Starting a thread on Perimenopause- join me 🙃

[rainydaysamonday24]

Hi!
starting a thread on Perimenopause in the aim to share stories, tips, experiences and symptoms.

Me: 47 yrs, periods still v regular - 24/25 day cycles. Feel like my peri symptoms began a year ago however. Have had night feelings of heat, rather than sweating as such! Aches and pains, lower back was bad last year.
With periods still regular I’m wondering if HRT is too soon.
i also don’t want to start HRT - rather to keep going with diet and exercise. Have taken up swimming and that has improved joints and general fitness.
However! Feel like I need to get a blood test to see where I stand!

So new to all this…need help!

Please share your stories….

MILLYmo0se

Thanks! Will ask about that too!

Can I join? I started having peri symptoms at 34. On Evorel Sequi at 40. Now 41. The HRT has been great! The Conti fortnight knocks me for six sleep wise, but I feel much less emotionally compromised in general.

If it helps, here's a bit of a timeline of what I experienced in case anyone else is wondering if what they're experiencing is peri:

Age 33: Increased anxiety and exhaustion in the afternoons. Periods slightly less regular by one or two days each time.

Age 34: Periods suddenly two days in length and super heavy, way heavier than before. Anxiety increases to the point where I started taking Fluoxetine, which helped for a bit.

Age 35: Am diagnosed with PMDD as I am starting to feel suicidal during my pre-period week. Increased medication and signed off work for two weeks to let it kick in.

Age 36: PMDD is stabilised by medication and LOADS of exercise, as well as cutting out sugar. It's still very, very bad but manageable and I can plan my life around "hell week".

Age 37: I start missing one or two periods but am still able to manage the PMDD with the exercise. Still on the tablets

Age 38: I notice that not even Increased medication and crazy exercise is helping the monthly depression and anxiety attacks now, and I am in loads of pain when the period comes. It starts impacting my life to the point where I can't leave the house during the heaviest days (still two days long)

Age 39: In desperation, I wean myself off the medication because I want to find out what's really going on. I've never felt so raw and depressed in my life. I am also forgetting things right, left and centre. One day, I momentarily forget how to tie my shoelaces and become convinced I have dementia.

Age 40: The depression gets really bad and I start feeling like I don't know myself any more. I cry A LOT and the monthly pain is unbearable. After a period of depression where I spend a whole week crying, I finally get through to my GP who diagnoses perimenopause and suggests it's been happening for some years. By this point, I'm having hot flashes and not sleeping. I still manage to pass my driving test and jump out of a plane, so things were achieved.

Age 41: Still hotter than usual but I am getting on with it. I love the patches. Would recommend HRT to anyone. I'm not the emotional roller coaster I was. No depression. I am on only one tablet per day now. I

I hope this helps.

Hi, I have been on evorel patches for nearly two weeks, tomorrow I need to start the utrogestan. Does anyone take it vaginally? The doctor said I can as am worried about side effects. But what do I do, just stick them up as far as possible? Presume it needs to be at bedtime so they don’t just slide out…

Finally managed to speak to my GP about this today and felt pretty dismissed straight away. I sat down and said I wanted to talk about hormones and she laughed and said you are so young. 🙃 Asked lots of questions about my periods, I didn’t manage to talk at all about brain fog, fatigue, libido or my mood and she didn’t ask at all about mental health. She said lots of women have symptoms of peri such as joint pain and they know it’s caused by peri so they just ignore it. She’s referred me for blood tests for thyroid, iron and said she might send me for a scan to check for fibroids despite me saying my periods weren’t overly heavy. So so frustrated by the whole thing!

