Menopause Matters Forum
Menopause Discussion => All things menopause => Topic started by: sammy on April 21, 2015, 12:09:18 AM
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What is getting me is how women are not even slightly informed as to what they may experience in menopause. I consider myself well read, informed and capable. When hot flashes first came, I was nonchalant. "Menopause", i thought, and figured all was fine.
But when the bad stuff came, insomnia, the palpitations, the racing heart rate, the anxiety that caused me to tremble in fear in my bed, shaking so hard my muscles hurt the next day......this scared me darned near to death. Because I had no idea what was happening.
My doctor offered Ativan and therapy. I tried HRT. Things were up and down. It was not until I found this site, where I read posts aloud to my husband and said, "look, this is exactly what has happend to me!" That i realized what was happening. I was not crazy, I was not becoming demented, I did not have heart disease or cancer. I had menopause, and a rather bad case.
So THANK YOU ladies, who bravely posted your symptoms and struggles. Thank you far helping me realize what was happening.
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I always saw menopause as first tapering off of periods, hot flushes and being argumentative
Having had a hysterectomy years ago with no hot flushes and not arguing with random people I thought I had early onset of dementia and that they hadn't found a terminal illness
I was embarrassed being mid 40s , female and not a clue
I've calmed right down since joining here knowing I'm not going doo lally
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A bit like childbirth don't you think. No one told you just how much that would hurt ::)
It's not even that the medical profession doesn't tell us, most other women are very quiet about it too.
Honeyb
x
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At least during childbirth we have medical professionals taking it seriously and constant monitoring
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At least during childbirth we have medical professionals taking it seriously and constant monitoring
That's true, at 49 I am still finding it hard for a doctor to even consider menopause let alone help me.
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What is getting me is how women are not even slightly informed as to what they may experience in menopause. I consider myself well read, informed and capable. When hot flashes first came, I was nonchalant. "Menopause", i thought, and figured all was fine.
But when the bad stuff came, insomnia, the palpitations, the racing heart rate, the anxiety that caused me to tremble in fear in my bed, shaking so hard my muscles hurt the next day......this scared me darned near to death. Because I had no idea what was happening.
My doctor offered Ativan and therapy. I tried HRT. Things were up and down. It was not until I found this site, where I read posts aloud to my husband and said, "look, this is exactly what has happend to me!" That i realized what was happening. I was not crazy, I was not becoming demented, I did not have heart disease or cancer. I had menopause, and a rather bad case.
So THANK YOU ladies, who bravely posted your symptoms and struggles. Thank you far helping me realize what was happening.
I agree with your post totally and could have written it myself.
I read a lot of the posts out loud to my husband to let him know I am 'normal'. I am also so very thankful for the ladies that share their stories on this and other websites. I dread to think what kind of place I would be in without them.
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I feel quite bitter about what I went through to get a peri diagnosis.
Despite having a high FSH and irregular periods and moods I still went through colonoscopy, endoscopy, mri,numerous blood tests, smears, x rays, ecgs you name it. Every time I became more fearful of what they would find, to the point I would retch when a letter with NHS envelope came in the post. I know ALL my symptoms are fairly typical perimenopause allbeit they arrived fairly dramatically. I'm not sure I'll ever feel the same way about my health now.
I find it astounding that women don't talk to each other about it. At work we've talked at length re childbirth, sex, periods etc. Is menopause really any more taboo? I've since realised two other ladies at work at going through similar things and are thankful to be able to chat about it! ::)
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I feel quite bitter about what I went through to get a peri diagnosis.
Despite having a high FSH and irregular periods and moods I still went through colonoscopy, endoscopy, mri,numerous blood tests, smears, x rays, ecgs you name it. Every time I became more fearful of what they would find, to the point I would retch when a letter with NHS envelope came in the post. I know ALL my symptoms are fairly typical perimenopause allbeit they arrived fairly dramatically. I'm not sure I'll ever feel the same way about my health now.
