Hi,
I'm new to this forum and haven't got a clue what i'm doing. I'm 54 and been peri since aged 40. Things had gradually got worse and worse. I didn't have a clue what was happening to me and was it actually perimenopause? I've Uti's, hair falling out, confusion, brain fog, memory loss, anxiety, insomnia, bladder weakness, loss of libido, lost interest in everything to the extent where i had withdrawn from the world, dry skin, tinnitus, no hunger, couldn't taste certain foods on and off, food tasted bitter and the list goes on. My periods have been regular and no hot flushes which kept making me think it can't be perimenopause. One week every month i would sleep like a baby. The rest of the time, i would be up in the night for hours and not be able to sleep. Not worrying but wide awake. I'd just get to sleep and the alarm would go off and i would drag myself out of bed for work. The exhaustion and fatigue were debilitating. I thought because i was sleeping one week a month, the reason i wasn't sleeping the rest of the time was work or this or that. It all came to a head in a particularly stressful day at work. I somehow got through the day and the next morning i had ringing in my ears, my head was stuffed with cotton wool and palpitations in my throat. I felt so ill. I have been off work for almost 4 months. I had memory loss, anxiety, exhaustion and brain fog in the first week of being off. I slept so well in the first week but exhausted in the day. It took 3 weeks to start feeling better but left with really bad anxiety and insomnia. Didn't know what was wrong. I thought it was work stress. I tried Ashwaganda for a month. It didn't help me sleep better and made the anxiety worse. I felt sedated in the day too. I stopped the Ashwaganda. It was coming up to 2 months being sick and getting panicky. Rang Gp and said i had anxiety and insomnia and needed something. I was offered antidepressants or Hrt. I was told there was no guarantee that either would work. I took the antidepressants as it had the quickest results in theory. The side effects were horrendous, nausea, dizzyness, headaches. They went after a week. I did notice a improvement in my sleep and energy levels. However i developed joint pain to which GP said in a telephone consultation ' sounds like it is arthritis which you would have developed anyway. It is nothing to do with medication. If it gets worse ring back but don't stop the tablets.' I knew it was the medication. I carried on. Over time although i was sleeping through the night, it was light sleep, no dreams. Anxiety had gone. It had done nothing for my mood. I still felt dead inside. Then my memory began to deteriorate, i became more scatty, tinnitus got very bad, i had nausea in the mornings, my breathing didn't feel right, i had dicomfort in my chest, still had joint pain, my head didn't feel right for half a day, i couldn't think straight and it was getting harder to get out of bed in the mornings and getting later to fall asleep. I felt so bad, i rang the Gp to say i wanted to stop the Sertraline and try Hrt. Within hours of putting the fist patch on i got my libido back, i felt hunger and could taste my food, i felt myself again and was interested in life, i slept through the night that night and every other night. I now dream and have good deep sleep. My anxiety has come down to normal levels. I am now on the Conti patch. I have had night sweats for the past two nights. I'm a little confused and hoping it won't be parmanent. I am really dreading the withdrawal bleed. I am so sorry for the really long post. Any advice, any personal experiences will be helpful and welcome xx
