The info, advice and support thread for peri and newly menopausal

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Hi,

As lots of us are feeling apathetic, lethargic, anxious, moody and don't know what to do, I thought it might be a good idea to have a thread where we can offer each other advice and support and ask questions.

If you are feeling drained and out of sorts due to peri and menopause symptoms, pull up a chair, put up your feet, help yourself to virtual and .

I'll start.

Symptoms:
exhaustion, lethargy - could sleep 18 hours a day and still feel tired!
apathy
anxiety about small and big stuff
weight gain (15-20 lbs in last 5 years)
thinning hair
very papery skin

Tips:
Liquid iron is good if you are getting anaemic. Much better than iron tablets. Floradix herbal iron is best but Ferratin is half the price and works very well.

Daylight - been trying to spend an hour a day outside, even if too tired to go far or exercise strenuously. Feels like it's making a difference.

If you have any suggestions for what helps, any recommendations, any questions, or just want a whinge about it all, pile in!

Oh god - I'm up for a whinge, this last month has been awful, I don't have periods as have the mirina coil but have had lots of symptoms such as night sweats, tiredness, mind fog, apathy, anxiety & low mood. Made changes to diet - addition of flaxseeds & soya, upping water intake & trying to reduce caffine, alcohol & fatty foods, have tried to increase exercise & saw Gp who prescribed me low dose of oestrogen which I've been on for 2 weeks now, also had fsh & thyroid bloods done, thyroid normal, fsh levels 147!!! Current problem is I have 1 good week when I feel much improved, in control & "strong" & then the following week when I feel worse than ever - guess which version of me it is this week??! Know exactly what I should do - get outside and go for a run or even a walk - but in all honesty I just want to hide away and sleep. It's exhausting- I know it's unrealistic to expect to be leaping out of bed every morning full of the joys of spring but I would love some sort of continuity to my emotions & I'm not very good at "putting up" with stuff. I was 41 when perimenopause symptoms first began, 43 now and it's definitely worse than ever. Sorry to go on - feel very lonely about it all in RL as none of my close friends experiencing anything yet.

I don't want this post to be a conversation stopper, but the answer to these symptoms unless you have strong medical reasons not to use it- is HRT, as well as changing any bad lifestyle and diet habits- so daily exercise ( 30-45 mins brisk walking) a good diet- cut out all the crap especially sugar, refined carbs, booze, etc and replace with more vegs, fruit, pulses and omega 3-rich foods.

Thank you pink, having read A LOT about perimenopause symptoms, many of which are posts from yourself, I appreciate you are extremely well informed on the subject. However, today I am having a bad day and not finding it easy to muster the energy to do what I know will help - I'm truly wallowing in my own misery - not helped by the fact I'm working a night shift tonight - although will be glad to have something else to think about it!! Hey ho "this too will pass"

Chins up night!
Give your HRT a bit longer.
Maybe try a quick 15 mins walk today if the sun is shining?

The hot flushes have hit! Right in the middle ( well nearer the end to be exact) of marathon training

I don't get the flushes when I'm running but I feel weird. Tired/body taking longer to repair.

So glad I found this thread. I'm peri menopausal and low on iron. But this last month, my period has gone on and on and on. It's now week 2 and (sorry tmi) I'm still leaking brown blood. Not much but I was wondering if my body is having a clearout. Not pregnant and it's not a miscarriage.

Does anyone have any advice?

Sorry no advice gingermum but most of my bleeds recently have mainly been brown blood. But they only last 3 days at most.

I want to whinge too. Have had 18 months of peri menopause symptoms. No hot flushes. But horrible anxiety, low mood and poor sleep.

Some days I have wanted to step under a bus just to make it all stop. Other days I have felt as much as 95% like my old self. But never 100% like the old me.

I have finally started taking HRT. Oestrogen patch with Utrogestan on days 15-26. Am on day 8 of patch and day 6 of Utro (started HRT mid cycle).

The weekend was dreadful. Tuesday was a very good day. But today I have felt as low and desolate as I ever have (though feel slightly better this evening).

I am so sick to the back teeth of feeling like this. Sick of always analysing my mood. Sick of waking up at 6am, usually with anxiety. Sick of not being able to predict my mood. Sick of dreading events that I should look forward to. I'm sick of myself.

I want to feel like I used to feel. Braver. Stronger. Able to cope. Excited by stuff.

I've so had enough of this crap. I really have. It has scarred me so deeply that I am not sure I will ever recover 100%.

I am pining my hopes on HRT. If it doesn't work and give me back myself then I don't know what is left for me.

I'm new to all this and apologise for the stupid questions, but is there something I can read for very basic info? Like, I know that menopause is after periods have completely stopped, but I don't really know what peri-menopausal means. If it means symptoms have started but periods haven't stopped completely, then that's me.

Last summer I was having hot flushes, trouble sleeping, terrible short-term memory problems (causing me problems at work,) and long gaps between periods. My mum said go to GP and ask for HRT - she was on it for 10 years! Got a young woman doc, unsympathetic, said they won't consider HRT until period-free for at least 12 months, and the trouble sleeping is unlikely to be related to the menopause.

In autumn, regular periods resumed for several months and all symptoms stopped - including the sleeplessness, despite having lots of stress in my life. Since January, I've only had one, extremely light, period, and the symptoms came back, including sleeplessness.

