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[KathrynP]

Hi all. I'm new to this forum. I decided to have a look at what other women are doing to tackle / embrace their menopause. And also to raise a question regarding possible symptoms.  Now, I am 56 & post menopause. Ive had the  night sweats, they didn't bother me . I didn't get that many hot flashes.  Migraines, yes awful. Joint, muscle, body aches & pains, body fatigue, these were pretty bad & hard to deal with. High anxiety , yes, but then I had just lost my mum.  & I was living with my dad looking after him. So life was all pretty high emotion in this part of my menopause, plus I was suffering depression.  So, I went to my gp. He said I had fibromyalgia. Affects alot of women my age. It's general unexplained body pain ,& physical fatigue.Etc etc. He suggested antidepressants, because depression can cause body issues too. This was 2 years ago. I'm still taking citalopram,& I'm ok with that because it has helped me regulate my thoughts & clear my overwhelmed mind. Now, for the last 9 months, comes the most severe brain fog !!! It's embarrassing! And I feel ancient physically! It's all been really quick. There's no way I was like this a year ago! So I decided to try HRT. But my GP has said it won't help atall with brain fog or any physical stuff. She said hrt only helps night sweats/ hot flashes ... which I don't have!? I went back & forth in my mind shall I take it or not??! Because if it doesn't help, &  I stop taking it, I am going to have a mini menopause!?   Well I bit the bullet ,& I've been 2 weeks on Femeston Conti. I can't say I'm noticing any difference in my body inflammation, brain fog, but it's early days. But I wonder if all my symptoms have been due to menopause,& not fibromyalgia atall!? Just seems a bit coincidental that all my symptoms stated when I was in the Peri m/ menopause. And yet the GP didn't connect these ? Have any of you lot taken hrt for similar symptoms to me? And what have been your results? Did you have to try different ones? Did you have mini menopauses every time you came off an ineffective hrt ? Or did you go straight into a different hrt?
Sorry this was a super long post! 🤦

[Perinowpost]

Hi KathrynP

It’s very common for menopause to be misdiagnosed as fibromyalgia, and in fact happened to 2 of my cousins. Your GP wants to get with the times. All your symptoms are classic meno and are due to falling hormone levels.

Anti-depressants should not be offered as first line treatment for menopausal symptoms either. Check the NICE guidelines for appropriate treatment.

As for hrt, yes sometimes you have to try a few different types to find the one for you. I personally didn’t get on with Femoston. The patches and gel are particularly good, I prefer patches for consistency of delivery.

Type questions into the search box and you can read about lots of others experiences. Welcome to the forum btw x

[KathrynP]

Thanks for your input 🙂 I have had a proper in depth look into all things meno on here & also joined the Balance app , now following  Dr Louise Newson . I will just have to see how I get on with my prescription for 3 months . It seems testosterone is the way forward as far as brain fog, tiredness, & loss of vitality goes. Which is obvious, but I'm guessing very hard to get . From a regular go anyway. 🙄

[Perinowpost]

I would give it 3 months and then switch if you feel the hrt isn’t working. There are lots of options, as per my previous post patches and gel are the gold standard. It is possible to get testosterone but you would need a referral to a menopause clinic.

Keep us posted x

[Taz2]

Hi Kathryn. Are you taking vitamin D or have you had your level checked?

Taz x

[Kathleen]

Hello KathrynP and welcome  to the forum.

I think it was discovered recently that Fibromyalgia is an auto immune condition,  if so HRT may help because the sex hormones  are steroidal and anti inflammatory.  I certainly  know of someone  who uses HRT as pain relief.

You may need to do some more research  and talk to your GP again.  There is a lot you can do so don't  despair.

Take care.

K.

[Hill Wimp]

