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[AngelaH]

Hello everyone,

I just recently joined the forum, I am 52 and don’t know exactly on which part of the journey I am: peri, meno or post.  (due to Mirena coil)
For the last year I developed symptoms, which now are so bad that I feel like my life is finished, but I am still existing in this World.  Foggy brain, low concentration, no energy left in my body, joints pain, not feeling fresh even if I had 9 hours sleep, hot and cold flashes…..I feel like a very ill person. I work full time, but think I can’t do that anymore. I was prescribed HRT a year ago, unfortunately something went wrong and it made me even worse. So I decided to try something else. I managed to ease hot flashes with sage, I also found it helped me with the night sleep, but I can’t take sage for long (now it’s 4th month) because it is not properly studied on human, was studied on mouses only, it effects mouses brain, so actually can be a poison to the brain. Plus it doesn’t help with the rest of the symptoms anyway. I know some ladies choose to change their lifestyle, sometimes it helps to ease the symptoms. I was a very active person before, but since I don’t have any energy left in my body I feel too tired to move out of sofa. I have a dog, so when I have holidays and no need to go to work I take my dog for a long walks somewhere to countryside or seaside and I love it! I feel much fresher and it seems to me like my brain becomes clearer and not so foggy. So I have started seriously thinking about to give up full time job and have more time to spend doing things, which I really enjoy. I talk to my manager at work about possibility of moving me to part time, but instead I was offered 0 hours contract, which means not stable hours and earnings. I am single, so to accept 0 hours contract will mean for me financial worries, which would not going to help me to feel better. I paid off my house, no mortgage left, but life is too expensive now and a lot of different bills are still needed to be paid. I don’t want to change employer, I know I can find part time somewhere else, but doing so I will put myself under stress, new people, new job,  plus a lot of part time seams to be part time only on paper, in reality they will make me to peak up overtime to cover other people jobs, new job - new stress. I don’t really know what to do. 

[discogirl]

Hi AngelaH

Welcome to the forum.

I was wondering how you would feel about giving hrt another try? Are you able to share what happened when you tried hrt last time?

I understand what you mean about part time work, sometimes it's only part time on paper and it ends up being a full time job squeezed into part time hours.

Maybe if you went to your gp to discuss hrt you might find it helps with your flashes and starts to give you some energy back.

I started hrt last august, and I am glad I started it. Plus this forum has really been so helpful with advice and things.

Take care xxx

[SarahT]

Hello Angela,

Am so sorry things are so hard for you.when you tried hrt before, how long do you use it? I ask because when I went into hrt last September, (still peri) I felt a lot worse for a couple of month, and it was an awful struggle to persevere. I was up and down all over the place physically and mentally. It is recommended to give 3 months for the body to adjust even so think when altering regime.
But it did begin to settle down, due to my own symptoms (of course we are all different) it has taken some adjusting to get the right regime and I think\hope I am finally starting to get there.

Like discogirl says maybe talk to a good Dr about trying different type of hrt than before?

Walking is my own safety valve, helps me physically and mentally when I am having a bad day so am glad you and your dog have that together. Nothing I have tried is instant, or a total 'cure' but you seem to be trying to find your own ways to alter your life as much as is practical. I have had to kind of lower my expectations on day to day life, and that is hard. Not ideal, not what I want either but I do feel for you balancing health and work issues.

[Penguin]

Hi Angela

I also tried hrt awhile back and it made me feel worse. Turns out I was on too high a dose of gel for where I was in peri. Tried again 10 months later,  one pump instead of two, and totally different experience. A few side effects but they've mostly settled and experience is overwhelmingly positive now.  I wonder if it is worth you giving it another try but starting on a lower dose / different type?

[AngelaH]

Hi AngelaH

Welcome to the forum.

I was wondering how you would feel about giving hrt another try? Are you able to share what happened when you tried hrt last time?

I understand what you mean about part time work, sometimes it's only part time on paper and it ends up being a full time job squeezed into part time hours.

Maybe if you went to your gp to discuss hrt you might find it helps with your flashes and starts to give you some energy back.

I started hrt last august, and I am glad I started it. Plus this forum has really been so helpful with advice and things.

Take care xxx

Hello discogirl, thanks for responding me.  Of course I am trying to do everything what I can, first I was prescribed antidepressant to see if it can help me with hot flashes, GP who did it was not very professional in menopause subject, she prescribed me one, which normally is not used for menopause, I checked information with NHS website and other internet resources. Anyway I tried it only to get couple of more additional nasty symptoms. I came back to HRT, I discovered that Evorel 75, which I tried a year ago was too high dose for me, when I added Utrogestan 100 on top it made me so sick that I had to stop it again. I tried to cut Evorel patches in a half and  then a quarter, but nothing changed, a quarter seemed to be too low to make any difference for me, a half - too high. So I changed GP and talk to another one couple of days ago. Now I am trying OEstrodose 2 pumps gel and nothing apart from Mirena to balance them. It’s still very early stage to say if it’s going to help me or not, but I definitely started looking 10 years younger now . I have read different stories here, some ladies take HRT for years and years, and some even in their 60. I am not really sure I want it for myself, this is why I am looking for different options to cope with meno symptoms. I know it can be quite long way journey for me, for some ladies it take decades to go through all menopause stages, so I need to prepare myself not to rely for long on HRT even if it will help me eventually.

