I am now 59 years old and most of my menopausal symptoms have either gone, are a lot milder or are medically treated, like my anxiety. This is how I personally coped with the years when the symptoms were most bothersome and my husband was out at work..
Fatigue and lack of energy - I had a cleaner every fortnight to do the heavy housework like hoovering and cleaning the bathroom and changing the bed. I also sent the heavy ironing, like my husband's work uniform, to a lady who took in ironing. Other things I did not iron if they were just things I wore round the house and did not go out in, a 'clean and crumpled' look. I also used Pledge fluffy dusters which pick up the dust instead of just spreading it around and, on the whole, I lowered my standards to what was necessary. I also resisted the pressure to cook everything from scratch and got ready prepared vegetables, especially butternut squash.
Hot Flushes/night sweats - A Magicool spray was invaluable as was a small hand held fan and layered cotton clothing, no acrylic or polyester, and a summer duvet all year round. Sleeping in the spare room if necessary with the window open or even sitting on the back doorstep in the night.
Mood swings - St John's Wort worked very well for me although I still had my jeckyll and hyde moments
Thyroid levels - having autoimmune underactive thyroid it was important that my levels were regularly monitored as menopausal hormonal fluctuations affect the thyroid levels too which can also affect the bowel function.
Weight gain - I just had to go with it as nothing I did worked. I gained about a stone and a half during peri and lost about a half over the next few years. I have now come to terms with being a bit heavier than I was pre meno as it is not a good look to be scrawny which is how my neck goes if I lose weight now. As little in the way of processed foods and sugar also helped me.
Anxiety/depression - A biggie and has needed medical intervention and counselling. Don't be afraid if the menopause brings long buried insecurities to the surface. If they are severe then there is help to be had and I am glad I asked for help. If you were emotionally stable before meno and the anxiety is hormone related then I believe HRT can help but I never went down this route. Keep talking to people and don't be ashamed to say how you are feeling and let them help if they offer to.
VA/Dryness - for me Vagifem has been excellent and also helped with urinary frequency especially at night and Systane eye drops are very good for dry eyes.
Insomnia - I don't know the answer to this one, I tried a lot of things but the only thing that helped me was a single tablet of 500mg paracetamol. I still woke up several times but at least my mind didn't churn as much and keep me awake.
I had some difficult times but I can honestly say it all seems to work itself out, gradually improving. the difficult thing is having patience as it is not a quick process for some ladies.
this is not meant to be a sermon but my own experience in the hope that something could maybe help someone who is where I was about 8/9 years ago.
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Topic: How I personally coped with the menopause (Read 9353 times)