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[Dalhousie]

In the middle of July I should become postmenopausal - no period for a year.  I know everyone is an individual but I was wondering from those in the know if my symptoms might start to tail off a little.  Am I right in presuming these things tail off gradually & slowly over years & years so therefore nothing much might change for me over the summer???

From what I've read it's the perimenopause where your hormones fluctuate up & down & give rise to PMS symptoms which I have very badly - abdominal bloating, PMT etc but no period.  I'm wondering if my hormone levels might stabilise a little when I'm post menopausal & settle down a bit.

I see my GP about going on HRT in August so was wondering if I left it a little longer to see if things settle down a bit when I've become postmenopausal.

Thanks.

[honeybun]

Unfortunately I don't think a switch is flicked at the year mark. I wish there was and then at least we would know when our symptoms would improve or at least level.out. Yes the fluctuations will level out to a constant low but our bodies as we knew them will still feel the loss of hormones.

Everyone is different of course. Your one advantage is you can go on a no bleed HRT if you want.
Don't think anything will be achieved by waiting till August to be honest.


Honeyb
x

[Machair]

From what I have read you can still have hormonal ups and downs for a couple of years after you are officially menopausal. I know this as I have just had a period 11 months after my last one, just when I was expecting to declare myself finished! I had all the warnings of its arrival too including a complete cessation of night sweats. So you never know!

[Dancinggirl]

I'm afraid our bodies haven't read the manual about menopause that many doctors seem to have read!!!!!! 
Every women is different and will go through the meno with a wide variety of symptoms with varying degrees of severity.
There was once an interview on radio with an eminent Gynae who described the meno like this(I am paraphrasing). If you take 4 women; women No1 will arrive at 53 and her periods will stop and she will experience few if any symptoms. Women No2 will have some peri meno symptoms with possibly a few 'warm moments' and erratic periods but things settle very quickly.  Women No.3 will experience problems with heavier or lighter erratic periods for a few years and have hot flushes etc through peri and post meno for 2-4 years before things slowly settle.  Poor women No 4 will experience horrible peri problems with fluctuating hormones and periods over 4-5 years and then still get flushes etc for the next 10-20 years and beyond.
I suspect most of the ladies visiting this site fall into the last 2 categories, however, it is very difficult to know how many women are suffering out there as it is still such a taboo subject. The fact that we now have to work till we are at least 67 is worrying as the medical profession has not caught up and many of us need help with the meno symptoms to be able to continue working.
Do go to your GP visit with things written down, especially questions. Also perhaps print out things from this site to illustrate anything you want to emphasise.
BTW Femoston can be a good HRT to try as the progesterone is well tolerated by many women.
Good luck.  DG x

[Hurdity]

Machair - if you have a period even after 11 months then you have not yet reached menopause which is defined as the last menstrual period and can only be dated in retrospect and if you don't go onto HRT.

Dalhousie - As Dancinggirl said the  hormone levels continue to fall for approx 2 years after the last period and then stabilise, but this is when symptoms can become worse or begin for some women.

You might find this classification interesting - classifying and describing ( briefly) the different "Stages in Reproductive Ageing". I hope the link works.
http://www.imsociety.org/downloads/email_downloads/2012_02_16_1773491/straw10.pdf

As the others say - you cannot say what will happen to you. If you are feeling happy at the moment and can cope with your symptoms then you could wait? However if they are bothering you and interfering with your life then you might be better off starting HRT now.

Hurdity x

[Dana]

As others have said, there really isn't any "manual" of how things will go. I probably went through a good 5 or more years of peri-meno, and the only reason I knew that was because my periods were a little bit irregular. No other symptoms at all.

However, I hit the proverbial brick wall about 3 months after (what I was to later realise) was my last period. So it would seem my hormone levels didn't gradually decline. They literally took a nose dive overnight. They took another nose dive about 9 months later when I needed to increase my HRT dose.

Four years later and I know that if I stopped my HRT all my symptoms would return. Sigh... such is meno life.

[Dalhousie]

My last period was 13th July 2013 & so far nothing since.  I have had increasing PMS though which is a problem - a LOT of bloating, tension, backache++++ (I already have an unmanageable chronic pain problem & extreme disability with my back).  I also have the usual hot flushes but take red clover but it isn't as effective now but maybe that's because I'm approaching post menopause & less & less oestrogen floating around.

I realize there's no manual & everyone is individual.  I've seen some sites that say at post menopause things might eventually ease & others that say it gets worse as oestrogen levels continue to drop.  My GP said it's the progesterone that causes the PMS so maybe that might improve but the flushes may get worse.

[Dancinggirl]

I'm afraid problems with aching joints is typical and this may get worse.  I came off HRt 8 months ago and my back and hips are getting really bad now.  Headaches are also a common peri and post meno symptom, although I'm getting fewer headaches now probably because my life is a little less stressful at the moment and I'm doing 'Mindful Meditation' which I find helps with anxiety.
Yes, it is the progesterone that tends to give the problems(PMT etc) and though you are waiting till you are officially post meno before trying HRT you may find that taking conti HRT(where you take progesterone and oestrogen together continuously) may not suit you and many women choose to take a sequential HRT and have a withdrawal bleed to reduce any affects the progesterone may cause.  This is why I often suggest Femoston as a first try HRT as the progesterone is kinder. Other ladies love Utrogestan which is truly bio identical but apparently this can have a sedative effect.  If you want minimal hassle then Mirena coil with transdermal oestrogen can work very well - I had this for 4 years post meno and it was fine for me.
The things that really improved for me when I went back onto HRT at 53 (I'm now 58) were quality of sleep and reduction in aching joints - It was also bliss not to be hot and flustered all the time.  Good luck  DG x

[Dalhousie]

I've read contradictory information about this & I thought somebody had mentioned here but I can't find it.

Is it true that the breast cancer risk of HRT only starts when you've been on HRT 5+ years?  So you can take it for 5 years without any risk.

It's my GP who suggested I wait till I was postmeno in July before retrying the HRT.  I did try a tablet & a patch at the beginning of symptoms & it gave me diarrhoea.  I didn't realise HRT was more effective to start when you were perimeno.

Before my symptoms started I was totally oblivious that menopause could be such a problem apart from the hot flushes that my mother used to have 

[Dancinggirl]

I don't think any drug or HRT is without risk but the very small increased risk of breast cancer doesn't really kick in till you have taken HRT for 5 years beyond your natural Menopause - this is not to say there isn't any risk.  Taking simple aspirin has risks, crossing the road has risks - what you need to way up is the benefits versus risk and side effects. If the meno symptoms are impeding your life then any mild side effects and risks are worth putting up with if your general health and wellbeing is improved.
I'm surprised you got diarrhoea with HRT - many women who suffer with IBS find it settles down when they are on HRT!!! I am particularly surprised you had this side effect with the patch form of HRT as this wouldn't go through the liver and therefore tends to give fewer problems. HRT is not necessarily more effective through peri but it can alleviate symptoms right through peri and into post meno stages. It tends to be the progesterone that can cause side effects.
There are a few women who really don't get on with the Mirena and I was certainly worried about having one but found it fine.  The problem is you tend to hear about the women who have problems when there are a great many women who are very happy with it.
If I were you I would try a low dose of Femoston to start with and see how you feel over 3 months.
Do read up all the info under the headings to the left of this screen - it really helps to be clued up. Remember we are all different so approach positive and negative stories about any treatment with caution - it's easy to be taken in by positive tales and scared off by negative tales.  If you are well informed you can make a balanced judgement about what is right for you.  DG x