Is It Over Yet? The Perimenopause Thread
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Small update: everything had pretty much settled down for several months, since about August. You'd have thought I'd suddenly reverted back to the way things were in my late 30s. Until the last month ... and now much of the weirdness is back. <<sigh>>2
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Bumping this thread because I spent a long time searching for it and forgot I had bookmarked it.
Do people from this thread participate in the near or post menopausal group?
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/506-near-or-post-menopausal-group
I'm 43 and my period has been irregular for 4 months along with increased intense migraines. My period was always pretty regular and mild and now it is crazy. My mom is dead and I don't really have anyone in my life to talk about this experience with.
Just saw the doctor today and she said it could be perimenpause but they want to check other stuff to make sure.
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Hot flashes suck!1
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There's a product called Relizen that I've been taking for a few months and it's got rid of my hot flashes completely,its kinda spendy tho0
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Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
It is,,and its Swedish bee pollen,I've wondered if just buying regular bee pollen would work but in reviews I've read it's not as effective0 -
Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
It is,,and its Swedish bee pollen,I've wondered if just buying regular bee pollen would work but in reviews I've read it's not as effective
Worth a try. There's a lot on the web about it.0 -
Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
It is,,and its Swedish bee pollen,I've wondered if just buying regular bee pollen would work but in reviews I've read it's not as effective
I'm 52 and have never had a hot flash. I wonder if it's related to the Black Cohosh I've been taking for years for my fibroids.
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/317530.php
...A 2010 review concluded menopausal women experienced a 26 percent reduction in night sweats and hot flashes when using black cohosh supplements.
A 2013 review of available studies found that menopausal symptoms reduced more, on average, in women taking black cohosh than in women taking a placebo.3 -
Mine disappeared when I lost weight ... then flared up for a while when I was eating red meat fairly regularly during a 1-month holiday ... then vanished again for a while until I hit a point in my life where I was suddenly plunged into the most stressful situation I've ever been in. And then they came back with a vengeance.
Seems like red meat and stress are my triggers.
I'm on all sorts of stuff for them (and can't use HRT), but they've only eased from about once every 30 minutes down to once an hour or so.1 -
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 wrote: »
This is what I've been wondering...my breasts are tender like they get right before my period, and have been for probably a couple of weeks. At first I thought it was because I needed a new running bra. Also, does anyone else get breakouts? My chin looks looks like that of a 15 year old, and I am 52!! Is there anything I can do about this?1 -
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 wrote: »
This is what I've been wondering...my breasts are tender like they get right before my period, and have been for probably a couple of weeks. At first I thought it was because I needed a new running bra. Also, does anyone else get breakouts? My chin looks looks like that of a 15 year old, and I am 52!! Is there anything I can do about this?
They've got some great new skin washes out there ... much better than what I recall I was available back when I was 15.
I picked one and started using it every day, and it seemed to help.
I also started taking Vit A. Just one each day ... you've got to be a bit careful with Vit A.1 -
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I'd bet you're nearing the end....eat right (and watch the calories) and try to sleep would be my two bits of advice. good luck!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 wrote: »
This is what I've been wondering...my breasts are tender like they get right before my period, and have been for probably a couple of weeks. At first I thought it was because I needed a new running bra. Also, does anyone else get breakouts? My chin looks looks like that of a 15 year old, and I am 52!! Is there anything I can do about this?2 -
I am 40 and my hormones started going crazy a little over two years ago. Which is right on track with most of the ladies in my family, so it wasn't much of a surprise after we figured out what was going on.
I didn't know what perimenopaus
E was until a friend of mine turned me onto Christianne Northup's books. (May have misspelled her name but I'm being lazy and not going to take the time to look it up)
It's such a relief to find others who are going through the same thing. After all the messed up menstrual cycles and insane issues that come with that, I'm looking forward to menopause.
Ditching some fat stores seems to be helping a bit. I was told it'd help get rid of some of the excess estrogen stored in my bod- hopefully that'll speed up the process. Who knows.1 -
@hobbitses333 I've been told we can get a pretty good idea of how our journey goes by looking at the ladies in our family- mom, grandmother, even aunts. My aunt had the same excessive bleeding issues that I have during Perimenopause but my mom, oddly enough, didn't. They both went through to menopause by their mid-forties and I was told my grandmother was the same.
Any chance you know your family history in that area?0 -
@kshama2001 my herbalist has me take vitex pretty regularly to help with the hormonal stuff. It works great!
The herbal stuff works way better for me than the pharmaceuticals. But there are so many options out there, I'm lucky to have a knowledgeable herbalist close by.0 -
I'll be 54 in two weeks. And my periods are as regular as ever. I'm so over it.
I'll be 54 next month and just over the last 3 months have I finally missed periods. I was getting excited, then just when I thought they might be gone I got a "mini period" this week but ALL the symptoms of PMS were at full strength. I look forward to saying goodbye to the "red wave" for good soon. Sadly I have noticed the menopausal belly and waistline as of late. That's got to go too!
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@kshama2001 my herbalist has me take vitex pretty regularly to help with the hormonal stuff. It works great!
The herbal stuff works way better for me than the pharmaceuticals. But there are so many options out there, I'm lucky to have a knowledgeable herbalist close by.
