I appear to have hit the menopause

[DarkMother]

Hot flushes. Lots of them. All day and all night. They are weird. Not sweaty just burning hot all over, I get really restless, my heart pounds and I’m wide awake over and over. Its worse than having a newborn and I’m knackered.
Along with achy knees, zits and dry bits, and assorted other things.
I am a crone.
I really really do not want to go down the hormone route but the herbs have made no difference whatsoever and I really need to sleep.
Any suggestions?

The trouble is doctors often don't have the time or knowledge to explain the pros and cons. I agree although some women go to see a meno specialist if they are really suffering.)

@SunsetBoulevard3 But there is a huge amount of info online and in magazines etc (I've written some of it!)

You can access info from Menopause Matters and Dr Louise Newson's website Menopause Doctor. www.menopausedoctor.co.uk/

Women need to take responsibility for their own health too not just leave it to doctors if they aren't knowledgeable.

There is an issue with GPs not being well versed in the most up to date information on menopause though. I went to see a GP when I was 42 and first experiencing peri-menopausal symptoms. The doctor was extremely dismissive, told me I was far too young for menopause and was sent away with a scolding for wasting her time. I'm so glad that there is now a national conversation about menopause and about the 10 years or so before it when many women experience symptoms, many of which they may not even connect with declining levels of oestrogen, because none of us hitting middle age now were raised with that information being common knowledge. I really hope that in future that changes, both that women are more informed of the changes that their bodies will undergo, and GPs and other health professionals are better trained. It's really disheartening to go and talk to a GP and to be better informed than they are.

I agree zafferana we are just not exposed to discussion or education about our bodies enough. When I was growing up we had very little education in the way of periods and cycles. There’s so much information that I found out myself the hard way when being fobbed off by doctors for heavy bleeding when infact I had stage 4 endometriosis. Over 50 percent of the population have ovaries, it’s crazy that we aren’t all better informed. It’s all of our responsibilities though to talk about everything to do with our cycles or lack thereof and the health impact it has on us with our friends, our partners and our children, boys and girls alike, so that it just becomes common knowledge without any stigma attached and so young women growing up have a better and more open understanding of their health.

I’m actually glad in a way that i had to have a radical hysterectomy because I’ve battled so hard with getting treatment for endo that if I then slowly started having Unexplained symptoms of perimenopause and spent 10 years trying to seek treatment I’d have gone crazy. Ovaries out meant I just had to dive in the deep end.... silver linings I guess!

jinglinghellsbells keep up the good work, you sound like you’re getting some good info out there, it must be so incredibly frustrating to hear the old myths being bounced around.

Yes, a thank you from me too @JinglingHellsBells! Those websites are SO helpful and the only way that many women have of getting decent information. TBH, I wouldn't be so well informed about menopause if my own DM hadn't had one that was so unpleasant for the rest of our family. She impossible to live with for a good 10 years and as I started to approach middle age I was determined not to do that to my family. I started to do research in my early 40s and was shocked by all the information that isn't common knowledge. That I had to go digging around on the internet, that my GP has never broached the subject of peri-menopause, that the gynaecologist didn't when fitting my Mirena coil for an erratic cycle, upsets me.

Women should be asked about their symptoms, they should be made aware that they can start around the age of 40 and they can have a massive impact on the well being of the woman, her family, friends and colleagues for decades after that. So many women are still fearful of HRT and believe outdated or incorrect information. Clear, accurate, up to date information should be available on leaflets in every doctor's surgery.

@JinglingHellsBells thanks for all this information. I'm 48, had my last period around 7 years ago and apart from some hot flushes in the early years, and occasional disturbed sleep, in generally fine. It's only in the last year I've read more and more about this topic and realised I am at increased risk from osteoporosis. I do weights, strength bearing exercise at the gym, take calcium supplements but do you think I should be (and would benefit from) taking HRT?

Kinraddie I would most definitely say so. You, like me, had an early menopause. You need to replace the oestrogen that should naturally be there. You risk so many problems later.

No amount of exercise or good diet can do that..protect you properly.

I apply the (completely natural) gel to my skin and have progesterone at night and no periods whatsoever.
The gel annoys me a bit every morning for the sum total of 5 mins.

I also thank Jingling for her invaluable advice.

I am SO cross my doctor prescribed anti depressants. Fuckwit. Obviously, I then did my own research and can self prescribe and buy OTC here (Spain)

works a treat! Anxiety was ruining my life.

People talking about horse urine are a bit daft.

@Kinraddie You definitely need a bone density scan. Your GP ought to sort this as you had an early menopause. If they don't, you can pay for them privately, usually anywhere from £100-£200. Once you have some facts about your bones you can decide what to do.

I had a look at the Newton site. The clinic mentioned seems to do blood tests to check the level of replacement hormones necessary. I don’t think GPs do this though. I think it’s just a standardised dose which worries me. I looked at bio identical hormones for a while but my GP had never heard of them, and I had to give her the information about it. I am very wary of taking hormones as the pill caused a lot of problems for me. The article also mentions bladder and prolapse problems. How does HRT prevent these? I am unclear.
I have been reading the menopause matters site for some time.
I have found doctors in general extremely ignorant about menopause. Apart from a female doctor in a previous surgery who has had specialist training because she owned the practice!
I think a lot of women are prescribed antidepressants or told they need to learn to relax and destress. Anxiety, brain fog and joint pain are things I only learned were associated with menopause through a lot of personal research.
Women in general are woefully ignorant about what to expect. I had absolutely no idea beyond the fact that I might have hot flushes..

@SunsetBoulevard3 Not aware that Dr Newson does blood tests routinely to determine what dose is needed.
She also doesn't use the term bio identical. It's body identical and you will find lots of explanation on her site as to why bio is an incorrect term.

Body identical means the estrogen (and some types of progesterone) are identical to what we produce ourselves.

The Pill is a synthetic type of estrogen and progesterone- HRT is totally different.