How much damage does the menopause really do and how to fix it?

[busterhall]

At 40 I am not yet menopausal as far as I know. I love good skin and have always looked after mine and with that and some good genes so far I am doing ok and I am often told I look much younger or people are really surprised at my age when they find out.

What I am also told it that once the menopause hits I'll be hit with wrinkles and facial aging and that by the time I'm 50 we'll all be level.

Now I do accept aging and getting older etc but I still want to have the best skin possible and to avoid wrinkles and sagging for as long as I can.

I'm not into having fillers, botox or surgery but would consider lasers, radio frequency tightening, dermal needling etc as well as skincare, nutrition and supplemental treatments including HRT.

I would be really interested from others how the menopause affected them and the things they did that help them head off the worst effets especially those in the looks department?

Had an early Menopause at 39/40. Strangely, I bucked the trend and my boobs seemed to get bigger and my face more greasy rather than more dry/wrinkled. Sadly 'other' parts of my body did get very dry and shrivelled! For me, the worst parts were the hair loss, dizziness, palpitations and knowing I'd never naturally be a mum. That led to stress which in turn made me look tired.

I'm still undecided about how much the menopause has affected me. At first, my hair got very thin (scalp showing) but Regain has sorted it out. I also have a horrible cystitis feeling a lot of the time, which is apparently due to thinning of the skin in the vagina. I'm now considering HRT.
I think having a baby at 40 had a worse impact on my appearance, if I'm honest. Post-birth I lost 3 teeth in a week, struggled to lose the almost 2 stone I gained during pregnancy and had a terrible perm to try to make my hair look thicker. I think I probably looked like I was in my 50s when still in my 40s, so actually getting to my 50s hasn't been too bad! What has helped is getting my teeth fixed, and being slim (I don't care what people say about face V arse).

I think face v arse stems from a belief (which I think is delusional) that wrinkles are the only thing that age you. When I compare photos, what's aged me more than anything else is the way my face has filled out.

Great thread! I'm 52 and starting the menopause. I've always been prone to redness and flushing but the hot flushes I'm getting now are def making it worse. I spent a lot of time reading the Korean skincare threads and am trying to hydrate my skin as much as possible. I would try Botox and treatment for red veins but don't have the cash right now. I'm finding my memory is failing me st times which is worrying! I'm an apple shape so put weight on on my middle, just starting the 5:2 diet to see if that helps.

Enjoying not having periods tho! 😀

my main issue was difficulty sleeping, I have now solved this..it appears I need less sleep these days, I set my alarm to get up after 6.5 hours I fall asleep quickly and sleep fairly soundly.
If I sleep for longer then I find I sleep badly the following night.

Still have hot flushes but I just shed clothing as necessary and dont really find it a problem

so very very glad to be free of periods :)

Lots of sex and/or younger lover also supposed to be efffective
I dont think I could be bothered, seriously sex used to be very high on my list of priorities but now I dont really care about it
kind of a relief really

I'm 47 and I think, perimenopausal - no periods (Mirena) so no signs there, but plenty of others

Wrinkles and sagging speeded up in last couple of years. So whilst, for a years people said I looked younger than I am, now there's no doubt I'm mid-40s. But all my friends are the same.
Huge boobs - not a bad thing, although it makes me look bigger than I am
I am thinking ahead to a time when I'll grow my hair dye out, and hairdresser has reassured me there's a way to do it without going cold turkey
I have started exercising for the first time in years, and am about to get Invisalign

I will get HRT patches if the mood swings start to overwhelm or the night sweats get worse/ I get hot flushes

Im in my late 50s so definately through the menopause. I eat heathily and do a lot of exercise so I have not put on too much weight (5 ft 6 inches and 9 stone). However the main problems is the sagging!

I feel like I live in a skin that is several inches too big and just hangs around me!

Mmm....I'm interested to know that a pp gets that "cystitis" feeling. I get this, and have a dodgy bladder. So it's vaginal atrophy then?.

bugger I've had a bit of a bladder problem (hard to empty) since my last pregnancy, but it got a lot more 'irritating' with the menopause. Probably a mixture of both!

flo I'm sure your ankles are lovely, and I doubt it's you I had in mind when imagining THAT menopausal look. .

