Is It Over Yet? The Perimenopause Thread

So I'm in a very weird place.

Specifically, it's called perimenopause.

I feel like this category warrants its own thread, since technically, we have not achieved menopause (12 months without a period) but we never know what's going to happen, when...and we only loosely why. (Or is that just me?)

So, who's on board? Get on the peri train, woot! Here's the haps with this old bird. I am 49, have been in ovarian failure for I believe seven years now per labs but my periods only began to go wonky two years ago. Before that, I was like clockwork including ovulation signs so who the kitten knows. I assume it is basically cobwebs in there by now with some mummified Knight Templar propped up against one ovary or something, and yet...the periods just keep on coming. But...weirdly. Two in a month, nothing for a couple months, long, short, whatever.

I am currently on my longest cycle ever - 90 days (I track on fertility friend).

Is it over yet? Will it ever be over? Who knows...in the meantime...shout out if you're peri!

Replies

middlehaitch

LAWoman72 wrote: »

Holy cow! I had NO idea this thread was still alive! None. THANK YOU, everyone who has responded!

I am now nine months without a period, had a few little spots (not even a full day of spotting, per se, just...those few, well...spots) at one point...that's it.

I get horrible twinges down where I think my left ovary is. I may go to the doctor. It's getting pretty bad.

So funny you should post. I had just done a check if you were still with us earlier today.

I was 11 month into no period, happily went on a trip to Belgium, from west coast Canada, of course no pads and tampons taken.
Oh- oh, late one evening my period started. You should have seen us all trying to find anywhere open.
It was my last, but I never thought I was over until way past the 12 month mark.

Do go to your doc and get that left side twinge checked.

Cheers, h.

LAWoman72

middlehaitch wrote: »

LAWoman72 wrote: »

Holy cow! I had NO idea this thread was still alive! None. THANK YOU, everyone who has responded!

I am now nine months without a period, had a few little spots (not even a full day of spotting, per se, just...those few, well...spots) at one point...that's it.

I get horrible twinges down where I think my left ovary is. I may go to the doctor. It's getting pretty bad.

So funny you should post. I had just done a check if you were still with us earlier today.

I was 11 month into no period, happily went on a trip to Belgium, from west coast Canada, of course no pads and tampons taken.
Oh- oh, late one evening my period started. You should have seen us all trying to find anywhere open.
It was my last, but I never thought I was over until way past the 12 month mark.

Do go to your doc and get that left side twinge checked.

Cheers, h.

Oh man!

I have one lonely, crumpled little tampon sitting in the bottom of my purse against this very eventuality.

Because I mean...you know. It's GOTTA happen.

I will get check out. Thanks.

Sumiblue

I’ve been skipping periods for months. This month I got some spotting. That seems to be over but my breasts are really tender like they usually are pre-period.

leonadixon

Sumiblue wrote: »

I’ve been skipping periods for months. This month I got some spotting. That seems to be over but my breasts are really tender like they usually are pre-period.

Is breast tenderness a symptom? My right has been so painful for 2 weeks now

Calliope610

My last recordable period was May 2016, so I am officially in menopause. But on a regular basis, I have that slick, clear mucus discharge, similar to the mucus discharge during ovulation. Has anyone else have the same experience?

CMNVA

Calliope610 wrote: »

My last recordable period was May 2016, so I am officially in menopause. But on a regular basis, I have that slick, clear mucus discharge, similar to the mucus discharge during ovulation. Has anyone else have the same experience?

My official last period was 12/30/15 (my birthday). For awhile, I continued with the discharge. Not sure when it stopped, maybe after the first year. Totally like a desert now.. :'(

bioklutz

bioklutz wrote: »

Gulp...I think I might belong here, although I am not exactly sure. Last month I missed my period and I was freaking out a little. I have been regular for about 30 years. It didn't even occur to me until a few days ago that it might be my age! When the hell did I turn 43?!

Anyway I finally got my period yesterday and it is crazy light compared to what I normally have. I have been doing a little reading to try to find out what may be in store for me. I am not really sure what to expect because I have not really had a lot horrible menstrual problems other women have. The worst for me has been 5 minutes of cramps and the rare day of the crazies. Is it too much to hope for a smooth transition since I have had a relatively easy time for the past 30 years? My mom had a hysterectomy so she is not really a good person to discuss this with. She did say that my grandma was unbearable at times..

