Menopause Matters Forum
Menopause Discussion => Other Health Discussion => Topic started by: Katymac on April 04, 2019, 07:15:50 PM
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I just typed this all out on MN thinking it was a weight loss problem after readig it back to myself I'm wondering it it's a menopause problem
"After DD was born I put on a lot of weight, went up to 15 stone and lost it over about 3 years of eating well and running around after DD
My weight sort of stablised (I think) at about 10 stone for the next 17 or so years (but I'm menopausal so who knows!)
I had ovarian cysts last year and I put on a lot of weight on my tummy & then had surgery which didn't go very well and I am still recovering from. I also have IBS, ME/CFS & Fibromyalgia so I don't exercise well and struggle wallking - I do Yoga, ride my electric bike and was about to start swimming when I started being ill last year
So I am now nearly 11 st 6 all the time - but when the dentist saw me this week he was really shocked with how much weight I had lost - he said my legs were unbelieveably thin and my face was 'drawn' - I made a joke about looking like an albino spider all belly and spindly legs
But my belly could be 6 months pregnant - my 'waist' is 35 inches. my hips 40 and my belly 42 - 18m ago my waist was under 30 and my belly not noticable enough to measure & my hips about 43 (I dress make so that's fairly acurate)
So allowing for the surgery (which I still have a lot of pain from), newly started HRT, my ME/CFS and fibromyalgia what do I do now (oh & I have food intolerances - eggs dairy soya mainly one or two others)"
Could it be menopause?
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May well be associated. 4 me it was that my apron dropped as oestrogen caused muscles to relax, I didn't gain weight although some days I feel fat. However, when laying down my body flattens nicely ::)
Strange that a dentist would make a comment. Did he have any suggestions? Maybe go to your Practice Nurse for a well woman check: weight, height, Blood pressure and perhaps thyroid function blood test etc.? A base-line to work on.
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He has known me for 15 years plus and I am a nervous patient so he has had to spend a lot of time talking to me - so we are almost friends - I think he was shocked and now I have sat and looked at my legs I am a bit shocked too, I have lost a lot of curve and knee down they look child like!
Lying down my belly is mountainous! like a pregnany belly
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A worry then. How old is DD? Do you get a follow up appt. after the surgery? I think that our Dentist would say something if he were concerned 'cos we have a good working relationship.
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DD is 21 - I know I can put on weight - but I also know due to 17 years of stable weight that my diet/exercise is pretty constant
Followup was at about 6 weeks, nothing since then (apart form the GP appt when they said my belly pain is normal and they gave me the wrong HRT)
I do think he was concerned, not being bitchy/mean - he commented that my gums looks healthy, no sign of aneamia - which I don't remember him saying regularly
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What do you think that you should do, maybe see the Practice Nurse?
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Yep I guess
In between seeing the hospital for the lump on my throat, the physio for tendinitis and getting up enough courage to tell the gp I'm on the wrong hrt
Maybe next week ;D ::)
Thanks
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Enjoy Friday then review?
Which HRT do you need, have you put the product name into the search box here to see?
Do you self refer for physio.?
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Saw physio today (self refer) I have De Quervain (which I think is tendinitis in my wrist/thumb - often found in pregnancy!)
Spoke to a private consultant and I need continuous not sequi (with progesterone as I have my uterus)
I'm just scared last time she was mean to me! I shouldn't read the internet or the nice guidelines!
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Morning! You have taken some control over your health needs :medal:
Sometimes my GP doesn't give me what I expect or need ::) so I wait a couple of weeks then return: "Last time I was here I obviously wasn't listening, could you explain again?" as I never know if he's been up all night with a patient, has had to tell someone bad news etc.. If that doesn't work I see the Practice Nurse and ask for clarification.
How R U today thus far?
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Today I spent the entire day at the hospital with my mum - knackered and still here - she has a DVT
My wrist hurts - my patience is thin and I am grumpy!
But Monday I'll have another go at me
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:o what is sudden for your MUM?
Make a list of your main worries to take along to the appt.?
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Yep phoned me and said I need to go to the hospital for 12 - I live 1.5hrs away so I drove up - we were there for over 5 hours
She gave in and was pushed from dept to dept in a wheelchair as her leg hurt so much and her breathing was awful
And I felt a bit of a failure as I couldn't push the wheelchair as my scar is still so painful
And she lied to the Dr about how much she smokes and drinks
And I am knackered physically and emotionally
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Not a failure!!! You went, whereas after surgery I would have said a firm 'no', call an Ambulance!
Drs can usually tell when patients aren't being truthful so rest assured ........ and her GP will probably be aware ;-). Home now?
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Yes home by about 8, lot calmer today - all my aunties have phoned been reassured
& my brother pointed out it's her choice now
Quiet day now :)
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Thinking of you Katymac.
Can relate to many things you say, the post op problems, weight gain, and mother issues plus the exhaustion from all the life problems xx
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How's your Mum?
