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[GERBILS]

Evening everyone!
I'm not only a newbie here, I've also never written on any forum before either so please be gentle. 
I think I am just at the start of my journey, I'm 46.....well 47 tomorrow and I had to go and visit my GP earlier in the week. My symptoms include;

Irritability like you wouldn't believe (I mean falling out in an empty room!)
TEARS over nothing
Lack of concentration
Confusion
No interest in sex what so ever
Heavier bleeding
Night sweats
Worry about anything and when there is nothing to worry about, I worry because I'm sure I SHOULD be worrying about something.

Like I mentioned above, I visited my GP because I knew that I should't be feeling like this and after reassuring me, she gave me 3 options.
HRT (as I haven't started with hot flushes yet, she was loathed to recommend this)
Anti depressants ( not needed as such but as a sort of side effect, they help with menopausal symptoms
or
Herbal.
Now, I'm not too interested in HRT yet or anti depressants but I do want to try the herbal side of things and I understand Red Clover or Black Cohosh......or both???
Ladies I wonder if you can help? Can anyone give me advice please? Do I take one or the other, both or neither?
I've tried web pages , just confusing.
I am going back to my GP for blood test results but I would kind of like to the ball rolling as soon as.
Thanking you all in advance ladies.     

[lily]

Hi there

I tried red clover and black cohosh (not together) for flushes and night sweats and did not find them to help with this. I did think black cohosh helped my mood but also seemed to make me hungrier and put on weight. I'm now on anti depressants which have cut my night sweats down a bit but still getting flushes. Have recently had joint pain and am taking cod liver oil capsules which are helping a bit.

[GERBILS]

Thank you ladies,

Hi there

I tried red clover and black cohosh (not together) for flushes and night sweats and did not find them to help with this. I did think black cohosh helped my mood but also seemed to make me hungrier and put on weight. I'm now on anti depressants which have cut my night sweats down a bit but still getting flushes. Have recently had joint pain and am taking cod liver oil capsules which are helping a bit.

Thank you Lily, is the weight gain/eating a regular thing? I'm a more "ample" person and struggle with my weigh anyway, I don't want to add to it! 

[dazned]

 

[lily]

Hi gerbils

The weight gain is more than i usually put on when overeating, i am heavier than i've been before apart from when pregnant si i do think it's this stage of life slowing my metabolism down as much as anything else. Need to make decision to eat healthier and swim more again.

[Freckles]

Hi Gerbils
I'm a newbie too, but your symptoms were exactly what I started to experience at about 48 years old, about 9 years ago primarily psychological symptoms like you described but not hot sweats etc.
I honestly thought I was going a bit mad.
My then female GP also told me that only 'physical symptoms'  such as hot flushes were helped by HRT.
Since found out that is rubbish.
I didn't want to take anti-depressants  (I work in mental health and know they are only effective for about 30% of people) and I knew my symptoms were hormone related. 
After some "discussion" with my GP I took blood tests, found out I was peri-menopausal and asked for (read insisted) HRT which was and still is a very low dose (Femoston 1/10).
It really helped with feeling generally anxious and depressed until the last 18 - 24 months and I recently found out my oestrogen levels are now virtually non existence, even though I am on HRT. 
So off to see a private specialist (Prof John Studd) to get some help in a couple of weeks, as my current GP advocates no HRT but antidepressants for my advanced age of being mid 50's!
I tried the herbal remedies but they didn't work at all for me. 
 I am sure far more knowledgeable people will post on here to advise you, but HRT really helped me get my life back and I am pleased with myself for asking for HRT at the time. 
Maybe get your  hormone results from your GP and post them on here so you can get more specific advice to help you make your own informed decision as to what to do?

[GERBILS]

Really helpful Freckles thank you.
Hi and thank you to all those that have said hi.
I'm logging off for bed now but looking forward to more information (hopefully) tomorrow

Cheers ladies!

