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[Dalhousie]

I've researched this on the net and apparently if you had PMT pre menopause you are more likely to have exaggerated PMS symptoms during the perimenopause as your hormone levels are fluctuating up and down all the time during this transitory phase.  This is what's happening to me.  It happens about 20 days of each month and on top of other health problems I find life very miserable.  There's very severe bloating, backache and muscle tightness (I already have a chronic pain problem with my back and have been referred for a spinal cord stimulator as I'm very disabled & have a shed load of muscle & joint pain).

My question is:  At the beginning of July I won't have had a period for a year so will start in the post menopause phase.  Will my problems start to ease?    I do hope so. I presume though, it will take several more years more for my hormones to tail off gradually so it may take years to calm down. 

What I don't understand is that this problem seems to have built into a crescendo but i presume that's due to the fact there is increasing fluctuation in the hormone levels.

I don't know whether there is a doctor on this forum or whether anybody on here has experienced similar and can enlighten me.

On the net it also says if menopause symptoms start suddenly like mine did the symptoms are more likely to be severe 'till you're well into the post menopause phase.

[peri]

Hi Dalhousie

Exaggerated pmt symptoms were my main problem on becoming peri menopausal, I first noticed pmt in my early forties.  It was so bad it prevented me from functioning properly, in particular affecting my moods + I would get upset very easily, it was a nightmare! I am still only 49 (50) this summer so am not through the other side yet but I can say my symptoms are now under control due to my current hrt regime and I'm very grateful for that x

[Dalhousie]

Hi Peri

Are you post menopausal yet ie. no period for a year.  I started with the menopause nearly a year ago.  I'm 50 tomorrow.  My GP said she would re consider HRT in July when I will be post menopausal (no period for a year).  I did try HRT initially with the onset of menopausal symptoms but the tablets and a patch gave me diarrhoea so it's looking doubtful I will tolerate it in July anyway.

Another question I have for anybody who's reading is:

You can't take HRT forever so when you stop taking it do you start with the symptoms all over again from day 1 and have to work your way through it.

I'm wondering how long it takes to get 'seriously post menopausal' (after you've passed the no period for a year mark) for all the PMS to subside.  At a rough guess is it 5 or 10 years - I appreciate we are all individuals and these things vary.

[peri]

Hi there

No I don't think so but it's hard to tell as I am on evorel sequi patches with utrogestan progesterone which is a regime which gives me a period - I would have to discontinue the hrt to see where I am and if I'm post menopausal and that's something I'm not ready to do just now, think I will try it when I hit 52.  Don't give up on the hrt there are so many you could try and once you find one that suits you (this is my 4th regime) it really makes a difference.

Sorry I can't help you with the second part of your question but maybe someone will be along soon who can. The way I look at it though I'm not coming off until my symptoms have gone x

[Hurdity]

Hi there

This article about the peri-menopause explains what happens to the body, ovaries, hormones etc during the menopause transition:

http://www.menopausematters.co.uk/article-perils-of-the-perimenopause.php

The fact that you are still experiencing pms symptoms implies that you still have some progesterone which would mean the ovaries are still working - but perhaps not producing enough oestrogen to cause a bleed. I don't know enough about this to comment properly though!

Oestrogen levels continue to fall for a couple of years or so following the last period, until they reach their all time low, where they stay. For many women, some symptoms begin at this time such as the effect of oestrogen deficiency on the bladder and vagina - leading to problems in this area, and there are other long term consequences of oestrogen deficiency - some of which are still being discussed and researched. Reduction in bone density which can lead to osteporosis is one such. Also effects on heart and circulation.

You shouldn't experience any pms at all once you are post-menopausal and your hormone levels are stable, and sooner than two years because you will not be producing progesterone - which is the likely cause of the pms you describe.

If your oestrogen levels are fluctuating, you may also notice this, and the fall in oestrogen contributes to some pms - but usually in relation to low mood. I would have throught the bloating, muscle tension and back pain are caused by the fluctuating progesterone - but I'm not sure it's easy to pinpoint the exact cause in individual women! Once you no longer produce progesterone these feelings should go but you may well experience the effects of low oestrogen as above (sweats, flushes etc).

There was mention of what happens when you stop HRT - this has been discussed many times and quite a lot recently. Go to the home page of the forum and do a search and this should bring up lots of threads.

The short answer is you don't know what will happen when you eventually stop HRT. What you can be certain of, is that you will not go through a prolonged period of fluctuating hormones! Oestrogen will just decrease until it is low again. You may experience hot flushes, or you may not. If you do, they may decline after a few months, or if you are unlucky they may go on for years ( just as they can do in women who do not take HRT).

This is not a reason not to take HRT though - as it is the quality of life while younger, which most women feel they need to prioritise - not worrying about what happens later.

Bit of a ramble again!

Hurdity x

[hotstff]

Sadly Delhousie, this is true.

Taking HRT is doing me a lot of good, but I am NOT enjoying the pmt side of it!  (thought I had finished will all that), but I suppose it is a small price to pay 

I think I had just forgotten how miserable the pmt business was....

[Dalhousie]

Sadly Delhousie, this is true.

Taking HRT is doing me a lot of good, but I am NOT enjoying the pmt side of it!  (thought I had finished will all that), but I suppose it is a small price to pay 

I think I had just forgotten how miserable the pmt business was....

The PMT I had before I was peri menopausal lasted for about 3 days.  Since I've been perimenopausal the PMT is for about 20 days a month which is a massive increase - most of the month really and also in comparison it is VERY exaggerated.  A vast difference to before I was perimenopausal.  Also I cry buckets all day long not for 20 days but quite a lot of days - it isn't helped by my lifestyle of chronic pain and being very disabled that is enough to make anyone cry.

I've got an appointment with the practice nurse for the well woman clinic soon.  When I've done a year without periods which is up in July I'll make an appointment with my GP to possibly revisit the HRT thing - I may not be able to tolerate it as I didn't initially but maybe I should trial more HRT.

With PMT when I was younger I seemed to get it when I was deconditioned due to back problems.  If I could exercise and keep strong then I was all right.  Unfortunately that isn't an option currently due to severe back problems.  Wish I could exercise but I can't. The limit of my 'activity' is about 300 yards walk when I go out.