I am hopeful that being at a healthy weight and working out regularly will lessen any symptoms. I lift weights so I hope that will help protect my bone density.

I hope you all don't mind if I lurk a little in this thread!

Eeekk! I have had what I think are night sweats for the past 3 nights. I wake up and toss the covers off. It is the oddest sensation. I feel like I am covered in sweat - but when I touch my skin it is only slightly damp. I feel extremely hot - but not like a fever and not like I have been working out. It just kinda feels like waves of heat are coming from inside me - I feel like I could power our furnace. I am just missing the ingesting toxic chemicals part to turn this into a super hero origin story!

I guess a doctors visit is in order. Now to find the time...

LAWoman72

I get night sweats too. They alternate with feeling too cold as I have to kick the covers off and take off extra layers I had been wearing a few moments earlier because I had been cold then. This will repeat all night. Sleeping, or trying to, has become torture.

Sumiblue

Holy crap, I’m having the worst cramps ever! I can barely stand up. I’m supposed to take my daughter to an indoor play place in 20 minutes. We are meeting daughter’s friend and dad there. Sure will be embarrassing to have to say I’m having horrible cramps and that’s why I’m moving like I’m 90yrs old.

try2again

Sumiblue wrote: »

Holy crap, I’m having the worst cramps ever! I can barely stand up. I’m supposed to take my daughter to an indoor play place in 20 minutes. We are meeting daughter’s friend and dad there. Sure will be embarrassing to have to say I’m having horrible cramps and that’s why I’m moving like I’m 90yrs old.

It never occurred to me when I had my kids later in life that I would be dealing with this stuff while they were still young! Hopefully it will be past by the time they're teenagers

TwinSal

I have been wondering if I am in the peri menopause phase despite being regular. I am 46, have had more frequent mood swings, and also much increased appetite. I have also had bowel issues, and minor surgery for a fissure. Since getting these problems I only get pain at that time of the month in my back passage. This makes me wary about what I eat, and I feel that eating more oil maybe makes me feel better but not sure why. Anyone else have these issues?

Sumiblue

My sleep has been pretty awful for a while now. I have trouble falling asleep and then wake up a lot when I do sleep. I never felt good when I wake in the morning. I’ve been taking sleep aids, Benadryl to fall asleep but that makes me very groggy in the AM.
I just started taking melatonin-what a difference! I’m sleeping soundly and wake feeling refreshed. Such a relief.

icemom011

Sumiblue wrote: »

My sleep has been pretty awful for a while now. I have trouble falling asleep and then wake up a lot when I do sleep. I never felt good when I wake in the morning. I’ve been taking sleep aids, Benadryl to fall asleep but that makes me very groggy in the AM.
I just started taking melatonin-what a difference! I’m sleeping soundly and wake feeling refreshed. Such a relief.

+1 for melatonin, it's been a savior for me too, i fall asleep and get more rest this way.

LAWoman72

I have been thinking of taking something too...I sleep like an 80-year-old now...waking up a hundred times a night.

Sumiblue

Do your own research and/or talk to your doctor about melatonin. It is a hormone not a drug. It can be very helpful if used appropriately.

1mumrevolution

Can I ask, how are you all doing with controlling weight gain in the tummy area?

LAWoman72

1mumrevolution wrote: »

Can I ask, how are you all doing with controlling weight gain in the tummy area?

I haven't noticed weight gain going to different areas or anything. The places I gained at 15 are the same places I gain at 50. I can only try to control it through diet and working out - diet for the fat, and working out to try to measure smaller (which, amazingly, works for me and does seem more centered on the abs than anywhere else even though there's no actual/literal "just tone this specific area" exercise - that's a semi-myth but is a whole other story, I guess).

So anyway, for me at least, controlling weight anywhere is the same as controlling it in general; I don't think as fat goes that we can ever really spot-reduce.

Machka9

Where I gain weight has changed slightly, and I started noticing the change when I was in my early 40s and apparently that was about the time I went into perimenopause. Let's just say my figure became less "boyish" and a whole lot more "hourglass".

So my weight gain wasn't particularly in the tummy area.

A year ago, at 49, I hit the weight I was when I was from my teens to my mid-30s, and so I dug out all my small clothes from back then ... and made a rather disappointing discovery. What had fit my boyish figure back then, didn't fit my new late-40s hourglass figure, despite the fact that my weight was the same. I've got a whole collection of tops that simply don't fit anymore ... I can't button them, I can't squeeze myself into them. They fit me fine around the waist, and they're all right in the shoulders, but I seem to have acquired couple new features in between!!

ahoy_m8

Machka9 wrote: »

Where I gain weight has changed slightly, and I started noticing the change when I was in my early 40s and apparently that was about the time I went into perimenopause. Let's just say my figure became less "boyish" and a whole lot more "hourglass".