I find it astounding that women don't talk to each other about it. At work we've talked at length re childbirth, sex, periods etc. Is menopause really any more taboo? I've since realised two other ladies at work at going through similar things and are thankful to be able to chat about it! ::)
I am sure all my symptoms are perimenopause but I still have a low FSH so at the back of my mind I worry that maybe the doctors are right and it isn't menopause. I dread a visit to the doctors and make myself so ill with the worry of going.
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My mum told me that giving birth was as painful as a period pain! Now mine were pretty painful, but nothing like caesarian sections.
As for menopause, she told me periods could get worse before they got better & there may be some hot flushes.
Little did I know.
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My mum told me, and still does today, that menopause will happen at 54 and not before. So all you lovely ladies out there, if you are under 54 it isn't the menopause ;). I know, cos my mum said so.
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Well said Sammy, spot on! I try and talk about it lots to help change this silly 'taboo subject' rubbish it still has. One of my colleagues now couldn't be more informed about what's possibly heading her way and she's only 26 haha. It's tricky trying to inform but not scare though.
This site and the bravery of everyone sharing their stories is a godsend.
xx
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toffeecushion
FSH levels can vary, a low or normal FSH doesn't mean you're not peri, symptoms are a better indicator
Have at look at this link
http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/hold-that-pause/lab-tests-diagnosing-perimenopause (http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/hold-that-pause/lab-tests-diagnosing-perimenopause)
JG x
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toffeecushion
FSH levels can vary, a low or normal FSH doesn't mean you're not peri, symptoms are a better indicator
Have at look at this link
http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/hold-that-pause/lab-tests-diagnosing-perimenopause (http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/hold-that-pause/lab-tests-diagnosing-perimenopause)
JG x
Thanks Jedigirl, I'll still worry ;D though
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I know, I can worry about whether I've forgotten something I should be worrying about! ;D
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Hello sammy.
Another victim here!
I had no idea what was coming my way and when my doctor first mentioned the menopause I bought a book and was frankly shocked at what I learned. When I read the list of possible problems I thought " this is like being really ill with some all consuming disease".
Sometimes I still feel that way.
As for a taboo subject, not in my world! I talk menopause to all and sundry and everyone knows I'm struggling. My mother was from the generation of "least said, soonest mended" and that attitude has never sat well with me.
This site has helped me so much and I value the comfort and wisdom I get from all the ladies here. Thank you all.
Wishing everyone a good day today. Take care.
K.
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ToffeeCushion - your FSH levels can be low, but you can still be peri menopausal. My consultant told me so. Her exact words were 'Regardless of your blood tests, your symptoms cannot be denied'.
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What frustrates me is that NOT ALL WOMEN experience a bad menopause.
For some it's light flushes that pass in a few weeks/months - then carry on as before. No obvious "change". How can that be? How can we be so different?
Why do some of us get such a bad deal - are our endocrine systems that dysfunctional that our bodies can't adjust, acclimatise - no matter how many years pass - so this is the deal we get for the REST of our lives?
In my group of friends/acquaintances, I am the ONLY ONE who has these cr@p meno symptoms and migraines for over 8 years with no end in sight. It makes me withdraw and feel inadequate by comparison.
Sounding bitter maybe I am - can't help it - robbed!
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Looking back I cannot believe how little I knew about peri/menopause.
Like others I assumed my periods would taper off steadily when I turned 50. As I waved my eldest child off to university I would be fanning myself with the other hand, as I had yet another hot flushes. Then my periods would stop completely at which point I would get an over whelming urge to shop in the Classics section at Marks & Spencer and visit garden centre tea rooms. Job done.
But my peri menopause journey started 10 years too soon! I was still wearing jeans from Uniqlo and a leather jacket from All Saints. My youngest child had only just grown out of Peppa Pig and sleeping with a night light on. I still liked to knock back cocktails and snog my husband up against the fridge door.
So WHY was I suddenly afflicted with insomnia? Why was I suddenly too scared to walk through town to meet a friend for coffee? Why was I waking up every morning at 5.30am riddled with anxiety and a feeling of approaching doom?
I genuinely thought I was losing my mind. I thought I was going mad. I couldn't see a bus passing without thinking I could step under it and end all this suffering.
