Is It Over Yet? The Perimenopause Thread

Feel like this is me atm

ChelzFit wrote: »

I have now been on testosterone for about 8 months and I am also on microgestron birth control. I have migraines about twice a week, I spot daily sometimes heavier after exercise, I have night sweats, moody, low blood sugar, etc. My last pelvic exam was about 2 months ago which was normal and my obgyn said the spotting can be normal on birth control. I also mentioned it to my doctor who does my testosterone and she said at my age spotting is also normal....but everyday to the point where I need to always wear a tampon?? My progesterone is still low when they test me, but they said it varies during the month so not to worry about it. I really feel like something is not right because I am always bleeding. Can low progesterone cause this?

Yes, low progesterone can absolutely cause spotting. At what time of day did you take the progesterone? I take mine right before bed, which is what my gyno instructed and it helps me sleep and does not make me tired during the day.
It is not good to have estrogen unopposed (or under-opposed) by progesterone; in fact that sort of imbalance has been linked to cancer. In my amateur opinion it seems like you ought to figure out a way to get some more progesterone into yourself. Maybe you ought to get a second opinion re: the hormone supplementation.
I think it's weird that the hormone Dr. said spotting is normal "at your age". 34 is YOUNG. If it were me I'd consult another hormone Dr and see what they think about all this.

(FYI have had Biote pellet implants of testosterone and estrogen for a year now. I take progesterone to balance out the estrogen. I happen to be post-menopausal.)

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.

sarahlifts wrote: »

Still following this thread.
Soon to be 39 crazy mood swings.
Vertigo diagnosed at 36
night sweats began a year ago
I'm not sure of the length of my cycles bc I've been on Mirena for years. I do get a light period occasionally. I've begin tracking that in the last month. I'm 3 days late for it now according to a tracker.

I'm young to start but my mom said she entered Menopause at 47 she is 65. So with Peri lasting for some, a decade this may be it for me. How nice

Vertigo, my first and worst symptom. You have my sympathy/empathy. For me, it *seems* to have abated the last year or so.

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.

Yep ... after having a very large polyp removed in January 2015, I joined MFP and lost 50 lbs.

I'm in the peri- hood as well. I've gone a month or two without, only for Auntie to come back with a vengeance!
My last period started on September 23, hung out for a few days, then not enough flow to have a period, but one to drive you crazy. I'm now 9 days late.

Hello all.
How do you tell if you're full on menopausal if you no longer have a uterus and cervix? I had them out last year. (8/2/16). Is blood work the only way?

In the last 2 weeks I've had at least 2 episodes of hot flash/night sweats each night. They're occurring during the day, too. I've always been moody, but my mood swings are bothering even me now. I've always been a big reader, but I can't find a book to hold my interest. I have a big project due before year's out, but I can't seem to concentrate on finishing it. I'm messing up calendar entries at work, which makes me feel really stupid, and also sorry for my boss. (who is a forgiving soul, ptl) I dearly love my hubby of 29 years, but I'd much rather snuggle than get intimate.

In short, I feel like I'm losing my mind. How long will this last??

leonadixon wrote: »

WandaVaughn wrote: »

Hello all.
How do you tell if you're full on menopausal if you no longer have a uterus and cervix? I had them out last year. (8/2/16). Is blood work the only way?

In the last 2 weeks I've had at least 2 episodes of hot flash/night sweats each night. They're occurring during the day, too. I've always been moody, but my mood swings are bothering even me now. I've always been a big reader, but I can't find a book to hold my interest. I have a big project due before year's out, but I can't seem to concentrate on finishing it. I'm messing up calendar entries at work, which makes me feel really stupid, and also sorry for my boss. (who is a forgiving soul, ptl) I dearly love my hubby of 29 years, but I'd much rather snuggle than get intimate.

In short, I feel like I'm losing my mind. How long will this last??

I was going to ask the SAME thing! Following this one for responses. I had my hysterectomy 5 years ago (still have ovaries) and have no idea how I'm supposed to know!

You can talk to a gynaecologist and see if they know of other markers, but traditionally the 12 months without a period is menopause. You can, however, continue with the symptoms long after being fully menopausal.

I might also recommend looking into various vitamins & minerals ... they may or may not help, and you might want to run them past your gynaecologist.

However, I went through a couple years where I felt like I was losing my mind ... then I started taking a small collection of things which were recommended to me, and I felt like I got my brain back. I'm much calmer and more settled.

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!

bioklutz wrote: »

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?

Here's how my process has been going so far.

I haven't had a period since January - fingers crossed that it was my last one! - and they'd been intermittent for a couple of years prior to that. (I just turned 52.)

I haven't been using any hormonal methods of birth control for about 12-15 years - I don't remember exactly when I stopped that. As a young woman I was on the pill until I wanted to get pregnant, and felt like *kitten* when I went back on it after my son was born so I stopped taking that! After a few years I tried an IUD but didn't really like it, so we went back to barrier methods until I got "fixed" a few years ago.

