Menopause Matters Forum
Menopause Discussion => All things menopause => Topic started by: Lonelygirl on June 29, 2020, 03:54:52 PM
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Hi, has anyone left a job because of menopause? I left a job I loved after 20 years because I struggled with the shifts, they couldn't offer me any alternatives. I found another job but have just handed my notice in because I felt I didn't fit in and my mental health was suffering making me unhappy, I feel totally out of control of my life atm and sometimes feel I'm going mad! Anyone else had this experience?
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I'm embarrassed to say that I left three positions within 18 months; I could have done them with my eyes shut a few years ago but my self-confidence had become a real issue and I was an anxious, panicky mess. I work from home now and I still doubt my abilities; I do miss the company of others
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Hi I left my job in Jan 2018 after 28 years completely due to the menopause. I earned good money and enjoyed it but with mental health problems cuased by the menopause I felt I couldnt cope and didnt want to keep taking time off sick. I do gardening now for a friend xx
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Yep. World wide there are ladies giving up work that they love.
Lots of reasons on top of menopause symptoms: ageing parents, teens, divorce, new relationships: brain fog, unease .......
MayB make a list of your skill base. That will give you an idea as to how good you really are! Life does change but acceptance can be hard.
When severely depressed I would make a list each evening and tick off chores the next day so that I could see what I actually achieved!
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I lost my job in a library 2 1/2 years ago after 6 happy years; the mental health problems caused by the menopause meant I was off sick so much that in the end they fired me. Since then I've been on sickness benefit and can't see any sign of returning to work in the foreseeable future :'(.
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Why be embarrassed :-\. I was when I was a young girl and my periods clotted at work :-\ :'( in front of an office full of men :-X
It's industry that should be getting their acts together?
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To all I think that a terrible situation to find yourself in. I would not have thought that the menopause could do something like this to someone.
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I would have had to leave my job if it wasn't for HRT luckily sorting out my menopausal problems. I realise that not everyone gets the same result from HRT though. I knew I either had to give it a go or give up my job. I just couldn't cope any longer with the sweats every twenty minutes day and night which, of course, led to really bad nights with very little sleep leading to irritability and anxiety. I tried without it for 18 months thinking I could get through it .
Karine not everyone is affected badly so please don't feel you will also have a bad time. One thing to remember is that women who are having an easier time of things going through menopause wont look for a site such as this as they wont need any help or support. This can give a slightly skewed idea of what menopause can mean.
Taz x
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My Mum doesn't remember hers (1990s) and my sister's response was "I've been through all that" ::). It's the niggles like VA that have affected me .........
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Hi Taz,
I see what you're saying but, to me, if someone has to leave their job just because of the menopause, it quite serious. This goes to show that it has the potential of ruining somebody's life. I believe I'm perimenopausal at the moment because, I've struggled with a few symptoms since 2018 and I haven't had a period since January this year. It could be that I have already entered the menopause and I can't wait for it to be over. I am currently taking supplements and I have decided that if it gets worse I will use HRT as a last resort.
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Don't leave it so long though that you feel really ill ;-)
Anxiety has stopped me attempting many things and I look back and wonder how I carried out any of the jobs that I tackled :-\. I had in the main a good group of support.
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Just as Taz2 said - I would not function at all without my HRT, let alone be able to work!
You are definitely not on your own in feeling like you do, although it must seem that way.
I hope you have the support of your GP - have you sort help from a Menopause Specialist?
Hope you feel more hopeful soon :foryou:
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Salad, how bad were your symptoms? It must have been unbearable if you had to take HRT. How soon did you see an improvement? Were you perimenopausal, going through the menopause or in postmenopause when you started HRT?
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Lonely girl I have gone from full time to part time,only two days. I work two till ten at night. And EVERY time I have to go my head tells me I can't do it and I am anxious and panicky. This has been going on for ten months and is not getting any easier. I was basically forced to cut my hours because I had absolutely no support from managers even though they are female. Menopause has caused me to lose all of my confidence, every day is a battle. I just wish I knew how much is meno and how much is me as always suffered with anxiety but the last 12 months have been on another scale. X
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Not necessarily unbearable but some ladies find it more convenient to have HRT controlling flushing etc. particularly when in company. A friend owned a shop so felt more comfortable taking HRT to reduce the amount of flushing.