The look I'm trying to describe is worn by many of the ladies in my choir, and I see lots of it in my home city, mainly in the summer. It involves strappy tops, or t shirts, and a particular kind of saggy, baggy cropped trouser, together with sandals encasing buniony, corny, unloved feet. It's a kind of cba look.

meri that's,interesting. I've been to the quack doc about my "irritable" bladder and told it has nothing to do with the menopause. I'm convinced it is!

Definitely needing to pee more!

Sex drive really decreased too, not sure if that's good or bad...

I'm 57.
Yes to being more jowly.
Ten pounds more than i was ten years ago.
But skin good, radiant and not too many wrinkles.
Yes to wearing more structured clothes. And I have totally gone off sugar.

Bugger my GP diagnosed a menopause-related bladder issue and said it wasn't unusual. She recommended topical oestrogen, which I am going to try (once I manage to get an appointment).

wish i could go off sugar. Really bad cravings for it when my period actually does come on. Hormonal i think. I have always loved sweet things. How on earth do you curb it? Eating fruit doesnt cut it. I just want it more.

Now 58 have only had one period in last 7 months so hopefully they will stop
Not many symptoms a couple of bouts of urine infection
Have become a total Clarins freak and most of their products work very well if on the expensive side
But my nails have never been good and have become terrible tried most stuff but nothing makes much difference so any solutions appreciated

It's the middle age spread I am having trouble with. I have always been slim verging on skinny till I reached 50. The spare tyre really ages me and makes me look dumpy. I try to concentrate on my posture when I remember as that helps.

Definitely more haggard looking overall too eg cheeks and jowls.

I'm 51 and almost over the other side. I've always been quite thin but notice that what used to look slim, now looks scrawny. Thankfully, it's certainly harder to get to scrawny nowadays.

I'm 2 years into the menopause and work very very hard to battle the creeping middle aged spread - gym every day, high protein diet, personal trainer etc, to reasonably good effect. However, there's nothing I can do about the jowls and generally sagging skin .

I have my hair cut and coloured every four weeks and try to wear well fitting but not revealing clothes as I'm in decent shape. My nails aren't bad, but they're not as good as they used to be, although that may not be anything to do with the menopause of course.

I find that being able to lift much heavier weights and endure HIIT classes much better than the gorgeous young women in my class cheers me up no end, however. At this age you have to take your pleasures where you can .

*The look I'm trying to describe is worn by many of the ladies in my choir, and I see lots of it in my home city, mainly in the summer. It involves strappy tops, or t shirts, and a particular kind of saggy, baggy cropped trouser, together with sandals encasing buniony, corny, unloved feet. It's a kind of cba look."

That's my mum and my aunt, that is! They're happy though, they go travelling together in the above garb. They've been to more countries than I have

I do share your sandal hate, bugger My feet are staying covered up until I meet the undertaker.

I'm late 50's and am fully through the menopause from 2 years ago.
I've always had very pale, freckly skin but everything was fine until about 6 months ago, when I first noticed a crepey look to my skin, mainly on my chin and neck. Its quite subtle, but it's there all the same --though i can't see it without my glasses).

I've never smoked, worn makeup or sunbathed which I believe has helped an awful lot, and I apply moisturiser several times a day as it feels as though I'm giving my skin a 'drink'. The moisturiser is a cheap coconut oil based one which I then add my choice of essential oils to.

I walk a fast 30 minute walk several times a week, and don't eat anything sugar related apart from a treat once a week if I fancy it.

As I still have dark eyebrows I colour my hair which I keep shoulder length. As for clothes I wear what I want to that day, as I spent most of my life either in uniform or restricted dress code.

To be honest, at this point in my life I now don't give a jot what others think of how I look as I'm totally comfortable with it and enjoy trying out new things.

I'm 50 and no sign of menopause, that I know of. I have aged drastically in the last year, having had a terribly emotional time last year. I was always told that I look younger, and was even told that by a lot of people on my birthday last year. You can forget that now. I look haggard and old - so depressing, and my skin is worse than its been in many a year. I've just got rid of the spots on my chin that I've suffered from for years using Neutrogena spot stress facial wash, they've now eloped to my nose! I give up!!

Want2BeMe I think stress is so, so ageing. It has been for me. Had a family get together today and everyone commented on how tired I looked. I'd done my hair/makeup and had a new frock on - money well spent, then

In the next breath they say "you do amazingly well". It IS taking its toll though. I HAVE to look at ways of stress busting; makes no difference what I slap on my face at the moment.