Another question for the ladies- peri menopause

ChrisCatMama
ChrisCatMama Posts: 1,038 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
My peri menopause is in full swing, though I am sure it started gradually about 5 years ago. I’m losing my balance easier (I’ve always been a natural clutz!), craving carbs and salty food, fatigue...etc etc
Has anyone got through this without much medication and still lost weight? I have so much responsibilities at home and now dealing with all this. Today has been the worst so far. I’m praying not every day will be this bad.
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Replies

  • lalalacroix
    lalalacroix Posts: 834 Member
    I've been in perimenopause for a few years. So far I've lost 45 pounds. I've done it through a calorie deficit.
  • whitpauly
    whitpauly Posts: 1,483 Member
    There's a good thread on perimenopause called"is it over yet" I can't link it but maybe someone else will :)
  • whmscll
    whmscll Posts: 2,254 Member
    I’m past menopause and never took any medication. Lost 27 pounds 6 years ago when I was peri-menopausal through calorie deficit. Took about 7 months.
  • ChrisCatMama
    ChrisCatMama Posts: 1,038 Member
    I think I should have said “prescription meds “ because I do take black cohosh and natural vitamins for women over 50. (Just turned 50 a few months ago actually) I did read that vertigo is a symptom. I did have an ear infection a few weeks ago.
    Thanks everyone!
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 24,835 Member
    whitpauly wrote: »
    There's a good thread on perimenopause called"is it over yet" I can't link it but maybe someone else will :)

    Here:

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10482404/is-it-over-yet-the-perimenopause-thread#latest

    :)
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
    When I started having symptoms I went to the doctor. I was told I was probably peri menopause but was also diagnosed with hypothyroidism. Starting medication for my thyroid helped with a lot of symptoms I was having.

    You might go get checked out to see if there is something more going on than peri menopause.
  • ChrisCatMama
    ChrisCatMama Posts: 1,038 Member
    Lounmoun wrote: »
    When I started having symptoms I went to the doctor. I was told I was probably peri menopause but was also diagnosed with hypothyroidism. Starting medication for my thyroid helped with a lot of symptoms I was having.

    You might go get checked out to see if there is something more going on than peri menopause.

    I already got some bloodwork done. Thyroid is fine, cholesterol is perfect. Thanks for the tip and glad you’re doing better. I’m gonna get a referral to the allergist since my allergies have worsened quite a bit. 😌
  • kgirlhart
    kgirlhart Posts: 4,971 Member
    I am in peri menopause and I don't take any medication. I started on mfp when I was 47. I am 51 now and I have lost ~80 pounds and been in maintenance for over a year.
  • grubb1019
    grubb1019 Posts: 371 Member
    If your allergies are bad you could have fluid in your ears causing you to be off balance. I have never heard of perimenopause causing you to loose your balance. I am in perimenopause and have lost 18 lbs in the last 27 days.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 24,835 Member
    I think I mentioned in the other thread ...

    Perimenopause made me tremendously dizzy in the 2-3 days before my periods. And on the worst days, I'd have some balance issues. But in general perimenopause didn't make me lose my balance.
  • lms_938
    lms_938 Posts: 11 Member
    I’ve been on HRT for about nine years, under medical supervision and advice. I have had balance problems in that I feel a bit unsteady sometimes when I’m walking, which is my main exercise. (I do about three miles a day.) I haven’t sought advice about it and did not specifically think of it as tied to the menopause. However I’ve been doing balance exercises for quite a few months now and that seems to have sorted it out. I also do a balance test about once a month. I found this on a reputable website, although I can’t do the link at the moment, but you simply time how long you can stand on one leg with your eyes closed. The website gives a table showing the average expected time by age group. You might that useful / interesting. I hope this is helpful, although it might be wise to check with the doctor if you are concerned about it.
  • cbstewart88
    cbstewart88 Posts: 453 Member
    I think there is something wrong with me. I had never heard of perimenopause. I must have gone through it - but didn't notice anything different. Then one day - I guess I hit menopause. Had my period regularly and then one month - BAM - nothing. I was done. For good. And that was it. Kept waiting for all the horrendous stuff I had been warned about to hit. But here I am at 64, 13 years later and STILL nothing. Not sure why I skated through so easily - but I feel a bit left out.. :neutral:
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,897 Member
    edited May 2019
    lms_938 wrote: »
    I’ve been on HRT for about nine years, under medical supervision and advice. I have had balance problems in that I feel a bit unsteady sometimes when I’m walking, which is my main exercise. (I do about three miles a day.) I haven’t sought advice about it and did not specifically think of it as tied to the menopause. However I’ve been doing balance exercises for quite a few months now and that seems to have sorted it out. I also do a balance test about once a month. I found this on a reputable website, although I can’t do the link at the moment, but you simply time how long you can stand on one leg with your eyes closed. The website gives a table showing the average expected time by age group. You might that useful / interesting. I hope this is helpful, although it might be wise to check with the doctor if you are concerned about it.

