None of my symptoms are normal! What's your weird and wonderful?

[dungtwicebother]

Normal according to folklore doctors and every single website you read.
Hot flushes
Insomnia
Irregular periods
Hair loss
Loss of libido
Moodiness (might just be a male invention)

versus my symptoms which I had for two years before the lightbulb moment

Asthma - terrible from nowhere except a minor cat allergy
Massive hair - whilst it fell out in handfuls, it was completely out of control and ten times more of it
It went CURLY overnight. Zero to hero straight to wavy (I actually like this symptom)
Bloating - uncontrollable painful bloating. 9 months pregnant in a flash and I tried every single elimination of food groups. Nothing touched it.
Gluten intolerance. Avoiding gluten didn't make a jot of difference to the bloating.
Constipation. I have never been so constipated in my life except pregnancy. Only difference being the drugs WORKED when I was pregnant. Nada. 6 days was my longest. I had to pick poop out my bum (I am so not sorry for TMI)
Joints no longer click. I have had clicky toe joints my whole life. They are a bit short and stubby. They no longer click and the pain is off the scale.
I've had the mirena for almost ten years (never stopped my bleed mind) so period wise I couldn't tell you but they did go haywire - 23 day cycle to a 12 day pile of randomness.
Loss of libido - no, not at all and still very horny but my vagina is so dry that it tears on exercise and I keep getting thrush having never had it before in my life. There is no lube invented to solve this because I have tried every single one.
Am I moody? I don't think so but apparently I'm intolerant and when someone (only seems to apply to my siblings and DP) is stupid, I totally lose the plot. It's still rational to me because they were being stupid but nowadays, my tongue seems to have its own steel.

12 visits to the (always female and four different ones) GP for mostly the stomach stuff and also the thrush (which actually I didn't have when they swore blind I did), the irregular bleeding, the asthma. Not once did they mention menopause. The Gyne did that when I was sent for a biopsy for the irregular bleeding.

I've recently turned 44.

I rambled more than I planned.

What are your weirdest symptoms that are menopause related or just frankly fucking weird and you haven't figured out yet?

Jennifer, I think your post is in the wrong place - you've posted in the Menopause topic. If you report your own post, MN will move it to a more appropriate place for you.

Itching. Everywhere. Head, Feet.
Hands. Everywhere else that you wouldn't want to itch.

Rosacea Burning Hands and feet. Internal tremors. Gastritis. Blepharitis. Shaking hands and legs. Weakness. Fatigue.
Sweating. Facial hair. Sensitive skin.
You need any more ...just ask.
And that’s in the last 12months and I’ve been on HRT for the last 8 months.

This os an excellent thread, thanks OP
I was also 44 and, like you two years on I clicked that my weird symptoms were probably menopause.

No hot flushes at all however... (cold flushes... is that possible?)

Appalling anxiety, getting worse
Curly hair too!
Gastritis, Fatigue, weakness and shaking hands snap PP! Me too. GERD, terrible gastric problems in general when before I had none whatsoever.
Same weight still, I am thin still but a have a suddenly (in last year) a very wide waist, twice the width. Lovely!
No libido at all.

Am now 48.

Oh and YY to burning feet and sometimes hands, in the morning I also now hobble for a minute or so.

I used to be the opposite of all of these things so it is depressing.

Of course, my old, male Spanish doctor wanted me to go on antidepressants.

I just researched what I needed and buy HRT OTC (Spain) I at first thought it wasn't making much of a difference but felt so much better and so in my wisdom stopped applying my gel etc, 3 months later I was feeling appalling, started back on the HRT and am fineish again.

My hair is much curlier too

I went to see a specialist today about HRT and was amazed to learn that my waking up with stiff fingers is a menopausal symptom

Other weird ones I have are DREADFUL indigestion and bloating. I know it's hormonal. It's like when I was pregnant.

I already had a Mirena and now I'm going to try estrogen patches as well. If I can ever find any....6 pharmacies today and NOTHING

Great post! I have suspected I am premenopausal and now know that the swollen hands and morning hobble are all part of it so thank you!

