I have suffered from what can only be described as severe chronic fatigue since the day my period stopped 12 years ago. Have had every blood test - all negative and been assessed by chronic fatigue clinic who said it is not CFS. I had to go down to part time work in late thirties as I was so tired could not make it through week and had to rest in evenings and on weekends to be able to work at all. Also in late twenties early thirties had back to back severe flu like illnesses every winter - this seemed to be helped by flu jab at age 36 but after menopause with estrogen decline back with a vengeance until I got hrt then flu jab seemed to work again, They say estrogen is an intiviral so who knows!
Am now 63 years old and only diagnosed with autism at 62! They only sent me to be tested because my gp said this is way more than menopause. Am taking estrogel/ultrogestan/testosterone but had to go to the excellent Louise Newson private menopause clinic to get this as gps seem unable to deal with anything to do with the menopause. This seems to have helped with the flu like symptoms but I still have severe fatigue every day/general malaise/severe post exertional malaise/feel like every cell in my body is dying.
My weekly life for last 12 years has consisted of doing the washing on a Monday, 2 showers per week and a weekly shop. I have tried to walk or do sport or even garden but the payback is so severe I cannot do any of these things now. Have been told it is autistic fatigue by The Retreat in York who did my diagnosis and supplied counselling but still am not sure if it should be so severe and disabling.
I also suffered from severe PMDD since my mid twenties and did not receive prozac to help with this until age of 38 years. The prozac works quickly in hours but gps do not even seem to understand the prozac/allopregnanolone connection which is why you are taking it to deal with the progesterone sensitivity or inability to metabolise progesterone properly! A lot of autistic women are supposed to have PMDD I hear and it has been a nightmare for me.
I had to give up work at only 42 years which was when the peri-menopause reared its ugly head and I started to go off the deep end emotionally - even the prozac could not save me and it blew it all out of the water. No one even mentioned the peri-menopause to me in 2001 and no hormones or any help were given was just referred constantly to mental health teams who were totally useless even though I explained all of my above problems.
Still need to take some prozac - about 10mg to stop return of PMDD with taking hrt (but this is massively reduced now - used to be 40mg a day). I only got hrt in 2016 at age of 57 because a gp took pity on me where others had just given me a few random pills and given up. Tibolone I found to be very good but by 2021 was feeling really ill again and needed more hence visit to Newson Health. Testosterone did not give me my strength back as hoped but do feel a lot better overall. Also, contrary to popular myth - I seemed to have full time PMDD post menopause and it did not go away and I still needed prozac - whether this is to do with being autistic I do not know - have researched every learned article out there with regard to pmdd/menopause and autism.
If anyone else has had the same disabling fatigue like this post menopause with severe pmdd as well in earlier life please post I need someone to compare with.
Also, if anyone is researching autism post menopause or is in the medical profession and reading this - well this is what it is like - they say there are not many case studies and no one knows what is is like for autisic women. Well this is it - sit up and listen to us please.
Thanks to anyone who reads this for taking the time.