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[tp]

Morning...I just joined as a friend recommended I take a look. Always had problems with periods & took years to find a contraceptive pill i could get on with. Was told, after many investigations, that at 32 (now almost 48) I was perimenapausal. 3 years ago tests revealed I was menopausal & a few weeks ago bloods showed I've come through the other side. Though I count myself very lucky, the current symptoms are distressing me a great deal. I'm usually quite an outgoing, energetic person but for the past few months I haven't felt myself at all...the night sweats mean I sleep very little, I'm constantly exhausted, emotional, paranoid, irritable, miserable & just wanna hide away from the world! I'm also in agony with pain in one hip.Having remarried last year, this should be such a happy time for me but all this is making it feel so very different 

[TropicalVon69]

Hi Tp.....I am still peri and have just started hrt.....different situation from you but just wanted you to know most of us have felt or feel this way too....so bloody frustrating.....hope you find something to help you to feeling better xxx

[Claireylou]

 

[tp]

Thanks for the reply TropicalVon69...my GP considers it pointless me going on HRT since I'm this far through it & I kind of agree...just would like to get some help with the pain. It is nice to know I'm not alone but I wish you & all the other ladies here all the best coping with your symptoms x

[Annie0710]

Hi, and welcome

And there was me yesterday trying to find out how women feel physically and emotionally post meno, I had a hysterectomy many moons ago aged 32, I'm now 48, so don't have periods to go by.

There are some very knowledgeable women on here that give good advice.

I feel my partner of 5 years must be feeling a bit short changed, he only had the best of me for the first 2, poor bloke
Xx

[tp]

Hi Annie0710...I know that feeling very well...my hubby's 7 yrs younger than me & we've been together around 18 mths, poor sod couldn't keep up with my constant running around & now he has to put up with my constant whinging instead lol x

[Taz2]

Hi tp. Welcome to the forum.

I'm sorry to say that your GP is wrong to tell you, at such a young age, that it is pointless for you to start HRT. Lots of us don't begin it until we are post meno (periods stopped for at least a year) because this is when the real symptoms such as night and day sweats, vaginal dryness, joint aches and pains, sleeplessness (endless list so it seems!) really begin to kick in. Oestrogen levels gradually drop the further post meno you become and symptoms can increase.

In my own case I found that only HRT helped me cope and I understand that you might not wish to use it but in my experience it is a case of weighing up your quality of life against whatever reason you may have for wanting to avoid it. It sounds as if you are feeling pretty  miserable at the minute. There is loads of info on here about HRT risks and benefits - either in the drop down menu or from our posts - and you are still a young woman in menopausal terms. Did your doc diagnose that you are "through it" by a blood test by the way and when was your last period?

You'll find lots of help and friendship on here.

Taz x 

[tp]

Hi Taz2...I had my last period 3 months ago & yes, it was a blood count that revealed I am now post menopausal...I'm loath to go on HRT as I don't actually like using medicines if I dont have to...having said that I've returned to the surgery today for some anti inflammatorys for my hip pain. I have a 7 mth old pup that needs his exercise & obviously being able to get out & about with him should do me the world of good too x

[caz24]

Hi tp

I don't know an awful lot about this but thought that I would mention that I saw my gynae this week and she said that blood tests are unreliable (I've seen that said so many times on this site) and she also said that if you haven't had a period for 6-8 months that it is likely that you are post-menopausal but I think that the 'official' guidelines are longer than that. I was told that in peri it's not unusual for periods to stop and start. I was having terrible trouble with my periods last year and then nothing for the last 3 months. I'm 48 and not on HRT. When my partner of 7 years read the 'advice to husbands' post he said that he thinks I've been going through peri for at least the last 2 years but neither of us realised. Got to feel sorry for them haven't you? And ourselves of course 
I've got pain in my right hip but put that down to getting older and hours spent at the gym trying to help myself feel better and not so old! Sadly can also associate with the other symptoms that you've mentioned and share your reluctance to take medicines.
There are other ladies on here who are very knowledgable and I'm sure that you'll  get all the info that you need x