Anyone have any symptoms of feeling hot in the face and flushing? Nose and cheeks? A bit like rosacea but no pimples or anything - the skin looks leathery on the cheeks 🧐

Anyone have any luck with reducing hot flushes during the day?
As in …do you try and eat certain foods to reduce?
And does anyone suddenly have Roscea ? Or developed allergies?
what a mess!
hugs to all x

Developing allergies due times of hormonal change - puberty, pregnancy, peri/post menopause is fairly common. Progesterone is involved in breaking down of histamine while oestrogen is involved with the mast cells that produce histamine

I’m nearly 49 and have been on HRT - oestrogen gel plus mirena for 4 years.
Anxiety was my first symptom and I’m still on Sertraline which helps a lot.
I think my mirena needs changing soon and have been having to take Desogestrel also for the past year to keep bleeding at bay. Saw a gynae for this and had to have several scans to rule out anything sinister.
My current symptoms are tiredness, joint pain (especially sacroiliac) and hot flushes/ night sweats. And weight gain.
Not sure what else can be done, I’m on 3 0.5 sachets sandrena a day. Taking Nutrition geeks magnesium and meno bundle, plus osteocare.
Just ordered nutrition geeks collagen and the osteocare with chondroitin etc.
Pilates twice a week.
Toying with the idea of Wegovy but my BMI is 26.6 at the moment.

Sending some solidarity to everyone who's been grappling with hot flushes, night sweats, restless legs and base insomnia in this week's heatwave

Having been tracking health and mood, it's now incontrovertible that I have a new pre-menstrual delight of being properly ill a couple of days before AF. (Earache and/or headache, sore throat, dizziness, fatigue, upset stomach, sometimes better by afternoon only to restart the next day.) Periods themselves are fine really, a couple of heavy days and usual cramps, a couple of days to lull me into false security, and then a surprise encore, but the interval is not so regular now. Has anyone else experienced this pre-menstrual bleugh (linked to peri or before) and has anything helped? I have a lovely supportive workplace of similar demographic managers, but I can't be taking this amount of time off and it's not something I can battle on through (I tried).

Is the headache sinus related? I'd try taking a daily antihistamine like Telfast and for the week before AF a low histamine diet. If your sinuses are full that can lead to balance and ear issues and sore throat if crap is draining down back of your throat

Obviously HRT would probably be yhe most effective help, or changing dose if you already on it

Hi - joining this thread for the first time!

46 and just started Evorel patches in the last month - been on vaginal oestrogen for the last year.

Yes to the rosacea, other random red skin and horrible spots, often in clusters on my chin, which are worse than I ever had as a teenager! It's been going on for about 4 years now but has got gradually worse. Not found a trigger or a cure for them yet - and the spots just appear overnight! Sun definitely makes the rosacea worse, but so does suncream, unfortunately!

Also (going back to an earlier post), yes to the bloated, pregnant-looking stomach - I'm not overweight and have not actually put on much weight according to he scales, but it's massively gathering in that area now! Very annoying and also difficult as anything with a vaguely constrictive waist is uncomfortable 😣 I do need to put some proper effort into working out if there are any triggers food wise for the bloating.

The biggest positive effect so far of the patches has been eliminating my night sweats and messed up internal temperature. A couple of months ago, I sat outside on a metal garden chair with no clothes on when it was 5 degrees because I was so hot! Now, even in the recent heatwave, I've just been normal 😂 also, every night just after falling asleep I was getting that awful waking up in a complete panic, heart racing, with a feeling of utter dread, usually a vague idea of having forgotten something so important it would literally be life or death. I didn't realise this was a potential perimenopause thing until quite recently, but it's almost gone now, which is really nice! I'm hoping for more improvements in time, but the patches are worth it for those alone, and no negative symptoms so far, touch wood. I am transitioning off the combined BC pill and haven't had proper (if any) periods for a very, very long time, so am a bit apprehensive of what might happen there...

Solidarity to everyone here! Massive long post just about me, sorry, but will try to keep up to date with the thread and see how everyone's doing.

Hi there,

We thought users on this thread might be interested to know that on Wednesday we're hosting an AMA with hormone specialist Dr Louise Newson - if you've got a question you can ask it at this link.

Thanks,
MNHQ

@MILLYmo0se Thanks for replying. Not sinus related, and already take antihistamines for hay fever. AF not predicts enough for forward planning (plus dietary control difficult when not just cooking for self). Not on her, this is probably next option.

Oh thanks so much for this! I'm 41 and started Everel pat he's 2 weeks ago so I still haven't got to the second patches. My mood is so low and I haven't felt any difference so far at all. I'm so disappointed. How long did it take before you felt a difference when starting the patches?

