Are these Peri menopause symptoms ?

[PennyPeach]

For some reason, I'm loathe to put anything in suffering with down to the menopause! I suppose I worry that I've got something wrong with me and by 'dismissing' it as menopause, I wouldn't be taken seriously at the doctors.

I'm 48 and periods have always been light and short and pain free ish for the past 35 years - until this year. They're still regular but they're definitely heavier now and have been for about 8 months now with some flooding - I've never had this before.

I ache quite a lot. Back ache comes and goes, I'm a bit stiff and sciatic type pains in and off down my legs. I'm tired too - I'd be quite happy to lie on the sofa most of the day - and frequently do to be honest - I'm self employed and can work from an iPad no problem! I sometimes have disturbed sleep and I feel really unwell if I have less than about 7 hours a night! No hot flushes but I always feel too hot despite always being a cold person

I've had blood tests - normal. My vitamin D was very low and I was slightly anaemic but I've supplemented and recent blood tests show my Vit D levels now normal. I also had a pelvic scan 3 months ago - all fine

I'm overweight by about 3.5 stone. I lost both my parents this year so have had two lots of probate to deal with along with selling their home and also moved house myself - so am I just stressed?

I just feel lacking in motivation, stuff and in pain and I can't be bothered to exercise or diet - but plans in place for New Year!

I'm considering for the first time whether this is peri menopause. Is 48 too early ? I know the average age is 51.

I'm also thinking about HRT if I feel much worse - and I always said I would never take it

Any advice? Thanks

I'm sorry to jump on your post but I'm trying to make a new one and I dont know how to. Can anyone please help?

It sounds to me that you might be a little depressed my lovely. You lost both of your parents this year, also is Xmas soon and first Xmas without our love ones is hard (I was in the same position last year, my grandma passed away and she was like a mum to me). The grieve got me having anxiety and you dont realise what it does to you, tensing the muscles can give you pains. The lack in motivations is very topical in depression/anxiety.
Have you told your GP everything you are feeling?
I hope you get better soon xx

PennyPeach my perimenopausal symptoms were very much as you describe. I was 44 when they started, my periods became irregular and heavier and although I never got flushes my general body temperature got noticeably warmer.

In the UK 51 is the average age to have gone through the menopause, but perimenopause can start a good few years before that. I'm now 55 and out the other side thankfully.

I haven't felt the need for HRT, but I've nothing against it & it helps many women. I got the Mirena coil at 46 & it stopped my periods completely. The only confirmation that I'd gone through menopause was blood tests a few months apart earlier this year.

I'd recommend a chat to your GP, and also have a look at the Menopause Matters website.

AnikaMum I think you have replied on the wrong thread.

Could be.. would also be worth checking uterus is ok. Any changes to uterine behaviour need to be checked to rule out uterine cancer, OP.

@justilou I had a scan about 10 weeks ago and it was clear . No fibroids or chars etc . I don't think I have the symptoms of womb cancer

@AnikaMum I don't think I'm
Depressed. My grief comes and goes and I don't feel sad all day every day. I think I'm grieving normally . Thank you for your message though

@DramaAlpaca good to hear you're out the other side. Were you never up for HRT at all? I'd prefer to go without

Penny I'd have jumped on HRT if I really felt I needed it, believe me! I do use Vagifem because of dryness (oh, the joys) but that's all. It's a tiny dose of hormone but makes all the difference to an unpleasant symptom that lots of women get but very few talk about. I've also taken Menopace supplements since I was in peri, and I think they help with the overheating but that might be just coincidence. I take Vitamin D as well. I've been lucky enough to have a relatively easy experience of menopause, but not every woman does and for them HRT is life changing, so don't necessarily rule it out.

