So don't be shy list your meno symptoms.....

[VivLevi]

Not just the well documented meno symptoms but the little things happening to you that you can only attribute to the peri/menopause years
So starting with the obvious....
Chronic early morning wakening up
The hot flushes
Bleeding gums
Hair thinning
What feel like period pains but no period ever appears
Aching back
Aching shoulders
Headaches that would rival any hangover
Constipation then loose stools the back to constipation
Dry mouth
Weird burning crawling sensations on skin
Really dry skin plus the odd crop of spots
Anxiety around stuff that would never normally bother you
Weight gain despite eating healthier than previously
Low tolerance to alcohol
Chin hair
Forgetting names and words mid sentence or using the wrong word
Despite being blonde sprouting some really thick black hair around my hairline.
Anything else?

@madambee I’m taking the risk with black cohosh. All medications have possible side effects and I would go immediately to the GP if I had any obvious liver symptoms and I get my bloods checked fairly regularly as part of ongoing healthcare. As I said I’m not in the UK but I buy it from the pharmacy so I’m sure it’s the pure ingredient not mixed with anything random

I take Ucalm now (can't remember my research - menobrain) which certainly do the job. I also get Lambert's for most other things and they do st john's too.

I gave up work. Debilitating tiredness and hot flushes with weakness, nausea and palpitations.

Lots more. Stated hrt.

@AfterSchoolWorry.. sorry to hear you had to give up work. I have the same symptoms minus the hot flushes but am guessing they're most likely on the horizon. I have tried cutting back on the caffeine and then giving up and yet it made no difference to the palpitations and nausea. One day the palps and racing heart were quite bad at work..i'd had no caffeine all day and i thought 'oh stuff it, i'm having a cup of tea!' and lo and behold they actually calmed right down! so it has nothing to do with caffeine intake.
The tiredness and weakness is awful..just walking upstairs i feel like i'm climbing a mountain. I have no energy or motivation to exercise as every time i try i feel worse not better
So how is the hrt going for you?

@ BooseysMom

Thanks! Sorry to hear you're suffering too. I hear you re the tiredness, inability to exercise. I now seem to have plantar fasciitis, so even more difficult!

Initially the HRT was great but as soon as I went on the 14 days progesterone all the symptoms came back. However, the doc says this is normal at first, apparently it takes between 3-6 months to build up in your system!

Hopefully you'll be lucky and avoid the hot flushes! Fingers crossed! 😊

Yes to bloody period pain which I had for about 4 months at a time with no period. I was so drained. My gp kept giving me tablets to bring it on!!! But there was no bloody period to come.
My friend recommended Magnissium OK and it really helped.
I also started on an anti depressant as I was very low and irritable. That helped too plus getting rid of my abusive ex.
I didn’t feel.i needed HRT after that.

So interesting to see these I hadn't linked night time itchy skin and waking at 4am to the menopause,but have both of those, my curly hair is getting straighter! Periods are so heavy it's hard to work and function.Brain fog just give up kid sentence.Chin hair,more of a moustache.
For me the only good thing is for 30+ years have had horrendous PMT this has gone,has made me realise what a blight on my life this has been.

Did anyone else feel horny as hell ? I wondererd if that might be due to the relative excess of testosterone v oestrogen

Sore burning mouth. Disappeared when I was on HRT patches but now I have started tablets, it’s back.

I have lost my spark - I hear about someone going out after work cinema etc and the thought exhausts me. It's not even me going out.

Weight gain, times of extreme weakness, morning hobbles, a wildly itchy food just before my HRT bleed (but not every month), shit sleep, hairy face, starving or no appetite, irritability.....utter crap

One plus is the almost anarchic fuck-you attitude to nobbish men (usually, men) behaving like dicks

Oh FFS!!

Itchy, twatting FOOF not food

I'm going through surgical menopause, I was on hrt for 7 years and I haven't stopped sneezing since stopping it, a few weeks ago It's driving me mad. Also itchy, runny nose, itchy mouth, throat and lips and swollen itchy, dry eyes.
I take a Syndol to help me sleep. It is a painkiller but it has an anti histamine in it that makes you sleepy. If I take one at bedtime I usually get a much better night's sleep
For anxiety I can recommend Ashwagandha, it's a herb and I find it very beneficial. It helps with the rage as well.
So in the last few weeks my hair has thinned, got greasier, I've developed new chin hairs, my joints are swollen, I'm full of fluid and have lovely belly fat. And the vivid dreams, omg .

