Digestive system has gone to pot since hitting Perimenopause.

[Septemberintherain]

Has anyone else experienced this?
I am 49 now and although I have had IBS since the age of 25 it wasn’t until I hit my mid 40’s that everything went haywire.
My symptoms are daily.
I have awful upper issues like acid, indigestion, burping and a really gurgling tummy. I get awful nausea, especially mid cycle (I still have a cycle and periods).
My lower gut also gurgles excessively, I have loads of gas, urgency in the mornings, sometimes diarrhoea and sometimes harder to go.
The tummy gurgling even wakes me up at night (along with the hot sweats!)
Its as though I hit this age and everything stopped working/functioning as it should.
I have been under the gastroenterology department for a few years and have had loads of tests. A gastroscope, colonoscopy and ct scan 3 years ago. Lots of ultra sound scans, a pill camera endoscopy this year too. I’ve been tested for coeliac disease and h pylori. I’ve had pelvic scans and a ca-125 blood test too.
The gastroenterologist says it’s just my IBS but it’s been so much worse since my mid 40’s. I asked him last week if peri could cause this? He said he had absolutely no idea and to ask a gynaecologist! Very helpful, especially as he is fully aware that a referral to a gynaecologist could mean a year long wait!
As luck would have it, I do have a gynaecologist appointment next month as I had a uterine ablation a few months ago, so I will ask him.
I am low fodmap, diary and gluten free. Only drink water. I’ve tried probiotics, kefir and all stuff recommended for IBS and indigestion etc.
But still the symptoms persist.
My only other conclusion is that my out of whack hormones must be causing this?
Has anyone else had issues since hitting Perimenopause or menopause?

@Septemberintherain nowhere near as severe as your symptoms but my gut is definitely more sluggish now (I'm 53 and definitely perimenopausal) than it was 10 years ago. I do know that I eat too quickly and my diet is rather 'erratic' and I'm less active than I was - maybe this is all feeding into it?

Yes I found this too however I was diagnosed with an underactive thyroid as well as hitting peri menopause at the same time. Now I'm on Levothyroxine and HRT (and avoid lactose and gluten) my symptoms have disappeared. Have you had your thyroid levels checked OP? Mine were off the chart and my only symptom was digestive issues.

pharmachameleon I honestly thought I may have thyroid issues as I have many symptoms and my grandad, mum and sister are all sufferers from thyroid problems but I had a series of blood tests last week, including thyroid and it’s come back in normal ranges. Kind of disappointed tbh as I thought I was convinced it was the cause but it’s not the case. So back to the start of things!

It's clear you have a long history of gut problems but it's too easy to blame the menopause for everything. Health in general tends to deteriorate with age.

Mosik Of course I expect age to come with various health challenges but not these digestive issues. Something is causing/making this worse and it’s not about getting older, if that were the case my friends and family the same age and older would also have gut issues and most do not. I may be grasping at straws with Perimenopause but it has become worse since hitting the age of peri and I just wonder if there is a link especially as digestive issues are often mentioned as possible symptoms!?

I don't mean gut issues are a natural consequence of age, just that mid life is when many people find chronic illness springs up. In my case rheumatoid arthritis which started at 50. No relation to menopause, but commonly starts in 50s and 60s.

I had terrible gut problems for a while and my doctor suggested eating little and often because in our 50's the gut becomes sluggish and finds it difficult to digest food like when we're younger

OP I never had digestive issues in my life but they came on durning Peri. They have largely abaited now. At one point I stopped all processed foods, added a lot of flax and stuff like that, I ate a lot of fennel on the advise of an Italian friend-loads of veg and salads.
I could hear my stomach working - it was mad! I suffered horribly from flatulence -which of course turned into horrible pain from holding in the wind.

How is your Gallbladder?

I find omeprazole is the only thing that works for me. One every morning. I had every test too, including cat scan and MRI

Yes! I long for the days when I could eat and drink what I wanted. The worse thing is wine as it's so acidic it causes horrendous heart burn. Also white bread, tomatoes and even bananas. This only started when I hit peri. I'm 50. The biggest bummer is that wine was always my way of de-stressing. Now I have to think of other ways.

Peri menopause can cause histamine intolerance which causes digestive issues.

It sounds like you’ve been through the mill. I hear you. Similar issues.

Ive found that intermittent fasting a huge help (I skip breakfast) along with meditation. My digestive system really fires up when I meditate 🤣. It may be stressing you out more than you realise.

Also discuss whether you should start HRT.

I went into surgically induced menopause in 2015, at the age of 42, and I don't take HRT for medical reasons. My IBS has significantly flared since then. Thankfully I worked out that my gallbladder was causing some symptoms, having that removed has settled the heartburn somewhat. My current problem is chronic constipation, which caused bloating and audible lower GI gas noises (ie, other people can clearly hear my gut making noises!). I take Iberogast three times a day, which seems to help. I also take fibre tablets, eat loads of fruit and veggies, drink lots of water, and have gentle laxatives handy for when I start to feel stopped up. I have found treating the symptoms as they arise the best approach. It's not glamorous. I'm not yet 50 and post menopausal, while my friends are only just starting to experience peri.

