Why doesn't anyone tell you Menopause isn't really about lack of periods

[MrsPelligrinoPetrichor]

...and EVERYTHING about how-

• make up you have been wearing for years suddenly looks shit

• Hair that has been behaving itself quite nicely with certain products nit require completely different products but you are yet to find them!

• Skin seems to be a completely different colour now and requires new products

• See above for hair colour

• Watery eyes that the optician says is normal and common in women over 50

• Glasses for reading !

Omg no wonder they call it the change ,everything flipping changes!

I've got watery eyes but I'm petrified of eye drops.

I don't have flushes or severe sweats at night but my body seems to excrete fluids, probably from the large boobs I've developed. My white bed sheet looks like the Turin Shroud in the morning.

There is something called Clinitas which is a tube of liquidy cream that is much better than drops imo. You can squeeze it on your finger or in the corner of your eye and get it in that way. SO much cheaper than drops and works better.

I bet your mum mentioned it in a subtle way but we all tend to be pretty dismissive of our parents when we are robust in youth.

[quote PandoraP]@MareofBeasttown, does Retin A really help with sagging?[/quote]
I know you're not asking me, but not in my experience no. It's fantastic for texture, smoothing out the dry little wrinkles and giving a glow, but no topical cream helps sagging imho. I've had some success with a home laser tightening gadget. I've also had pdo threads in the past, which were great but temporary, and a little targeted filler for lift gives subtle improvement.

I’ve not slept a solid night through in years.
My waist vanished a long while ago.
My eyes water every evening.
I’m permanently hot.
I’ve developed jowls and my eyebrows have gone awol.

But I’m ok. I wake up every morning, that’s more than some of my old school friends.

The menopause sucks, but there’s no point complaining.

[quote WhereAreWeNow]@JaneJeffer this is so true
I used to have having wide hips but now I can definitely see the benefits![/quote]
Same. I was an extreme pear when younger, 15 inches between waist and hip, and small bust. Menopause has redistributed things nicely so the difference is down to 13 inches now and my bust has filled out too, so overall I have a much nicer shape now.

But I’m ok. I wake up every morning, that’s more than some of my old school friends

Very true, just lost my third friend to cancer but I quite like a moan, it's therapeutic!

So pleased to have read this thread! I'm 44 and for the last 3 months I've woken up with really watery gluey eyes which I initially put down to hay fever or a change of skincare products but now, along with other symptoms I'm wondering if I'm peri menopausal? Whilst my periods are still fairly normal I've noticed my hormone levels are really affecting me throughout my cycle. I've never suffered with pmt but now I'm conscious of real mood swings and, even worse than that, terrible anxiety and feeling low and worthless. It's a terrible feeling but it's temporary and I notice it affects me at the same point in my cycle and then I'm okay again. Anyone else have similar feelings?

@5128gap, thanks for replying. I thought it would be too good to be true

Maybe I am imagining that Retin A helps my saggy skin. It is clinically proven to help with wrinkles though.

@juicy0 I have similar feelings to you, often. The anxiety is intense sometimes. Please see your GP ( or maybe even a specialist).

I'm nearly 46 and have been taking the mini-pill desogestrel for five years- haven't had any particular menopausal symptoms other that lack of periods (and this pill stops them anyway) and have actually managed to lose a bit of weight this year that I've been trying to lose since my early 30s. My mum didn't go through menopause until her early 50s though, so it may just be a matter of time, or perhaps I won't notice anything while I'm taking this pill, which I'm allowed to for another ten years.

Ugh this is me

Vagina atrophy. Come on, don't be shy ...

I seem to be fading away, my eyebrows, hairline, even my lipline is going. I now know why so many older female celebs have full or side fringes. It's to cover up the receding hairline at the temples. I look like a different person if I pull all my hair back into a ponytail.

@MareofBeasttown do you think it's linked to hormone levels? I'm worried if I see my gp they won't be interested in talking about the cause and will want me to go on anti depressants rather than have me undergo tests. My mum had a hysterectomy in her late 30's so I have no comparison

Don’t forget gums! I never had issues with inflamed gums before the dreaded M. The dentist says it’s hormones (lack of oestrogen) surprise, surprise.

@Amortentia I have noticed my temple hair is very sparse and a bit baldy in places. Hairdresser says it’s very common in women ‘of a certain age’. Great isn’t it?

I would say that lack of periods is the biggest and best part of the menopause. I wouldn't want to go back to all that for anything.

@JaneJeffer I've the opposite issue, large boobs are now balancing out the ever thickening waist!

Always had bad eyesight, ageing is exacerbating it as I've now started to struggle between reading close up and distance - there's a noticeable time lag whilst my eyes adjust from phone screen to TV screen (should just avoid all the screens probably...)

I've been hot for over a year at this point, not flushes, just running permanently warmer than I used to - didn't even need a winter coat last year and my cardigans & jackets have sat unused all spring/summer.

Everything is heading south, but that was post-pregnancy really. And I've always been rubbish at losing weight, I'm a stone heavier than in my 20s and I'm wondering if I'll ever lose this stone or resign myself to being this shape - in which case I'll need to have my wedding ring resized, that's a big step for me mentally

I think back to my mother's shape and size when she was this age (late 40s) and realise I'm practically the same shape and I'm heading to buying similar clothes too :/

Kids are afraid of my mood swings, husband says I've got menopause brain fog. Thank fuck I'm already on prozac, fuck knows how bad my moods would be without it!

@Plumtree391

I would say that lack of periods is the biggest and best part of the menopause. I wouldn't want to go back to all that for anything.

Amen to that.

@MareofBeasttown

So jealous of you all with the slim waists. I used to have a 26 inch waist before peri. Now it's 29 on a good day. There is a lot of useful info on the Menopause forum about HRT. Unfortunately my GP has recommended not taking it for me.

Swap you for my 44.

Down from 56 in the last three months, mind, but I'd rather have one in a healthy range as opposed to one currently seven sizes larger than the rest of me and has been since a bodged section with adhesions and apparently, undiagnosed coeliac.

Thing is, the flushes and all that don't last forever and people generally feel a lot better when the peri-menopause is over. It's important to keep yourself fit and well.

Huh?

You literally can’t open a paper or indeed go on the internet without seeing an article about how the menopause is so much more than no period
It’s everywhere

It is more than 'no period', but the cessation of periods is surely the most significant change.

"It is more than 'no period', but the cessation of periods is surely the most significant change*

Very weird feeling!