Perimenopause

[Kataly29]

Hi ladies. I'm 43 and presume I'm in the throws of perimenoupase. My periods have become irregular over the past year or so but the past couple of months I feel absolutely rubbish....totally over emotional and anxious over silly things, absolutely no energy or get up and go to do anything, my head is constantly muzzy like a pressure headache and my skin is super spotty around my chin area. I just feel like I want to lie down and cry most of the time .....please tell me this won't last long. Thinking or ordering some vitamins or supplements. The head thing is the worst I constantly feel so muzzy headed and like I've got eye strain is how I can describe it...anyone else???

Hi. I'm afraid I have no suggestions but just came to this board for the first time to ask about supplements for perimenopause. I'm 46. I currently take B vitamins and magnesium which definitely help with energy levels and with reducing the number of headaches I get, but I need something more to help with this exhaustion.

@Kataly29.. I'm 48 and know the feelings you're having too well. It's vile isn't it? Do you suffer from pmt too? I've always had it and now the peri is here, it's doubled in vileness! The worse thing for me atm is the anxiety, insomnia and vivid dreams. The periods are more or less regular. They were always a few days earlier before but have started getting later. I heve tried all sorts of things like the pill, depo and HRT. Everything causes side effects and the pill was horrific for mood swings so I take nothing now. I've been advised to try the coil.
Oh and i get the spotty chin and eye strain too! Plus really itchy skin all over.
So i just wanted to reach out and say let's wade through this peri treacle together! I'm often on here when I cant sleep like now.
Good luck.

Me too. My PMT lasts 2 weeks now. Get a few days where I feel normal (ish) around ovulation then downhill again.

I highly suggest you try HRT. For many, many women it's a lifesaver. It certainly is for me.

Thanks ladies!!! @BooseysMom yes I get awful pmt...like I'm possessed at times 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️ I've become paranoid about my relationship also and I'd pick an argument with a box at times!!! My chin the past couple of weeks right on my jaw line has become very spotty...im just waiting for the hairs to sprout lol. I dont get insomnia as such but ill wake suddenly with a jolt and yeah my dreams are weird also. My main issue i suppose is lack of interest in anything and fatigue and messy head/brain fog and pressure around head area. I heard a saying the other day and it hit me...made me cry actually. The lights are on but nobody is home 🙄

@Thisismynewname I've ordered some perimenouapse supplements for health and her...they contain everything apparently we need to make everything just fine 🤣🤣 I'll let you know how I get on x

@Thisismynewname123 I meant!!

@Kataly29.. that saying is kind of true. I get the brain fog too..it's horrible, but life-saving to be able to share it with those who get it. I'm feeling really low again. The build-up to this latest period has been hellish. Insomnia and weird dreams every night. I think I'm too old to have the coil as suggested to me. I just want the periods to go away. For years I never took any pills as we were TTC but now I have to move on.
I can't imagine ever finding a way through this but have to hold on to the fact it can't last forever.

@BooseysMom it really isnan awful time and I've had such a bad week feel like I'm going mad with all these symptoms....I feel like I dont know myself 🙄 but I have found reading up and talking to others a great help makes me feel less lonely!! Take care x

I started feeling awful at 43 too. Am 46, nearly 47 now. Have always suffered from bad pmt too and it's gone crazy in the last 3 years.
I also recognise what you're saying about sleep, fatigue, brain fog/forgetfulness and anxiety too. I wake in the night with a jolt and feel soooo anxious that it triggers further anxiety.
I seem to get a particularly bad phase of a few days immediately after ovulation. Things calm down a bit and then get so over emotional a few days before my period.
The fatigue is crushing! I've tried Macca powder that helps a bit. I've had a bad reaction to magnesium so can't take that.
I do suffer from sporadic anxiety anyway so this makes it much worse.
I find myself longing for the other side of menopause and hoping that it's going to be a transformation when I finally arrive there. At the moment I'm still not skipping periods and sometimes they're just getting closer together so am getting more fo the bastards!

@jynnerso I hear you so much. I've too been finding im at my worst after ovulation. I was almost sure I'd ovulate earlier this week tbh but ive come on my period today on day 19 🤷‍♀️ last month I was 36 days. Do any of you have such irregular cycles also?

Hey - my cycle used to be like clockwork but is now changed - used to be 30/31 days and now very occasionally 21 days but more often 28 days.
It's hard to keep track of your moods and other symptoms when it keeps shifting isn't it?
I find that knowing why I'm anxious or depressed really helps to ride through it understanding that it will pass.

Yes, yes! I hear you and feel for you. I had really regular cycle and then, BAM, crazy cycle, a literal flood each time and I was like a complete zombie. I was an utterly changed person. I know the attached says 50+ but I've tried lots and these were a stellar success for me and much cheaper than others on the market.

