Perimenopause: how do ya know???

Heck, I'm still on the good side of 50 and have been period free for close to 2 years. I started before I was 9. Of course when we tried to conceive, it just wasn't happening. Had the hot flashes, still have anxiety, etc. the new one is uncomfortable "relations". Got something from the dr but can't be on it for long so looking into hormone free stuff. Exercise and diet do make a difference. Wish my dr just gave me something like Valium but she's not eager to write a script for stuff like that

To exercise and be conscious of what you eat, you need energy. "Crashing" fatigue means energy is in very short supply around here these days.
#-O

one plus to all the anxiety i'm feeling is that i'm losing weight!
(too bad i'm too anxious to go anywhere so that anyone can see me)

meandtheboys said:

To exercise and be conscious of what you eat, you need energy. "Crashing" fatigue means energy is in very short supply around here these days.
#-O

That kind of goes both ways, really. Sometimes, exercising will give you MORE energy. It's just really, really hard to get it started. *sigh*

@Pippi sorry if this has been said (didn't read all the comments) but I had some similar feelings and got some blood work and turned out to be my thyroid. good luck with everything. If you want to pm me I can give you more of the gory details :-((

leighan said:

re-awakening this thread to ask if my experiences are common.
irregular periods. sometimes it's a 4 week cycle, sometimes 3 and this month....2 weeks.
along with my period now is this insane anxiety. have always had anxiety issues but this is just terrible.

i wake up at night with my heart pounding and racing, and drenched in sweat.

trying to determine whether this is just anxiety or perimenopause! and if so, what do i do about it?

The heart pounding and racing and drenched is sweat is exactly how I would describe the one real hot flash that I had. Then I upped my dose of Oona and that did not happen again. I still walk up soaked sometimes but not with the other stuff. And yes, anxiety can be a symptom. A friend said to me once that the only way to make it through perimenopause was with an anti-anxiety med or with estrogen supplements. I don't agree, but I personally don't know many women who had severe symptoms, did nothing, and weathered the storm.

PeggyC said:

Oh, yes, that's quite common. All of it. Mood swings are part of it, so why not anxiety? Also, be on the lookout for extremely heavy periods ... the word "hemorrhage" came to mind when I was getting to the end of my cycles. Used to scare the daylights out of me. I went through that maybe five times before it all stopped.

Hate talking about this stuff in particular, however I was at a middle school performance when suddenly I 'hemorrhaged.' Did not know what to do. I called my husband to come to get me and wrapped a sweater around my waist. It was horrifying. It happened a couple more times and that's when I found Oona at Whole Foods (a black cohosh/chaste tea berry some name like that). If I took the recommended dose, I had not more out of control bleeding. If I missed even one pill, I had breakthrough spotting. I used it for three years. It is 30 dollars at Whole Foods and is on sale here.
http://www.luckyvitamin.com/m-528-oona?utm_source=google&utm_medium=paid_search&utm_campaign=sc_ps_google&scid=scawd2776549&&gclid=CP7bo6Cc4rcCFc9AMgod70kArQ

PeggyC said:

Oh, yes, that's quite common. All of it. Mood swings are part of it, so why not anxiety? Also, be on the lookout for extremely heavy periods ... the word "hemorrhage" came to mind when I was getting to the end of my cycles. Used to scare the daylights out of me. I went through that maybe five times before it all stopped.

I used to call it "bleeding like a stuck pig" I have no idea where I got that but that's what I called it.
That's also when I told my husband to "never trust something that bleeds for two-three weeks and doesn't die!"

Glad I am another alone on this one. It has been horribly heavy past six months or so to the point ingot scared a few times. Interesting that some people report a few heavy periods like that and then they stop.

campbell29 said:

Alas, i have lost all interest in poking.

conandrob240 said:

Glad I am another alone on this one. It has been horribly heavy past six months or so to the point ingot scared a few times. Interesting that some people report a few heavy periods like that and then they stop.