[AngelaH]

Hello Angela,

It is recommended to give 3 months for the body to adjust even so think when altering regime.
But it did begin to settle down, due to my own symptoms (of course we are all different) it has taken some adjusting to get the right regime and I think\hope I am finally starting to get there.

Walking is my own safety valve, helps me physically and mentally when I am having a bad day so am glad you and your dog have that together. Nothing I have tried is instant, or a total 'cure' but you seem to be trying to find your own ways to alter your life as much as is practical. I have had to kind of lower my expectations on day to day life, and that is hard. Not ideal, not what I want either but I do feel for you balancing health and work issues.

Hello SarahT,

So thank you for sharing your experience with me . I realise that nothing magical will come to help me and my body needs time to start responding to any treatment, which I can find for myself. But working full time means that during 3 months which is needed for body to adjust  to HRT I can feel too ill to come to work. This is why I try to find work/health balance first and then I believe it would be much easier for me to try everything what GP can prescribe me.

Walks and all Nature around me my best GP  I can’t live without them. 

[discogirl]

Hi AngelaH

I understand, thank you for sharing about your experience with your gp and the antidepressants.

I take amitrypline 10mg and I also take oestrogel and utrogestan, orally now, however I did take it vaginally for a while to ease side effects. For myself personally I don't think I could operate without hrt, so I think I'm on it for as long as I need to be. Of course I would like to be able to function without it, but it is, what it is.

As other ladies have said, it is better to start off low and slow. As much as you want symptoms to improve it is better in the long run to start off on a lower dose and then to work your way up based on your symptoms.

I do hope you manage to get whatever you need to make you feel better. Keep in touch on here as there really is some great advice xxx

[AngelaH]

Hi Angela

I also tried hrt awhile back and it made me feel worse. Turns out I was on too high a dose of gel for where I was in peri. Tried again 10 months later,  one pump instead of two, and totally different experience. A few side effects but they've mostly settled and experience is overwhelmingly positive now.  I wonder if it is worth you giving it another try but starting on a lower dose / different type?

Hello Penguin,

Thank you for your response, as I mentioned before I tried and still trying HRT, but even if it’s going to help me I don’t want to make it as the only option of treatment and specially for longer than 1 year. 

[AngelaH]

Hi AngelaH

I understand, thank you for sharing about your experience with your gp and the antidepressants.

I take amitrypline 10mg and I also take oestrogel and utrogestan, orally now, however I did take it vaginally for a while to ease side effects. For myself personally I don't think I could operate without hrt, so I think I'm on it for as long as I need to be. Of course I would like to be able to function without it, but it is, what it is.

As other ladies have said, it is better to start off low and slow. As much as you want symptoms to improve it is better in the long run to start off on a lower dose and then to work your way up based on your symptoms.

I do hope you manage to get whatever you need to make you feel better. Keep in touch on here as there really is some great advice xxx

Yes, I can understand that HRT is not a choice in many cases, but rather sort of life saving treatment and it’s not possible to predict for how long is needed.

Yesterday I started OEstrodose, had just 1 pump, checked my skin for any allergy reaction first, but today applied 2 pumps, I feel like my body becomes lighter, easier to move around and easier to move myself from the sofa. Concentration still poor, but things around me looking brighter, like my vision is changed. Will see what is going to happen tomorrow.

A big thank you for your support, I still continue reading here about different experiences, they all interesting to me. 

[Menopausal Mona]

Hi AngelaH

I'm like you.  I'm 41 going through menopause in full time work.  I'm currently off sick as it all became too much for me.  I'm considering redeployment, if this is something you could do at your work at all if you work for a large company/organisation?  I'm looking at being the new girl somewhere as a good thing rather than the challenge new stresses can bring, as I could be the new girl and work to my own new standards, instead of trying to be the me that everyone in my current job has known for ten years that was much more capable than I am now.  It means I get to adjust expectations. 

Just offering another way of thinking of a new role, if that is the move you end up needing to make.

Also - I read somewhere that the number of women who leave their jobs during menopause is actually quite high.  That helped me reading that - I wish I could remember where I read it to link it, but I can't remember my own name half the time nowadays!

[AngelaH]

Hi AngelaH

I'm like you.  I'm 41 going through menopause in full time work.  I'm currently off sick as it all became too much for me.  I'm considering redeployment, if this is something you could do at your work at all if you work for a large company/organisation?  I'm looking at being the new girl somewhere as a good thing rather than the challenge new stresses can bring, as I could be the new girl and work to my own new standards, instead of trying to be the me that everyone in my current job has known for ten years that was much more capable than I am now.  It means I get to adjust expectations. 

Just offering another way of thinking of a new role, if that is the move you end up needing to make.

Also - I read somewhere that the number of women who leave their jobs during menopause is actually quite high.  That helped me reading that - I wish I could remember where I read it to link it, but I can't remember my own name half the time nowadays!