@PennyPeach - great to hear! (That would probably have been picked up then!) It’s such a sneaky, silent bastard of a disease! (As is ovarian cancer!) I assume they checked the ovaries while they were looking....
As for the HRT thing... it’s different for everyone. I have been using oestrogen gel for about 18 months now. I am 47. It took a while, but I found that it did lift my mood from “overwhelming, impending doom,” frustrated, hair-trigger temper, exhaustion, I sleep a little better, am less depressed and more connected to family again. Physically the effects are noticeable too. My skin is MUCH better with it than without (that alone is worth keeping it!)... Oddly, my blonde hair has become darker and less greasy (I suspect that the greasy hair was a peri signal for me as I had a lifetime of dry hair, so it must have been a hormonal change ) and I have found sticking to my diet easier.
Meanwhile, this is an Aussie website. If you search the menopause and perimenopause bits, there are some fabulous resources and ideas for how to nurture yourself. It’s a great place to start to look at options.
jeanhailes.org.au/

Thanks for that Just! I assume they checked my ovaries yes - but I don't have the symptoms of ovarian cancer and it's relatively rare in a woman prior to the menopause so that's not really where my thoughts are focussed right now. I don't have the symptoms of womb cancer either so trying not to be side tracked with health anxiety worries about those although I appreciate your advice

I agree... but other women read this too and aren’t as aware of these issues either. Meanwhile, I hope you find the Jean Hailes website helpful. There are lots of links for alternative therapy ideas if you’re averse to HRT, and of course ways to promote your own health and well-being via diet and exercise. Plus of course the bodily changes and new priorities, ie bone health. Good luck!!!

I'm 41 and have your symptoms.

Your symptoms do sound like mine and I am definitely in perimenopause (I'm 47). My cycles are all over the place, varying from 19 days to 47, which I do not appreciate.

I would see how you feel once you're exercising more regularly. This is definitely helping me.

Don't underestimate as well how much the stress and grief of the last year may continue to affect you - take good care of yourself, make sure you prioritise getting enough sleep and having time for yourself.

I'm 52 and have had similar symptoms to you, I assume it's the menopause.

I had all your symptoms and a few more; joint pain etc, and just didn’t feel well considering I was 43 and didn’t drink/smoke and ate healthily etc.

HRT has been amazing-I don’t understand the general resistance to it (breast cancer risks have pretty much been de-bunked and it has proven protective benefits for heart disease & stroke risk). I have friends who refuse it and want it to be ‘natural’, and yet they happily took a higher dose hormone as birth control for 20+ years (thus messing about with nature themselves). Modern HRT isn’t like our mother’s had; I’d urge anyone to give it a try

@tribpot thank you for that. It sounds odd but I've got no idea how both my mum and dad dying have effected me. I am not depressed though, I do recognise that. I was very very close to my mum especially - we have talked every single day for the past god knows how many decades! I understand she's gone and I accept it but sometimes it's like I am experiencing that day all over again for the first time. Oh I dunno!

Generally though I'm ok. My husband is brilliant and I have two amazing kids. I'm just very unmotivated and I literally could sleep a lot during the day. The family joke that nothing has changed there (oh the hilarity!!) but I do not feel like myself at all and it suddenly dawned on me that it could be peri menopause despite my periods coming at roughly the time they're supposed to. They are a day longer though maybe and definitely heavier.

So basically my symptoms are

Heavier periods

Fatigue (blood tests normal ish though) and I've corrected my vitamin D

This stupid pain in my lower back which radiates down my legs. I've not injured myself though

I'm hot. Not a hot flush though, I just generally feel uncomfortable hot a lot of the time. Don't need a coat outside really and I don't put the heating on. Which has never happened before!

Oh and my health anxiety! Of course I've decided I have something fatal

I also started crying on the kitchen this morning which shocked me. And my poor husband. I'm pretty much one to dismiss 'hormonal stuff' (for myself I mean, not other women) but now I'm 48 I'm wondering if it's a possibility

But what do I do? Ask for HRT because my legs hurt and I cried a bit and feel tired? It just sounds so silly.

Is there a blood test? Could I have a test which definitively will say ' yeah your whatever levels have dropped' or no such thing?