Yes, mine got really heavy then all the sudden - nothing. For months at a time! Every once in a while I would "throw off" a period ( maybe two a year) before they stopped completely.
I am 46 and have not had a period for 10 years.

Weird-like the body is trying to get it all out.

I went into surgical menopause at 45. My anxiety was through the roof (which was very new for me.) It was non-specific anxiety, because it was generally not connected to anything. Felt like I had a motor running. After six months, I started on HRT. For me, it was a quality of life issue. During the six months before I started HRT, I had a scrip for Xanax. I am not recommending it, but It was literally the only way I could get to sleep. I weaned myself off of the Xanax after starting the HRT. I am thinking about switching to an estrogen cream next year when I turn 52, which I think carries lower risk than the HRT.

Maybe I have more symptoms than I think. I have always been high - strung- brain racing 1000 miles a minute. Lately, it has gotten almost unbearable, my mind races all night and I am up and "wired" until 1 or 2am every night.

conandrob240 said:

Weird-like the body is trying to get it all out.

Something like that. I was still working full-time when this happened, and I was in and out of the bathroom about every hour, changing, um, receptacles to deal with the extreme flow. I thought about going to the ER more than once. It's terrifying if you have no forewarning that it could happen.

Yep. Wait... Until you start forgetting crap! Ugh! I used to have an excellent memory, now.... Not so much.

I cannot go into a store without a list because I will undoubtedly forget at least two items. My keys, I wish I could tie them around my neck. All in all, yeah, it pretty much sucks.

My anxiety is just on a hair trigger these days. We are working our way through negotiations and a touch repair situation to get our house sold (closing is meant to be two weeks from today, for god's sake!) and today I had a tense discussion via email with my lawyer and realtor. I was nearly in hysterics on my end, but trying to keep it together and be professional and assertive without sounding crazy in my replies to them. Halfway through I realized it was time for a Xanax.

I used to feel like a sane person. These last few years... not so much. Absolutely HATE it.

Oh, dear lord. Let's not even talk about memory lapses. Ugh, ugh, ugh.

MATB - thanks for posting that link. I had no idea about the burning tongue thing! I have had episodes of this for the past six months or so...I even started a thread about it.

pippi, some of these topics are in the Menopause thread too. I think it's a generally confusing thing, about the entire phase-shift of our lives from maybe mid-30s to mid-50ish, where we're juggling so much and now we're much more aware of the 'other things' that can complicate an individual's life.

I was fairly sure I was showing signs of perimenopause for years, but everyone I consulted about it said 'no'. It was really really frustrating when I wanted more help with keeping pregnant, and people treated me as if I had all the time in the world and there was nothing unusual about my case. And blood tests over the past year or so have confirmed that I'm still producing enough hormones to menstruate regularly, even if I don't always realise what's going on. (I've gone from very heavy to pretty light over the past year; and of course now it's way too late to have a baby plus I'm medically advised to not even consider it) So officially it's not 'peri-' but I am facing 'meno-'; in fact I just might continue until I'm 60 (i.e. another 3 or 4 years). Stress, overall good health and overall wellbeing (NOT the same thing, as it turns out) are pretty much more important in terms of symptomology, esp if you want more kids and if you've consulted a gynae.

The one basic rule in any of these major life questions is: is this so bad that you can't go another day and recognise yourself? If the answer is 'yes', i.e. if the quality of your life is so affected, then get those blood tests and camp out at your Women's Health team's door until they give you answers and solutions you can live with.

lisat, you might want to re-investigate the cohosh: here, we're advised that if you've gone through what you just have, it's contraindicated. Doesn't play well with the chemo, nor the cancer healing.

Like mkmama2 my experience with all of these symptoms was a diagnosed thyroid disorder. It ended up subsiding w/out meds & while I sometimes have "aftershocks" my symptoms overall are a lot better. However, it is not unusual for women to have the thyroid stuff along w/ the perimenopausal stuff, right? Thyroid disorders seem almost commonplace w/ women over 40 & since the thyroid plays a big part in hormone control it makes sense that they would go hand in hand.