I saw 2 female GPs. Sat in their office, wringing my hands and tearful. Explained how desperately low and frightened I suddenly felt all the time, except (oddly) for about 5-6 days in the middle of the month. Both diagnosed me with clinical depression/anxiety. Even when I tentatively suggested it might be connected to my menstrual cycle, both dismissed that out of hand "You're far too young for any menopausal symptoms"
But I wasn't too young. Obviously I wasn't because my symptoms were real and they didn't arrive with a sell-by date. They were just there. Causing havoc.
It was only after I researched my symptoms on the Internet that I started to connect the dots. I found this place, and immediately found dozens of women who had experiences just like mine. This place gave me the first shred of hope I'd had in months.
I wasn't going mad. I didn't have clinical depression. I was just peri menopausal.
I am meeting friends for coffee later today and I will make a point of (briefly) telling them about my experiences and about this place, and my symptoms and my HRT. Because I can't bear the thought of any of them suffering in silence like I did for so long.
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Just to add to all the other comments ... I am still struggling with being blind sided. In my case the mental health symptoms have profoundly impacted my life. I'm still not sure how much is menopause and how much is anything else although I know the stress in my last job probably contributed to my symptoms. I started to write out notes on the side effects and mental states I've been experiencing since taking HRT for the doctor (whom I'm seeing next week) and I'm stunned at how up and down things have been.
I really pray I get better because living off my savings and living in rented accommodation is so precarious.
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I have been lucky. I had BAD, painful, heavy, clotty periods for years followed by bad PMT. So I am really glad that any meno symptoms have been short and to the point.
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Hi Annie
"Having had a hysterectomy years ago with no hot flushes and not arguing with random people I thought I had early onset of dementia and that they hadn't found a terminal illness"
I think you sum up how a lot of us feel (that we have some sort of illness).
However well meaning by saying this is a natural process we go through, I feel that this in many ways reduces the focus and causes confusion in how we understand and treat peri and meno.
It might be easy for some but I truly believe those are a very small minority.
Now most of the recent studies agree that most ladies symptoms will last at least 7 years.
In any other words this is a chronic condition that effects and diminishes people lives and loves.
To ignore it is really not an option anymore, we need to be more understood and empathized with more.
Righting off 7-10 years more when I feel I've wasted a few so far with my symptoms is not an option anymore.
For me I felt ill, looked ill and was worried that I was ill. Until I received the help I needed I was in a bit of a mess.
However the treatment I got upto the point I got my HRT was further blindsiding me, confusing and a waste of my time (and NHS money), at a time when I was very worried, upset and vulnerable.
A horrible mix which put a strain on me and my family.
I feel more confident now and will try to avoid being blindsided ever again.
:-*
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Do the GPs feel blind-sided :-\ - shouldn't GPs when they get to a certain stage in their Careers 'go' for menopausal training?
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In any other words this is a chronic condition that effects and diminishes people lives and loves.
To ignore it is really not an option anymore, we need to be more understood and empathized with more.
Righting off 7-10 years more when I feel I've wasted a few so far with my symptoms is not an option anymore.
That's fighting talk. Think we should all write to our gps demanding more understanding.
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Mine is understanding. In many Specialities the Drugs Companies get GPs/Surgeons/Consultants together and issues are discussed but there probably isn't enough money to be made in menopause ::)
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Didn't used to be that way because the NHS had to be very careful about where they put their money. If it wasn't going to benefit everyone then it wasn't bought. I spent hours arranging such drugs 'does' /dos ……… the NHS was more answerable to it's public in 'those' days ::)
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Given that millions still use HRT then there are still millions being made.
I think companies are still smarting from the debates, debacles and denial that have occurred in the past and try and distance themselves from leading GP's on this front.
How that fits in with the push to Statins and the £55 bonus for dementia patients, I have no idea.
:-*
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If peri menopause is a 'natural' process then how come it feels so 'unnatural'.
