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[Shazzie]

How many of us feel really heavy around our middle since menopause.

I have been doing fine but today I feel pregnant (if you know what I mean)  My boobs feel swollen and my tum looks bigger too.  Mind you, it might be the hot weather but worried it is the HRT.  I have been on Evorel 50mcgm patches for the past couple of months.  Hope this is not a side effect of the HRT.

Hope you are all doing ok.

Shazzie xx

[Limpy]

Middle - What middle?
It's all an amorphous blob.
Boobs, tum, waist and..........   

I'me bigger but I do feel better in myself, really

[Shazzie]

Hi Limpy

I know what you mean about what middle.  I had to chuckle.  But it's not funny is it?  I feel better on the HRT too but hate the huge stomach and boobs.

Thanks fr replying.

xx

[Limpy]

Hi Shazzie

I not only take HRT but Gabapentin as well.
Gabapentin has as a "very rare" side effect  "increased breast size"
Trust me, I'me now reducing the Gabapentin
But, the weight is not restricted....   

[warwick01]

Middle I have gone from a size 14 to 18 in 2 years........can't shift it......grr

But to be honest this journey has been a bloody nightmare.I really would be happy to continue as an 18 if I felt well, unfortunately I just haven't got it quite right...........

Just joined a gym so fingers crossed, I would like to lose a stone for September.

W

[nelliedee]

I am not on hrt and my middle has changed this year. I currently look 4-5 mths pregnant so I would say its just a stage of meno that we all must face  I have bought some exercise equipt but have yet to use it 

[tiger74]

Does anyone know what causes this 'redistribution' of weight around the middle? 

Just curious, as I notice this in many of my contemporaries.  I've had all sorts of hormonal onslaughts over the past few years and am now effectively an "oestrogen-free zone".  However, I have been the same weight for many years and the distribution of this hasn't changed either.  Still have small waist for which I'm thankful.

[Joyce]

I've got a spare tyre too. Not fair is it!? No matter what weight I've lost, it's still there. Mind you mine isn't helped by my hernia, but still. My grandmother always said we put on weight in middle age so we have reserves for future ill health. 

[Shazzie]

Horrible isn't it?

I too take Gabapentin Limpy for nerve pain down to my MS.  It also gives me bad wind.  How attractive!!

Thanks all for replying.  I feel better now that it is not just me walking round feeling like a blob.

xx

[Galadriel]

Hi Shazzie - I've always carried any excess weight around my stomach... I could do with it migrating to my butt! Even when I was below my WeightWatchers target weight I still had a spare tyre 

I take statins due to a genetic fault which means I manufacture more cholesterol than I need... it too gives me epic wind on a morning 

[Hurdity]

Here is the info on this site about weight gain and distribution:
http://www.menopausematters.co.uk/weightgain.php

It is thought to be reduced oestrogen which causes the re-distribution - because this is the hormone which gives us our female shape and makes us attractive to men! Taking HRT sometimes can reverse this a little but external HRT is no substitute for the real thing and often the progestogens anyway cause bloating which counteracts the benefits of the oestrogen on our shape. Also the oestrogen dose isn't anywhere near as high as we experience during our fertile years.

The best we can do - whether or not we take HRT, is keep our overall weight down and do lots of exercise - inlcuding those to pull our stomach and waist in, hold yourself upright, keep your chest high - and make the most of what you've got. I don't have much of a waist (it's only 6" smaller than my hips!!) but I try to give the illusion of slimness through the above, and posture etc!

Hurdity x

[Limpy]

I too take Gabapentin Limpy for nerve pain down to my MS. 

Shazzie -That's exactly why I take Gabapentin!

I am currently reducing the dose, was on 900mg a day, went down to 500 now trying 400.
It's trying to get the balance between pain and "blob" control.

Spoke to GP with a brain, who pointed out that both Gabapentin and the Oestrogen in HRT cause us to feel better in ourselves and hence increase appetite. A double whamwy really. It's true I have been eating more, not much but enough to develop the fetching blimp shape. 

[dulciana]

From today, I've cut out potatoes from my evening meal.  They've have been making me feel hot, heavy and overstuffed if I eat them in the evening.   We've just eaten tea and for a change, I don't feel blown up around the middle.   My clothes size has gone up too (I've never had a weight problem before) but I'm convinced my slowing metabolism hasn't been coping with the starchiness of potatoes, especially at that time of day.  If I have them at lunch, I can use the calories up as energy and they don't seem to sit around my middle.   I've often wondered how French women manage to be and to keep so slim - from my experience of staying with French people, they don't automatically add potatoes to every evening meal.  That has to help with the meno, and with adult weight generally.    I will experiment!

[ariadne]

Oh me too. In fact I have a doctors appointment booked because I was certain that there had to be some sinister reason for my gross belly. However, I've managed to lose a few pounds since I made the appointment (just shows how long I had to wait to get an appointment ) and although its not much, it has made me feel much more comfortable.  I'm going to cancel the appointment now and try to lose a bit more

I've been feeling so very uncomfortable in all my clothes and sitting down all day at work in over tight waistbands has made me thoroughly miserable. I've felt quite disgusted with my shape and had convinced myself that no normal woman of my age has a stomach that looks as big as mine.

I find myself comparing stomachs when I'm out shopping! If I see someone my age with a nice flat stomach I feel so cross and then when I see someone else with a bit of a belly I feel somewhat comforted. Isnt that silly 

Thing is, the rest of me is slim and I'm not overweight. But I have to lose some weight if I'm to reduce the belly size.

I swapped my porridge breakfast for boiled egg, stopped having sugar in my tea, swapped my sandwich and crisp lunch for tuna salad and have just generally tried to put less on my plate. But its a struggle I have to say and I find it hard to resist when someone offers cake or sweets at work but resist I have.

Ariadne xx

[Ju Ju]

Well done! Yes, I too was slim, but my tummy was about the same measurement as my hips, yet my weight was ideal for my height on paper. I was warned I was insulin resistant and just as much in danger of becoming diabetic as someone more obviously obese. As I have a very strong family history of type 2 diabetes, I took notice. I have followed a low carb diet and cut out sugar as much as possible, apart from some naughty moments. I rapidly lost a stone, feel much better, look better. The bottom half of me has gone down a size , but my top half remains the same. Not much I can do about my boobs! Lovely discovering clothes that were too tight now fit and I had a great excuse to buy new trousers.