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?

[buggerthebotox]

Woops!! Brain fail! One of these....

[ihatethecold]

that looks obscene!!

[missmartha]

What is it?

[buggerthebotox]

It's a mouth exercised. It looks like ginormous lips

[Floisme]

Can I use chocolate instead?

[Anycakeisgoodcake]

Like a lot of other people I found the emotional side was harder to deal with, I've been on Elleste Duet for 12 months as well and it's been amazing for me. I know there's risks associated with HRT but balanced against not being able to function, the memory fades and the hot flushes in ONE BUM CHEEK (What the heck is that about??) I decided it was the way forward for me.

I like a good serum for my face though and once I got into the routine of hot cloth cleansing, serum, facial oil and moisturiser that made a massive difference - seems to have helped the eye bags as well.

[Bahhhhhumbug]

Sorry the weights help the Jowl area by just doing normal arm or chest exercises with them (above your head or out in front of chest and so on) You can feel your neck tightening as you lift them and if you do too many you get a stiff neck so obviously that is one of the areas that's being worked. A male body builder always has a built up neck so done on a lesser scale weights do help tone a woman's neck. Or using a chest press in the gym or any weight resistance exercises using your arms really .

[GloriaV]

Eva Fraser has an exercise for jowls which involves pushing the tip of your tongue back under to feel the frenulum (or similar word for length of skin holding your tongue on). Or the lion pose in yoga where you stick out your tongue as hard as you can. I do think they work.

[Mamia15]

I suffered from poor sleep as well as other peri menopausal symptons - going on HRT patches made me realise just how many of my woes were down to the menopause e.g aching arms and dodgy bladder.

As soon as I starting using the patches, I slept well and I feel and look a lot better as a result. I even look forward to going to bed...

[ihatethecold]

I did another pregnancy test this morning.
It feels so odd not having a period.
I'm now 15 days late.

I have no pregnancy symptoms but I had to reassure myself.

[buggerthebotox]

I have another device - Oralift - which holds your mouth in that position, gloria.

The Massive Lips exerciser upthread does the same.

[poppym12]

I'm struggling with various things at the moment (I'm 48). Weight gain, mood swings, aching joints, broken or lack of sleep but the worst for me is hair loss. It began about 4 years ago. I've visited gp, dermatologist and trichologist. The gp and trichologist said my problem was probably due to low ferritin. I've been taking prescribed supplements for over 3 years and my level when last checked was 80 something so should be enough to trigger hair growth. It hasn't so I think the problem is fpb.

Has anyone had any success with hrt helping with hairloss? Or something else? I'm reluctant to begin minoxidil.

[Wtfdoicare]

Poppy, I've had the same problem for the last few years, although my hair loss is not menopause related as I'm 41. I did use minoxidil for 3 years but didn't notice any benefits. I was diagnosed with fpb by a dermatologist. I have since given up on minoxidil as my hair seems slightly better now (touch wood). I use the hemp oil range of shampoo and there is also a hair and scalp mousse from Holland and Barrett and try to keep healthy and stress free otherwise. I sympathise, I was out of my mind with worry about it 4 years ago when it was at its worst.

[JaneJeffer]

poppy you could try a folic acid supplement, it's supposed to help and maybe massage castor oil onto your scalp. I lose a lot of hair but it does grow back it just means I always have that baby hair at the front.

[Anycakeisgoodcake]

Sage was really helpful for hot flushes , night sweats and restless nights for me. I get the tablets from H&B

They work when you take them if you see what I mean, you don't have to build them up.

[MaQueen]

"I take HRT Ellest Combo, I think. Take every day... no periods."

Eleanor if you take a combi HRT, like Elleste then you won't have a bleed because you are taking a mix of oestrogen and progesterone every day. So, the daily progesterone will keep your womb lining permanently thin enough that it won't need to shed.

But, if you take a sequential type of HRT (like me) where you only take progesterone for a set period of time each month, then your womb lining will thicken a bit, an stopping the progesterone will cause a bleed.

[MaQueen]

"Isn't shedding womb lining the same as a period though?"

Jane yes, but the shedding of the womb lining is being artificially induced by the HRT, rather than your own hormones.

[poppym12]

I'll have a look for those wtf, thank you. Is the hemp shampoo from h & b too?

I do take a vit B complex that the trichologist recommend jane and i've added extra biotin and l-lysine to the combo but still it keeps getting thinner.

[Anycakeisgoodcake]

I still have periods on Elleste as well.

I assumed it was because for the first half of the month you take oestrogen and the second half you take progesterone so it replaces the hormones your would normally have.

I was never told they might stop. Maybe I've got duff info though?

[MaQueen]

I think Elleste comes in both combi and sequi preparations? So it depends what type you're on?

[JaneJeffer]

I don't know whether I should be on HRT or not. I could never get on with progesterone so that puts me off. My hot flushes seem to have eased off a lot now but they always are worse in winter for some reason.

[Anycakeisgoodcake]

Ahh yes, you're right MaQueen, my mistake and my apologies:

Elleste solo is oestrogen only. I take the duet which is oesrogen first, then the progesterone for the second half. Fascinating stuff though I never realised there were the two types.

[MaQueen]

Jane I sympathise, as I'm very intolerant to any progesterone, even my own. However, you can take Utrogestan which is a micronised progesterone and is the closest match to our own progesterone. I seem able to take this with little effect, thank goodness. Also, Utrogestan doesn't carry the same health concerns as older 1st and 2nd generation progestones.

Also, if you are under the care of a consultant (I am) you can get away with only taking a minimal amount of it (100mg) for just 7 days a month - as opposed to taking 200mg for 12 days per month (which is how it's commonly prescribed).

[MaQueen]

Yes, Elleste Solo is usually given to women with no uterus, hence no need for any progesterone.

Unfortunately, I now know far more about HRT and the menopause than I ever expected to know. Worryingly, so many GPs are very uninformed about HRT/menopause and their knowledge is 20 years out of date. It was only through my own research, then seeing a specialist consultant that I managed to properly educate myself.

[Anycakeisgoodcake]

Goodness me Maqueen, sounds like you've had a really rough ride you poor thing.

I would get quite stuck if my wasn't so straightforward and I didn't have the world's kindest GP, I'm afraid I'm really not that good at things like research and I wouldn't even know where to start.