There is increasing evidence of big link between the menopause and our gut functionality. For example, women can’t metabolise glucose or fat nearly as well post menopause. A recent study showed that these changes were specifically linked to menopause, rather than age.

I would recommend taking a look at the Zoe studies and listening to their podcast.

I'd had mild IBS for several years but once I hit peri it really flared up. Went to a gastroenterologist who confirmed that there is a link between menopause and IBS. I was also diagnosed with silent reflux and now have to take Lansoprasole.

Like others there's a definite link with what I eat. Too much white bread and processed foods cause horrible bloating with constipation followed by diarrhoea after it clears.

I went onto HRT which definitely helped my stomach problems but had to come off it for other reasons so now just have to watch what I eat.

hattie43 I definitely have to eat little and often now, a large meal causes me so many issues.
Justasec321 That’s just what I experience. I, too can hear everything my digestive system does, it’s so noisy these days. And the gas!! It’s so bad.
justasking111 I have had a few upper digestive scans, the last one a few months ago, they always say the gallbladder looks ok. Sadly, PPI’s give me awful migraines.
BooseysMom Oh god wine! I am usually alcohol free but was given a lovely bottle of wine not long ago. I had two big gulps and I may as well have swallowed car battery acid. The pain!
PamelaBanisha Someone mentioned that to me yesterday, I’ll look it up later, thanks.
ByeByeMissAmericanPie I skip breakfast too, not intentionally but because I just can not face food first thing. I won’t lie, I am very stressed but it’s a vicious cycle as the more digestive issues I suffer from, the more it worries me. I do try and do gut directed hypnotherapy every day but it’s not helping much. I would like to try hrt but my GP keeps pushing antidepressants which make me worse!
Sunnidaze Are you in the U.K.? I’ve tried for ages, to find Iberogast but can not locate it anywhere.
PickySlackTastic Thank you, I will check that out.
ButtOutBobsMum Mine IBS was mild too and definitely has been so much worse since I hit peri. My gastroenterologist hasn’t been helpful at all. When I asked him if there was a link, he just shrugged and said ‘I have no idea’, Helpful!!

@Septemberintherain Oh dear, not great!! My gastroenterologist was a woman and was a specialist in women's health which is one of the reasons I chose her. Best tips she gave me were cut out caffeine and eat porridge every morning! They definitely gave me the most immediate relief.

I've also recently started having kefir every morning as there's now lots of evidence that poor gut health is the cause of a lot of problems, including the inability to lose weight. Apparently your body metabolizes it better than probiotic tablets. Early days to say whether it's making a big difference but I like the taste of it and tend to use it for overnight oats rather than yoghurt.

I had terrible issues, most of it is histamine intolerance I think, and then if I am flaring it can become ibs.

I have to be careful about too much fibre (not sure which sort; oats are good but ryvita is not!). I get occasional reactions to some FODMAPs foods.

Some of it seems to be linked to my cycle too as I'm still in peri. Hrt helped but I've had a hard job getting it right after covid twice this year. (Infection can affect oestrogen receptors they think.)

and eat porridge every morning!

Bizarre (or scientific?!) as I've always found I'm better if I do. Make it with water and add a dollop of skyr. Sometimes frozen blueberries and cherries.

ButtOutBobsMum I did see a female gastroenterologist, privately, last year. She too was menopausal and much more empathetic. I can’t afford it but really need to see her again. I have heard good things about kefir but I can’t tolerate dairy at all, dairy kefir made me feel awful. I need to find a dairy free one.

Hello I e just come out of 18 months of exactly this, endoscopy showed nothing so I took two omeprazole a day for weeks until it subsided ( had to do this twice) and followed the GETD theory of no carbs, no spicy food, no alcohol and importantly very small light meals more often. The omeprazole stopped any feelings of hunger and I noticed after a few days of fasting essentially it turned a real corner. Also no Kate night eating.

I believe you can get a soya one? Or if you're brave enough you could make your own!!

I thought digestive system issues were common with peri and menopause?

About 10 years ago worked with 2 women in early to mid 50s, they both told me about digestive system, IBS getting worse in peri/menopause.

For the past few years and I'm now 51 have definitely had more stomach issues, not IBS. I do have an underactive medicated thyroid though.

@Septemberintherain I take a shot glass of kefir every day with a Biokult capsule. You can get Biokult from Amazon or a health food store. It definitely gives me more ‘tolerance’ in my digestive system.

I’m sure I’ve seen coconut kefir for sale, and I know you can make water kefir too.

Would introducing kimchi or saukraut be a step too far? (Go easy on it to start with…)