Hi, I'm new to the forum. I'm dealing with perimenopause. I was 38 and on the depot injection (for bad periods and endometriosis) when symptoms started, I started getting really irritable just randomly and then the low mood, feeling sad and getting emotional started to come in. It wasn't until 2020 (40 years old at this point) when we had the first lockdown and I couldn't get my depot injection that everything really came to the forefront. The range of symptoms was unbelievable and scary because I had never heard of perimenopause and all the information I had ever seen on menopause had to do with hot flushes and feeling a bit moody. My Mum had a hysterectomy at 39, so she went straight on HRT and not through the perimenopause, so she also had no knowledge to pass onto me about what might happen. So when I got: heart palpitations, sensitivity to sugar, low mood that was crushing, sleep disturbance, hot flushes and just generally getting hot very easily and the worst, days when you just can't stop crying - I just didn't have any idea what was going on. My periods which has always been very heavy, so painful I would vomit and regular as clockwork - were so light! So I called the Doctor (male) who said that it was natural as I was coming off the Depot injection and it could take up to 12 months for my body to regulate, so I just soldiered on for a few months. However, having previously had breaks from the depot in the past, I knew from experience that after a few months my periods were back to their normal awful self and I'd never had all these other symptoms.
I called the Doctor again a few months down the line as advised (asked for a female Doctor this time) and she wanted me to go for a blood test. Eventually when I got the appointment, the blood tests of course didn't show anything much - so I was told to wait a couple more months and then have another blood test. At this point, I was finding it hard to go in the office and continue putting up a front on all the symptoms - she offered me anti-depressants which I refused. I had done a lot of research at this point and discovered perimenopause. When I offered up this option she said it could be but until more time had passed with me being off the depot she couldn't be sure and couldn't give me HRT. I was just mortified as this point, I felt I was just not getting help and just had to sit there and wait for another blood test, that I knew wasn't going to solve anything.
After more time passing, I just reached the end of my tether and I requested to speak to another Doctor (a locum) and thank god I found a menopause champion. She not only listened and took in everything I said but also did something about it straight away. She gave me lose dose propranolol to help with the heart palpitations and anxiety I was feeling which helped so much. She did make me have another blood test but at the same time told me it wasn't going to tell me anything and my hormone levels were changing all the time. Then she contacted the hospital to get advice and then finally (in December 2021!!) I got some HRT.
I started on patches both estrogen and progesterone and after 6 weeks on them I finally started to notice some difference. When they really kicked in, I just felt like I had my life back - I still had some days were I felt a bit low and the dreaded crying would kick in but it was so much better. By the time we got to Summer 2022, some of the symptoms had started to come back again, the low mood and just crying all day long on really bad days - so changed to estrogen gel and high dose and that the frequency has gone down.
I think that's been the worst thing about menopause for me - the horrible low mood, where you just feel so sad for no reason and the fact you just cry and you can't do anything to stop it. Not sleeping well also hits you hard and makes everything worse. And of course dealing with the ignorance of people who just don't understand menopause and don't want to understand it. I think work is the most challenging, as friends and family are supportive and either can relate or know of other people who've to deal with these issues. But at work only a handful understood and there was and still is this reluctance to give women who are experiencing and living with perimenopause and menopause. I was given some flexibility at the beginning but I think this was because they thought it would go away all together as some point. Now I'm on HRT I only experience the odd day when the low mood and crying hits and I would love the flexibility to be able to feel this way in private, rather than being sat in an open plan office but some companies are just not educated or fair to women who are really struggling.
I hope anyone who reads this gets a few things from what I've said. 1) That if you have all of some of these symptoms or different ones, make sure you get the help you deserve - don't give up fighting for it and when you do get the help, make sure the help changes to what you need long term. 2) That HRT makes a real a difference and there are some terrific Doctors out there and some great sources of information. 3) That there are so many women on this planet who know exactly what you are going through and forums like this exist so you can talk to them openly about your journey. And 4) That we have to keep talking about this so one day, all women know exactly what perimenopause and menopause is, all the symptoms you can get, the help you can get and all the help we deserve to get in the future xxx
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Topic: Perimenopause journey, symptoms and what challenges me most! (Read 1413 times)