    Here's a link with how to test yourself. It has ages and times for both eyes open and closed.
    • Eyes open I came down at 3:30, more because I was bored and my leg hurt, than because I lost my balance.
    • Eyes closed I first did on my other leg, which has a bad knee, and came down at 37 seconds. Rested a bit, and then did my good leg, for 53 seconds. According to the chart, for my age, it should have been 5-8 seconds. Thank you wide feet and decades of yoga, although I haven't regularly done balancing poses for years :)

    https://posturemovementpain.com/2014/01/30/how-long-should-i-be-able-to-balance-on-one-leg/

    20140130-124834.jpg
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,897 Member
    cbstewart88 wrote: »
    I think there is something wrong with me. I had never heard of perimenopause. I must have gone through it - but didn't notice anything different. Then one day - I guess I hit menopause. Had my period regularly and then one month - BAM - nothing. I was done. For good. And that was it. Kept waiting for all the horrendous stuff I had been warned about to hit. But here I am at 64, 13 years later and STILL nothing. Not sure why I skated through so easily - but I feel a bit left out.. :neutral:

    This actually used to be quite common in Japan, and the language didn't have words for "hot flash" and "menopause" because it was such a non-event.

    https://newrepublic.com/article/115705/japanese-women-handle-menopause-differently-american-women

    ...In the 1980s, the anthropologist Margaret Lock conducted surveys and interviews with thousands of menopausal women in Japan, the U.S., and Canada—and found that the North American and Japanese women were having entirely different experiences.

    Many Japanese women reported no symptoms besides their periods stopping, and did not think of the menopausal transition as a particularly difficult time; the Japanese language does not even have exact translations for words like “menopause” and “hot flash.” Few Japanese women reported the symptoms middle-aged American women dread: 85 percent of American women, but only 12 percent of Japanese women, reported hot flashes. (If Japanese women did complain about something, it was usually stiff shoulders or dizziness—not symptoms American women typically expect.)

    Genetics and diet probably play a role in the lower incidence of menopausal symptoms in Japan, but women’s experiences could also be a psychosomatic manifestation of different cultural attitudes towards aging: The Japanese medical establishment doesn’t pathologize aging to the same extent as Western biomedicine.
  • cbstewart88
    cbstewart88 Posts: 453 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    cbstewart88 wrote: »
    I think there is something wrong with me. I had never heard of perimenopause. I must have gone through it - but didn't notice anything different. Then one day - I guess I hit menopause. Had my period regularly and then one month - BAM - nothing. I was done. For good. And that was it. Kept waiting for all the horrendous stuff I had been warned about to hit. But here I am at 64, 13 years later and STILL nothing. Not sure why I skated through so easily - but I feel a bit left out.. :neutral:

    This actually used to be quite common in Japan, and the language didn't have words for "hot flash" and "menopause" because it was such a non-event.

    https://newrepublic.com/article/115705/japanese-women-handle-menopause-differently-american-women

    ...In the 1980s, the anthropologist Margaret Lock conducted surveys and interviews with thousands of menopausal women in Japan, the U.S., and Canada—and found that the North American and Japanese women were having entirely different experiences.

    Many Japanese women reported no symptoms besides their periods stopping, and did not think of the menopausal transition as a particularly difficult time; the Japanese language does not even have exact translations for words like “menopause” and “hot flash.” Few Japanese women reported the symptoms middle-aged American women dread: 85 percent of American women, but only 12 percent of Japanese women, reported hot flashes. (If Japanese women did complain about something, it was usually stiff shoulders or dizziness—not symptoms American women typically expect.)

    Genetics and diet probably play a role in the lower incidence of menopausal symptoms in Japan, but women’s experiences could also be a psychosomatic manifestation of different cultural attitudes towards aging: The Japanese medical establishment doesn’t pathologize aging to the same extent as Western biomedicine.

    My point exactly!
  • SCoil123
    SCoil123 Posts: 2,108 Member
    I started peri very young (35-36yr old) and am 39 now. Symptoms are increasing. I have been able to reach a healthy weight though without peri affecting it. I just stayed in a deficit and am pretty active outside of my job.

    My main symptoms have been hair and skin issues, constant cramping like the day before your period, two periods one mo then nothing for 3, and trouble regulating body temperature.

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