everything irritates me & I think the menopause has been so overlooked because women just put up with it & this has caused immense mental health problems because we think we are going mad! In relation to the oestrogen I know the patches I am on come in different strengths so maybe you should see about that being increased.

I find the gel does the job. Two pumps seems to be enough, if I have an extra one the moodiness and irritability comes right back.

I'm with you.
Oestrogel made me bleed constantly and now I'm on bloody Norethisterone permanently
I have a mirena but not sure what that's doing

I'm suicidal some days and could happily die, on other days I'm depressed and introverted
I'm permanently irritated

I can't carry on like this for the next X years

It's a hugely overwhelming and overlooked time of life, I agre.

I just feel SO envious of women who are seemingly sailing through this shit, unscathed! How the hell are we meant to function when every waking hour is spend trying to keep our head above water?

@TomAllenWife don't suffer in silence. Could the norethistone be making you feel grim? It is well known for that unfortunately.

What oestrogen do you take now? Still gel?

Have you tried the patch or spray, or even tablet Hrt?

Xxx

Years ago they used to take your womb out at the drop of a hat. I’m not sure if making us keep them at all costs is a move forward 🤔

Thank you @Runaround50
I've stopped HRT completely, but have a gynae appointment at the end of the month so will see what he says

I'm also waiting for possible breast cancer results, tumour removed 2 weeks ago

I'm delerious most days

How does taking your womb out help? Genuine question.

Would an AD help alongside the HRT? My experience is that I need both to feel remotely human.

@TomAllenWife oh you have such a lot going on for you. If it's any consolation, I'm a BC survivor ( (13 years now). If it all gets too much, feel free to drop me a message x

@Squashpocket By removing the womb removes the need for progesterone when on HRT. Oestrogen alone causes build up of the lining which can turn nasty later on. It's the progesterone which many women don't get on with.

@cushioncovers yes I've got box of sertraline in my drawer. Tempted to take one. Which one do you take?

I've also bought CBD oil to try and calm my mood.

Thank you so much @Runaround50 the last few months have been a pile of shit

I would quite happily have my womb removed if it would help

@Runaround50 and congratulations on 13 years xx

@TomAllenWife I can understand the last few months being shit for you. Hang on in there 🌸🌸🌼🌞

I take sertraline op. I found the HRT helped me with all the physical symptoms but not the low mood and anxiety. Obviously everyone is different but for me HRT alone wasn't enough.

@cushioncovers yes I have come to the realisation that HRT alone isn't going to fix everything. What dose of sertraline do you take?

I'm on 75 patch with a Mirena. I also use vagifem pessaries and I'm still weeing constantly. It's not an infection. No burning or stinging, just a constant need to wee.

Thankfully I've got an appointment next week at the menopause clinic, so I can discuss.

I have the mirena coil and use oestrogel 750 micrograms. I alternate between one pump of gel one day and then two pumps the next. One pump a day wasn't enough but two a day was two much so that's where I'm at with HRT at the moment.

Sertraline I'm on 100mg a day. But obviously you would need to start on 25mg and see how you feel op.

The menopause has hit me hard I must say. I felt like the old me had completely disappeared and this strange, grumpy, tired, unenthusiastic, sweaty woman with constant aches and pains had replaced me.

HRT & sertraline have given me some sense of my old self returning but it's still damn hard work some days to get up on a morning and keep going.

@cushioncovers Yes you have described how I feel EXACTLY.

One day in January 2019, I woke up feeling odd. I was consumed with anxiety and couldn't drive my car! First it was windy fast lanes, then dual carriage ways and then pretty much everywhere! I couldn't work out what was going on.

Anxiety, then hot flushes, then sweats, then low mood... all followed.. hell on earth.

The 75 patch was working okay for a while but now I feel symptoms are returning and my bladder is in bloody overdrive 😢

It's such a hard time of life and yet when I look at women at work, they appear to be not to be suffering at all!

I found that testosterone cream helped enormously with that dithery, anxious type feeling. My head feels much less foggy since that kicked in.

Might be worth a go if you haven’t tried it before.

Even though I have suffered from anxiety most of my life I can say without a shadow of a doubt, perimenopausal anxiety has me on my knees.
I am absolutely hating this time of my life. I am 49 and feel my life is over. I have so many physical symptoms which then exacerbates the anxiety. It’s a vicious cycle.
I’m trying to help my dad care for my mum (she has Alzheimer’s), that exacerbates my anxiety.
I am trying to help my teens with their daily stresses and anxieties, that makes my anxiety worse.
Trying to be a happy wife when I feel like shit, is making me worse.
Trying to put a mask on for work and pretend all is ok is just about killing me. I long for each day to go by so I can crawl into bed.
Never, ever in my teens, 20’s or 30’s did I believe that menopause could be so bloody crap.

Red are you getting any support or HRT?

cushioncovers Sadly, no. I actually have my own thread going about it. I’ve been back and forth to see various GPs since I was 44. Now 49 and still I am told I am not yet in peri as I have regular periods (even though they are horrendously heavy and I’ve had to have an ablation) and no day sweats! I have just changed surgeries and have an appointment on 29th June, so fingers crossed with the new gp!

@RedorangeyellowBLACK Yes it all resonates with me.
I too am hating this time of life, I mean bloody hating it!
Every day, going into work, having to smile, talk crap and worse, get up in the morning.

Then the teens, the house, the partner, parents miles away, things that need doing in the house etc etc.

Life just feels too my much!

I hope you get some help soon. It seems such a common occurrence at this time of life when many of us have aging parents, teen kids and jobs which we can't just quit because of symptoms.

🌸🌸

Thank God this thread was started. I have had to restart Setraline due to having a bloody meltdown in my workplace-which is a hospital! I’m on the HRT, the Setraline & actually phoned a helpline because I had extreme thoughts! I’ve always suffered with anxiety but this time of life throws so much rubbish at you! Getting taken for granted & the massive guilt of trying to be there for my 90 year old dad plus every one else. Irritated completely lol

Peapod not sure if you work for the Nhs but I do and our organisation has a menopause policy, it's fairly new and the nhs is one of the first employers to recognise it.

Yes they do…there are menopause talks all the time & they are very good at acknowledging it. It’s the anxiety & irritability that is awful. I’ve been having counselling on the phone which sometimes makes me worse lol