I honestly felt like my own hormones were poisoning my body. The level of anxiety was so awful that it felt like it could only have been created in a horror laboratory somewhere. The insomnia made my brain feel raw and stripped bare. That horrible thin, grey, wretched feeling accompanied by the chills and diarrhoea felt very unnatural.
Ironically, now I'm on HRT these last few days my body feels like it's returning to its proper 'natural' state. More balanced and harmonious. Working like it 'should'. My body feels like it's MINE again :)
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At least during childbirth we have medical professionals taking it seriously and constant monitoring
That's true, at 49 I am still finding it hard for a doctor to even consider menopause let alone help me.
I was 45 when they told me I was peri, I'm now 48 and they're saying I'm post
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The horrible honest truth is....it is a natural process.
Our fertility reduces and then the problems start.
I dont really think I was blind sided. I was aware of my mother having problems. My sister is 13 years older than me and although she never had a menopause lots of her friends did and I was very aware of possible problems.
Maybe the one positive thing is that our generation ....who are so much more aware...can educate our daughters on possible problems. We are the sword bearers and that can only be helpful to those who come after us.
Hopefully we can be honest without scaring the pants off our daughters to be aware of what can happen and the steps they can take.
Things will have moved on ...I'm convinced of that as the next generation really do know what they want and how to get it.
Honeybun
X
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The honest truth is also that we ignore this chronic condition at our peril.
If we give it a chance it will take our quality of life away.
Reading some of the post on bladder issues this evening has been very upsetting and I'm sure its the same for others who have been affected in this way.
None of whats being discussed on bladder/UTI's seems very "natural" to me.
I agree with Honeybun though, we are in a privileged position to take a stand and change things now.
Lets tell it how its is on peri and meno to our daughters (Its a real B*tch! Naturally :) )
It was good to hear GypsyRoseLee's story of cocktails and snogging, then suddenly this.
I want to ensure I retain as much of me as I can, as long as possible.
Like Gypsy feeling that its far from a natural process, I too feel the same.
I was ill and feel I'd have been better treated had I been looked at as being ill and not just "natural" put up with it garbage we get fed time and time again.
:-*
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Dear Sammy
and all the other Women in this thread. I totally agree and have been in that place.
Hugs
Sally G
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I suspect many women are too worried about the impact talking at work about how awful they feel might (would?) have on their careers. I don't just mean that announcing that you feel so tense and ratty you could kick all the doors in would be a bad move but just announcing that you feel under-par most of the time and for the longish-term would probably not lead to a rush of promotion offers. I also suspect that those women who have sailed through all of this would not thank us for telling the workplace of our difficulties and being "tarred with the same brush", even though most of us manage to continue with our jobs as if nothing was happening (it seems to be home and personal life that suffers the most). I think the fact that so many of us manage to keep going in the face of all of this is a huge testament to the strength and determination of women. I also think agree that if it was men who suffered like this something more would have been done about it.
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You could correctly argue that diabetes is 'natural' but we don't let sufferers battle it without medication.
Migraines are 'natural' but we don't just grin and bear them.
My body hasn't been functioning in the way I would like it to. My quality of life has dramatically decreased. I have felt ill. Ergo I will take medication to make it function how I want it to again.
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Hi GypsyRoseLee
totally agree with your view point. I felt the same before I was "allowed" to get HRT.
Life's quality was slipping away.
I've said this before but it seems to go against the grain on some peoples view of what we should or should not call peri and meno.
Confusion in relation to peri and meno life leads to so many problems we face.
If we stop trying to make excuses and accepting excuses too then we enter this new phase of our lives better prepared.
:-*
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My mum told me, and still does today, that menopause will happen at 54 and not before. So all you lovely ladies out there, if you are under 54 it isn't the menopause ;). I know, cos my mum said so.
Don't let your Mum anywhere near me or I won't be responsible for the result >:(
I've just turned 40...
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I don't think my hubby would appreciate being told his Type 1 diabetes is natural ::)
It damn near killed him.
When I say natural I mean it's a process that every woman goes through. It's not something you catch, or even an illness, but our worries, symptoms and concerns should be treated seriously and dealt with appropriately so we get to lead the second half of our lives in the best way we can.