I KNEW IT!!


http://m.today.com/health/menopause-cause-it-may-well-be-men-scientists-say-6C10315362

I haven't read through this entire thread, but my experience was that I was in it for at least 8 years before it was diagnosed in retrospect (many, many doctors told me "you're too young" or that I was just mistaken in the way I felt). Problem was I was on birth control pills which masked it, and the minute I went off the pills, 3/4 of my symptoms went away and I haven't looked back since.

So the pill causes the problems? And, what is the big deal about getting it " diagnosed" ( other than sanity)? There isn't anything you can do about it, is there? Other than hormone replacement which I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole after watching my mom get blot clots and breast cancer from HRT.

PeggyC said:

campbell29 said:

Alas, i have lost all interest in poking.

Sorry, Pippi. I know the feeling.

Whoa! Back up, sister. I still poke. campbell29 lost interest.

mkmama2 said:

@Pippi sorry if this has been said (didn't read all the comments) but I had some similar feelings and got some blood work and turned out to be my thyroid. good luck with everything. If you want to pm me I can give you more of the gory details :-((

Ohhh I had that checked out. I would have been thrilled to find out it was "just my thyroid"! LOL

MATB - you call it "crashing fatigue" and for weeks I've been complaining to my husband about "soul-sucking fatigue".
It's really a new thing and feels so much different than my typical exhaustion.

pippi, can you tell me about your anxiety? did it coincide with when your period arrived?
i know.....probing very intimate details. if you want, i'll share my poking secrets.

mumstheword said:

I haven't read through this entire thread, but my experience was that I was in it for at least 8 years before it was diagnosed in retrospect (many, many doctors told me "you're too young" or that I was just mistaken in the way I felt). Problem was I was on birth control pills which masked it, and the minute I went off the pills, 3/4 of my symptoms went away and I haven't looked back since.

That's funny. I just went ON the pill (a very very low dose -- in fact, it's so low, it's called Lo Loestrin)
Not much has changed except my anxiety seems a little less and I have the joy of having a regular (albeit shorter) cycle.
When my cycle changed, it went from being like clockwork to being every 2-3 weeks. Which basically SU-UCKED, to one day being so late, I went and got a pregnancy test. I couldn't handle the wondering and my husband couldn't handle tip-toeing around my moods, so I went on the pill. Now, he still tip-toes, but he at least knows when and how long he needs to tip toe :-D

leighan said:

pippi, can you tell me about your anxiety? did it coincide with when your period arrived?
i know.....probing very intimate details. if you want, i'll share my poking secrets.

I wish I could really pinpoint it. Sadly, over the course of the past few years we've coincidentally had some real anxiety-inducing issues. So it's not 100% "non-specific".
But now that I think about it, it's more likely similar to my typical PMS (or PPMD, if I am honest with myself) symptoms, occurring about a week before.

conandrob240 said:

So the pill causes the problems? And, what is the big deal about getting it " diagnosed" ( other than sanity)? There isn't anything you can do about it, is there? Other than hormone replacement which I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole after watching my mom get blot clots and breast cancer from HRT.

The pill kept my menstrual cycle going, so as long as that was happening, these jerky doctors kept saying I wasn't peri-menopausal, despite ALL of the symptoms. Despite supposedly taking hormone tests and saying they didn't fall into the peri-menopausal category. After 8 years of this, I had seen a doctor on Cablevision's news show one morning who was a research specialist in PCOS (poly cystic ovary syndrome) and he related all of the symptoms -- all of the ones I'd been complaining to doctors about. I tracked him down, went to him, he said it sounded like I had it, but said I had to go off the pill first. When I did, no more periods and 3/4 of my symptoms disappeared also. However, the PCOS also caused thyroid/insulin/diabetes problems which I'm still living with today. But that's a whole nuther thread!