How come NO ONE prepares you for Peri or menopause? When your a teenager they have sex Ed classes that prepares you for the start of your cycle. When you get pregnant you can take Lamaze classes & parenting classes. No one tells you what to expect during the change of life! So unfair! Rant over!
Cracking idea! Then at least many women could get support and understanding, and realise that they are not going mad, until they get a " light bulb moment" and work out that this is peri or menopause! Maybe even the medical profession would realise what women are trying to tell them and not just dole out anti depressants and all the rest before they too have the light bulb moment! I,m sure many of us have cupboards full of unnecessary meds, like me, for the symptoms, and not the cause. Great idea Dorothy......you obviously don't have the brain fog symptom!
I have the brain fog at times! Even our Mother's never prepared us for the change. Menopause is so much more than hot flashes and night sweats!
Yes, but so many symptoms are mistakenly identified as something else. Our mothers just didn't talk about the menopause. But yes, now we at least can alert our daughters to what may happen to them, and hopefully we will be able to support them! Keep smiling x
You are so right!! This just outright sucks to be honest..This horrible round of symptoms came out of the blue about a year ago..I’ve aged 10 years in the past year..never felt old (I’m 46) and now I feel old, achy, wrinkly, dried out, not to mention sad and cranky with touch of hypochondria thrown in..I can’t talk to anyone about it..my kids and husband don’t want to hear it and apparently all my friends are just flying through it with NO problem! They are all drinking wine, doing hot yoga and living their lives ..I’m sorry that all I’ve got is complaints but I have found comfort here knowing I’m not alone, dying or going crazy! Hang in there!! Keep in touch and remember you’re not alone. 😊
I've wondered this several times since I started experiencing symptoms. The only things you ever really hear about are hot flashes, end of menstruation, and maaaaaybe night sweats.
The symptoms are so vast,varied, and far-reaching that it does seem unfair to not be educated about how severe and prevalent they can be.
Maybe our mothers' generation didn't realize that so many of their symptoms were related to the "change" and simply chalked it up to normal aging.
For me personally, I was raised by a single dad, and when I did reconnect with my mom in my 20s, I found out she'd had a hysterectomy at 22, so she had a different experience altogether.
I really do hope our generation will educate and inform our daughters better....and even our sons! As husbands/partners, they'll need to know that the symptoms are natural and normal and how to be supportive.
I thought that,it's like it's a secret. 60 years ago and longer women I think we're just happy the menopause meant there would be no more babies. Their life expectancy wasn't as long so they didn't seem to mind slipping into old age. Now we live into our 80s more often now I think it's more of an issue. Living for perhaps 35years without hormones and the ageing effects it has is something that should be looked into more. They should look for more treatments for peri/menopause. It seems because it's 'natural'we women should just put up with it. If men lost their sex hormones at 50 I bet there would be millions pumped into research to avoid it.
I get so mad sometimes when I think of how long I suffered and how scared I was for years. Dr's as well as naturopaths never suggested it could have been my hormones. It is not just hot flashes and night sweats.
I laughed at this: If men lost their sex hormones at 50 I bet there would be millions pumped into research to avoid it. So true!
I have asked myself that same question! So unfair!
You are soooooo right!! I think they absolutely had no idea the symptoms were menopause induced. Yes it’s really sad that so many women before us suffered so badly. Thank god we can research info out at our fingertips. Finding you all here on this forum has certainly made things easier for me!! Thank you all for your stories and support!!!
Women supporting Women!!👭👭👭👭👭
Yeah. You are do correct. I always thought it was just going to be hot flashes. Imagine my surprise! The doctors, including the gynecologist do not know what changes you can go thru. So frustrating!
Hi Dorothy
So true just another one of those things evwomen have to indure 😋
Yes not just hot sweats, there's so much More! Insomnia, health anxiety, weight gain, weight loss. Gastitis/stomach issues, bloating, hair Thinning or hair growth slowing, headaches, migraines/auras/bleeding gums, panic attacks, general anxiety, mood swings, loss libido, vaginal dryness, loss of sexuality, tiredness, period changes (endless spotting or heavy bleeding) nausea, leg cramps, general aches and pains, allergies, intolerence to bright lights, dry eyes, palpitations.......
Well I was a nurse and wanna hear something funny we weren’t taught about perimenopause it was all about the endocrine system which is hormones puberty pregnancy and menopause so when I spoke to my gp he said the same thing imagine that thank god he had a lot of good info still doesn’t change the suffering my best description of these symptoms it’s like going thru puberty and pregnancy at the same time just sucks it just sucks everyday you just don’t know what you will get or it’s like ground hog day fun times not!!!!
Yeah. You have to wonder why nobody warned us about what we were going to have to endure. To me child birth was much easier lol. I try to ask my mom about what she went thru and she just says she doesn’t remember. I want to make sure I tell my daughters what they may have to endure. Maybe I need to start keeping a journal. 🤔😊
Yes I thought about doing that for my daughter, sadly I lost my mum twenty years ago so I couldnt ask her, Im two years post menopause although not as bad as it was there are still symptoms that pop up!
I've often thought that I'd rather have the flu or go through childbirth than go through this! At least with those things you know what to expect and know (relatively) when it will be over! Definitely keep a journal. I've written down all my symptoms and will give it to my daughter when she's much older.
Great description! "puberty and pregnancy" at the same time!
I'm 58 and seven years postmenopausal. I was very blessed and breezed through peri and had no symptoms until 2014. Then the bottom dropped out. I thought I was going crazy. The health anxiety is the worst! Every little ache, pain or twinge and I was sure I was dying! I'm taking a Antidepressant and have Valium for the really crazy times. I have good days and bad. I also see a therapist every two weeks that's in her 60's so she gets it.