[Dancinggirl]

Hi and welcome tp
I agree with the others who have said your GP is wrong about HRT.  You are still young and some HRt preparations are bio identical these days - so are like the hormones we produce naturally. I don't think of HRT as a medication but simply something replacing what my body is missing.
The hormones in HRt are different to those in contraceptive pills.  You could try Femoston Sequi 1/10 which is almost bio identical (this suits lots of women because the progesterone is kinder) or you could try some Oestrogel or patch with Utrogestan which is the most natural form of HRT  - if you don't like it you can simply stop - nothing ventured, nothing gained.  You are very young to have this reduced quality of life and recent findings from American show that the average time for symptoms to last in 7 years!!!!
Do read up all the stuff on this site - there's some great info that is very reassuring. DG x

[Taz2]

Hi Taz2...I had my last period 3 months ago & yes, it was a blood count that revealed I am now post menopausal...I'm loath to go on HRT as I don't actually like using medicines if I dont have to...having said that I've returned to the surgery today for some anti inflammatorys for my hip pain. I have a 7 mth old pup that needs his exercise & obviously being able to get out & about with him should do me the world of good too x

You do have to have gone a year without a period to be classed as post-meno tp. Quite a few of us have been given a post diagnosis by our GP before we were actually there. I was told that I'd never have another period due to  my high FSH but after an eight month break went on to have many more before going onto HRT at age 54. It's important to continue using contraception (if needed) until you have had at least a year without a period to! Quite a few women get caught out by this.

Taz x 

[tp]

I'm praying this IS the end of the periods to be honest, the only positive thing to have come out of the past few weeks lol. I was sterilised 8 yrs ago so pregnancy not an issue, thank god! x

[Taz2]

That's ok then - though I'd better mention it!! 

It is common to go for months between periods and then for them to start up again. Mine went from every thirty days to once every four months or so and then every two weeks for a while which was a pain. I got to nine months without periods twice before they started up again. So tiresome to have to start that "a year without" counting again! Here's fingers crossed that yours are at an end although it is good to hang on to them as long as you can because for some women it's after periods stop and oestrogen levels drop further that meno symptoms can kick in. Sounds daft I know to want to hang on to periods!

Taz x

[tp]

Thank you, that is interesting info to have as I had no idea that periods can resume after so many months absence...I've had probs with mine on & off for years & it got to the point that I had no idea when to expect them or how heavy/light they'd be.

Feel a bit more human this weekend as the painkillers seem to be working their magic but the night sweats are as frequent as ever. I was given medication to help with those too a couple of weeks ago but ended up having anxiety attacks on top of everything else so came off them! Doc & I have agreed to give the anti depressants a misd as, as miserable as I feel, this IS the natural cycle of life & I think if I can just keep active, i'll find my way through it.

Hope all you lovely ladies are finding a reason to be cheerful x

[Dancinggirl]

tp and carol24
You are both very young to be oestrogen deficient so if your symptoms are reducing your quality of life and you want to protect your heart and bones, a few years of HRT is well worth considering.
I took myself off HRT at the age of 49 (I had been taking it for over 12 years due to premature meno) believing I would just put up with one to two years of symptoms and then be OK but over 3 years later I was at the end of my tether and went back on HRT - I now feel I lost 3 years of my life trying to cope with menopause symptoms and I think I was hell to live with during this time as well. 
Using HRT is a personal choice and it won't suit everyone but it does help many of us and the risks are now known to be very, very small, at least until we reach 60, and even into our 60s the benefits can outweigh the risks.  Many of us have to continue to work and have very busy lives - lack of sleep, aching joints, flushes, anxiety etc. make it very difficult to cope.  If you have the time and resources to get more exercise and rest and adjust your lives to all the menopause can throw at us then that is great. We all experience the menopause differently and you may be lucky and find your symptoms subside over the next 2-3 years.  I do hope you both find a good way forward.   DG x