Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Advanced search  

News:

Please have a look at the questionnaire page if you have a spare minute.

media

Author Topic: in the dark  (Read 952 times)

ossbanak

  • Guest
in the dark
« on: January 16, 2020, 03:47:59 PM »

I have after about 6 months of suffering insomnia, hormone imbalance, skin itching and rashes, joint pain, bladder weakness, hair loss, and incredible hunger, been told by my neighbour! ...... my neighbour!    that my problems are typical of being post menopausal. now it all makes sense, but what i am baffled over is that in that 6 months i have been back and forward to my GP. all they gave me was analgesia, steroid cream and sleeping tablets but at no point tied it to me being post menopausal. I have a new appt this Friday at the surgery and armed with this new information and the fact I felt nigh on suicidal mid week I am going to be very interested to hear what they have to say,what they will now do about it ? and most importantly why they dont have a better knowledge?
Logged

Ladybt28

  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 1422
Re: in the dark
« Reply #1 on: January 16, 2020, 03:51:43 PM »

 :welcomemm:  ossbanak - that is a perennial question on this forum and none of us know the answer "why don't they have better knowledge"! :-X :-X

Tell us a bit more about yourself...and that list is most definitely a list of meno symptoms amongst others.  There is a symptom list at here on the forum in the main section so you can check out if you have anyothers  ;)
Logged

ossbanak

  • Guest
Re: in the dark
« Reply #2 on: January 16, 2020, 04:03:55 PM »

i am 57 now and started menopause when i was 42. i struggled to get dr to take me seriously but in the end took my hubby with me as i wasconvinced i had alzheimers or something.
now i am struggling with my weight and hair loss and bladder primarily. i have not been sexually active for 3 years now as its too painful. i will try and find the list as new to forum so not sure how or where things are
Logged

ossbanak

  • Guest
Re: in the dark
« Reply #3 on: January 16, 2020, 04:15:56 PM »

in regards to treatment pist menopausal what am i looking for? presume fsh levels? whats available? i am very very overweight.....
Logged

Ladybt28

  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 1422
Re: in the dark
« Reply #4 on: January 16, 2020, 04:16:17 PM »

oh my giddy aunt that's a long time without any help.  The gp will be able to sort out the bladder issues and the soreness with topical oestrogen cream or suppositories which plump up the area.  It is a thing called vaginal atrophy.  Put the name in the search box above and you will find loads of info about it ossbanak. One of the ladies wrote a book called Me and my menopausal Vagina which some doctors have in their surgeries now but it is very new!  VA is one of things I didn't have and there will be ladies all too familiar with it along in a bit I should think

I am 58 now but got started on full hrt when I was 46 albeit the wrong kind for me and it didn't do too much to help only a bit. I got onto the right stuff about 2 years ago now - long story.

The other symptoms should be stopped or got under control by hrt but it is trial and error what suits you and it depends what your doctor prescribes.
Logged

ossbanak

  • Guest
Re: in the dark
« Reply #5 on: January 16, 2020, 04:22:08 PM »

sorry i was unclear there. i was diagnosed and treated with hrt at 42 . had 5 yearsof hrt then they stopped it. was fine up until about 6 months ago when all these new symptoms indicative of post menopause started and its only in ladt couple of days myneighbour suggested thats what it was but my gp has been hopeless in the 6 months......
i just ask what is there out there to help treat post menopause as clearlymy hormones are beserk!
Logged

CLKD

  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 73977
  • changes can be scary, even when we want them
Re: in the dark
« Reply #6 on: January 16, 2020, 06:33:26 PM »

Why did you stop?  If it ain't broke etc.  ::)

Make a list of symptoms.  Maybe keep a mood/food/symtpom diary to chart progress.

Check the VA threads as suggested.  Also, as oestrogen levels drop the body may become dry, i.e. skin, deep in the ears, nostrils, vagina and muscles may become lax = aches and pains.

GPs deal with symptoms in front of them, rarely do they think outside the box.  No age is too young for menopause symptoms!

Let us know how you get on!  Get the vaginal atrophy treatment pronto: 2 weeks nightly use then every 3rd and 5/6th nights.  Plus pain relief if necessary to stop the niggly bladder feelings. 
Logged

squeaker99

  • Guest
Re: in the dark
« Reply #7 on: January 22, 2020, 10:12:12 AM »

Sadly this seems to be the norm. I have seen 8 GPs,  3 practise nurses, 1 NHS Meno ' specialist with
symptoms for the last 5 years that are clearly now  (with hindsight) Peri meno. Thanks to this forum I know
that they were as they come and go. Gastric/cardio/anxiety/insomnia (terrible)/brain fog (terrible)/joint/muscle/nerve - some of the
former pretty extreme.   No GP mentioned the word Perimenopause or put any of the above down to Hormones.
I was just given the usual off the peg ' stuff' ailment by ailment and when pushed some CBT.

I support and can appreciate that a GP will never ' assume' physical symptoms are down to ' just hormones' in case they
are not so go through the gamet of usual testing / results / treatment by treatment.

Also unless you go through this you have NO IDEA whatsoever of what is about to hit you. It is not about periods stopping.
Also I just don't think the science is there as to why many of these 'side effects' of changing hormones occur and how all of us are effected so differently. Some react well to some HRT / ADs , some react terribly.

I have also had some less than helpful comments such as ' you must expect these aches and pains now - you are not young anymore',
' cheer up - once you are ' over the period fence' things will improve',  ' It's not going to kill you you know' (2 weeks of hardly any sleep), ' I know how you can beat it, you have to trust me'  (GP - then handed my a pack of Sertraline which sent me bonkers).

I was even told that there was now a Meno nurse who visits the practise every month - turned out she visited a practise 3 hours drive away in the city every month!



Logged

CLKD

  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 73977
  • changes can be scary, even when we want them
Re: in the dark
« Reply #8 on: January 22, 2020, 11:02:32 AM »

Seems GPs don't realise how serious menosymptoms might be!

If men were to complain ?  >:(  ::)
Logged