Opposite for me. My hips are an inch or 2 smaller and waist larger. This is really helpful, though, as it subdues the hourglass and makes standard size clothes fit much easier. For decades, if it fit in the hips it was gaping at the waist. Still true but low rise styling has helped that, too. I noticed this in my late 40's, before peri for me. I think.

LAWoman72

Machka9 wrote: »

Where I gain weight has changed slightly, and I started noticing the change when I was in my early 40s and apparently that was about the time I went into perimenopause. Let's just say my figure became less "boyish" and a whole lot more "hourglass".

So my weight gain wasn't particularly in the tummy area.

A year ago, at 49, I hit the weight I was when I was from my teens to my mid-30s, and so I dug out all my small clothes from back then ... and made a rather disappointing discovery. What had fit my boyish figure back then, didn't fit my new late-40s hourglass figure, despite the fact that my weight was the same. I've got a whole collection of tops that simply don't fit anymore ... I can't button them, I can't squeeze myself into them. They fit me fine around the waist, and they're all right in the shoulders, but I seem to have acquired couple new features in between!!

I wasn't boyish even in my teens. I always had a giant jutt butt and thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiighs (not just thighs...thiiiiiiiiiiighs), even at 105 lbs.

But I sure don't have any actual clothes from my highschool days. I'm pretty sure by now they'd all be dust, guarded over by a dead Knight Templar, its skeleton hunched over a rusted sword with cobwebs connecting its slipping crown to its tattered boots.

Or...something like that.

Because I'm old. (#spoiler)

Machka9

ahoy_m8 wrote: »

Machka9 wrote: »

Where I gain weight has changed slightly, and I started noticing the change when I was in my early 40s and apparently that was about the time I went into perimenopause. Let's just say my figure became less "boyish" and a whole lot more "hourglass".

Opposite for me. My hips are an inch or 2 smaller and waist larger. This is really helpful, though, as it subdues the hourglass and makes standard size clothes fit much easier. For decades, if it fit in the hips it was gaping at the waist. Still true but low rise styling has helped that, too. I noticed this in my late 40's, before peri for me. I think.

LAWoman72 wrote: »

Machka9 wrote: »

Where I gain weight has changed slightly, and I started noticing the change when I was in my early 40s and apparently that was about the time I went into perimenopause. Let's just say my figure became less "boyish" and a whole lot more "hourglass".

So my weight gain wasn't particularly in the tummy area.

A year ago, at 49, I hit the weight I was when I was from my teens to my mid-30s, and so I dug out all my small clothes from back then ... and made a rather disappointing discovery. What had fit my boyish figure back then, didn't fit my new late-40s hourglass figure, despite the fact that my weight was the same. I've got a whole collection of tops that simply don't fit anymore ... I can't button them, I can't squeeze myself into them. They fit me fine around the waist, and they're all right in the shoulders, but I seem to have acquired couple new features in between!!

I wasn't boyish even in my teens. I always had a giant jutt butt and thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiighs (not just thighs...thiiiiiiiiiiighs), even at 105 lbs.

But I sure don't have any actual clothes from my highschool days. I'm pretty sure by now they'd all be dust, guarded over by a dead Knight Templar, its skeleton hunched over a rusted sword with cobwebs connecting its slipping crown to its tattered boots.

Or...something like that.

Because I'm old. (#spoiler)

It's not so much the hips for me ... I've always had slightly wide hips ... it's the bust.

I went from 10-year-old boy to Dolly. Well, OK, not quite but there's definitely a difference between slender me before and slender me now.

annetrout

I dont know if this has been addressed in the previous posts...there are 19 pages of them! But has anyone figured out what is helpful for PMS mood swings? I tend to get overly angry and frustrated suddenly and I'm pretty sure its hormone related. I dont want to go on antidepressants, and I just started buying St.Johns wort for this. Then I read that most of the st. johns wort sold is just filled with fillers and no actual extract.
Anybody know of better options that I can get OTC that would be helpful for moods? Or where I can get St. Johns wort that is the real stuff?