Hi all. I'm new to this forum. I decided to have a look at what other women are doing to tackle / embrace their menopause. And also to raise a question regarding possible symptoms.  Now, I am 56 & post menopause. Ive had the  night sweats, they didn't bother me . I didn't get that many hot flashes.  Migraines, yes awful. Joint, muscle, body aches & pains, body fatigue, these were pretty bad & hard to deal with. High anxiety , yes, but then I had just lost my mum.  & I was living with my dad looking after him. So life was all pretty high emotion in this part of my menopause, plus I was suffering depression.  So, I went to my gp. He said I had fibromyalgia. Affects alot of women my age. It's general unexplained body pain ,& physical fatigue.Etc etc. He suggested antidepressants, because depression can cause body issues too. This was 2 years ago. I'm still taking citalopram,& I'm ok with that because it has helped me regulate my thoughts & clear my overwhelmed mind. Now, for the last 9 months, comes the most severe brain fog !!! It's embarrassing! And I feel ancient physically! It's all been really quick. There's no way I was like this a year ago! So I decided to try HRT. But my GP has said it won't help atall with brain fog or any physical stuff. She said hrt only helps night sweats/ hot flashes ... which I don't have!? I went back & forth in my mind shall I take it or not??! Because if it doesn't help, &  I stop taking it, I am going to have a mini menopause!?   Well I bit the bullet ,& I've been 2 weeks on Femeston Conti. I can't say I'm noticing any difference in my body inflammation, brain fog, but it's early days. But I wonder if all my symptoms have been due to menopause,& not fibromyalgia atall!? Just seems a bit coincidental that all my symptoms stated when I was in the Peri m/ menopause. And yet the GP didn't connect these ? Have any of you lot taken hrt for similar symptoms to me? And what have been your results? Did you have to try different ones? Did you have mini menopauses every time you came off an ineffective hrt ? Or did you go straight into a different hrt?
Sorry this was a super long post! 🤦

Hi Kathryn,

Back in 2015 when I now clearly know my Symptoms started with a vengeance I had a useless GP who, after a year of me complaining of brain fog, sleeping 18hrs a day, unbelievable joint and muscle pain and no periods diagnosed me with Fibro and Chronic Fatigue along with stress. I was convinced the way forward was anti depressants. At the time I was a Police Officer in London in a very stressful job. My employers were great and I changed roles but I felt dreadful. My GP refused to believe that at 47 I was menopausal as my mother had not darted hers until her mid 50s. Yep they still walk among us those prehistoric Dr's.

Wind forward to 2018 and I retired. Still on Antidepressants and drill feeling dreadful but stress free from work.

Then 2020 comes along with Covid.I had moved and vhanged Dr Surgery and my sex life was on the floor with my partner. He has always been very supportive but I decided to do an online request for an appointment to discuss my situation with the new Surgery. Best decision ever as I got to have a long and fantastic chat with the Nurse Pracwho had fine loads of training in Menopause. Straight away she put me on Estrogel 2 pumps and Progesterone 1 tablet. Within a month my fog vleared, my aches and pains improved beyond belief and I was back to a normal sleeping pattern.
It did not improve my sex life and Testosterone was the one thing they were loathed to prescribe so I went private. Before the private Dr would prescribe anything she got me to do bloods gor Estrogen and Testosterone levels. Glad she did as my Testosterone levels were very good but Estrogen slightly down so a little tweek and hey presto I'm back at it. So  it's not always Testosterone that sorts the fog or the sex life. We are all different after all.

[Perinowpost]

Hi Hill Wimp so pleased for you that you finally got sorted. You must have despaired at times. Thanks for sharing your story, it just goes to show we should keep pushing for the treatment we deserve x

[KathrynP]

Hi Taz2. Yes I  take Vit D. Before I was prescribed hrt, my gp did full blood test for just about everything. Thyroid, liver, estrogen etc.  I'm not sure if they tested my test levels though. It came back all normal, except I had low white blood cells . So I had to get a retest after 3 weeks.
These came back normal. I  was then prescribed the femeston conti.
I've had a lifetime in the gym ( former competitive natural bodybuilder),& have always kept myself fit & healthy.  This is why its all so drastic . Some days I can hardly get out of bed with any agility, let alone go in the gym 🤦
I have a gym friend who goes to a clinic and is on bioidentical hormones, testosterone being in that mix.  She's never felt better. However it's super costly isn't it! She paid 500 for consultation,bloods etc, & now  £100 a month for the prescription.
Hill Wimp , you've certainly had a long trawl to get progress! It's great you have finally got some answers & results 🙂
Poppytoast, thanks for answering the ' back into mini menopause ' thing. It's the one 'fact' the GP kept on throwing at me. And it's the thing that was putting me off trying hrt. I feel completely off balance, fragile & alien already , without chucking mini menopauses if I have to try a different hrt! So you've cleared that one up.
Does everyone think/ agree that patches are a better option than tablets?  I can't remember why I went for pills over patches as I was offered both .