What symptom of meno really surprised you?

[menopausalfart]

I've had most symptoms associated with perimenopause, including some really nasty ones.
The symptom that surprised me the most was the memory loss. If I don't do something the moment it enters my brain, it's gone.
I've been taking HRT, vitamins, collagen, and I exercise regularly. This symptom, along with anxiety, has stubbornly persisted.

I’ve had lots of symptoms but most weren’t unexpected, so I’ll say itchiness,

I've had that. I took to wearing period pants. I actually read about it on here so I knew it was a symptom! Happily it abated.

My memory loss has got much better, so now I surprise myself by saying the word to myself and knowing I will remember it. It's like getting a bit of my old self back.

My surprise symptom was a raging libido. It was for about 3 years quite insane.

I had this too. I took anti-anxiety meds and it did help. I went from having a life of stress but absolutely managing it, to being almost housebound. Much better now.

I'm so glad someone else mentioned the 'hot feet' thing!

I've been very lucky and got away with not much more than vaginal atrophy and a few memory lapses. But going to bed feeling a perfectly normal temperature and then to find the soles of my feet start feeling red-hot within minutes is ruining my sleep! I don't even really have the hot flushes - it is literally just the bottoms of my feet and only at night. Someone has recommended a dog cooling mat, I've already got a fan directed only at the end of the bed and sleeping with my feet sticking out/damp socks/frozen water bottle - none of it really seems to help.

Not the symptoms but the frequency and severity of the symptoms.

Has anyone got groin pain also I have sore hips too plus clear leakage. I’m going for a smear tomorrow.

@Honeybeatea It's so difficult knowing when it's hormone-related or something else. Hope everything goes well for you tomorrow.

menopausalfart · Today 18:28
I’m in surgical menopause. My symptoms are groin and thigh pain, hot flushes but more cold flushes these days. Leaking clear fluid. restless legs, not sleeping. Getting spotting so that’s why Iv been sent for smear.
considering HRT. I’m 52

I've already put my issues up but I think I started around 45...am now 53 (and not amused!). I was wondering about the watery vag as someone mentioned upthread having fibroids and I wondered if that was connected. I have fibroids but of course "they're too small to be causing any issues" 🙄

I had absolutely no idea about vaginal atrophy - I thought it only happened in your 60’s & 70’s but it started for me (now looking back) in my mid 40’s. I’ve never had a single hot flush (not to say I won’t) but had whole host of horrific other symptoms though & yet my notes were written up simply as “menopausal flushing disorder”! I really sympathise with anyone who does get hot flushes & know from others how debilitating & distressing they can be. But It’s such a disservice to women to reduce everything down to simply “hot flushes” & for them to be still viewed as the only legitimate barometer of menopause. Grrrrr!!! God forgot rage, yep that was bad too!

Only in peri : itchy vagina and skull, dry skin, insomnias, waking up because I'm soaked in sweat.
I see that the worst is yet to come though. God, I'm glad I got sons.

Have had so many of these, especially awful anxiety that I’ve never had before, it was crippling for ages, but the night sweats surprised me. I imagined a bit of extra heat and a bit of sweat - like a hot flush, but at night.

I did not expect to wake up absolutely soaked through from head to toe, with all the bedding drenched and every inch of me running with sweat - I had no idea that legs could sweat; I’ve had times when I’ve exercised HARD and never had sweaty legs! I’m as soaked as if I’d had a shower. Changing wet nightwear and bedding in the middle of the night is so cold and depressing.

It can be completely and utterly shit - HRT has helped massively. I don’t know if I’d preferred to have known what was to come, or whether the ignorance was better!

@SociableAtWork I've never experienced a hot flush, but I had night sweats at the beginning. I would wake up cold and wet. My mattress would be soaked through.

Ive never had a night sweat. I count myself very lucky. Im not bragging, i could wet the bed if im not careful. Just letting others know the night sweats arent always there.

Weight gain and the redistribution of that weight. It feels like my body has betrayed me. I hardly recognise it in the mirror. Yes, I am upset!

71 :(

@TwoRobins My weight is all on my middle. I look like a happy Buddha when I'm naked.

Nearly 59, not on anything

michealsmum1998 · Yesterday 22:30
"I can't believe no one else has mentioned cold flushes. I find these worse than the hot flushes."

OMG is this one too? I get them when I am tired.

Those on HRT: did you get hormone tests? Have several of these symptoms, asked gynae for a test and she said I was too young to be thinking of menopause but could pay couple of hundred for a “hormone test” if I insisted.

Not in UK and think I need a new gynaecologist.

@QuaintPanda If you're past a certain age, they go off symptoms. As hormones fluctuate so much, blood tests are not very accurate. I've seen a few women, on social media groups, who started peri in their early 40s. I'm not sure how they were diagnosed, though.

Oh yes! I've tried wiping a small amount of e45 anti itch cream inside on the end of an ear bud and that has helped loads, but it was driving me mad!

Another itch is down below on the hairline, which I have had for a year since my hysterectomy. Turns out I need to use a lot of estrogen creams and pessaries to get moisture back on the area and then it should be ok.

Memory, or lack of is another thing.

So many of these, plus insanely heightened sense of smell. I can smell our neighbour smoking all the way down the lane. I can smell dog pee on tiles that have been steamed and scrubbed. I can smell everything constantly.

i think we are more aware now..... I had mild hot flushes for about 18 months before I got a really long heavy bleed which took me to the doc who reckoned it might be peri onset. The treatment then was depo which i used for 2 years then had to stop because I got the lightning fast weight gain (a stone in a month!) Shortly after I stopped I got the flushes only worse and dreadful dizzy spells. Same doc decided to do a bloodtest to rule out peri before referring me to a neurologist as the dizziness was accompanied by flushes and was at night/early morning only. At that point I thought back to the mild flushes and went "oh so that's what they were" Lest people should think I had a dreadful doctor, this was over 30 years ago and the treatment offered was what there was.
I have always had a dreadful memory so the brain fog wasn't such a big change....always a silver lining!