Thread: Perimenopause and the Dancer

So...never having gone thru this before, and not knowing if I am going thru it now...lets share.

I am still hangin out in the red tent with even more regularity than I did in my 20's, (I will be 54 soon) but other stuff is going wonky on me. I dont know if it is related to hormones...or what the deal might be..so here are my symptoms

Lethargy...(wishing to crawl under my desk for a wee nappy)
Oversleeping
Sleeplessness
Brain Fog
Lack of motivation
Anxiety of the free floating kind

And you? And what are you doing about it if anything?

Is this physcological or hormonal? Lets play Doctor, shall we?

For me it started with trouble sleeping.
Now I wake up in the middle of the night sweating no matter how cold I was when I went to bed.
I also cramp when I ovulate now (thanks for that...)..c::
My metabolism has slowed WAY down.


Other than that I feel fabulous!..l;,

I am pretty much the same as you both. The one thing I have a really hard time with, is in BD class. I am almost 45 mins through the hour long class and then its like a bucket has been thrown over my head and I end up blinded with the sweat and not able to see the teacher. I am the only one sweating as I am the only old girl in the class. sigh

Sounds like it could be hormonal to me. I'm 57 and past all that and very happy about that. I had my last period AT A PERFORMANCE. Gawd, I thought I was done with periods and I started bleeding. Didn't realize it until afterward when I found the mess - glad it didn't show through the costume!

Originally Posted by dunyah

Sounds like it could be hormonal to me. I'm 57 and past all that and very happy about that. I had my last period AT A PERFORMANCE. Gawd, I thought I was done with periods and I started bleeding. Didn't realize it until afterward when I found the mess - glad it didn't show through the costume!

Ok, wow, that sucks!
I guess it made it a memorable moment.

glad it didn't show through the costume

Amen...I would have had to kill myself after that if it had. But then..I dont fart in public bathroom stalls either.

Originally Posted by KelsNasim

Ok, wow, that sucks!
I guess it made it a memorable moment.

Yeah, I can pinpoint the exact date of my last period. ..g.:

I still spend a couple of days every month hurting all over, and bleeding profusely. Like you said, with much more regularity than when I was younger. Today I have two heat pads on my lower back and my shoulders, took two Alleve, am just starting to feel vaguely human.

Brain fog, lethargy, sleeplessness, I'm there too. We need to start a club. No red hats!! No red ANYTHING!

Thank you for this thread!! I'm suffering all of the above-mentioned plus mood swings and weight gain. I too have become more regular than ever (that was a surprise) but twice in the last 4-5 months I have had spotting for a week 2 week prior to my period. Exhausted and feeling very "whatever" about everything. Don't know if it is connected to all this but I've been in a major get rid of stuff phase - an intense need to simplify my life.

No red ANYTHING!

LOL!!!

I've been in a major get rid of stuff phase

Stuff????

Stuff - you name it - clothes, shoes, furniture, nick nacks, fabric, patterns, in the last 6 months I have given away thousands of dollars worth of stuff to family, friends, and charities. Every time I get rid of something I feel a little bit better! Of course you have to realize that I have been very depressed for the last few years and bought and bought and bought to try to feel better - doesn't work - so I have alot to get rid of. Strange therapy I guess

I refuse to do hormone replacement therapy. My gyno lady talked about starting that 10 freakin years ago!!! Why??? So I am thinking more water, more B12 and a daily vitamin. Get real with the rhuemitiz meds ie: take em every day! And In the words of my husbands favorite Formula One race car driver...I just get in the car and push push push.

In India (in the old days) you were supposed to give away all your stuff when you turned 60, shave your head, put on a saffron robe and hit the road with a beggars bowl. Sounds fine to me!!! Road Trip!!!!

Originally Posted by Surida

Stuff - you name it - clothes, shoes, furniture, nick nacks, fabric, patterns, in the last 6 months I have given away thousands of dollars worth of stuff to family, friends, and charities. Every time I get rid of something I feel a little bit better! Of course you have to realize that I have been very depressed for the last few years and bought and bought and bought to try to feel better - doesn't work - so I have alot to get rid of. Strange therapy I guess

Surida, you sound like my twin... I have two or three acceptable rooms in my house now, but still need to detox two of them. They are full of STUFF that needs to be categorized, stashed, purged, donated... I used to have the depression thing too as well as a general packrat mentality. It has gotten better since I stopped eating wheat, the depression part. I'm going to have to learn to be a more selective packrat, though. ..l;,

Do you suppose depression and obsession with collecting stuff is part of this process? Be great to have something to blame it on.