Please tell me I'm not going mad, the waking at 4am and being unable to get back to sleep despite being exhausted to the point of zombification is all part of it (and when will it pass?) And is there any chance I can get HRT or do I really have to wait a year?

Your GP is completely and utterly wrong
HRT is for peri and post meno. After menopause some women use a type that is suitable if you have not had a period for a year, but even that is not mandatory- you can still use other types that give you a cycle.

Please go back to the drs but try to see another dr who is better informed.

Look at the www.menopausematters.co.uk website and the HRT section under Treatments- whole list of HRT listed for peri meno- print off and take to dr!!!

here

Looking for some advice, please. Periods have always been regular, but I'm having some peri symptoms. This month my period is late, but still got cramping, sore boobs and snappy bitch mood etc. Can someone tell me, when your period becomes less regular, do you still get the normal premenstrual symptoms? TIA.

TeaforTara your GP clearly knows nothing about peri menopause and is spouting garbage. I assume she missed that lecture when she was at university?

I have seen a consultant gynaecologist (so massively more knowledgeable and qualified than your GP) three times in the last year. Each time she has reassured me that insomnia is a CLASSIC peri menopause symptom. As are anxiety, mood swings, bowel problems, poor concentration etc.

My periods started getting much lighter and slightly closer together over a year ago. At the same time I started with the anxiety, insomnia and mood swings.

But last month I had a period liked I used to have. Much heavier, lasted longer etc and all my symptoms disappeared. I felt like the old me for about 4 weeks, it was wonderful. But this month had a very light period again, just spotting, and all my symptoms came crashing back

So am now on day 10 of HRT. Fingers crossed.

Go back and see another GP, who actually knows something about menopause/peri menopause or ask for a referral to a menopause clinic.

I'm not sure what I want you to say!

I realised I was having possible peri/meno symptoms yesterday. I looked through some of the lists of symptoms on the internet and I've realised I've been having many of them for the past two + years.

The anxiety has been wretched, it coincided with a series of awful family illnesses and bereavements so I assumed it was as a result of the bad time I'd been having. But things have been calm for the past two years and despite counselling, CBT, hypnotherapy and antidepressants nothing has shifted it. I've been suicidal at times, it didn't occur to me that it could be meno.

I had a mirena coil until July last year, I thought my periods just weren't settling. Pre coil I was regular to the hour, another missed period 10 days late got me wondering.
I didn't consider meno as my Mum had hers in her late 50s and I thought I would follow suit. I'm 41.

This has been long so I'll wrap this up by listing my symptoms; night sweats, irregular periods, mood swings, fatigue, hair loss, insomnia, memory loss weight gain, utis, allergies, heart palpitations, anxiety, breast pain, headaches, stomach problems.

Any suggestions and advice gratefully received.

I'm 47, recently joined a gym and started working out with a vengeance. Lost over a stone which I am sure made my oestrogen levels plumit (as stored in fat cells apparently), and dived almost overnight into Peri with a vengeance.

So I cleaned up my diet, continued at the gym, sunlight, ProMensil, the works.. But you know what? NOTHING WORKED! I was getting 3 hours a night's sleep which meant I didn't have the energy to work out and craved sugery foods. So the natural way just wasn't for me.

A week ago I started Estradiol gel- and last night, for the first time, no hot flushes. Still waking up but apparently that will iron out.

Coupled with the fact that my meno consultant told me under 50 there is no risk for me (no cancer in family), for me it was a no-brainer. I will take my gel to my grave.

I have migraines, can I still have HRT? It's one of the contraindications from what I can see.

The worry about migraines is that there is this concern about blood clots because some drs think migraines and blood flow to the brain are linked.

BUT transdermal oestrogen- gel and patches- are not associated with blood clots- they are far safer than pills.

I used to have maybe 3-4 migraines a year ( always as a result of stress or missing a meal- I know my triggers) but it was never a no-no for HRT and I've had far fewer anyway since being on it- maybe once a year.

DEE- just seen you are 41. It's a no-brainer for you- if you are in peri you need HRT as a preventative for heart disease and osteoporosis.

I think you should ask your GP for a referral to a consultant gynae so you can have your hormones checked properly and be given HRT- unless your GP is happy to do this- and knows enough to help you.

Ok pink, thank you so much, I'm very new to this so I had no idea I would need it.

Apologies for thread hogging but when I go to my GP what do I need to ask for?

Currently in surgical menopause due to ovary removal. No HRT for me as I've had breast cancer. Night sweats, irritability and weight gain. I'm only 37, it's a bit crap.

weebarra That's really tough for you. Have you had specialist advice? It's a very complicated issue because women who take oestrogen-only HRT ( which you can if you don't have a uterus) have (shown across many studies) reduced incidences of breast cancer. So if you are not having periods due to no ovaries that could mean you were ok with it. My consultant has said that a woman who is clear of breast cancer for several years may be able to use HRT - with specialist advice.

Dee I think your GP ought to refer you to a specialist as you are having a very early menopause- which they ought to assess with blood tests. If they won't then you ought to ask for transdermal HRT not pills.

wee actually, oestrogen only HRT would stimulate your uterine lining but unsure if you have had a hysterectomy?

Nope, still have a uterus as only ovaries and tubes removed. I asked my oncologist about it and she said it was still too risky. Apparently they did a study at the Royal Marsden but had to discontinue it as too many women had recurrences.

I can't have HRT but am using cipralex, starflower oil and gentle exercise when I can be arsed. Dreading the summer, hot weather and hot flushes.