But to say it's not natural does not make any sense to me at all.
Honeybun
X
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HB
no one talked about your husband so I'm not sure why he would appreciate our discussion or not!
Sorry that this happened to him but like peri and meno his diabetes can happen at anytime during our lives.
Type1 diabetes is the result of the body not working correctly if you want to be technical.
Peri and Meno are exactly the same, thats is our bodies are not working correctly.
One is due to our pancreas having problems.
One is due to our ovaries having problems.
So whats the difference?
Answer: The confusing attitude people have to one and not the other!
To start calling things "Natural" is just confusing so some of us would appreciate if we were understood in the same way and vehemence you mention your husband.
I'm not labeling you or your husband, so please with respect "dont label me"!
Thanks
:-*
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WHOOOA - all conditions are natural whether we like them or not. :bang: :bang: :bang: - we've had this conversation before ::) - if it ain't natural, then what is it?
Even those who get nasty diseases through being over-weight or smoking for example, are still suffering natural diseases which thrive on the opportunity of the bodies resistance becoming low, when the 'right' conditions are presented then the body will react. ALL illnesses, diseases, are 'natural' ……… some symptoms can be eased, others can drag - don't we know.
I didn't like my depression but it was a 'natural' event. Hormone deficiencies are natural, I didn't like my period pains nor the nausea and panic reactions to it but it was 'natural' . I didn't like having breast disease and treatment but the lump was 'natural', I didn't put it there ::).
People who have road accidents, burns etc. are not suffering 'natural' conditions but how the body responds to these sudden events is 'natural'.
I take my body for granted until something begins to niggle …….. i.e. a cold on it's way or the anxiety rumbling around. Note to self - more exercise ;)
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I am perfectly aware thank you that no one spoke about my husband and I certainly did not vehemently respond to anything..I was responding to Gipsy RL saying that diabetes was natural.
What label exactly am putting on you, I am intrigued to know. Would it be that you are a woman going through a natural process...ie menopause.
Thank you for your explanation of diabetes, unfortunately although you make a comparison between it and meno I am not aware that if I don't take my HRT I am in danger of falling into a coma, so to me the comparison is poor to say the least.
I am not quite sure why you have responded so vehemently to my post as I totally support the right of every person to get the correct treatement for any condition.
So with respect don't tell me what I am supposed to think and feel.
Oh and putting a kiss at the bottom of a very nippy post really does not help at all.
Honeybun
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…. may I giggle :o :-X
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Ladies...ladies... :o Our hormones are beating us up enough as it is, without us starting on each other. :-\
Natural or unnatural, it's giving us a hard time or we wouldn't be here. Can I suggest we leave the debate over how natural it is, and just keep supporting each other through it?
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Good idea Dorothy but :-\
Honeybun
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This thread is not helping my anxiety!! :madeyes:
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It's not helping anyone ::) ………
I do wonder each time 'natural' is raised what people who don't believe Menopause is natural what they believe is the reason :-\ (medical secretary head on here …… )
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Hi CKLD
you've lost me on that one, had to read a few times to get what you meant there.
Not questioning what conditions are actually "natural" or not.
My main point is that a person with diabetes or any other chronic condition is not labeled in the same way we are with peri or meno (or ignored). The label leads to confusion in lots of areas of what we face on our peri and meno paths.
As one of the post in bladder/uti related threads said, their bladder issues didnt feel that natural to them. Surely you can see their point and the confusion it leads to and the damage done by that same confusion.
The same confusion leads people to think we can ignore peri and meno often and it will just go away.
Those posts last night must be the most upsetting I've seen.
Can't you see that?
HB
I'm not telling you to think or feel anything, you've lost me on where I'm actually asking you to do anything. Perhaps consider the points I raise and why we are treated and viewed differently. If you've a better view or way then I'm all ears :)
Perhaps understanding that we are treated differently and often in a confusing way and a time in our lives when we are vulnerable and at our wits end, last thing we need is someone saying get on with it as its "natural". Whether someone can fall into a coma or whether someone is at the very end of their wits, both are conditions that should demand respect and proper guidance and treatment.