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Thanks
My mum is pretty poorly - her breathing is pretty rough but her leg less swollen - so fingers crossed
390 miles in 6 days - no wonder I am emotionally/physically tired
I have decided to ramp up the exercise to work on the belly & maybe to 'eat to rule' so three meals a day even if I'm not hungry (as missing a meal 'allows' me to snack)
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it just seems odd the rest of me is getting skinnier and the belly is getting bigger!
Nevermind other things to stress about!
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Katymac, you need to see your GP to have this looked into. I have severe ME/CFS so I get that no exercise in the usual sense can lead to a combination of muscle loss through not using your body as much as you normally would if you did not have ME/CFS, and being more prone to visceral fat due to a combination of (relative) inactivity and being older/post menopausal. Also, the muscle tone of your abdomen isn't quite as strong at holding everything like it once did, so there's a lot of factors conspiring against you (and me).
But..... I'd still say you need this looked into. It could be any number of things. Gynaecological — have you had your ovaries and womb lining scanned in the past 6-12 months? What about your liver and kidney function? Have you had blood tests to rule anything out? What about your colon function? I know IBS is part of the ME/CFS symptom pattern but you're now in a different life stage where IBS symptoms can mask other symptoms that warrant further investigation. I know in ME circles everything is put down to “food intolerances†and there are plenty of “nutritionists†who you can pay to tell you this and sell you an exclusion diet, but I've seen so much harm caused by these crank nutritionists, so don't make these people your first port of call. Get everything else checked out properly and make sure your general health is in good shape before you sign up for voluntary malnutrition. (Yes, I AM cynical!)
It may be nothing, but make sure it is nothing you need to worry about.
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I am plucking up courage, I promise, I think I have worked it out but I'll go to make sure!
My ME/CFS has been fairly benign for a while but I do wonder if the op or menopause has triggered a relapse
Something is ringing bells I think - I had a lump in my belly last year & on the 4th attempt of finding it they said it was like small balls of fat inbetween connectve tissue (sort of like streaky bacon in reverse) & that they couldn't do anything about them (dear god! my memory is getting more radom and selective!) and now I have had a good prod I think I have another 3 groups of them all about mango sized!
Liver is fatty, Gallstones appeared and disappeared leaing polyps, kidney has been happier since the op - which also removed masses of scar tissue and adhesions around my bowel/abdomen wall/ovary/uterous - and seems to have fixed my IBS to a large extent the only remaining intolerances are the eggs, dairy, soya which were worked out my the NHS dietician using FODMAP and coconut & almond which my skin react to externally as well - my other intolerances seem to have disappearred - practise nurse and I have put it down to the scarring/adhesions being around my bowel
Pre the op I could 'go' 12-15 times a day without any problem and I had an nhs figured out very restricted diet
Forgot to say thank you for triggering my memory - much appreciated!
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My mind is like mush these days :-\
Maybe make a note Katymac and take with you?
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Katymac, I certainly understand how it feels to have all these digestive/gastro issues. I suspect that's where the problem lies. I also have had a long history of these issues that started with IBS in my 20s and now I have slow transit problem in my colon which I'm now having to deal with by using a Peristeen device. I'm also waiting for an liver ultrasound as my GP suspects gallbladder problems, but that's a more recent problem.
Because my colon doesn't function properly it gets very full and I can become quite distended, sometimes very distended. Even when I had a colonoscopy a couple of years ago, despite a week on the low residue diet and laxatives, and then the stuff you have to take the night before, they still had to hoover out over 2 litres from my colon to get the camera thing through. Afterwards my stomach was flatter than it had been for years. It was fantastic! But within 3 days the pot belly was back. Also, with all that distension I'm certain that my ligaments etc have become a bit lax through being constantly stretched. So, I know how it feels to have this weird pot belly effect. My waist and hip measurements don't fluctuate much by the ‘high hip' measurement that I take at the top of the hip bone varies according to how full my system is.
One thing I found is that I have particular parts of my abdomen which get a bit “lumpy†which I suspect are the areas of my colon that don't function. When I was young and had IBS I could feel my colon through my abdomen, but compared to then, my colon seems huge now and meanders all over the place.
If you have had surgery and you have adhesions and scar tissue on the inside I'm sure this could be creating problems with how your digestive system functions. The problem is, nobody ever tells you that a ‘successful' operation can still leave you with long term effects. I suppose there's ‘normal' and there's ‘the new normal' — which isn't really ‘normal'! ;D
If you've already been to a specialist about your gastro problems you're best bet is getting a re-referral via your GP.
It's really difficult at this life stage, and especially with our own specific histories, to know what is to be expected and what needs investigation. From what you describe, I don't think you can write it off as “middle age spread†especially if you don't have that much body fat, certainly not to the extent that it's any sort of plausible explanation. But I also know how scary it is to pick up the phone and make an appointment. I've had to do this myself because of my current pain and discomfort, hence the ultrasound referral.
I hope that whatever it is, it's something not too concerning. X