I didn't have a Menopause

[Anordinarymum]

..as such.

I don't mean I didn't go through it as I am sure I did, but my periods just stopped at 49. I never had hot flushes or night sweats. I did not gain weight or go doolally. I just carried on as normal. When I asked my doctor about it she told me lots of women are the same but you don't hear about them do you?

Just sayin.......

Thing is, even if they don’t have obvious symptoms, their bodies are still lacking oestrogen, with the consequent possible health consequences in later life.

@Abraid2

Thing is, even if they don’t have obvious symptoms, their bodies are still lacking oestrogen, with the consequent possible health consequences in later life.

Yes, but there’s nothing much you can do about that if you can’t have HRT.

There are lots of women who have poor health from midlife but they never link it to lack of estrogen. They think they have had no symptoms (flushes, etc) yet often there are many....like @Abraid2 says.

@daisypond exactly! The OP's post had cheered me up but now I feel worse!

My periods stopped at 55 just as I thought they would go on forever. I had a couple of hot flushes and developed what I call my menopause finger nails but that was it. I think I was really lucky. My sister was the same so perhaps easy menopause runs in the family.

[quote Defaultuser]@daisypond exactly! The OP's post had cheered me up but now I feel worse![/quote]
No need for that! You just know to keep an eye on your health, like all of us. Blood pressure, cholesterol and bone density, etc.

I'm glad OP posted as positive experiences are going to be under represented.

I'm 50 and I don't know if I can say the same as the OP or if it's all still ahead of me. I'm on a back to back pill for heavy periods but I do worry that my progesterone receptors pick up that pill progesterone and do not make any other progesterone which is needed. I feel fine now. Wonder if I should try and come off the back to back pill.

I found this a really helpful post OP, thank you.

I assumed it was guaranteed to be utterly awful.

You are welcome. Reading all the info on here does give a better insight into something we are all heading for or have experienced in some way even if it's not the same for all.

I didn’t feel I had any symptoms and it was my dr who suggested I go on HRT - her reason being the benefits of taking it regarding longer term health issues should be a better plan. I guess I’ll never know if I would have developed symptoms, but I feel I’m one of the lucky ones not badly affected by the menopause.

menopause finger nails
What are these, @user1498572889?

I had a bloody awful perimenopause. Heavy flooding periods, hot flushes, night sweats, cramps (never had those before) and just felt lousy. After my periods stopped it was brilliant. I've just been left with the occasional sweaty moment at night and haven't needed HRT. Everyone is different and there is always hope that things can change for the better.

@Aimeeee

I had a bloody awful perimenopause. Heavy flooding periods, hot flushes, night sweats, cramps (never had those before) and just felt lousy. After my periods stopped it was brilliant. I've just been left with the occasional sweaty moment at night and haven't needed HRT. Everyone is different and there is always hope that things can change for the better.

Pretty much my own experience. I just need to keep monitoring bones through DEXA scans and watch my diet. Physical activity is still a problem though, no energy.

I really appreciate this thread. I have almost a phobia of menopause, not least due to reading threads on MN which suggest it's inevitable you'll get fat, grow a beard, age rapidly, lose your memory (and almost your mind), lose your sex drive (which may be a good thing due to dryness and even your vagina atrophying) as well as wearing nappies due to flooding periods plus insomnia, flushing etc.

I believe this means that your hormones were balanced. Women who are low on oestrogen experience hot flushes, mood changes. Women low on progesterone experience insulin resistance and weight gain around the middle. Some women can be low on both. This is according to a podcast by a US doctor specialising in hormonal/thyroid issues.

That doesn't sound quite right @DianaT1969. No woman has progesterone post menopause anyway- it's only produced in response to ovulation so all women will be without it at some point for the next 30-50 years. Weight gain around the middle is common in both sexes, as metabolism changes.For women, it's loss of estrogen that causes the shift in the distribution of abdominal fat.

80% of women have symptoms of menopause in varying degrees. Some are mild, others moderate and some much worse.

I'm similar to the OP in having had period pains, difficult early pregnancies, etc but the big difference is that I have always been overweight and not terribly fit. I have had a very similar menopause, just a very occasional hot flush, usually triggered by a few days of poor eating or alcohol
I think it is a bit disingenuous to suggest that poor health in ageing is down to lack of hormones as these things are multifaceted.

@CalmYoBadSelf

I'm similar to the OP in having had period pains, difficult early pregnancies, etc but the big difference is that I have always been overweight and not terribly fit. I have had a very similar menopause, just a very occasional hot flush, usually triggered by a few days of poor eating or alcohol I think it is a bit disingenuous to suggest that poor health in ageing is down to lack of hormones as these things are multifaceted.

I agree. You have to educate yourself for ageing in general, menopause is just one of the many problems. It's a big one though, but mostly for lack of education/information, including women and GPs.

I think it is a bit disingenuous to suggest that poor health in ageing is down to lack of hormones as these things are multifaceted.

@CalmYoBadSelf True- anyone who is overweight, doesn't exercise, eats the 'wrong things' will find that illness catches up with them in midlife. However, statistically, women who use HRT have longer lives, better quality of life and less co-morbidity (from all disease.) That's not an opinion www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3373269/

There is no doubt that estrogen protects against heart disease and stroke, bone loss and cognition. Obviously it needs to be used with a healthy lifestyle.

@Jinglinghellsbells - I may have over simplified it, but heard it in relation to women's wellness on this podcast. I need to listen again and check out further.
It is about intermittent fasting (not menopause).
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/dr-rob-jones/id1440334876?i=1000485156743

@JinglingHellsBells That's a really interesting paper, particularly as it was corrected for other health conditions, although I noticed it said the participants were largely white, affluent and healthy weight. Do you know how this squares with other studies that showed increased risks?

I thought it was interesting that the paper was based on unopposed oestrogen rather than combined with progesterone. I wonder was that the accepted treatment?

What an interesting thread.I expected to have no meno issues.I didn't know much about it apart from the flushes and mood swings so as a slim healthy person I hoped for the best.
It was a shock when bad anxiety hit and some nausea.The joint pain was so bad I thought it was my age a nd was referred to an arthritis clinic.My hair was falling out quite a lot.The constant peeing was driving me crazy and making me feel like I would become incontinent.All sorted out by HRT.
I am sleeping better and feeling like the old me.I would ve loved to have sailed through however I a m grateful for advances in !eds that mean I don't have to suffer.