Anyone else just UTTERLY EFFING SICK of peri?

[RipeApples]

I know there are plenty of you cos i see your threads but my GOD I am so over this shite. Not only the symptoms in the first place but the apparent need to just play it by ear as though we can just afford mentally and physically to just bob along with sometimes debilitating symptoms. Oh you think you're peri? Let's wait and see how those symptoms play out. Oh you are peri, try this gel. Oh that's not worked, let's wait and see. Oh that's too high a dose, oh let's reduce it. Oh you don't seem to be able to do your job which you've been very successful in doing for the last 25 years? Oh your symptoms are back. oh oh fucking OH.

I'm obviously in a foul mood over it as i'm ranting but even on my 'good' days (around 4 a month honestly for the last year or so- been on HRT for 18 months) I'm still agog that this is something which, to varying degrees, women will experience and we're left at the hands of uneducated GPs, having to scrape money together if need to go private to get someone to listen and even THEN the whole regime is just seemingly pot fucking luck.

I really hope I'm one of those who eventually finds my magic combination of dose, brand and delivery method but there are so many variables, alongside the changing symptoms as we age, that I really can't see it ever happening. And then seeing the thread yesterday (?) about women who are still not post menopause in their mid and even late 50s put the fear of God in me. I'm 46, around 3 years into Peri - How do you just accept you've got to suck it up? I'm so angry about the whole thing on top of being angry cos i'm permanently seemingly pre menstural. There's not even anyone i can complain to about it and that's winding me up too.

Rant over. If you've got this far, thanks for being on the receiving end. I do have friends of peri age but it seems they are all doing fine and aren't struggling like I am and if mention menopause at work, my colleagues visibly shrink away- and frankly my dh and dcs are sick of me going on about it and reading this thread back, I can see why;)

Gosh! That sounds tough. What HRT have you tried? Are you using an NHS GP or private?

What are your symptoms OP? Are they actually all peri related or is there other stuff going on that's being under-treated too?

I saw a private doctor who specialised in menopause and she prescribed everything was with her for a couple of hours and we went through everything and a whole barrage of tests. Best 300quid I ever spend I reckon. Is that something you could do? Mine was at the local Nuffield hospital

I feel your pain. Even with HRT I have some but not full relief. And I have side effects. Ideally don't want HRT but can't afford to stop. I have to choose the lesser of the 2 evils. How on earth have women put up with this and not made enough noise about it in generations before? Why do I feel like we are the first generation to say we won't put up with poor menopause solutions?! 47 here...solidarity!

YANBU!!
been on HRT for 2 years but just switched from patches (because they kept coming off) to gel and progesterone tablets. Still suffering from some symptoms and never sure what’s peri and what’s not. When I switched over I just burst out crying about not wanting to go to work one morning and I didn’t even know why!! Now ive got weird aches and pains and don’t know what’s exercise related and what might be peri related. Is the new HRT working as well or not?? How have I not said something out loud at work that’s got me fired? Can I ever be bothered with work any more? You want sex, oh really, well give me a hour to “warm up” and best get the lube out……what was I about to say when I got half way through that sentence….…?
I’m done with this!

Yep solidarity here too… just going to start asking for help at an appointment on Monday.. dreading it… all the questions… not being able to explain myself then probably go away feeling pissed off and no better off. The brain fog and the feeling of always being pre-menstrual i.e short fuse and agitated gets you down and feeling like you are always bleeding 😵‍💫 really draining the whole thing. Not sure whether to ask for any medication to help or not as surely it’s a downward spiral of trial and error like you are going through 🙄 xx you are not alone lol xx oh and my Husband when I try say I can’t help the outbursts sometimes and the brain fog “you’re too young for the menopause” yeah oh 😫

I hear you op, I'm nearly 52 and it's been ten long years now I've been in peri and no sign of my periods stopping (although they aren't as regular). I've had every symptom going. The worst two by far have been the mood swings/emotions/utter rage I feel sometimes and the dryness....everywhere 😡, even my ears and nostrils have dried up and drive me mad with itching. Dry fanny, dry mouth, dry eyes, dry nostrils, dry ears, dry skin. I feel like a fucking crisp. I did start using oestrogen cream down below about a year ago and that does help to be fair but everything else I just have to slather on the lotions and potions to keep me from ending up like a fucking weetabix.

Luckily the HRT cream has also helped with UTI's so it's not all bad but hard to see any light at the end of the tunnel. I don't want to go on HRT for personal reasons but probably should.

I'm 55 and still periods every month. I do have fibroids tho so waiting in a hysterectomy

In a nutshell, it's effing SHIT!!!!