Jedigirl
sorry if this has increased your anxiety.
Dorothy
I'm not starting on others, just putting forward my view that the way we look at our peri and meno is broken. What we call it leads to a lot of confusion when ladies seek help and are left without.
I'm still not telling anyone what they should think or feel btw.
:-* :-* :-* :-* :-*
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Perhaps understanding that we are treated differently and often in a confusing way and a time in our lives when we are vulnerable and at our wits end, last thing we need is someone saying get on with it as its "natural". Whether someone can fall into a coma or whether someone is at the very end of their wits, both are conditions that should demand respect and proper guidance and treatment.
I agree with you. If someone feels at the wits end then they should be treated with the same seriousness as someone who could fall into a coma. Any problem should be treated with the same professionalism. We should not be prioritizing treatment needs. The person suffering from menopausal symptoms is suffering and is so often overlooked because their condition is deemed natural. The menopause is a natural process but the symptoms are real and can have a big impact on someone's life. Obviously if someone was falling into a coma that would be a medical emergency but doctors shouldn't under estimate the effect of the menopause on someone's life.
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I think if a condition affects a persons day to day life, causing pain and emotional problems then it should be seen as important and investigated and treated accordingly, I am sick to the back teeth of having blood taken from me, for the same tests with the same results and remain untreated and expected to just struggle on
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Peegeetips ...basically you were rude.
Honeybun
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My main point is that a person with diabetes or any other chronic condition is not labeled in the same way we are with peri or meno (or ignored).
There may be several reasons for that;
- Those conditions are more straightforward to diagnose
- The options for treatment (if they exist) are easier to identify
- They tend to cause people identifiable physical harm
Menopause, whilst it's tedious;
- Isn't straightforward to diagnose
- The treatment options are not clearly agreed, think of the debates on here
- In itself, won't kill us. It ain't good but it ain't fatal
I think the medical profession tend to concentrate on things that can be seen or measured. It's not surprising that the training of GPs is geared towards things that they can see, or do something about and are not open to debate. People whoever they are, will always go for the easier option.
The only thing we can hope for is that sensible information/education begins to spread through the medical schools. A forum like this has to be a good starting point.
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Sorry katsclaws, I disagree - "Clinical depression is caused by a chemical imbalance and reactive depression by life events but I would think the symptoms of both types may be similar. …… "
Clinical depression is what you consider to be 'reactive' depression otherwise known as 'situational' depression. What you call 'clinical' depression is 'organic' ……… I know, I suffer with both :-\. Some medics still don't accept that there *is* 'organic' depression, where the brain doesn't make enough serotonin etc. to maintain a good mood; they slap the illnesses together and call it all 'clinical'.
I also found that I was depressed in the 24 hours prior to a bleed. I would cry at the drop of a hat ::). My depression is cyclic which is why I have been advised to take medication for Life, I do know that when situations upset me the depression is worse. Like those with clinical depression, issues that are difficult to sort can bring a person down very quickly. Talk therapy can be very useful as it enables the suffered to clear their head and get problems into the open. It might not solve the problem but allows the person breathing space.
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Thanks Limpy - I wish I could get my thoughts onto paper as clearly as you have done.
Without sounding like a stuck record ::) I don't see how menopause isn't 'natural' …….. and it is really up to the patient to continue nagging the GP, Practice Nurse or ask for referral to a Gynaecologist or Meno Clinic. But when we are feeling poorly it is hard work! been there with other illnesses :'(
None of us has to accept yet more blood being taken ………. we can say 'no'. We can ask our GPs how much experience they have of menopausal symptoms, we can ask why they won't listen or treat the symptoms we present with. But we have to be clear as to why we are in the Surgery, it shouldn't be necessary but more and more patients are finding it harder and harder to be 'heard' - this is for many conditions that patients present with. Because GPs are now spending more time on paper work due to the various 'recent' Government demands they are having less time to deal with patient issues :-\ ……..
