Do symptoms settle down after menopause?

[Daphnesmate01]

Can anyone tell me (from experience) whether the symptoms of menopause settles down once you're actually through it. I experience anxiety anyway but I feel like it's been exacerbated. Also lack of libido and insomnia. I think I've got quite a list now.

Not currently on hrt and other than creams don't really want to go down that route.

Mine seems to have
Huge increase in anxiety has reduced but I expect it will come back with more stressful circumstances

Now hot flushes only occasionally
Vaginal dryness is gone

I am using vagifem 10microgram

I don't think anything that others can tell you of their experiences will be helpful, to be honest because there is so much variation. What's posted here is probably not a true sample of society.

My own experience is that I began HRT at 53 for symptoms, tried to stop not long ago for a month , after more than 10 years on it, and the symptoms came back especially insomnia so I've carried on.

My dr tells me some women have symptoms for life (my mother still has flushes and insomnia in her late 80s) whereas other women find they are okay after a few years.

Worth recognising that the most-talked about symptoms of meno- flushes, sweats, insomnia and moods- are actually the 'minor' symptoms, but the more serious and long term issues like loss of bone, heart disease and pelvic floor deterioration, tend to kick in after 10 years or longer but many women don't connect them to loss of estrogen.

If you are really suffering, HRT is worth a go. Many of the female meno consultants are using it (they post on social media) so it's common knowledge and obviously feel it's safe and beneficial.

oh no Jingling. I was under the impression that you go through the process and come out the other end. I didn't realise they could continue certainly not for that length of time!

It's little bit semantics, but medically the definition of all women who do not have more periods are in menopause (for the rest of their lives.) menopause=no more periods.

I know people in general talk about 'being menopausal' as if it's a passing phase but they really mean perimenopausal.

They say something like 1:4 women have peri symptoms for 15 years or more, and a smaller number have them for life.

I have heard 3 top UK gynaes (including mine ) say they have women in their 90s on HRT.

Yes. The perimenopause was much worse for me. Things started to ease once I reached the 12 months without a period and 2 years on, I am so much better.

Like many I assume the menopause was bad and hadn't even heard of perimenopause so when it started, I didn't associate my symptoms to it, especially as they were not typical symptoms, more of the neurological type. I didn't realise that the dreadful attacks (once so bad I fainted) were panic attacks because I had no reason to feel anxious when they happened, the one I fainted was actually as we were on our way somewhere I was very excited about.

I'm still some way to be anywhere to my old self, mainly through tiredness due to poor sleep, although seeing a slight improvement but this is bearable for however long it last still.

HRT made things worse for me so I'm glad I didn't keep on trying. I think in my case the peri was worse because it's not the reduction of oestrogen that I struggled with but the surges of it.

Those on HRT, does it help with anxiety? Or would an SSRI be better?

Anxiety
Insomnia
Night sweats
Fatigue
Skin irritations
Feeling like I'm constantly PMSing

God help me (and everyone around me) if I have to deal with this for 15 years!

@MarmiteyCrumpets If you read the NICE guidance pinned at the top of this page and scroll down to diagnosis, you will see they say SSRIS are not be used for menopausal anxiety and depression.

There are NO menopause specialists using these and there is a HUGE drive to stop GPs medicating women with them. Meno experts are very very angry at this inappropriate treatment. 'Do a google' on ADs used for meno and you will find lots of articles and women's experiences who were treated the wrong way.

All of your symptoms would be helped by HRT. Read the website of Dr Louise Newson- great info there.

Thanks a lot @55JinglingHellsBells. My GP actually suggested SSRIs if my symptoms worsened (which they have) rather than HRT, because of the cancer risk. Off to do some reading.

@MarmiteyCrumpets Link for you- a good place to start reading.

www.menopausedoctor.co.uk/menopause/topics/hrt

But not everyone can take HRT.

Big variation. My mum had a hysterectomy at 58 and still has symptoms ten years later. She couldn’t have HRT.

dontdisturbme, interesting you mention surges of oestrogen, I hadn't thought of that.

