If you are post menopause how do you feel?

[cantheydothisreally]

And what would you tell a peri meno woman?

49 and need some hope 😞

Oh I should say, having read whimsicalwillow’s post, and am sorry about your mum. However because my mother complained and detailed and shared every minute of her menopause in RL I have not mentioned it and never shall.

Also further to my woes about my crap bones, although the body may be crumbling I still look ok.

Periods stopped at 50. No hot flushes but overheat at night and my sleep is really awful. I thought going without HRT was a badge of honour, I couldn't have been more wrong. I have vaginal atrophy (now have a vaginal ring) but libido and subsequently sex life has gone. Loose, dry skin even though I'm a healthy weight and exercise regularly, have to watch my diet or I'd be overweight. I really wish I'd asked for HRT so if you can have it!

Some varied replies, I guess as we are all individual!

I have tried HRT, did not get on with utrogestan. Currently sleeping really badly 😞

I am glad people are happy to share their stories, in a supportive way. 😊

All voices welcome 🙏

Eat better- wholemeal carbs, protein, lots of fresh veg. Less alcohol. Go to bed earlier.
Keep to a healthy weight if you can.
Exercise more, but slow steady exercise rather than short bursts. Building your fitness helps.

Poor sleep - have you tried cutting all processed sugar and alcohol ? I had a few months where even one biscuit led up a bad night

My symptoms became worse post menopause. 8 years later I've now given up thinking that any day soon l am going to pop up out the other side. Started HRT instead and now I have my dose right, its working a treat. I intend to stay on it as long as I am able. Every woman has a different experience and HRT isn't right for everyone, but I wish I had started it 8 years ago and saved myself a lot of misery and pain, both physically and mentally. My advice would be to look into HRT as an option. X

Oh I should have said GP was mealy mouthed about putting me on HRT a young lady in her 40s even said to me "if you take early retirement and stop working, you might find the symptoms easier to deal with" When I responded by asking her if she was suggesting non working women such as housewives, carers, the disabled should receive suboptimal treatment rather than every woman being able to live their best life she went bright red and spluttered a bit, vaguely apologetically. But I digress and think I was on the cheapest HRT possible.

What really helped was having a orivate apt with a gynaecologist who suggested a combination of origesterone and oestrogen, one via patches, one via tablets. It minimised cancer risks and by golly it turned me round. He wrote to the GP and told them what needed to be orescribed and said something like as long as the patient feels they are receiving benefits.

One of the best £250's I've spent.

Post menopausal for 5 years at 54. Aching joints, no libido, insomnia, weight gain. I’m not on HRT due to BP.

Oh that's a shame, Utrogestan is one of the good ones. It's good to give it a couple of months though in case side effects settle down.

But there are other good ones too, I took Provera for a few years and had no problems with that.

I’d say to a woman in peri that we’re all different and most important is to be aware of the symptoms we might experience and what can be done to help.

This is the general menopause symptom checker menopausesupport.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/MENOPAUSE-SYMPTOM-CHECKER-Nov-20.pdf

This is the GSM symptom checker (vaginal atrophy) menopausesupport.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/GSM-OF-MENOPAUSE-SYMPTOM-CHECKER2.pdf

Many women don’t realise that bladder issues are caused by low estrogen - urgency, frequency, incontinence and incomplete emptying. Pessaries or cream applied directly to the vagina and vulva can be really effective and due to little systemic absorption women who’ve had breast cancer are able to use it. It’s a tiny dose in comparison to systemic HRT and can safely be used long term without a break with or without systemic HRT. If after 3 months what you’re using isn’t effective enough it can be increased or perhaps another option tried.

Systemic HRT is a choice along with lifestyle measures eg diet, exercise of different types, mindlefulness etc. where one thing doesn’t work another can be tried. If for example Utrogestan doesn’t suit orally it can be used vaginally or changed to a combined patch.

NICE Menopause Guidelines are useful to have to hand www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng23/chapter/Recommendations

As you mentioned sensitive stomach OP you might find this helpful balance-menopause.com/uploads/2021/09/Bloating-and-bowel-problems-in-the-menopause.pdf

Really interesting thread - thanks for starting.
Can I just ask everyone about the memory issues / brain fog. Has this improved at all. I find myself constantly having to find ways round it at work.

@juniperjewel no the memory issues/ brain fog have not improved for me, but I haven’t been on HRT so maybe that would have made a difference?
@over50andfab
my breast surgeon has written to my Gp to ask them to prescribe local oestrogen, so I’m hoping to improve the awful effects of vaginal atrophy.

Yes, massively, since taking oestrogel. It[s gone.

The brain actually shrinks without oestrogen (they showed it on Davina)
If you were deficiant in thyroxine, would you take it? Would you just push on through? If you were deficiant in another hormone, would you take it?
Did you ever take the pill? Massively stronger than a bit of hormone gel and progeterone inserted vaginally.

OP, I take vaginal progesterone, 12 days a month, at night and it helps me sleep, not the reverse!

