Is this normal
I am in my eight year of menopause symptoms. I started going through the peri menopause. I wasn't on the pill, and I didn't go on HRT. Reflecting back. The first two years, it was like I went into a tunnel of just feeling awful, or anxious. I had the usual individual symptoms of hot flushes, night fevers, migraines. I realised it was awful when I started having around one or two days every four, six weeks where I felt my normal self. Felling ok, a couple of days reminded me how I used to feel and how awful I now felt most days.
A friend who had been through the menopause helped me by saying, you have two bad years then you are done. Hearing at the time this greatly help me hang on, but after two years, although it did ease off a bit, it was still awful.
The third year, I just thought i was unlucky that my menopause was taking longer. The fourth year, and fifth year, at this point I again just thought my menopause was just going to be longer, and at this point my feeling awful was not every day it was more episodes lasting a few days and were now at fairly regular times following the menusual cycle. I was keeping a diary, and now when I started feeling some weird symptom or started getting a headache, I would check the dates and it would be two weeks since the last awful time.
With every awful time of feeling awful I would attempt to cheer myself up that I must be nearer the end, that there was this unknown to me, end date, and was just stuck suffering until i made it to that end date.
This year, I think my symptoms have eased. I will every two week's get a headache, but it not as bad the migraines the first years, I will feel hormonaly yukky, but again not as awful as the first years. I will have a bad evening, bad overnight headache, feeling yukky, cannot sleep properly, but then after this awful time, the next day is like party time because i know i will feel ok for around a week and a half. I will get milder yukky feelings in the days running up to these two weekly episodes, but well this year I counted the years thus has been going on, and i realised it ha been roughly eight years.
I discovered this website about three years ago, and in the middle of the night feeling awful it has greatly helped me hang in there. Being able to read all the Menopause Matters members talk to each other.
I hadn't felt like joining in, but I had hoped that once i was through my menopause, i would like to share what i had learned, what i could have done originally to make easier for myself, but now after eight years I have completely loss my tolerance for these episodes of feeling awful. Three days ago I had a mild headache, but yukky evening, overnight and next day, but not impossible, next day fine, but as it was a mild one, i knew it wasn't the main two weekly one, and i was right. Last night a bigger headache, yukky feeling, and today i have been hoping it would be finished by this evening, and it has become a bit worse.
I just don't know if i can cope anymore without the hope of knowing it will end. I've read it can last twelve years and i couldn't do another four years of this.
I'm a bit scared of going on HRT late as maybe that could even mess up my hormones more. I've bought bio progesterone cream, which i haven't yet used. I just dont know whxat to do. I have a new GP surgery, last one closed down, and i requested a blood test, but lady doctor said they only prescribe on symptoms not blood tests, but i thought it coould be a good idea to test specifically for estrogen and progesterone levels. She would likely just prescribe HRT, she says she doesn't prescribe bio identical, but really i dont really know what i need or want.
I dont know if i need both estrogen and progesterone, or just one of them. My problem I feel is that I have completeky loss my tolerance for feeling awful, and dont know that i coukd cope with testing out things. Presently I'm thinking lentils for the estrogen and a bit of the bio cream for the progesterone.
but this might not be that effective.
Thank you for thus forum, and for reading this, if anyone could suggest anything i would be grateful.
Apologies, just did a preview and this is long, but I am feeling awful now and cannot cope with editing, but have been meaning to ask on this forum.
