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[Thumper]

Hi all,

I'm Thumper, 44 and live in South Wales.

Wow where do I start. I've been a lurker on here for several years, I consulted Dr Google and found this forum came up when I was punching in all my symptoms. I'll do a quick run through...

Started in 2021 after my first covid infection and got worse after another covid bout. I ended up being diagnosed with Long covid but I have M.E anyway (since my mid 20s) and it just didn't seem to fit at all.

Very slow digestive system. I've ended up in A&E twice convinced it was appendicitis but bloods said nope. I've always been a slim size 10, I am now a size 16 with a belly that's rock hard and looking like I'm in my 3rd trimester. It never goes away even if I fast for days. Doctor won't do anything more for this, says it's IBS and follow low fodmap diet.

I've never had any allergies my entire life and all of a sudden I now have a lot.

Crushing fatigue. Wow. This is the worst. I have had to dramatically reduce my work. I now work 5 hours a day 4 days a week. When I get home I collapse in a heap and fall into an uncontrollable deep sleep for hours. Getting up in the morning, my body is dead, I feel like I need a forklift to get me up.

Exercise, I used to love hiking, I can barely do a few hundred meters now and my muscles are cramped and on fire.

Power surges as I call them. I wake up every morning in a soaking sweat with massive anxiety, heart rate is well over 140, takes me several hours to regulate my heart rate and temperature. Speaking of temperature I'm always hot, always running at 37-38° but doctors say no infection. I was always a cold person before, temp was always 36° and even during exercise I wasn't a sweaty person, I'm now a mess.

Moods. Some days I cry a lot because I love my partner so much and can't imagine life without him, other days I write down everything I hate about him and sit there in a murderous rage until he comes home from work.

Also mood. I was always a very organised and tidy person. I now have no motivation to do anything. The house is a mess, I haven't done any laundry in weeks, my car resembles the local refuse site and I have lost all interest in every hobby I have. I don't even want to go on holiday, I just want to crawl into a cave and sleep for a week.

Hormones. I've been on the mini-pill with no break for 10 years so I don't have any periods and cannot track them. I came off the pill earlier this year and developed ovarian cysts so went back on it again.

I've seen 3 different GPs at my surgery, they all say the same, I have generalised anxiety and IBS. They've put me on Omeprazole and Fluoxetine. I'm no better at all and it's been close to a year now.

I have a GP appointment next Wednesday and I'd really like some advice on what tests I could ask for. How can I rule out other illnesses, I find myself worrying things are being missed? How do you go about diagnosing peri-menopause, can you? Any other advice please? I cannot continue to be left in this state, it doesn't seem right at all, my quality of life is bleurgh and I am in real danger of losing my job because despite cutting days and hours I just cannot keep this up anymore, I feel like a corpse!

Thank you so much 🤗 💕

[Minusminnie]

Is your GP appointment a review of the medication that you have been on for a year ?

Others can advise better than me but i would be looking for a change if this is not working for you.

I would also be asking for ovarian cyst possibility to be considered again as that can cause bloating.

[CLKD]

Your GPs seem to be negligent in discussing your symptoms in a wider possibility than IBS!

   from reading here for many years it would appear that NHS Services in Wales are even more dire than elsewhere!

I would be asking for a referral to a dedicated menopause Clinic even if it means travelling over the Border.  Have a lookC at the Welsh Hospital websites to find out which services are offered overall, sometimes menopause clinics are 'hidden' ! 

Is there a Nurse Practitioner with more knowledge than the GPs seem to have?  Often GPs read notes and hinge on a symptom/diagnosis without exploring holistically.  Bloatedness in women should always be referred to as Gynae.  Menopause would be over seen by a medic who knows about how hormonal upheaval affects girls/women.

Personally I've had slow transit for years which causes intense bloating which is soft ..... but very uncomfortable and causes nausea  .  I've had to alter my diet in recent years, that's a whole other story!

I suppose that the blood tests in A&E checked for infection markers.  My appendix was removed at the 'wrong' age in that I was tooled.  Apparently.

Who oversees your ME?  Women may become sensitive to food stuffs, alcohol  and bath products as we age.  Crushing fatigue is common. It may be time to overhaul your whole diet ..... cutting out processed foods: scones, croissants, anything with fats/hidden sugars,pizza: has helped my gut enormously, it's taken 5 years thus far  and I feel so much better.

The waking hormone: cortisol : caused me to wake.  Terrified.  My GP prescribed Propranolol which really helped.

[CLKD]

How is your partner coping, would he attend your GP Appt.?  Do be aware that GPs often won't consider peri unless we are period free and having continual hot flushes - which is why MM is helpful by reading experiences.

Peri-menopause: those years - 10 or more - prior to the last period = menopause.  Though Mother Nature may throw in a curved ball/unexpected bleed which should be investigated as the ovaries don't always shut off completely.  Peri throws up all kinds of weird and not so wonderful symptoms: nausea++ - I knew where every waste bin was in every shop that I used regularly.  Sadness.  Intense worry.  Anxiety - I was housebound for 3-4 months in the 1990s which co-incided with the nausea.  Never associated it with menopause!

It does get better especially when we find a GP with knowledge!

Oh and do be aware of vaginal atrophy: 4warned is 4armed.  As oestrogen levels drop the body may become dry: inside and out.  VA presents like repeated urinary infection-type symptoms as bladder and vagina, vulva are all interconnected by hormone changes. 

Let us know how you get on.

[bombsh3ll]

You are by definition more likely perimenopausal than not at 44.

However this doesn't mean that a) you have to just put up with symptoms or b) severe or atypical symptoms should go uninvestigated.

The first priority with the abdominal distension is that you have had a pelvic ultrasound plus a ca125 blood test.

At the same time I would start estrogen replacement with appropriate endometrial protection right away via your GP. This could significantly help you feel better.

However with your complex medical history including M.E, if at all possible I would try and see someone like Dr Louise Newson's clinic or Dr Zoe Hudson, as androgen replacement can also be a real game changer for neurocognitive symptoms.

The added benefit of seeing a specialist is that your estrogen dose can also be optimised - frequently women who rely solely on the NHS, if they are lucky enough to be treated at all, receive very low doses.