Will perimeno symptoms improve if I lose weight?

[breakingthebank]

I am 42 and have been suffering perimeno symptoms for several years now including weight gain.

I am about 2 stone overweight and trying very hard to lose weight in the hope that will improve my symptoms. Has anyone else found that getting to a healthy weight improved their perimeno symptoms?

I can definitely say that exercise is really good for peri symptoms - it lifts the mood and helps concentration, helps reduce fatigue and insomnia, improves circulation and counteracts some of the muscle/bone weakening. But I think the picture on diet-induced weight loss is more mixed. I understand that one of the main reasons for peri weight gain is that abdominal fat produces oestrogen which your body is missing, so losing that fat (which is the hardest sort of fat to lose anyway) might not help symptoms. Have you considered HRT?

That’s interesting Una, I haven’t heard that before.

OP what are your particular symptoms? You should find joint pain and general inflammation type symptoms ease with weightloss i guess but that’s always true…

Thanks Una, that's interesting. I have been on Evorel Sequi for 3 months but they've made very little difference apart from stabilising mood. My main symptoms are extremely heavy periods, no libido at all, vaginal dryness, sleeplessness, migraines and mood change.

The doc tells me that my blood test results do not indicate perimeno but my symptoms suggest hormone fluctuations which are common at my age leading up to perimeno. She is running more blood tests this month and then suggests Mirena + estrogen might be more effective than the patches I'm using now.

I am just so desperate for something to make me feel better

Good point @Somebodylikeyew, I keep reading online that perimeno symptoms are worse in overweight women but of course that doesn't specify which symptoms!

I kinda think losing the weight can only help your overall wellbeing and put you in the best position possible heading into the meno. It’s hard, I know.

I’m 43, not currently in peri according to my bloods, but I do have heavy periods, fatigue and trackable hormone related mood swings so I’m quite interested that your GP has prescribed you patches! Ive lost 4 stone over the last year and a half and I’ve got another 1.5-2 to lose. It has improved some things for me (my kidney function, which was the catalyst, went from 52%-72%!) and it certainly hasn’t made anything worse. I felt like I wanted a clean slate somehow, in order to properly assess what was what rather than it all being blamed on fat IYKWIM?

Do you take iron or anything for your periods? I definitely notice when i run out of that.

I'm a healthy weight and in peri and have horrible symptoms. Of course I don't know that they wouldn't be worse if was carrying a couple of extra stone but I don't think losing weight is a magic bullet. It's always a good idea to lose excess weight though for multiple other health reasons.

Well done on the weight loss @Somebodylikeyew! That's an amazing improvement in your kidney function. I know what you mean about having a clean slate to make an assessment. It used to be quite easy for me to lose weight but in recent years it's become much, much harder so I'm having to be very careful about what I eat and log everything on MFP but the scales are moving in the right direction for me.

My GP was quite reluctant to prescribe HRT tbh. I paid for a hormone blood test in the end and because it came back with low estrogen GP agreed to prescribe patches. I've spent the last 5 years going to the doc about my various symptoms and it's got to a point where my whole life, my work, my relationships are all being impacted. I don't know how I'm going to continue holding down a job and a marriage while feeling the way I do.

@eurochick interesting to hear that being normal weight isn't necessarily the answer. I'm starting to realise there is no magic bullet sadly. I suppose I'd expected HRT to be the solution and it absolutely hasn't been.

I've just ordered some Starpowa tablets from H&B so will start taking them, going to gym and eating healthily (until Christmas at least!)

Almost certainly. It's a vicious circle though which is hard to break out of. Hormones make you gain weight which makes hormones worse which makes you gain weight.

I think holistic exercise (yoga in my case) has helped support my weight loss more than traditional exercise. Because it helps keep me calm, sane and helps me sleep as well as being weight bearing so great for bone density, and also toning. Recently I've introduced going back to the gym to get in a bit more cardio exercise.

But really it's diet. I try and stay away from refined carbs and eat plenty of green veg. Also I found meat - particularly processed meat, didn't go down well any more. So I eat fish, tofu, cheese, eggs, lentils, beans etc for my protein.

I also take Floradix tablets for iron as I can be a bit low sometimes, in spite of a good diet.

Yoga also gets your parasympathetic nervous system going which helps massively with decreasing cortisol and stress which then helps with adrenal function - which helps with sleep, not having stupid cravings for sweet things...etc. So it isn't just a load of woo, there are physical things happening in your body when you do it regularly.

Thanks @ElftonWednesday. Good to hear your positive experience of yoga. I do feel that my body is now affected by stress much more than it used to be. I have started going to the gym but yoga sounds like it could be worth a try too.

@UnaOfStormhold

I can definitely say that exercise is really good for peri symptoms - it lifts the mood and helps concentration, helps reduce fatigue and insomnia, improves circulation and counteracts some of the muscle/bone weakening. But I think the picture on diet-induced weight loss is more mixed. I understand that one of the main reasons for peri weight gain is that abdominal fat produces oestrogen which your body is missing, so losing that fat (which is the hardest sort of fat to lose anyway) might not help symptoms. Have you considered HRT?

This is interesting. I'm 45 and a healthy weight but suffer from many of the symptoms described by the OP. I barely exercise, though, apart from walking a bit. I keep meaning to restart running but can't quite find the motivation.

I don't know about perimeno but I lost 3stone a couple of years ago and it made a huge difference to my periods. I now have lovely light, 3 day things with very little pmt or period pain. It wasn't a benefit I was expecting but blimey it's good 😂

I find running does my head so much good - I feel calmer, more settled and a lot less cranky! I've got addicted to the way it feels which definitely helps motivate me to get out of the door. Obviously there are huge physical benefits as well, but I'd do it even without them for the mental changes.