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[HellyBelly]

I'm 46 and have been perimenopausal for around 2 1/2 years now. I'm not on HRT as my doctor thinks that I'm too young to be menopausal. I'm experiencing just about every symptom going including irregular periods, memory problems, inability to control my emotions (but magnesium glycinate has been a big help with this), mood swings, hot flushes, night sweats, aches and pains, constipation, occasional haemorrhoids, changes in my appetite, insomnia, dry vagina, and itchy skin, but the worst thing by far is the sheer exhaustion I have been feeling for the last few weeks.
I'm used to going to bed feeling tired and waking up feeling tired, that's been my norm for years but this is something else. All I want to do is sleep (no matter how much sleep i get) and I have zero energy and zero strength. Some days I can barely carry my own weight and the smallest of tasks feels like the biggest of challenges.  Even basic household tasks like cleaning the bathroom or changing the bedding wear me out.
I'm hoping it won't last forever but does anyone else feel like this and what are your tips for coping?
I just want to point out that like the rest of my symptoms it's not every day but when it is I certainly know about it and it takes every last ounce of strength I've got just to get through the day.

[Dramy3]

Morning

I’m sure you’ll get plenty of non-HRT suggestions on here for your fatigue, but if you feel HRT might be an option to explore, please take the NICE guidelines to your GP and insist you are very much qualified for HRT. Here is a link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng23/chapter/Recommendations

These were just updated this month and your GP should be following them. If they still refuse, see another GP and go armed with the guidelines.


Good luck!

[chopsuey]

Completely endorse the advice from Dramy3. You are absolutely not too young. I remember how exhausted I was and how poor my sleep was before I went on HRT.

If you do choose to go on HRT and your fatigue doesn't improve, it might be worth asking for some blood tests to check things like iron levels, thyroid function, B12 and folic acid, if that's not already been done.

Have included a link to some advice on sleep hygiene to try to optimise that and also think about things like pacing and prioritising your daily activities, where possible. But really you need to see if your fatigue is related to perimenopause or some other medical cause and get that addressed.

https://www.uhs.nhs.uk/Media/UHS-website-2019/Patientinformation/Other/Sleep-hygiene-3276-PIL.pdf

[CLKD]

Change your GP!  he/she is so out of date 

Is there a Nurse Practitioner at your Surgery?  Do explain that NO ONE is too young to go into peri: many girls have few periods then stop, some teens never see a period! 

U shouldn't have to fight for treatment.  I remember Mum having crashing fatigue, she would stop cooking tea, sit down suddenly and sleep heavily.  Keeping a mood/food/symptom diary may be of use to chart progress if U don't already, also ask the Surgery for a referral to a dedicated menopause clinic.  There are waiting lists both in the NHS and the private sector. 

When the appt arrives U can cancel if U don't require it.  2+ years is a long time to be ignored by a GP!  Have u seen the same person or do you get moved around to the next GP available? 

[HellyBelly]

Hi thanks for your replies. 
I've looked at the sleep hygiene page and I already do most of the suggested things.  I'm probably guilty of too much screen time as I work all day on computers and when I eventually sit down in the evening I'm inclined to play games on my tablet because it helps me to wind down.  I've made changes to my diet and im trying to do more exercise because I have been slipping into bad habits recently.
I know absolutely that I'm not too young to be going through the menopause. One of my friends went through it at 17.  Its like a revolving door at my surgery and you never get the same doctor/nurse more than once. The impression I get, when I do get an appointment is that where menopause is concerned, if its anything other than a hot flush then it's irrelevant or doesn't exist (I'm not the only one who gets this impression either).  All the ever offer me is thyroid function tests which come back normal every time. I asked about HRT last time but I was told to take supplements (but I'm not sure if it was because there was a shortage at the time). I think I'll just have to keep trying because I'm hoping that HRT, if it doesn't work for my fatigue then it might help with some of my other symptoms.

[CLKD]

Your GP surgery should not be suggesting supplements.  Ring them tomorrow and ask for a referral to a dedicated menopause clinic.  Or do an on-line search because it may be worth while you paying for advice then asking your GP to prescribe what is required.  It shouldn't be a battle 

[chopsuey]

So frustrating that your GP practice is so out of date and reluctant to accept you are perimenopausal. You say you are getting hot flushes and night sweats, so maybe emphasise that aspect of it at your next appointment, rather than the fatigue.

You say you have made some changes to your diet. I have found increasing the amount of protein and really cutting back on sugary and simple carbohydrates makes a big difference. You can look up the glycaemic index of foods to find out the ones that give you a slower release of energy, to avoid the cycle of sugar rushes and then the energy slumps.

Good luck! 

[CLKD]

Remind me please what are simple carbohydrates 

[chopsuey]

This article explains it better than I can.

https://www.diabetes.co.uk/nutrition/simple-carbs-vs-complex-carbs.html

Basically, simple carbohydrates are sugars in all their forms, plus products made with them like cakes and biscuits, which break down very quickly after being eaten, leading to rapid rises in blood glucose levels and then insulin, as the body tries to correct the levels.

Complex carbohydrates are starchy foods like vegetables or wholegrain cereals and products made with them, such as wholegrain bread, porridge, muesli etc. These break down much more slowly, particularly if they are unrefined and therefore higher in fibre e.g. brown rice rather than white rice. Eating these gives us a more steady release of energy.   

[Lavender Girl]

Hiya,
I don't have any further advice other than what's given here, but this is infuriating to me, especially given how hot the topic is, and how much it's been talked about recently, how is this doc so out of date?!
keep going back and insisting!
So no longer ask, but insist and go in with your list of symptoms and don't take no for an answer.  Seriously you can't keep struggling and nor should you!
I'm peri at 47 and was very lucky, the neurologist already suggested it for my migraines anyway as they were starting to fall around my periods, plus I had anxiety, sleep issues, tinnitus to a level I hadn't had before.  As soon as I listed them she didn't even hesitate.
Can I ask if your docs who have refused to consider it are male?  May be making an unfair assumption, but if so insist on seeing a female doc, see if that makes a difference.

Good luck keep us posted x

Hi thanks for your replies. 
I've looked at the sleep hygiene page and I already do most of the suggested things.  I'm probably guilty of too much screen time as I work all day on computers and when I eventually sit down in the evening I'm inclined to play games on my tablet because it helps me to wind down.  I've made changes to my diet and im trying to do more exercise because I have been slipping into bad habits recently.
I know absolutely that I'm not too young to be going through the menopause. One of my friends went through it at 17.  Its like a revolving door at my surgery and you never get the same doctor/nurse more than once. The impression I get, when I do get an appointment is that where menopause is concerned, if its anything other than a hot flush then it's irrelevant or doesn't exist (I'm not the only one who gets this impression either).  All the ever offer me is thyroid function tests which come back normal every time. I asked about HRT last time but I was told to take supplements (but I'm not sure if it was because there was a shortage at the time). I think I'll just have to keep trying because I'm hoping that HRT, if it doesn't work for my fatigue then it might help with some of my other symptoms.