However, some symptoms can overwhelm ladies so that they need to stop work.
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I think the physical side can be too much so switching to a different type of role can help.
In terms of performance, I've sat through many meetings (which I can't leave or be replaced for as would make them inquorate) feeling dizzy, nauseous like I'm on a boat and extremely physically anxious. However, I always get through them and tell anyone who notices and asks (mainly men!) that it's hormonal migraine. When I look around the room through I can see others struggling too, many have health or emotional issues to some extent, some young women have awful periods too, as we're all human. I found that helpful so I didn't feel alone and when the meetings over you feel relieved and reminded by that you can cope.
I think the thought of not being able to cope is much worse so try to find something that you can physically cope with and then be open to your colleagues on your bad days.
I suspect there will be a lot more positions opening up to work from home in the future which makes it all the easier when dealing with unknown hormonal moments you can't plan for!
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Salad, how bad were your symptoms? It must have been unbearable if you had to take HRT. How soon did you see an improvement? Were you perimenopausal, going through the menopause or in postmenopause when you started HRT?
I was two years post Total Abdominal Hysterectomy.
Sleep problems - not getting to sleep and then waking every 2 hours.
Sweat running down my face, back of the neck and knees every twenty minutes in the day. Not great when you?re trying to teach or do 1-1's with students.
Infrequent headaches that made me vomit. Aching muscles and joint pain, dizziness, brain fog, fatigue, palpitations, swollen lymph nodes, tinnitus, hair shedding and flat mood.
It was miserable. Started HRT and had relief within a couple of weeks. Not easy finding the right one or the right dose, but I did feel better. My GP was amazing, but I was referred to a Menopause Clinic when she had reached the end of her advice.
I'm currently on Estradot 200 mcg patches (2x100mcg) which are prescribed by the Specialist, but my GP does my repeat prescriptions.
I really couldn't survive without it :)
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Morning Salad :thankyou:
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Hi Taz,
I see what you're saying but, to me, if someone has to leave their job just because of the menopause, it quite serious. This goes to show that it has the potential of ruining somebody's life. I believe I'm perimenopausal at the moment because, I've struggled with a few symptoms since 2018 and I haven't had a period since January this year. It could be that I have already entered the menopause and I can't wait for it to be over. I am currently taking supplements and I have decided that if it gets worse I will use HRT as a last resort.
I'm glad that you are keeping HRT as an option. I left it quite late before I "gave in" as I saw it, wrongly, then and it took quite a while before I felt more like my old self. Of course 13 years ago there seemed to be less known about the way oestrogen can help us throughout our lives.
When you say you can't wait for it to be over I'm not sure which part you mean? I began to experience differences in my periods at around the age of 51 and for the next two years they were either months apart (9 months on one occasion) or a couple of weeks apart. They were light sometimes and heavy the next few times and then nothing again. By the age of 53 when the hot sweats became unbearable I was still experiencing a period every couple of months. This is when I began HRT as I was having to take clothes into work so that I could change at lunchtime out of sweaty bra, knickers and even socks. I have no idea when my periods would have stopped naturally but I do know that there are members on here who found that symptoms became more problematic once periods stopped. In hindsight I believe that the longer you can keep your periods the better as this means that you do have at least some degree of oestrogen circulating. I can appreciate that periods are a nuisance though but I never realised how much the rest of the body reacts to low oestrogen. Like a lot of us I just thought menopause meant no more periods (hooray) and few hot "moments". I didn't realise the effect it would have on my sexual response and libido and also the effects on vaginal tissue/bladder etc. Sorry, waffling on there!!
Taz x
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Morning Salad :thankyou:
Hi CLKD (often wondered what that stands for :) )
Didn't have a chance to look in earlier, it's been one of those days :D
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You'll be wondering for a while ;-)
I've had a bitty day too :-\
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Oh, do tell. I wondered too... :)