@sibling that's reassuring. My mum ultimately died from ovarian cancer so I'm terrified taking an artificial hormone could lead to me getting it. There is no genetic link from my mum as tests have been done to show this but I do worry.

But I'm wondering if I should try it?

Or maybe a bit of a stiff back and pains in my legs are caused by me being a big fatty right now? I've stacked on two stone alone this year since my mom and dad died. Cake consumption mainly

Went through the menopause at 43, from peri to over and done with was fairly quick for me but my symptoms were similar to yours with added mental lower back pain on and off for a while and itchy ribs! I chose not to take HRT and it GP wasn't interested (generally) in the whole thing. Don't trust the blood test results, it's far to variable for definitive result. Do however trust the blood tests for ruling out other things that you symptoms could be for. The hot flushes came a bit later on by the way, nothing unmanageable but everyone's different, a friend has been having them for 8 years now, I had 18 months. I bought some clever duvet that regulates heat, it actually worked! Layers to pull off and on and kicking off shoes helped during the day, but it really wasn't that big a deal.

What job do you do that you can earn a living from lying on the sofa with an iPad?

Moving house & losing both parents & their probate sounds very stressful.

OP I haven't used HRT, I don't regret it for a minute.

@lljkk I prefer to sit upright and do it from my home office but I can do it horizontal if I have to! I work for myself so it's my own business. Too complicated to explain and not relevant at all really - well, apart from making me lazy!

@getoffmylilo that's interesting, thank you for sharing your experience

I think you are heading towards menopause...you have the same symptoms I had, hot flushes kicked in only when I started missing periods.
In my case, I could not work from a sofa and I did have to stand up in the morning as most of the week I have single care of DC.. Every morning it was hard to get out of bed ( and not due to need of sleep as I started going through patches of insomnia!), I could easily go to bed at 11 and wake at 2.30 am and stay awake until 11 pm....a nightmare.
I sometimes have to travel for my job and it was hell...at 52 I invested in one year of " natural" hormone replacement which made a world of difference! I still suffer from hot flushes but I get some help from Remifemin ( which somehow works).
Good luck!

@Pennypeach It does sound like peri yes. Re the joint pain- sorry to say this but your weight is a factor. The burden on your joints is showing and it basically wears them out. If you want to improve your health you should try to focus on losing weight till you have a healthy BMI.

It might help if you read a bit about HRT.

Being overweight causes 24 extra cases of breast cancer per 1000 women compared to a possible 6 who use combined HRT. The risk of all female cancers is linked to being overweight.

HRT now is not synthetic- it's 100% the same as our own estrogen and micronised progesterone ( you need both hormones unless you've had a hysterectomy) is natural too.

However, all your menopause symptoms will be worse if you carry on with the weight and post menopause when your estrogen is lower, you will have a much higher risk of heart disease.

I don't want this to sound like a lecture, but it's important you are realistic about what might help you.

Maybe HRT would help you feel better emotionally and then you could focus on the triggers for your weight and get some support for that?

@JinglingHellsBells probably what I needed to hear! It's all gone on mainly this past year to 18 months - I'd say done to stress eating but hey, let's just call it what it is - overeating.

I will get the weight off and know I need to as it's impacting on my health for sure. It has to be putting pressure on my joints etc and I know it's doing me know good.

I'm trying to get more active - hard when everything hurts! I have a peloton bike so did 30 mins this morning and feel no better... however I feel no worse so I think it can only help going forward

Glad you took it as helpful! I have a neighbour in her 60s who can barely walk 20 yards having been very overweight all her life. It's tragic to see it. Maybe something like Moseleys Fast Diet might kick start the weight loss? It's the 5:2 diet, and it's 500 calories for 2 days a week, and the book has nice recipes and photos to help!

If you get a good combo if HRT to help you feel better and start some gentle walking- 30 mins a day?- and gradually increase the speed, that would be a really good start.

Can your DH help and support you? Maybe do it together?