I do not ingest ANY HRT, it is all transdermal.

My two glasses of wine a day are far more likely to cause cancer.
Topical oestrogen for vaginal atrophy, as far as I understand (but I do not suffer from it) and am not a doctor, is not a risk if you have had BC, as PP[s have said. It contains such a small, small amount of oestrogen but keeps your vagina healthy.

All my friends over 55 have such a marked difference in attitude to all my friends just turning 50/51, like me. It is so odd.

I had a horrendous few years of peri, with torrential bleeding and stiff joints including a frozen shoulder, until my periods finally stopped at 54. I'm 61 now and feel better than I have done in decades. It's absolutely marvellous not having periods any more and although I still have several hot flushes a day/night, they are a small price to pay for no periods.

What I would say to women going through peri is be aware of vaginal atrophy. I had never previously had any UTIs, but at peri was getting a few a year until I had 3 in the space of a month. I was lucky enough to see a wonderful older woman doctor who recommended vaginal oestrogen pessaries (Vagifem) and I haven't had a UTI since.

I'm the same weight I was in my early 20s, but it is distributed differently, accumulating around my middle. I'm not on HRT (except Vagifem) but cycle and run in an effort to keep my bones strong. Sadly I can't drink like I used to, but I still enjoy a couple of glasses of wine at the weekend.

Good luck to OP and all those going through peri, in my experience it definitely did get very much better.

Thanks everyone for continuing to talk about your personal stories.

It appears there is no one size fits all!

I have tried HRT but did not persevere as the progesterone made be slightly crazy and constipated

The worst symptom for me has been stomach and bowels (TMI )

May try again!

Really helpful posts and supportive too

Thanks for the answers on memory / brain fog.

For me - peri was really difficult. I had flooding for months and months and ended up severely anaemic. I struggled to stand for any length of time.

It's such a relief to be over that stage.

@MissyB1 thats great. Products containing Hyaluronic Acid (something the body makes naturally) have also been shown to help vaginal atrophy. In the U.K. this would be Balance Activ Moisture Plus pessaries and Hyalofemme gel - you can get a free sample of the latter from their website.

@adriftabroad Just responding to the brain shrinkage you mention.

Lisa Mosconi is regularly quoted on this but rarely quoted that her research shows that a lot of the issues resolve

"Neuroimaging confirms these findings. In the post-menopausal woman, gray matter volume returns to normal, especially in areas concerned with some types of memory and cognitive processing. In fact, in postmenopausal women, the gray matter volume was similar to that of males of the same age and increased over the next two years.
This volume also corresponded with rising memory scores in an area called the precuneus which shows structural changes during the menopausal transition. This is regulated by estrogen, and also changes during pregnancy, another unique female stage associated with neurologic and endocrine changes.
White matter volume falls during menopause and does not recover thereafter. However, compared to males, women undergoing or past menopause showed higher structural connectivity and myelination, which may indicate that the neural networks in these regions are more efficient following the onset of menopause.
Menopause itself, therefore, does not herald a drop in cognitive ability, unlike the transitional period itself. In fact, women do better at cognitive tasks than men over their adult life, including during dementia! Instead, menopause may be considered a dynamic neurological transition that reshapes the neural landscape of the female brain during midlife endocrine aging, [with] an adaptive process serving the transition into late life."

Interesting post QueenofHirath

Queenofhiraeth

Apologies

This is the thread I should have searched for a long time ago. Was fobbed off by (male/patronising) Dr from 50-55 - or given anti-depressants. Was NEVER tested for hormonal imbalances despite repeated requestsz Also had lots of family stuff going on, like most...adult DD's ill ness/lost DFather/Marriage 'issues' & separation. So MANY things could have contributed towards anxiety/depression/Raaaaage/insomnia/fluctuating weight/vanishing libido...

BUT at 59 now, I found a Menopause Clinic - well there are loads around but this was local/looked 'good'

They said I was 'eligible' or that it could be appropriate for anyone who'd had a period within the last 10 years. Just talking to them for the hour was utterly liberating!! Blood test results were 'low' in all relevant areas - not saying this is going to help/magic bullet - but am now on HRT
whilst being post-menopausal (poss 4/5 years since last period).
Only been using for two weeks - nothing 'significant' yet - but feeling more positive, probably because someone listened and said they could help!!

My biggest issue has been IBS with diarrhoea which I am certain is hormonal. The rest of the menopause hasn't been too bad. Anyway, my GP has started me on a very low dose of HRT to see if it helps. I'm only a week in so we will see. Had it not been for the IBS I would not have bothered with HRT, but the thought of the rest of my life with this diarrhoea is depressing so I'm really hoping it'll help.

I had a very straightforward menopause. My periods got lighter and further apart and then just stopped. No HRT, no nothing was needed.

I had very easy periods too, regular and no pain etc. My sis, mother, aunt and grandmother were all the same, so personally i think it is heredity.

lovemydazxie
Stomach and digestive problems have been my biggest issue too, so debilitating

lovemydaxie sorry