I am wondering if the collection process happens prior to all this...kinda like stuffing the empty nest full of "stuff" so you dont notice you are sitting in there by yourself. I think the purge part might be part of a healthy turn around.

PS...my son calls my house "trinket land"

I am IN menopause since last Spring and can't go into hormone therapy because of fibroid tumors I have all around my uterus. I will find out next week if I need a surgery.

My doc advise me to stard taking evening primerose oil supplements twice a day (I started last June). At first, I didn't see any improvment on my moodswing and hot flashes. I had those about 8 to 12 times a day (last Summer, I even had to change clothing and take showers in the middle of the day!) I was just a human walking sauna.

But I have to admit that since mid-Sept. the moodswings are practicly gone and hot flashes, went down to 2 to 4 times a day and only for a few seconds.

Evening primerose oil also works for PMS.

So I think it's whort the try. Take care.

Qamar

Originally Posted by Qamar60

I am IN menopause since last Spring and can't go into hormone therapy because of fibroid tumors I have all around my uterus. I will find out next week if I need a surgery.

My doc advise me to stard taking evening primerose oil supplements twice a day (I started last June). At first, I didn't see any improvment on my moodswing and hot flashes. I had those about 8 to 12 times a day (last Summer, I even had to change clothing and take showers in the middle of the day!) I was just a human walking sauna.

But I have to admit that since mid-Sept. the moodswings are practicly gone and hot flashes, went down to 2 to 4 times a day and only for a few seconds.

Evening primerose oil also works for PMS.

So I think it's whort the try. Take care.

Qamar

Wow! 8-12 times a day - sounds awful! I am having them in the middle of the night and occasionally first thing in the morning (it is gross to put on makeup on top of sweat) - but just 1 or 2 a day sometimes they will skip a day or two. I will try the evening primrose. Thanks!

I also find out in this other thread I've started...

http://www.bhuz.com/forum/fitness-be...shes-news.html

... that black cohosh also is good as an alternative to hormone therapy.

Qamar

Crap that makes my blues sound like a walk in the park!!! Anybody else asymptomatic except for the brain mush???

LOL...the goddess of Menopause...

I never did any hormone replacement, but hot flashes weren't a big problem for me.

Originally Posted by anala

Lethargy...(wishing to crawl under my desk for a wee nappy)
Oversleeping
Sleeplessness
Brain Fog
Lack of motivation
Anxiety of the free floating kind

And you? And what are you doing about it if anything?

Is this physcological or hormonal? Lets play Doctor, shall we?

Yup! Sounds familiar. I was diagnosed with Perimenopause nearly 10 years ago (at age 30)!!!! It sucks and has only gotten worse the past 4-5 years. I feel like I did when I was a teenager - all of the above plus acne, major PMS, cramps, mood swings. Oh, yeah, throw in a few hot flashes for good measure.

My doctor finally put me back on birth control pills a year ago as a way to help regulate my hormones. They are helping a lot! As my husband said - "you were a real ***** before you went on the pill" - Nice, hunny! Glad the mood swings are better or you'd be dead! ,m::

So when does this hell end? I keep hearing from others that they didn't go through menopause until their 60's. I turn 40 next week. I don't know if I can take 20 more years of this.

Glad the mood swings are better or you'd be dead!

Ok...that made me feel better!!!

There has been so much press about HRT this week and its links to cancer... almost any other therapy sounds preferable! Right now I use progesterone cream or wild yam cream part of each month... but black cohosh, vitex and evening primrose oil are all good things for our "lady stuff."

I used vitex for a long time, but you aren't supposed to use it all of the time, you are supposed to take breaks from it, I think. I thought it worked well.

Oh my god, this is great education for an outsider.... and that's ALL Im going to say about that. *wink*

Dude..I am comin back as YOU in my next life!

Originally Posted by anala

Dude..I am comin back as YOU in my next life!

..l;,..l;,..l;,..l;,

Qamar

Just when we figure out our bodies, they change!!! I've been newly inducted into the perimenopause circle and I feel like those weird symptoms are good reminders to take care of ourselves. What has helped me more than anything is an earlier bed time, at least at this point in the process!

Originally Posted by JennivereMarjeta

My doctor finally put me back on birth control pills a year ago as a way to help regulate my hormones. They are helping a lot! As my husband said - "you were a real ***** before you went on the pill" - Nice, hunny! Glad the mood swings are better or you'd be dead! ,m::

This pretty much just solidified the fact that I am never ever ever going off the pill.