HRT helping a bit. Recent symptom is dry eyes, sore, itchy, all the time. Tired all the time. Digestive symptoms all the time. Strangely enough no period issues 😭

Like a Weetabix 😂😂😂

I can't be bothered to stand in my freezing cold house waiting for my gel to dry for 10 minutes,, which probably doesn't help my symptoms 😂

Yep, count me in. I’m fucked off with it too. I’m 51, dry as fuck EVERYWHERE, have gained weight, look haggard, I sleep badly, my digestive system is shot to bits, I’m either farting or burping up acid or shitting myself as I get dodgy guts after the most random of things. I wake with palpitations, anxiety, my feet ache, knees are shot, I have headaches, brain fog, I am either hot or cold.

Periods are sickeningly regular as clockwork and I only feel ok about 1 week a month.

I am trying HRT but the side effects (headaches, jitters, anxiety) make me wonder if it’s worth it. Im just so fucking TIRED.

Im absolutely desperate for all this to end.

At least you’ve still got a good sense of humour 🤣🤣🤣

I feel like a f...cking crisps 😂😂
Shite phase of life
Glad I'm post menopause.

Totally with you OP X 😤🤬

Oh gawd, the irregularities too……22 day cycle, ta dah,
period when you weren’t expecting it…….next month……34 days and counting, surely I can’t be pregnant at 47 with HRT and contraceptives……can I?!?

Totally with you. The worst thing by far is the GP's total lack of care or urgency.
Started hrt, progesterone made me VERY ill, tried to talk to doctor about it, got chastised for booking wrong kind of appointment as apparently my issue wasn't worthy of such a quick appointment even though I couldn't get out of bed because of the side effects, then was told basically, 'well you have to take progesterone so just get on with it', said 'are there alternative ways of taking it?', ' yes, look them up yourself and make an appointment for a few weeks time'- end of conversation 🤬😡it is absolutely disgusting how everything is so minimised, if it was a man not able to get out of bed to go to work it would be taken so much more seriously.
Add to that new allergies and asthma? Like what the hell? Asthma because of perimenopause? Really? Fabulous, thanks for that body!

So many of you to mention but THANK YOU for emerging this evening to reassure me. I'm so sorry for all of you who sound like you're having as shit time as me. It's honestly life alterating and I feel like I've been shaken to my core.

I'm so enmeshed in this back and forth, gp, newson health, dosages blah blah blah that I no longer have a clue if my current symptoms are because of my peri or if they are side effects of the hrt itself. No one seems to be able to tell me. How do you get out of this catch 22?!?!?!

I'm currently living the dream of awful digestive symptoms, almost non stop nausea (thank fuck I've got kids Kwells on hand;), bone tiredness, a constant feeling of pressure in my head, headaches, and to top it all off anxiety that is totally bebilitating. So I shall be crawling through this weekend trying to act like a normal human being and keeping the kids in line while wanting to curl up and cry.

I'm going to try a new private meno place near me as the remote meeting elements of newson doesn't work for me and I'm hoping if a doctor sees the shadow of a woman I've become they might actually listen. 🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞

Hrt (tablets, patches, and gels) did not help me at all
In fact, they made my migraines so severe I needed injections of crgp medication
If it had helped, I'd have persevered, but other than a slight decrease in night sweats, nothing
I wish it had helped!
I think I'm progesterone intolerant
My GP was useless, so I went to a private menopause specialist at a local bupa hospital
I can honestly say my 40s were blighted by peri
I even had an ablation that didn't work:(
I'm still having very light bleeds every few months annoyingly
Longest I've gone is 9 months
I just want it over

Also, for me, it's coincided with kids still at school and elderly parent issues.
It's just shit

@RipeApples I felt like this after taking HRT for 2 years. It was causing me terrible anxiety and palpitations. Also made me huge.

So I stopped.

The aches and pains came back, but am managing them either way:

Low carb diet - this stops the sugar crashes and it's anti inflammatory

Weight training - ok I'm pretty shit but getting better gradually.

And various supplements to help with mood, metabolism and hormone balance.

If I stick to the plan it's SO much better.

Cutting right down on alcohol helps loads too. But I'm not completely AF. Because frankly that's quite joyless.

I'm not ruling out trying HRT again later on. But it's not for me for now.

God yes teenagers and elderly parents are a fun addition aren't they?!

I went nearly 3 months without a period, then had 2 in the space of 5 weeks. FML. 😭😭😭

Yes this is the kicker. 3 dcs in school still, one with EBSA who hasn't stepped foot in school for 18 months. Great fucking timing this peri bullshit!

To the poster who mentioned coming off it all, it's something I'm seriously considering.

Hmmm @BringOnTheSunshineNow this fills me with more fear than stopping or changing HRT!!
I’ve never been good at low carb, I exercise a lot (marathon runner) and I’m the sort of person who’s best eating little and often rather than 3 big meals a day. Always been good at weights and resistance training but to support my cardio work, so don’t need huge amounts of protein, and I’m quite intolerant to dairy since struggle with any low carb and high protein goal.