Can anything slow down perimenopause?

[Dontcallmewifey]

Wishful thinking perhaps - but is there anything I can to do slow it down?
I'll do anything to delay actual menopause!

No, in a word.

No.

You can't slow it down, but you can sometimes manage it effectively through diet, exercise and supplementation. Certain deficiencies, like vit d, magnesium, b12, can make peri much worse, so supplements can really help. HRT can be a lifesaver, too. It has been for me.

Why would you want to slow it down? It's a natural life stage and will come to you anyway. Have you had all the children you want?

@BreakfastOfWaffles So is death and so will death but I'd like to delay the onset of that too

There are repercussions of menopause that I would rather not have and would rather put off as long as possible.

But anyway, looks like I can't so hey ho. I've read a lot on the research about the lifestyles/ life circumstances of people who have later menopause and was wondering if that only applied pre-perimenopause, or if implementing them now delay menopause itself. I suppose I could do them anyway. Won't do any harm!

Just realised that my post may not be clear that I have entered the first stage of peri-menopause.

You can't delay but you can mitigate against some of the effects of menopause. As @Aquamarine1029 says above.

Oh blimey, I'm the opposite, I can't wait to get into full menopause and have peri over and done with! I've been peri menopausal for about 5/6 years now, since the age of 41/42.
What are the menopausal repercussions you want to avoid?

[quote Dontcallmewifey]@BreakfastOfWaffles So is death and so will death but I'd like to delay the onset of that too

There are repercussions of menopause that I would rather not have and would rather put off as long as possible.

But anyway, looks like I can't so hey ho. I've read a lot on the research about the lifestyles/ life circumstances of people who have later menopause and was wondering if that only applied pre-perimenopause, or if implementing them now delay menopause itself. I suppose I could do them anyway. Won't do any harm![/quote]
Then there is the option of HRT!
Some women take it for life and feel just as good as they did before meno.

@Shezlon

Oh blimey, I'm the opposite, I can't wait to get into full menopause and have peri over and done with! I've been peri menopausal for about 5/6 years now, since the age of 41/42. What are the menopausal repercussions you want to avoid?

Well I've only just entered it - if things get bad I may end up feeling like that too!

I'm not looking forward to loss of muscle mass/ ageing effects on the skin/ possible loss of sex drive/ possible effects on vagina and so on.

@JinglingHellsBells

Then there is the option of HRT!
Some women take it for life and feel just as good as they did before meno

I am considering this! Not sure if NHS GP would give me HRT yet. Wondering if private would be an option and cost of this.

I love not having periods & the accompanying mood swings. My boobs have gone down to a manageable E cup and I’ve lost a stone. Peri-menopause made me weepy for about 8 years. If you can embrace this stage of your life I would.

@LizziesTwin

I love not having periods & the accompanying mood swings. My boobs have gone down to a manageable E cup and I’ve lost a stone. Peri-menopause made me weepy for about 8 years. If you can embrace this stage of your life I would.

See I never had mood swings with my periods. Having periods never bothered me so the absence of them doesn't excite me. And if my breasts disappear anymore they just wont' be there! Can that happen? Is that a new thing to be appalled by? Will menopause shrink my breasts any further!? Having children wrecked them a-bloody-nough! Don't tell me there is more to come! [The Scream face emoticon]

How old are you @Dontcallmewifey?
I started peri early and was told that if you are under 45, HRT should be offered no question.

I have chosen not to take it because I'd rather not have periods monthly!

[quote Dontcallmewifey]@JinglingHellsBells

Then there is the option of HRT!
Some women take it for life and feel just as good as they did before meno

I am considering this! Not sure if NHS GP would give me HRT yet. Wondering if private would be an option and cost of this.[/quote]
Hello again!
There is a very informative podcast on Liz Earle Wellbeing website where she interviews Nick Panay. You need to scroll through the listed podcasts to find it.

He is asked if he would prescribe HRT for women like you who are peri and want to use hrt not for symptoms as much as long term health.
Answer was = yes, but he would explain risks and benefits to them too.

Asked if women could use it for life- answer - yes, as above, and said he had women in their 80s+ on it who will kill him if he stops it.
I know other consultants who have women in their 90s on it.

@LizziesTwin Don't count your chickens yet :) Many of the longer term meno symptoms do not occur till 5-10 years after the last period.
I had no peri symptoms and flushes etc started after my last period at around 53-54.
Bone loss and heart disease are a result menopause and although lifestyle can mitigate them to an extent, they aren't enough in themselves to offset loss of estrogen.
Most women actually die from cardio vascular disease.

That's interesting Jingling. I will look up that podcast. The loss of bone density does worry me too ( especially after an almost entirely sedentary year thanks to lockdown, home-working and home schooling).

To PP, I am 48, so its not an early start for me.

We do have to die of something @JinglingHellsBells - all of the women in my family have made it to over 80 apart from my mother who died from pericarditis in her mid-60s. No cancer or dementia & the only other ‘young’ death was in childbirth so I’ve survived that one.

You can prevent the loss of bone density and muscle mass by doing regular weight bearing exercise. I started doing weights again at 42 when peri started for me and 6 years on I'm fitter and more toned than I've ever been. I take joint supplements and started hrt last year when the night sweats and hot flushes started. It really doesn't have to be a negative experience.

@Tinyspiky

You can prevent the loss of bone density and muscle mass by doing regular weight bearing exercise. I started doing weights again at 42 when peri started for me and 6 years on I'm fitter and more toned than I've ever been. I take joint supplements and started hrt last year when the night sweats and hot flushes started. It really doesn't have to be a negative experience.

I agree, weights and exercise are so important. You can slow it down but not stop it completely. The only way to measure your bone density is to have it scanned.

The issue @LizziesTwin is not dying which we all do, but years and years of ill health and disability beforehand. Everyone is living longer but their quality of life and years of ill health before death are getting worse.

I agree, weights and exercise are so important

Me too, but just haven't had time this year and the two classes I go to stopped as well. Time is an issue for me too - I had my kids late, so they are young and I work. I want to start to go back to my classes when they are open again though, and maybe take up a new one too.

@JinglingHellsBells you do seem to be a bit gloom & doom . Even MIL who has complained about heart issues since I first met her over 30 years ago only started needing help after a stroke at 90. Some women are very active throughout their lives and don’t suffer from brittle bones etc as they age. Others drink, smoke or diet excessively and are less fortunate in later life.

Do women need to have tests to see where they are with menopause to know the best way to keep healthy at certain ages?

[quote LizziesTwin]@JinglingHellsBells you do seem to be a bit gloom & doom . Even MIL who has complained about heart issues since I first met her over 30 years ago only started needing help after a stroke at 90. Some women are very active throughout their lives and don’t suffer from brittle bones etc as they age. Others drink, smoke or diet excessively and are less fortunate in later life.[/quote]
Not at all.
I am only quoting some stats I read a while back which showed that the UK has one of the worst numbers for ill health, post-65. Where millions of people (not just women) live for 20 years or more with ill health.
I'm not basing this on my own family or people I know - it was a feature in the press.