Wrensong, if you don't mind me asking, what symptoms did you suffer with? Did they start in peri? When did you start HRT? Was it before reaching the menopause?
Hi KarineT, like many women I've had quite a range of symptoms, but I should perhaps say that as I have thyroid disease & a couple of other chronic conditions, with hindsight it seems likely these contributed to make menopause a challenge too great to expect to sail through! I'm also very skinny, with little body fat to provide the oestrone that can help keep women of a healthier weight on a more even keel. 5 years postmenopause I then had both ovaries removed, so lost overnight any residual oestrogen they were producing, together with around half, maybe more, of my testosterone (the adrenals are another source of T). Symptoms were at their worst in peri but continued to be relentless for more than a decade with no end in sight, until I finally started HRT 3 years postmenopause. The BSO then brought new consequences of increased hormone deficiency.
If you are just entering the transition, please don't be frightened by my experience - you'll know from reading the forum there's a huge variation in how menopause affects us & what happened to me is probably at the extreme end of the range. I do try to tell it like it is though, because though I came late to MM, the openness of other members helped me feel reassuringly less alone with the severity & breadth of symptoms. The awareness that some consequences of hormone deficiency may not improve without treatment & that others are lifelong, would also have helped me make more timely decisions about management. If lifestyle changes aren't enough to enable adequate QOL, then we're at least lucky there's a range of HRT preparations we can try to see whether these represent a preferable option to waiting & hoping.
Apologies - this is likely to be an epic. But you did ask!
OK, so the list as for so many women, includes frequent flushes & intense overheating (whole body) every night, with sudden waking, feeling inexplicably frightened. I never sweat, so can't cool down easily. With pre-existing pain-related insomnia, I really needed to get the nightly inferno under control. In peri pre-period I'd be so hot I'd hardly sleep at all. One of the scariest symptoms was persistent palpitations i.e. not just racing rate, but disrupted rhythm, in intermittent episodes of an hour+ 24/7, for several years. After a range of cardiac tests, ectopics were diagnosed, but not until much later did I learn that palpitations are common in menopause. An intermittent burning sensation in limbs, probably a variant of formication, sometimes with slight nausea. Episodes of dizziness with vomiting. Exacerbation of pre-existing migraine with aura. Worsening of IBS-C, shown on MRI to be due to pelvic floor dysfunction - as collagen declines with oestrogen deficiency we lose muscle tone, affecting both bladder & bowel function. Painful VA with frequent UTIs. Worsening of dry eyes & development of many floaters. Very dry skin & later dry mouth. Joint pain - shoulder & hip. Hair loss - luckily thick to start with. Fluid retention during long anovulatory cycles in peri, with very tender breasts, swollen, aching calves & abdominal bloating. Conversely, in the 10 days pre-period when all meno symptoms were worse, I'd pass vast amounts of urine, when the retained fluid would vanish, leaving alarmingly thin legs, showing muscle loss. Fasciculations all over. Crashing fatigue & poor stamina. Unintentionally lost a stone, going down to 6.5 st. Osteopenia was later diagnosed. Alarming black holes in memory - couldn't name familiar faces. Poor concentration. During peri - occasional irrational anger. Tearfulness & anxiety. I'm sure there's more, but that lot's embarrassing enough, so I'll stop there! Didn't all start at once - that was over a 15+ yr timescale & some symptoms have now resolved or eased.
To answer your other questions: yes, some of the major symptoms began suddenly, 6-7 years prior to final period. At first only in 2nd half of cycle, but over a few months, set in every day/night. I had no idea how bad menopause could be, was completely unprepared for it & couldn't believe how embarrassingly unwell I felt or that this lot could in fact just be due to menopause. The taboo around menopause made me feel guilty, misunderstood & depressed & I felt I had to make excuses to cancel appointments I wasn't up to attending. Intolerance of heat & the fear associated with being away from home with the ectopic heart issue meant holidays in the Med had to stop. Also, regretfully, had to change the way I cook, avoiding use of oven or grill. Lived in short shorts indoors year round & even cooked Christmas dinner in them! Poor stamina from chronically inadequate sleep meant I couldn't pull my weight & my partner had to take on tasks I'd always managed with ease. I was lucky he was understanding & effectively carried me for the decade pre-HRT.
I had no access to MM in peri, none of my friends had got there yet & relatives reported having "sailed though". I found the whole thing bewildering, frightening & stressful, especially as the atypical thyroid condition meant no-one was sure which symptoms were due to what, so I lost confidence in medical opinion.
2 years into peri, in desperation I had a reluctant 1-month trial of an unsuitable sequi HRT which made things even worse during the prog phase & my then GP thought a month on 1 type of HRT was enough to prove it wasn't the answer. So, largely out of fear of breast cancer, but also mindful HRT could complicate the thyroid situation & worsen migraine, I waited through a decade of this mayhem then took advice from a menopause specialist & a good endocrinologist, having previously discussed BC risk with a breast surgeon who'd treated me for a benign condition. Everyone thought HRT was the sensible choice & though it's been a bumpy ride since starting it 5 years ago, it's brought some much needed improvements. For that I'm relieved, grateful & optimistic for the future.
I hope there's something helpful in the detail & that it doesn't just make for depressing reading. I want to stress again that this probably represents the extreme end of the range & that there are many women who seem to get through the transition quicker & more easily, without feeling the need for HRT.
P.S. KarineT - you've posted again while I was writing this epic! The worst symptoms were I believe due to the erratic hormonal fluctuations we get in peri, but only starting HRT postmenopause improved things significantly. If I haven't answered some of your questions please come back to me.
Wx
Revised later for clarity.
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Topic: 3.00 a.m. or 3.00 p.m. changes/flushes anyone? (Read 1938 times)