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 spoke to a work friend about it the first time as I was starting to panic when the industrial sized tampons were only lasting an hour or so. Oh, yes that's a thing, she said, but for some reason no-one talks about it until it happens.
I'm now evangelical to younger woman so they know peri is a thing, that it'll start to happen much earlier than they expect and to tell them to talk to their mums about their own menopause experience. God I'm fun at parties! 😂

i think this is a common conception - a year after periods and all sorted. The issue is that oestrogen etc continues to decline so symptoms might still happen.

we really have been told a bunch of crap

the word menopause is rubbish too - it’s not a pause at all

Yes me. 15 years on and I'm still waiting for the symptoms to kick in. Guess I've just been lucky.

Please give me some recommendations for my thinning hair... Have tried hair gummies...no effect... Rene fuerter oil and hair loss treatment... Helped a bit. Now my hair is OK for 1/2 a day then limp and lifeless. Help!

I have just gone past the 12 month mark, my physical symptoms so far have not been too bad, a few hot flushes at night but nothing debilitating, I’m generally warmer as a default now where as before I was always cold, I’ve put on a bit of weight but I’m partly to blame as I haven’t been exercising as much or been as careful with my diet, I used to have a will of iron, exercised so much Jane Fonda would have looked like an amateur compared to me, but since this peri and menopause crap kicked in I just feel……nothing! No enthusiasm, no excitement, no drive to get off my arse and go running, and definitely no sex drive whatsoever, even seeing people snog on the tv makes me want to hurl. I hate this flat feeling, if I had a winning lottery ticket I don’t think I could be arsed to make the call to claim my winnings, and then there is the anxiety that creeps in, the feeling of impending doom, like a previous person said I don’t recognise myself either I’m certainly not the woman I used to be. On the style and beauty front I’m going to save up for a mini lower face lift, my neck and jowls depress the shit out of me.

Nobody told me I'd turn into Godzilla 😂

When are you considered post menopausal?

Post meno isn’t a very helpful term. Oestrogen naturally declines over our lifetimes, periods stopping is part of that. It continues to decline which we can see in skin, hair etc It also impacts on bone, heart and brain health but we might not realise that til later in life.

women have been defined by their fertility hence the meno terms but the body is actually constantly changing iyswim

So there is no magic date when phew all done - changes are still happening. Which is why some women consider hrt or whatever much later in life too

and the GP's are useless
Some may be.
Not all!
I think that's an unfair sweeping statement.
Me and my friends have in different areas with different Gps and had great support.

Re: dropping hair, I've found Waterman's Grow Me good. I have testosterone gel as part of my HRT, which adds to the male pattern baldness fun, and the Grow Me has an androgen blocker. It also makes my hair softer and less frizzy. You do need to use it nearly every day, tho, and leave it foaming on your head for a few minutes. I'm also trying The Ordinary peptide serum to try and persuade a bit of new growth, but it's too early to see if it's having an impact.

Has anyone had good results with supplements? Biotin doesn't seem to be doing anything, and I really didn't like collagen drinks / tablets. 🤢

I've had problems with my eyes for many years after an accident with a strong light source flashing unexpectedly so not menopause linked. The Consultant at local hospital told me fish oils good, flax seed oil better so I changed. I think they improved my skin as well.

Bit off topic, just thought I'd share.

I have always had fine hair, useless for any style but DH says it is lovely and soft to run your hands through so always a positive. I was a bit worried about my hair thinning when I was seriously ill a few years ago. I've found Nioxin very good and my hair seems stronger and thicker than it used to be. They do different formulas accord to hair type, if it's coloured etc.

The only warning is initially it made my hair very dry (I used a Philip Kingsley mask to help with that.)

I hate the hairs on my legs. I don't think they are going to disappear anytime soon. Menopause 20 years ago so I think that is going to change.

I seem to remember kelp is good for hair issues.

Interesting about oils, I wil start taking some, makes sense.

I find the collagen capsules good for helping with hair loss, another addition to my multiple supplements! I have just started on plant sterols to help lower my cholesterol and find them horrific to swallow.

I've started doing a Greek yogurt hair and scalp mask a couple of times a week which seems to be really good for my dry hair (if you can stomach the yogurt smell while it's on!). I only leave it on for five to ten minutes after massaging it through, then shampoo and condition as usual so there's no residual yogurt smell. Has made a huge reduction in the dryness/frizziness.

For those over 50 - It is when you haven’t had a period for a whole year and for those under 50, two years. The distinction is important, and with regards to the latter, this is why those under 50 are encouraged to use contraception just in case a surprise baby is conceived due to irregular periods/perimenopause.