I have the terrible digestive issues too, lots bloating (I look pregnant in the evenings) which people do not appreciate just how painful that is, indigestion and acid stomach mid cycle, rumblings and gurglings and constipation. Blocked nose, stingy and a raspy throat (mainly in the evenings) and skin tags especially on my neck which I hate. And the worst symptoms is really, really bad anxiety which my friend (same age as me, 47) also has and she has never experienced anxiety ever before. Gp tells me none of this is peri menopause related

Another thing is a get really queasy (usually mid cycle) just like in pregnancy.

thin nails that break
insomnia - waking at 3am
and most of what everyone else has said

Interesting. I have on foot that burns and itches like crazy all the time. That and the sweats keep my awake half the night- I’m exhausted.
This coincided with the onset of night sweats about 2 months ago.
I’m one month into HRT. No improvement in the sweats or the itchy foot yet🙁

Terrible gastritis, internal tremors. Heightened anxiety. Oh the joys.

AWFUL anxiety that gets worse just before my periods.

Curly hair too!

Constipated. Bloated tummy. Thicker waist. 😢

The longest eyebrows in the known universe. (That's probably just an age thing, though.)

Bleeding gums. (Doctor said it was nothing to do with menopause. Dental hygienist said it definitely was.)

Weird tiny red spots in one circle on one cheek.

After decades of always being the hottest person in the room, never wearing a coat, etc, I spend approx 3 weeks of each month freezing bloody cold! My DH is just about managing to bear my homocidal tendancies because it means I'll be cranking the heating up instead of insisting that "19 is high enough" every night.

So interesting to read this thread.

I have the painful finger joints, I put it down to arthritis which my dad has but the pain When I bump my hands against something (and I am extra clumsy so that is often). I have been hobbling out of bed for years. Giving up running has helped.

Reflux! I have had a camera down my throat to ensure it wasn't anything more than common or garden reflux. It is, never linked it with menopause. Did link it with too much wine though .

Bloating and constipation: yes! This is a recent pmt symptom but 28 days of my cycle rather than the previous 7 days. My focus is on water, water and more water. Seeds and whole grains. But the mastalgia of PMT is now from the first hint of ovulation, so hideous breast pain from day 12 or 13. So much that even lying down hurts. No amount of supplements (epo) or sacrifice (no caffeine) is helping that. I look like a grimacing Buddha most of the time.

I'm willing to believe that these are all Odd Menopause Symptoms (OMS?!) But my flaming cycle is still 28 days including 16 days of rage and pain and I can't wait for menopause but the fecker seems determined to elude me.

Are you all irregular now? I had two operations to remove fibroids last year and considered the coil but feared it may exacerbate my PMS and thought (hopefully) that it can't be too much longer before it all runs out, right?

@MaisieMaisie

I had a fibroid op last year and they gave me a Mirena. I thought it'd make my PMT worse but actually I think I feel a lot better on it! It's such a low dose, and apparently, perimenopausal women almost unanimously LOVE their Mirena coil. I'm so surprised. I was so sure I'd hate it that my Gynae left the strings long so I could get it removed easily. 😆

And I'm still regular. Clockwork, 28 days. Sigh.

I tried oestrogen gel but I had awful weird rolling palpitations so I had to stop.

The curly hair thing is weird.

I googled it and found this:

At times of great hormonal shifts, like puberty, pregnancy and menopause, many strange things can happen to the human body. ... An increase in androgens in females can actually change the shape of the hair follicle from round to flat and this can instigate a change in texture from straight to curly.

For me;

Dizzyness (comes in waves like in early pregnancy)
Hot flushes
Anxiety
Nausea
Chin hair
Thinning head hair
Not able to fall asleep
Not able to stay asleep

Painful finger joints too in the morning

In the last 3 days: burnt my arm on the oven, fell getting out of the bath, sliced through my fingernail with a knife. Had brain scan just in case but Dr thinks perimenopause.

I tried the mirena last year and it was an unmitigated disaster. The pain and bleeding horrendous, the threads disappeared, had to go to a gynae ward to have if hooked out( no local anaesthetic either).

MaisieMasie I too have been offered the Mirena for uterine polyps and heavy bleeding but keep refusing as I am worried it’ll make things worse. I’m 47 next month and am still having periods every 28 days.