@jynnerso totally!! I've got this app on my phone I use to track my symptoms and I'm telling you its gone off the scale the past week 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️ I feel so sorry for my other half he gets the brunt and its effected us alot 😔

@DeliaOwens I was always the same with my cycle bang on 28/29 days month in month out I would plan holidays and nights out around them!!! Now I don't know if I'm coming or going...this year I've had a few 25/26 cycles and a couple of 35/36 (long ones are usually lighter) and now it's a 19 day one....had another really short one earlier in year also. Also this week I've noticed I have body odour which I never have!!!! Feel so icky about it. Also finding im changing my pj bottoms every day as they don't smell fresh either 🙄🙄 the joys!!!!!!! Im shopping later i shall look out for those!!! Thankyou x

So glad I found this thread. Have some of the same symptoms too: brain fog (literally cannot remember words for simple things and I usually have a fantastic memory for people's birthdays and I'm losing that ability too), itchy skin at night (argh), so much more tearful and / or irritable. I manage to get to sleep at night okay but wake up c.2am ish and can't drop back off. Vivid dreams at times but not every night.

Periods are regular every month but can be a week either side of my due date. Sometimes heavy and exhausting and sometimes light but the light months are fewer these days.

I like the look of those 50+ tablets Delia but I'm 4.5yrs off being that age but I think you said you're not 50 yet and they work well for you.

Forgot to add the creaky joints. I have a stiff left shoulder and can't always move it properly but it doesn't hurt when I press anywhere so must be inside.

I take evening primrose oil capsules which help with night flushes as get those at times especially if I've had a glass of wine / gin the evening before.

So pleased to have found you lot. That’s what’s going on with me. Slightly irregular periods. Horrific PMS and even worse around ovulation, brain fog, anxiety, RAGE! Flushes. BO. God the sweating and BO have got so bad I just had Botox in my pits!

I really didn’t get on with either the pill or mini pill. Got sepsis when a coil moved. Need to try and take supplements more regularly.

@bonzo77..how are you feeling these days? I'm waking up every night for hours, finally getting back to sleep then it's time to get up. Omg yes, the brain fog is bad isn't it? I keep forgetting the names of every day things like table and car..ffs!!
Yes BO too! Haven't gone as far as Botox but my face is feeling the need! I was on HRT but that didn't work..the coil is my only hope now. I would have got it sooner but we were TTC for years.. too old now [sad

Happy Sunday 😊 I'm a bit late to this convo but I feel like I've suffered on and off with pelvic pain for a few years (I'm 46 now) and have had all other things going round my head like endometriosis and ovarian cancer. My pain is every day though not always all day, periods are 2 weeks apart, head is completely foggy and I'm emotional and easily triggered to tears. I'd put this down to a horrible year of losing my dad but maybe it's not only that. It's interfering with my work life because I'm getting upset easily and making mistakes, all the while I'm on probation and I'm worried I'm not going to pass as I've made mistakes and in turn that makes me more anxious and depressed! I think it sounds like peri menopause? I don't know. It really is admitting getting older. I still get asked for ID but this is a slap back to reality 😭

Have you found anything to help ladies?! I’m going mad with the insomnia rage anxiety and irregular periods.

Did I mention the headaches ...

I think this might be my problem. I have horribly dry skin which itches, especially in the evening. I've got brain fog (worse than baby brain) and just constant anxiety. I'm constantly exhausted and unable to function like a normal human being. I sweat so much at night that my pj's are soaked. The constant headache isn't making things any better.

I've been to the GP and had all the blood tests for diabetes, thyriod, liver, kidney, clotting issues - which have all come back clear. But I'm still feeling awful - I was told that I was probably just stressed but that feels like a cop out.

I need to go back to the GP (groan) to have a follow up as some of my symptoms just seem to be getting worse by the day.

@Woolly17- are we twins?!

I’ve had all these things for a few years, I am 44... I’m itchy everywhere but legs and torso are the worst, but I only notice it if I’m over-tired or run down.

Ditto the brain fog.

The night sweats are usually only leading up to the period.

The headache though is the worst and most debilitating! I think this is a sign of excess oestrogen??

The rage is pretty bad some months though it varies.

Does anyone know how we get the hormones in better shape without medication/coil/OCP?!

Please wise Mumsnetters - tell me what you’ve tried? What works?

@DeliaOwens I’m already on a multivitamin.

Sympathies to you all ladies - I was you a couple of years ago. Oh the rage, the tears, the rage, the mental periods, more rage and exhaustion I just got through the madness eventually, tried various things but, if I’m honest, it was such a rollercoaster that it feels now like I just muddled through. Magnesium helps for your sleep and watch your iron if your periods are heavy and close together. Tramexamic acid curbs very heavy periods and is pretty safe. Peri menopause is like a club that you never knew you joined and there is solidarity there. You’d nearly feel sorry for women who roll up to menopause with no problems cos they’re can’t be in the club
All I can say is, whilst I’m having very spaced out periods still, a beautiful calm has descended on me. It’s great. I no longer want to grab something heavy and take out the nearest person. Everything is settling a bit. There’s light at the end of the tunnel