@Daphnesmate01 Agreed.

But if you read a lot of medical sites and see why it may not be suitable, you will find that very very few women cannot take HRT. In fact it's extremely rare not to be able to take it- usually only if someone has active breast cancer, a blood clot, history of clots, or advanced liver disease. Most women have none of these.

@Dozer Many women were denied HRT for the wrong reasons. This is something again that is in research into 'women's health in later life' where women have suffered owing to lack of HRT.

I was peri at age 40, worked full time kids etc. anxiety insomnia mood swings etc.
Totally done periods by 48 with improvement in mood. But the biggest changes happened as the kids left home, pre- retirement job change and eventually retirement.
I have, and had, a hard time picking apart the shit of life when I was 40 from peri menopause.
The long long term effects?? Yes to vaginal dryness. no apparent bone or cardiac issues at this point 63.

[quote JinglingHellsBells]@MarmiteyCrumpets Link for you- a good place to start reading.

www.menopausedoctor.co.uk/menopause/topics/hrt[/quote]
@JinglingHellsBells Thank you so much for that link!

For years I have been told to check out the website Menopause Matters as the gold standard of info!?! I have visited it a few times over the years and it just made me more confused. I kept going back there every few years in case it was just me, but no. It never seemed to answer my questions and the layout was really hard to navigate.

Now this one you just linked to is brilliant. So succinct and really relevant pdf factsheets.

no apparent bone or heart issues

You would need a DEXA scan @fallfallfall to identify any bone loss. No way of knowing otherwise.

I had loss of bone at 48 - no risk factors- not post meno till 53- and have scans every 3 years or so.

@JinglingHellsBells thank you so much for these posts. Really helpful.

Thanks @Lobsterquadrille2 and @@OneFootintheRave :)

In my mum’s case she has a heart condition and history of cancer.

@Dozer, obviously I can't comment on your Mum and can only post what is guidance in general for information for anyone reading.

Women who have heart 'conditions' can use HRT unless they have had a recent heart attack or clots. This is because transdermal estrogen (gel or patches) do not increase the risk of blood clots and may even improve heart health.

Cancer- breast cancer can be a reason not to use it, but not other cancers. My consultant says they prescribe for women who have had breast cancer, it's not black and white.

Didn’t say it was, and much prob depends on the GP?

Didn’t say it was, and much prob depends on the GP?

Not sure what you mean by 'it' - the type of cancer? @dozer

Most GPs are very poorly trained in the use of HRT as shown by many of the posts here. Women are being given the wrong information.

GPs are professionals and they are there to give treatment based on facts.

Sadly, many GPs are not even up to date with the Nice Meno Guidance which came out several years ago.

Not sure how old your Mum is now, but obviously the guidance has changed over recent years and many GPs are very out of date, working on training they did 20 years ago, which they have not updated.

I just wanted to point out that having some kind of heart condition and some previous type of cancer does not mean, nowadays, that HRT is unsuitable.

I guess what I meant @Dozer was that if your mum was told she couldn't have HRT and was suffering, the best route would have been to ask for a referral to a meno expert, not take the word of her GP.

The difference between what meno consultants do and the way they treat women, compared with the average GP is huge.

To answer the OP's question about whether symptoms settle down, in my experience they have.

In my mid-40s during perimenopause I had brain fog, erratic periods, insomnia, overheating, aches and pains and mild anxiety. Nothing really awful and I coped with it - I needed a Mirena coil to sort out the periods but other than taking supplements aimed at women of my age that's all I did.

I'm 56 now and most of that has stopped. I still get the occasional time when I forget a word (DH and DS play a 'helpful' game of trying to work out what I'm trying to say ) and always feel warmer than I used to, but otherwise I am fine. In conversation with older friends it seems they've had a similar experience.

The most annoying thing I have now is the vaginal symptoms but Vagifem sorts that out.