Hi there! It took a good couple of weeks for the anxiety to lift and to feel a little more like myself, but probably a month before I was significantly better.

I'm really sorry your mood is low. Pro tip: you probably already know this, but I couldn't drink alcohol at all for the first month of the patches. I'd have panic attacks and feel depressed within a couple of hours.

You're doing really well. And definitely keep a line of communication open with your GP. You might need a higher dose, or there might be something else going on that you can get help with alongside the patches.

It is normal though, for things to take time to settle.

Oh thank you so much for getting back to me. This gives me hope! I don't drink alcohol at all and I take lots of supplements... Just really wanted my moods to life. Ovulation is crazy for me, I get so low and drained of all life. Thanks again!

Has anyone experienced peri menopause paresthesia?

Pins and needles just in my right arm for about 2/3 months wondering if anything will help?

The weird peri symptoms keep on coming ... I recently got a new glasses prescription and have been struggling massively to adjust. After two repeat eye tests, it now seems like dry eyes may be part of the problem if not the whole problem. Never had this before.

Also have random jaw pain. Googled 'jaw pain perimenopause' and guess what, it's a thing 🙄

@Sunshineandrainbowhi! Yes I have also experienced this. It’s also my right arm, I have done a lot of swimming recently on and off so I thought it may have been connected to that.
its not painful as such and I can still grip things but its like a fading pins and needles soreness that comes and goes…
I also thought it was due to a stress position on my driving when I had a long drive to do a few weeks ago!!

Do you have it on waking up ? Like you have slept on your hand? Mine is a gradual one.

Soon 44 here. Always hot at nights and sleeping worse as result. My cycles have become slightly more irregular and short but pleased to find my periods are much lighter than they were years ago. I really fear I’ll still hit a phase of heavy bleeding before menopause. I have no interest in sex either, or at least not with my DH. I do sometimes fantasize about other men though 😮 I still have quite young kids and generally knackered. Looking forward to reading other women’s experiences!

Not sure if this thread is active but let’s see if anyone has experienced similar. I notice I’m having much more vaginal discharge, especially mid cycle. Looking back to my TTC days, I used to have clear window of egg white cervical mucus and then dry up for the rest of the cycle. Now I just feel a lot more wet down there and that seems to continue more towards end of cycle too. Considering panty liners for the first time ever, as this can actually be slightly unpleasant. I wonder if this could be a peri symptom or what…clearly something’s changed hormonally. Apologies for TMI!

@newusername4321yes have experience this! I thought I was leaking wee!!! It seems to just be happening before my period…and then period comes and it’s very heavy for like 2 days and then nothing! Totally strange experience now…also feel energetic during my period where I used to feel like curling up eating chocolate and reading and doing nothing until it was over!!!

@newusername4321and just to answer your first post…mine were like this - lighter and shorter. Now it’s shorter and heavy!
I’m 47.

This thread has been so helpful - I’m 39 and started having crippling anxiety and panic attacks about 4 months ago having never had them in my life. Then noticed the hot sweats - waking up absolutely wet through, insomnia and then my cycle was shorted and periods much shorter.

I went to the doctors and disappointingly had the same experience a lot of others here did. Very dismissive because of my age, did bloods to rule out anything underlying (there wasn’t) and just trying to get me on sertraline. Which id rather avoid is possible as I saw how numb it made my husband.

I’ve made an appointment with a specialist next week, like a PP I hold a senior role and I actually had to leave my last job 4 months in due to the anxiety and panic attacks (amplified by a horrific boss who didn’t understand and threatened disciplinary because I had a panic attack during an internal meeting and had to leave the team’s call - but that’s a whole different thread 🙄)

Ive been fortunate to secure a new role at a company I’ve worked in partnership with before but I’m stressing about the anxiety and panic attacks happening again in meetings.

has anyone got any positive experience of reducing/eliminating these? I plan to get back into a better routine with gym and running and also reduce alcohol but I’d be interested to hear of any other stories - none of my friends are going through this and it’s quite a lonely place to be.