I took Vitex for years. My fibroids have gotten bigger when I stopped, but they've been steadily getting bigger since they were first spotted in 2000, so I don't think I can attribute that to the cessation of Vitex.0 -
I started perimenopause when I was 37 -missing periods, etc it was confirmed by my Dr. after an estrogen test) and was done with menopause at age 42. I had a lot of the syptoms (I used to cry through the evening news every night, but I never had the weight gain and shifting around of body fat until I was in my 50s. At the time I was in peri, I took hormonal therapy, because at that point the Drs. believed it protected your heart and all kinds of other good things, only to stop taking it two years later when it came out it didn't. I understand that they have now greatly reduced the amount of estrogen, and it's much safer. I would take it if I had to do it again. I never had hot flashes, but did get terrible night sweats (I had the AC on in the middle of winter), my skin broke out, and I was an emotional mess (which is nothing like how I have was before or have been since). Even commercials made me cry. I think that living through peri and menopause has a lot to do with attitude. If you are freaked out and dwell on it all, then it will be a bad time; however, if you try to maintain a positive attitude and act like it is a normal part of life, you will feel much better about it and I swear your symptoms will be milder.5
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Oh, I am glad I found this thread! Help?
Any long distance runners in the house? I hear exercise is supposed to make hot flashes better. I am training for a marathon and still suffering. The hot flashes are kitting my *kitten* this summer. Does anything help? I just want to stop sweating in my sleep!0 -
I'm getting frustrated because I can't sleep at the moment. I feel like a zombie during the day, and it's slowing my workouts down.3
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I'm getting frustrated because I can't sleep at the moment. I feel like a zombie during the day, and it's slowing my workouts down.
I hear ya! I work really hard at my sleep hygiene. 5-HTP and melatonin worked for years for me, but it wasn't enough once I got around 50. I've recently been benefiting from something that is an option in my state that I cannot yet discuss explicitly here.5 -
amymoreorless wrote: »Oh, I am glad I found this thread! Help?
Any long distance runners in the house? I hear exercise is supposed to make hot flashes better. I am training for a marathon and still suffering. The hot flashes are kitting my *kitten* this summer. Does anything help? I just want to stop sweating in my sleep!
@amymoreorless I'm almost 52 and have yet to have a hot flash. One possible reason is that I've been taking Black Cohosh for fibroids for years. Doesn't seem to help with that, but could be preventing hot flashes.
I also eat a lot of cabbage family vegetables, such as kale and broccoli, and take Vitamin C to bowel tolerance.
You could also see if Dr. Christiane Northrup’s The Wisdom of Menopause: Creating Physical and Emotional Health During the Change has anything useful to you. She provides a wide spectrum of options, so feel free to discard any that don't resonate with you. This book was available at my library system, so perhaps yours as well.1 -
I'm 46 and my periods suddenly stopped in February of last year, then i had one random in June, and absolutely nothing again. I had my hormone levels tested both last year and now again, and i am officially postmenopausal. Wow. I have occasional night sweats, no hot flashes, but my sleep is atrocious. I'm up late, can't fall asleep early to save my life. Taking melatonin, drinking loads of herbal teas, like chamomile, mints, lemon balm, basically an array of calming teas, but still up till past midnight-1 am. And up around 7 to start over. My doctor told me that whatever symptoms i have now will most likely stay a while, but it's unlikely that i will show new ones. It's comforting in a sense, as my wife is suffering from awful hot flashes and has been for a few years. Oh, and the worst, my sex drive is in in the dumps. Wish i could fix that, anyone has any suggestions?1
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kshama2001 wrote: »I'm getting frustrated because I can't sleep at the moment. I feel like a zombie during the day, and it's slowing my workouts down.
I hear ya! I work really hard at my sleep hygiene. 5-HTP and melatonin worked for years for me, but it wasn't enough once I got around 50. I've recently been benefiting from something that is an option in my state that I cannot yet discuss explicitly here.
So this thing, which is definitely not legal in my country yet, actually works to combat sleeping issues? Because I've tried a lot of things that haven't really worked, but not that, yet. I know where I would get some, if it's worth trying, though ...
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kshama2001 wrote: »@kshama2001 my herbalist has me take vitex pretty regularly to help with the hormonal stuff. It works great!
The herbal stuff works way better for me than the pharmaceuticals. But there are so many options out there, I'm lucky to have a knowledgeable herbalist close by.
I took Vitex for years. My fibroids have gotten bigger when I stopped, but they've been steadily getting bigger since they were first spotted in 2000, so I don't think I can attribute that to the cessation of Vitex.
I've reconsidered and have ordered Vitex again. Fingers crossed.1 -
jdubois5351 wrote: »So this thing, which is definitely not legal in my country yet, actually works to combat sleeping issues? Because I've tried a lot of things that haven't really worked, but not that, yet. I know where I would get some, if it's worth trying, though ...
If it's the thing newly legal in my state too, it helps me too, and my insomnia is recurrent and intractable. I have also used supplements that use some of the components, but not others, and those products also help and are legal in more places. It also helps a lot with management of pain from neck arthritis.
I take hormones also, but the insomnia does not seem to be related to my hormone levels, and does not seem to be helped by estrogen. I've had it forever though and also have paradoxical reactions to normally sedating things (e.g., benadryl interrupts my sleep). The hormones help greatly with the other stuff though and enable me to stay active and more healthy. I'm a trail runner and would not be able to do that based on the brief period I dealt with my meno symptoms unassisted. I have zero concerns about safety as I'm fairly healthy with no hereditary cancer risks or clotting issues. I do get an endometrial biopsy regularly because I still have some bleeding (results always normal).
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Bump0
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I had to stop taking the Relizen a couple of months ago cuz after a few months on it it seemed like it was making my anxiety worse,now I'm just winging it thru,anybody ever try Estroven? I have some in my medicine cabinet yet have never tried it0
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I’m glad this thread is still going even though I haven’t added to it in awhile. My melatonin has stopped putting me to sleep and the pms type symptoms have been daily with no break for the past 4 months. My cycle had gotten consistent again for a few months before stopping - now 70 days into current cycle. I’m tired4
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