Hello Menopausal Mona, thank you for your reply and for sharing your own experience, sorry to hear you are going through early menopause and in such a difficult way, I hope things will get better for you eventually.

I work for a large company, with a lot of vacancies constantly going around, but I feel any job which I would take it would be too much for my ill body , I don’t want to learn something new, just my brain is not capable to do that any way, and I already lowered my expectations many years ago, I can’t go any lower than I am now, this is the lowest level I can get  I would like to stay where I am now, just need some adjustments, thought I don’t know for how long I will need them. I think it is worth to try to contact the main office, because talk to my managers probably is not enough. My company deals with mental health issues at work place, there is some help available for people with depression there. The problem is it’s very easy to talk about depression, it seems everyone can understand what is about, but it’s not easy to find someone you can to talk to about menopause symptoms, even ladies who going through menopause themselves don’t really understand the problem, statistically 80% ladies going through it naturally, easy with no severe symptoms, how they can understand us, 20% minority? 

You are right there is statistic, which shows that some ladies reduce their working hours or give up their jobs at all. I know from my own experience that work less hours and spend more time doing things which I enjoy do help me feel better and healthier.

Meanwhile I am on HRT, trying to sort my brain and body out. Not a lot of changes, for 2 weeks I had only 1 day like I was 30 years old  and all other days like I am back to “my normal menopause life”, just less hot flashes, and more energy in the morning.

Menopausal Mona good luck with your new role - “new girl”, you are doing right things, come and write here how your things going, I believe it should be light at the end of the tunnel, we will find it. 

[Menopausal Mona]

Hello Menopausal Mona, thank you for your reply and for sharing your own experience, sorry to hear you are going through early menopause and in such a difficult way, I hope things will get better for you eventually.

I work for a large company, with a lot of vacancies constantly going around, but I feel any job which I would take it would be too much for my ill body , I don’t want to learn something new, just my brain is not capable to do that any way, and I already lowered my expectations many years ago, I can’t go any lower than I am now, this is the lowest level I can get  I would like to stay where I am now, just need some adjustments, thought I don’t know for how long I will need them. I think it is worth to try to contact the main office, because talk to my managers probably is not enough. My company deals with mental health issues at work place, there is some help available for people with depression there. The problem is it’s very easy to talk about depression, it seems everyone can understand what is about, but it’s not easy to find someone you can to talk to about menopause symptoms, even ladies who going through menopause themselves don’t really understand the problem, statistically 80% ladies going through it naturally, easy with no severe symptoms, how they can understand us, 20% minority? 

You are right there is statistic, which shows that some ladies reduce their working hours or give up their jobs at all. I know from my own experience that work less hours and spend more time doing things which I enjoy do help me feel better and healthier.

Meanwhile I am on HRT, trying to sort my brain and body out. Not a lot of changes, for 2 weeks I had only 1 day like I was 30 years old  and all other days like I am back to “my normal menopause life”, just less hot flashes, and more energy in the morning.

Menopausal Mona good luck with your new role - “new girl”, you are doing right things, come and write here how your things going, I believe it should be light at the end of the tunnel, we will find it. 

Thanks Angela. I'm sorry you've already had such a rough time. I do feel lucky in the sense that I feel like employers are now starting to take steps to increase awareness around menopause symptoms and life changes. It's a shame that it's taken so long when it can affect such a large proportion of the population but it does seem there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

I'm pretty sure I can't be the only one to have started buying a large amount of lottery tickets in the hope I don't ever have to go back to work too

[AngelaH]

Thanks Angela. I'm sorry you've already had such a rough time. I do feel lucky in the sense that I feel like employers are now starting to take steps to increase awareness around menopause symptoms and life changes. It's a shame that it's taken so long when it can affect such a large proportion of the population but it does seem there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

I'm pretty sure I can't be the only one to have started buying a large amount of lottery tickets in the hope I don't ever have to go back to work too

Hello Mona, I stoped buying lottery tickets years ago, never was lucky enough to win jackpot without spending millions on lottery tickets So prepare myself to work to the rest of my life because even retirement age is sliding far away faster, than I expected.

It seems HRT doesn’t work for me at all, filling now too sick, didn’t go to work yesterday and have my holiday today, probably will not able to go on Monday as well. The only one positive moment I have now is having enough free time to read the forum

[AngelaH]

UPDATE 

So it’s near a half of year gone since I started the topic, I am now on permanent reduced working hours contract with hours and days, which suit my current situation. My company has menopause policy in place and nice people in the office (who I asked to help me) were very understanding and helpful. At first I was given temporary contract to look how it works for me and after a couple of months it was changed to permanent. Despite reduced working hours, company agreed still to keep the same amount of benefits like before.

 After a long battle with HRT I chose to stay on progesterone only treatment until I can see menopause specialist in clinic. I feel much better now, my work/life balance really helps me, progesterone gives me energy to function, helps with concentration and memory, I have started enjoying my life and I can see how bright outside Word is. I still have some symptoms which I need to work out how to treat them and a couple of questions, which I can’t find the answers to them, but hope menopause clinic will sort it out eventually.