I never suffered a huge amount with my periods when I was having them regularly - the first day was usually the worst, then a couple more days of cramps. I would sometimes have mild mood swings or some tenderness beforehand, but not too bad. They used to be a bit worse when I was younger, and got better after I had my son. They were never so bad that I was incapable of carrying on my daily life like I hear some women say, so I'm grateful for that!

When they started to become irregular they were initially a week or two late, and the gaps between gradually got longer and longer (except for one stretch early last year when I had three periods in the space of 8 weeks!), but when I did get one it was much heavier and more painful than I was used to. I also found that I was getting some of the symptoms around the time I might have been due, like a bit of cramping/tenderness or feeling irritable, but nothing else happened. For the last few months I haven't had that either, so I'm hoping that means it's pretty much over and done with.

The worst peri symptom I've had (and am still having) has been the hot flashes, although those seem to come and go - some days it's very frequent, other times I can go for several days without having one. I don't have night sweats, fortunately! I've had some memory issues and some difficulty concentrating, as well as some wild mood swings, but I also went through a period of depression and I believe that can also cause those symptoms so I'm not sure whether to attribute them to peri. Still having memory issues even though my mental health is much improved, though, so perhaps that is part of it.

I feel like I got off pretty lightly! I'm really hoping that this is the worst I have to deal with.

I just turned 49 and bit the bullet and am taking a low dose HRT (Mimvey). It is helping ENORMOUSLY. I think the depression I've been suffering the last few years HAS to be related (not a very sciencey view). I also am wondering if the HRT is helping me focus on my diet and exercise as well.

I was very worried about the HRT but I did enough research to be comfortable doing this for two years. I simply could not bare the night waking, night sweats and after 26 years of marriage it would suck to kill him now.

olive1968 wrote: »

I simply could not bare the night waking, night sweats and after 26 years of marriage it would suck to kill him now.

Lol... just had to say thanks for this and share the response that immediately came to my mind- "Would it really?"

SueSueDio wrote: »

bioklutz wrote: »

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?

Here's how my process has been going so far.

I haven't had a period since January - fingers crossed that it was my last one! - and they'd been intermittent for a couple of years prior to that. (I just turned 52.)

I haven't been using any hormonal methods of birth control for about 12-15 years - I don't remember exactly when I stopped that. As a young woman I was on the pill until I wanted to get pregnant, and felt like *kitten* when I went back on it after my son was born so I stopped taking that! After a few years I tried an IUD but didn't really like it, so we went back to barrier methods until I got "fixed" a few years ago.

I never suffered a huge amount with my periods when I was having them regularly - the first day was usually the worst, then a couple more days of cramps. I would sometimes have mild mood swings or some tenderness beforehand, but not too bad. They used to be a bit worse when I was younger, and got better after I had my son. They were never so bad that I was incapable of carrying on my daily life like I hear some women say, so I'm grateful for that!

When they started to become irregular they were initially a week or two late, and the gaps between gradually got longer and longer (except for one stretch early last year when I had three periods in the space of 8 weeks!), but when I did get one it was much heavier and more painful than I was used to. I also found that I was getting some of the symptoms around the time I might have been due, like a bit of cramping/tenderness or feeling irritable, but nothing else happened. For the last few months I haven't had that either, so I'm hoping that means it's pretty much over and done with.

The worst peri symptom I've had (and am still having) has been the hot flashes, although those seem to come and go - some days it's very frequent, other times I can go for several days without having one. I don't have night sweats, fortunately! I've had some memory issues and some difficulty concentrating, as well as some wild mood swings, but I also went through a period of depression and I believe that can also cause those symptoms so I'm not sure whether to attribute them to peri. Still having memory issues even though my mental health is much improved, though, so perhaps that is part of it.

I feel like I got off pretty lightly! I'm really hoping that this is the worst I have to deal with.

Thank you that is helpful, as well as what everyone else posted!

It’s only been 2.5 weeks off estrogen and here’s what changed so far. I wish I had known years ago how much hormones influence your body and had educated myself on peri. I would have done something about it years ago.

Appetite - normal, I’m not constantly starving and thinking about food
Sleep - besides getting up to pee, I’m sleeping thru the night
Anxiety - I couldn’t think of anything to fret about today, not even one
Fatigue - none
Mood - 200% better
Body Temp - I’m not constantly cold anymore (or hot), just normal
Brain fog - the cloud has been lifted and I’m able to focus
Social - I had gotten so I didn’t really want to leave the house or interact with people, now I’m looking forward to catching up with friends

It seems like all the reasons people start HRT are the complete opposite for me. I really feel better than I have in years. Fingers crossed my hair thickens back up!

Ladies - please, please, please - ask questions and explore your options. Talk about what’s going on. Even with that pesky husband.