LAWoman72

annetrout wrote: »

I dont know if this has been addressed in the previous posts...there are 19 pages of them! But has anyone figured out what is helpful for PMS mood swings? I tend to get overly angry and frustrated suddenly and I'm pretty sure its hormone related. I dont want to go on antidepressants, and I just started buying St.Johns wort for this. Then I read that most of the st. johns wort sold is just filled with fillers and no actual extract.
Anybody know of better options that I can get OTC that would be helpful for moods? Or where I can get St. Johns wort that is the real stuff?

I hope someone will chime in on this. I'm sure people mentioned some herbal remedies and probably HRT was mentioned. I don't know if antidepressants are the way to go, though, because if it isn't actually depression then...?

I have been thinking of maybe trying cohosh or something but I'm not sure yet. I do know what you mean about the PMS in general, though. It's weird...there are days I could swear I have PMS, but I actually haven't had a period in 10 months now.

Anyway, lots of words to bump you up, basically, LOL.

try2again

annetrout wrote: »

I dont know if this has been addressed in the previous posts...there are 19 pages of them! But has anyone figured out what is helpful for PMS mood swings? I tend to get overly angry and frustrated suddenly and I'm pretty sure its hormone related. I dont want to go on antidepressants, and I just started buying St.Johns wort for this. Then I read that most of the st. johns wort sold is just filled with fillers and no actual extract.
Anybody know of better options that I can get OTC that would be helpful for moods? Or where I can get St. Johns wort that is the real stuff?

2 things discussed earlier in the thread were progesterone cream and evening primrose oil, but I can't give you any specifics. You'll want to do your research.

LAWoman72

I'm thinking about chasteberry. It helped me in the past (before peri). I'll let you all know if I go this route and if there are any results.

bioklutz

Look into SAMe. Maybe ask your doctor about it and make sure that it doesn't interact with anything you are currently taking.

kshama2001

Machka9 wrote: »

I've broken down and purchased black cohosh ... but I haven't taken any yet. Still a little concerned about the side effects. However, it is my second to last resort for all these hot flashes and night sweats.

I've been taking black cohosh for years with no noticeable side effects. Never had a hot flash. I'm almost 51 and have been impatiently waiting for them.

kshama2001

tom_miss wrote: »

I have been told by GYN that I am peri menopausal at 46. I also have a 3mm uterine fibroid and a hell of a time trying not to gain weight. I gave up trying for over a year but I am frustrated by it (30 lbs.) My question to anyone that can help is; can one lose weight while going through this? Working out and eating right has not helped.

Is "3mm uterine fibroid" a typo? I can't imagine being told about fibroids 3 millimeters, and my fibroids were a non-issue at 3 cm. While they are considerably bigger now, my issues due to them are psychological rather than physical.

Lots of peri and menopausal women here successful at weight loss. There are mistakes that people commonly make that cause them to not lose weight that we might be able to spot if you change your Diary Sharing settings to Public: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings

kshama2001

gentlygently wrote: »

I had horribly heavy periods in my late 40s, and big hormonal swings - tried the pill, and had a mirena coil put in. What a mistake. Huge body reaction and 4 years on stil have Chroni Fatigue (lost my job amd all). Wish i had just stuck to the Tranexamic Acid - which is fantastic for the heavy blood loss.

Last year the hot flushes started. My doctors asvice was effectively 'dont bother too much with all the unproven vitamin/minerals/teas etc - hang out for as long as you can and then go onto HRT'

I did an HRT trial as I could see I was tipping into depression, no harm in seeing what difference it makes for 3 months.

Fantastic result - i feel normal, no flushing, better sleep, no depression and best if all I have regsined control of my temper and actually turned back jnto a nice person again(!).

I have even got the mental resilisnce to control my eating and so lose some of that middle-aged spread.

Some time after I read this post I started exploring using Tranexamic Acid for my own extremely heavy periods with my GYN, and since I am with the VA and this med is not in their formulary, it took until Friday for me to get the Rx, which happened to be a day into my period. Holy cow it was like someone shut off the facet! I am cautiously optimistic and am actually looking forward to next month to see what happens when I start taking it before I've already had a day of hemorrhaging.

The FDA approved Tranexamic Acid for heavy periods in 2009 and I am very disappointed (but not surprised) that my GYN didn't know anything at all about it.

http://www.mdedge.com/obgmanagement/article/63932/new-treatment-menorrhagia-enters-us-market#2206OBG_Article2-fig1

whitpauly

bumping so I can read later