Reporting back on the wool filled duvet. I love it. DP is ok with it.
I have had it two nights so possibly summer will be a different matter.
Its weighty enough for me, its warm but not hot. I haven't spent the last two nights throwing the quilt off cos hot, pulling it back cos cold, haven't stuck my leg out, haven't sweated every 15 minutes.
Bought from the baargain box here www.baavet.co.uk/baavet-wool-bargains

Other suppliers are available.

It said that a seam was wonky and it had some lumps. I cant find a wonky seam, I cant find any lumps.
It's my new lifesaver, I can sleep again. In fact all I want to do now is go to bed to snuggle under this quilt. Its expensive I know and I dread spilling anything on it or otherwise damaging it cos I will have to get a new one, but still no one is parting me from this quilt. Thanks for all the answered questions from anyone who did answer, this has been my best buy this year and I have bought some bloody good stuff.

merryhouse 'a few months ago I got a sudden massive stabbing pain in my arse'. Could it be this? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levator_ani_syndrome I've had it wake me in the night and it is a horror show because nothing except benzos really relieves it.

I'm 51 and so far I haven't been too disturbed with symptoms (well, enough to ask the GP for hrt, but nothing too awful) but it has ramped up in the last few months. After 20yrs of easy, quick periods, suddenly they're a two-week bloodbath. Twice in the last three weeks I've come home in a cold sweat having flooded a pad while out and about. And that wasn't even the same period! Two in one month.

Also suddenly a crippling depression made of equal parts shame and grief. Wtf is that??

Has anyone got linen sheets? I bought some after reading one of those expensive 'best thing I've bought lately' threads and I love them fiercely. I can't even express why they solve so many problems. They seem lighter and less dense than cotton (so less sweaty) but also they don't have that slick surface so in a way they're more cozy. And they look crumpled in a chic way so don't give me rage and despair like wrinkly cotton sheets.

@Cocolapew My anxiety levels are through the roof. I like the look of ashwaghanda from reviews online for stress. I am almost one year no periods and don't want them to restart. I have found a brief mention of restarting periods and fertility, what has been your experience?

@Sarcelle I had a total hysterectomy 7 years ago so have no periods.
I also got a shen men piercing before the summer, mainly because I heard it was good for aches and pains, but it's mainly done for anxiety. I have found my anxiety definitely has decreased since getting it.

Itchy scalp. I looking like I've got fecking nits.

I have that too iklboo, and unfortunately I work in school with a nit outbreak atm

Loving this thread for my sanity!
Palpitations
Hot moments
Headaches
Anxiety is sky high at times
Uncomfortable urethra
Periods fairly regular but odd extra one some months
Brain fog
Achy joints

Meant to add I'm 44 and been like this for 5 years

This thread is incredible, thank you all. Makes me feel almost vaguely normal

Got a lot of these horrendous symptoms, not sure what is aging or menopause to be honest but it's not a great time.

Periodic dry eyes
Dryness
Forgetfulness, words (mid sentence) all the time.
I really feel a different person to who I was before, communication is harder
Loss of focus, very easily distracted. Makes work hard, I leave meetings with no idea of what I should be doing next and my notes are just cryptic. I now ask (when I remember!) for a quick recap before we decamp
Sleep, waking up during the night a lot, and so so tired in the mornings
Flushes, flashes whatever they are called. Even with HRT I still get them but not as bad as before
Raging rage
Anxiety
Sadness, and a genuine despair at the world
Laziness and can't be arsedness. I was regular exerciser until summer and now I have to force it, I just can't be bothered
Tiredness on work nights I make it to about 9 or so and I'm done
Skintags, yes, lately I noticed a small crop of these
Random facial hair, and eyebrows need plucked at the top now which is new

I know there are more I just can't remember at the moment

thank you all, it's amazing not to feel alone

Has anyone got linen sheets
I bought 600tc and 1000tc sheets and quilt covers. Its overkill in the sheets world. Most stuff is 180tc or thereabouts.
Seems to help me.
Sorry I know not linen but I think linen would enrage me by being crumpled up. 🤔

Linen sheets are lovely

Heavy and cool

I don’t care about the creases

They feel like “new sheets” for 5 days or more!

Where do you get your linen sheets from?