[Freckles]

I'm sure you will get some helpful information Gerbils to make a helpful decision re possible course  of actions to  take. 
I am so thankful I found this forum- the wealth of support and educated information I have received just in a couple of weeks has been so helpful and supportive.
I am clearly no expert or anywhere near as well informed as some people who post on here but good luck!

[Hurdity]

Hi there GERBILS

  and also wishing you a very  on this lovely sunny Good Friday  . I hope you are managing to enjoy your day!

Those symptoms sound typical - well of the time before peri-menopause or peri-menopause itself - depending on your cycle.

So what's happening to your periods apart from them getting heavier - is there any change in your cycle over the past 12 months or so - is it still regular or have you started missing them? Often in the late reproductive stage just before the peri-menopausal transition, periods can become closer together and more variable in flow but the ovaries are still working more or less OK. Hormone levels do begin to go a bit awry and PMS symptoms get worse for a lot of women - which have similarities with menopausal symptoms - which is why the flushes and sweats tend to be used as an indicator. Women who are already taking anti-depressants may not experience hot flushes or sweats as these stop them in some cases.

At your age docs are not supposed to do blood tests now but just use your cycle and symptoms to come up with a diagnosis of peri-menopause - according to the NICE Guidelines. if your cycle has started playing up then HRT should help - but at your age it is sometimes recommended to take the Combined Contraceptive Pill to regulate your cycle and prevent the extremes of hormone surges that are experienced at this time and which give rise to the unpleasant symptoms.

There is a good one called Qlaira which has oestrogen in it that is bio-identical to the one made by our ovaries and also only has 2 tablet free days so there is almost no dip in hormones. You would need to be able to tolerate the high doses of progestogen though, taken on 22 of the days.


Here is the NICE info on using blood tests for diagnosis of menopause (published Nov 2015):
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng23/chapter/Recommendations#diagnosis-of-perimenopause-and-menopause

This is the information on this site:
http://www.menopausematters.co.uk/diagnose.php

There is some information here about the peri-menopause which you might find interesting:

http://www.menopausematters.co.uk/article-perils-of-the-perimenopause.php

As for the Cohosh etc - I used this on recommendation of work colleague when I started getting flushes during my peri-menopause and I would have sworn they were working - of course as I got further into menopause they "stopped" working - and I realise that actually they never did, but it was my own cycle coming and going causing the sweats and flushes to stop and start! Cohosh is not supposed to be used long term anyway, Red Clover is one of the more promising phyto-oestrogens - and probably has a weak oestrogenic effect - so might help in early peri-menopause but from what I've read the mode of action is complex and they can compete with our own oestrogen (estradiol) for oestrogen receptors at high doses - I don't really understand the biochemisty of it!

I hope this helps and enjoy the rest of your birthday

Hurdity x

[GERBILS]

Wow Hurdity!
Loads of information in that, thank you. I shall give it all a read.
My periods haven't really changed that much other than heavier, the cycle is slightly shorter than it used to be but only by about 1 or 2 days every couple of periods.
I'll be honest with you all, after reading other comments within this forum I'm feeling rather scared and very worried. It sounds to me like I'm only just starting out and many others have way more problems than I do (and I thought I was having a rough time)
Anyway I'm open to any advice anyone can give.
Also thank you Hurdity for your birthday comments, it was very kind   

[Lizab]

Hi Gerbils! Try not to worry about whether you're just starting out or things will get worse. Everyone has a different journey and everyone has a different threshold as for what they can tolerate and what is too bothersome. For me, the mental and emotional stuff didn't hit until after the heavy bleeding had let up, but I've had all of your symptoms at some point in the past few years, and sometimes several of those at once. Some ladies have no irregularities, their periods stop suddenly, and later they get symptoms. Some settle quickly and others have years of change. Wherever you fall in it, I'm sure there will be several on this forum that can relate. The herbal remedies may do the trick for you; they seem to help lots of women. Wishing you luck!

[GERBILS]

Thank you

[Taz2]

Hi Gerbils

Taz x