"The menopause is a natural process but the symptoms are real and can have a big impact on someone's life. "
:for you: I think that ladies having problems with their GPs not listening should print this out and hand over !
Also many ladies are working, raising children, caring for elderly relatives: which adds to stress i.e. travelling, time short, already tired ……..
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This is all so sad isn't it. Like GypsyRoseLee, I was enjoying my life so much, just eighteen months ago I went and queued at 6am for the new Isabel Marant collection at H&M, I don't know where that person has gone.
Today I was talking to the young girls (well they are 30) who work for me and we had a bit of a laugh and one of them said 'Do you remember how much fun we used to have before you became ill?' That made me so sad because I so want to be that person again!
I have had constant bladder/UTI problems and pelvic pain since February last year and am at the end of my tether with it all.
Where has that happy healthy woman gone?
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Depression took me like that :'( - confident, able, then wham - over a few months I was unable so began treatment; then got better so stopped the medication: add to that anxiety …… no way could I do the job/s that I did in the 70s/80s/early 1990s. Life became a battle :'( ………
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Was everyone's transition gradual or instant?
Mine was sudden, I can remember where and when the sudden feeling that I had something 'nasty and dangerous' happening to me. I went dizzy and couldn't quite understand the accounts task I was doing, despite having done it there for over 5 years. Very quickly, within weeks lots more symptoms were emerging, still no hot flushes and no period problems (hysterectomy) so never imagined nenopause
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Think mine was gradual - I didn't actually realise it had happened till I was post.
OH did but I shouted him down.
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My periods just stopped. I wasn't really aware of anything before. Now looking back and being a lot more clued up there were signs but I had a busy life and teenagers to deal with. My own health was not at the forefront of my mind. I guess it was a gradual process with flushes being one of my last symptoms.
It was the insomnia and night sweats that sent me to the GP. I asked for patches and was given them with no problem. Guess I was lucky.
My anxiety came much later and that has been my main issue. I have had a lot of stress over the past few years so I think I would have suffered in one way or another eventually.
I think the fact that there are so many varied symptoms of meno is one of the reasons that doctors may well miss what's happening.
Honeybun
X
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I'm sure my mum would have benefitted from HRT. She suffered with crippling anxiety etc. Sure what she described to me must also have been VA. Instead she got ADs. That was back in the early 60s.
I had hysterectomy, so it was obviously sudden with me. Did I know the half of it? You bet I didn't. Hopefully my daughter's generation will be better informed.
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My symptoms started 3 months after my dad passed away (cardiac arrest), my mum had died from a brain haemmhorage so I was pretty low anyway, 45 and no parents. But I think the headaches and heart palpitations (same organs that robbed me of my parents) tipped me over the edge and I was convinced I was dying too , just a slow painful one. When they first diagnosed b12 drficiency but wouldn't treat it as I was 197 and borderline I got angry and kicked up a fuss so they gave me tablet supplements for 6 weeks I think then retested me, which was 219 (uk 'normal ' range was 211-911) so wrote me off as ok, symptoms resumed then they did hormone tests and said I was peri and because I was on oestrogen already nothing they could do
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I drifted into peri-menopause. Having had very bad period pains and heavy bleeds for years, followed by The Pill and PMT - I was pleased to see the back of periods. At the time I had 4 very ill pets :'( so didn't have time to consider how I was feeling outside of what it took to care for them, fortunately any 'side effects': i.e. flushes, didn't last long. I was already on treatment for anxiety and depression ……….
Then the bleeds stopped :bounce: ………. and I'm left with low grade all over itchiness, occasionally I get extra hot but not in the way of flushing, anxiety/depression still present …….
I think if ladies in general had more support from the medics they wouldn't feel so shocked ……… if ladies were to go along to their Surgeries and be told that this is 'the change' and we *are* able to help ……...
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I thought I was reacting to the drugs of my doctor when my symptoms started.
I was weaning off a medication and I thought I had withdrawals, but little did I know I was going into perimenopause and I was only 42 at the time.
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I'm too tired to work out how old I was when peri began ……….. but it was around 2001 so off to do some adding up and taking away :D