45 and going round the bend!

[justme93]

I can't sleep.. hot hot hot! I'm awake at odd hours, I'm seriously irritated but such little things and the headaches are killing me. My periods have become very unpredictable and I've spent most of the summer without one which was nice, now I've had two in quite close together so all a bit of a tizz. Is this normal? Should I be seeing the doctor?

Same here, I’m all over the place. Have mentioned it to GP but they kind of dismissed it as I’m not getting hot flushes....

Oh was wondering what the GP might say actually .. looks likely I'm in for a fight eh. I'm really struggling with sleep, I've also noticed for the last year my hair is really thinning out!!

I occasionally suffer from restless legs and I take an anti histamine, non drowsy, but it knocks me out. I wake up feeling yuk which soon goes but next time will try half a tablet.

It’s worth seeing GP. HRT will help with symptoms.

It’s worth seeing them, yes, as you really should be considering hrt. I’m younger than you and was having a pretty symptomless perimenopause apart from haywire (and then absent) periods. I’m on hrt because of the protection it offers against osteoporosis and heart disease but it took an appointment with an endocrinologist who told the gp to get on and prescribe it.

From what I'm reading it would seem doctors are reluctant to offer HRT..! Hmm I'll make the appointment and see where it gets me.

justme in my experience they will do blood tests to check on your hormone levels but these are often inaccurate, especially in early menopause. They don’t seem to take into account your age - my endo was very clear that my blood results were NOT fine for a 42 year old but would probably have been fine for a 50 year old. They are supposed to show different levels at different points in your cycle but I was never even asked what point I was at when the bloods were taken.

Think about HRT. I kept getting fobbed off by male GPs, then I saw a woman who had just been working in a top London hospital on obs / gynae. She prescribed HRT patches (drugs don't go through the liver) and I felt better within the week.Obviously consider the risks as well as the benefits. You will be referred for a blood test to check your hormone levels, but I understand these are not always clear and I suspect some GPs ignore borderline results. In turn I try to minimise my health risks - not be overweight, healthy diet, cut down alcohol, keep active and I've never smoked.

That's what happened to me at 45. It was the menopause and I've been raging through it for 10 years.
Luckily on HRT the whole way or I'd have gone mad. I insisted on it, wasn't going to survive otherwise.

I really urge all women to read the NICE menopause guidelines! They are one of the most important developments for meno and HRT in the last 20 years. They're out there, online- loads of media stuff about them when they came out Nov 2015 - so read the stuff! It's going to give you power to talk to GPs who are dinosaurs when it comes to meno /HRT.

Basically, what they say is that HRT should be prescribed for meno symptoms and the discussion should be an informed discussion between a woman and her Dr. None of this dr playing God and refusing medication. This is the very first sentence:
People have the right to be involved in discussions and make informed decisions about their care, as described in your care.

If you want to try HRT that's what you ask for! Say you have read about the risks and benefits and you want to give it a go. if they refuse, ask why. if it's not for a real medical reasons - your own medical history- then you have every right to say the reason is not relevant.

If you get nowhere, change your GP.

My GP and I researched it together 😁To be fair she was a GP trainee and I am not a standard case, if there is such a thing, as I have had a partial hysterectomy. HRT has really helped, although I am still 45 and going round the bend too, as my moods have gone haywire again this week.

Thank you Polly I can see me having to have some sort of case back up info.. very helpful indeed!

My GP was really happy to prescribe HRT, and it really helped. Not all are ill informed. Makes sense to read the guidelines before you go though.

Also just going to recommend a wool duvet for anyone with night sweats, a revelation.