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….

I've just seen this thread and found it reassuring that my symptoms are shared with others. I knew my sweats and brain fog were normal for my age (48), but i wasn't sure about my erratic periods - but I see now that many of you have had that too. My cycle varies now from 17 days to 40 days - when it's been a long cycle I've wondered if my periods had stopped for good! This year, the bleeding has become a bit shorter (more like 4 days, whereas it used to always be 5 days). However, this month it's been a 9 day period (so far), constantly stopping and starting!

Utrogeston - body identical progesterone- taken orally can help greatly with anxiety

45 been on hrt about two years. Still get peaks and falls of cycles. This last week heat has been hell. Currently taking women’s vitamin and extra magnesium. The magnesium definitely helps with the sleep. I cant recommend hrt enough but it takes a while to get it right. I’m not sure mine is fully right but it’s a lot better

Does anyone else have bladder issues? I seem to urinate so often now and if I try to hold it I get strange bladder spasms. I’ve been prescribed an oestrogen pessary but it’s only been 4 weeks and apparently takes 3 months to fully work.

Also started hrt 2 weeks ago which I’m hoping lifts the awful anxiety and depression that I wake up with every day. Otherwise feel I’m going to have to try anti depressants.

I’ve just starting getting throbbing pain in one nipple at night which apparently is yet another period symptom 😵‍💫

'Does anyone else have bladder issues?'

I was weeing so frequently and getting up 4-5 times in the night. I got prescribed a vaginal oestrogen cream that has been brilliant - I'm now getting up just once at night, and can go 2-3 hours without a wee during the day. Took about 2 months to get to that stage

Thanks. Good to know it might take a few months for full effects if the oestrogen pessary.

I think I get anxious and that makes me urinate and then I am anxious because I urinate so often, especially during the morning! Seems to calm down in afternoon.

'I think I get anxious and that makes me urinate and then I am anxious because I urinate so often, especially during the morning!'

There is a thing called urge incontinence, where you worry about needing a wee, so you go for 'just in case' wees and it can mess up the signals between your brain and bladder. I had this, and was able to train myself out of it over time by making myself hold it for a slightly longer time each day. It works really well alongside the vaginal oestrogen

Yeah I’ve stopped doing “just in case” wee’s. I am trying to train my bladder to hold it but not sure if that is the problem as when I do urinate it’s always within the normal volume according to a measuring jug and Google. I had a bladder scan where they check the bladder size etc and they said everything was normal. I think I perhaps drink too much water as anxiety makes me thirsty too especially in the morning. In the afternoon when I’m calmer I usually go 3-4 hours or longer without needing a wee, it’s just in the morning.

Has everyone lost their libido? I have really beaten myself up about this (and I miss it)…I’m 44 and it started going off maybe 2 years ago, now is zero. But I began taking testosterone 3 months ago and whilst it’s made me bloody brilliant in many ways I still have no libido! DH is disappointed as we had hopes it would work for me 😂

I did have a hysterectomy a couple of years ago, around time libido failed and I’m wondering if that’s the cause or ‘just’ peri.

Should have said I kept my ovaries in hysterectomy so wasn’t thrown into surgical menopause at the time but developed peri symptoms about 6 months later. I already had a few before surgery so assume it just sped things up!

I have lost my libido too but not sure if it’s my libido or just generally feeling rubbish and pissed off and so sex is last thing on my mind!

Can I ask, if you don’t mind sharing, what are the other benefits you’ve found to taking testosterone?

Yes I don’t mind at all, increased energy, focus and sort of ‘spark’ for doing things again. It’s not a miracle but i actually want to go out and see people / want to exercise etc. also my tolerance to exercise has really increased, I can workout longer and do more weights. I’m no fitness fanatic but I just feel more ‘me’. But I did it by the book, my T levels were under normal (really low!) for a year, started Oestrogen first and that helped but for me not that much and the testosterone has been really good. But still no libido back yet. I do find when we have sex I am enjoying it more but have no drive to actually do it beforehand (!) hard to explain. But I suppose the fact it’s more enjoyable when it happens is good!

'Can I ask, if you don’t mind sharing, what are the other benefits you’ve found to taking testosterone'

I've been on testosterone for 6 months. I find the effects come and go a bit, same as my oestrogen effects. Overall though, better focus, more confidence, more assertive. Libido is inconsistent but definitely better than it had been - I was absolutely dead from the waist down for at least a year before then, which made me really sad.

I definitely recommend asking for a testosterone blood test to find out where you're starting from

Did anyone else feel worse on hrt before they got better? I started hrt just over 2 weeks ago. No effects at first, but this week I feel awful. Full blown anxiety attacks and thoughts of not wanting to live and that was before starting the progesterone so it can’t be caused by the progesterone. I’m so disappointed as I was really hoping hrt would lift my anxiety and depression. Will it take a while for the positive effects to work?