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[SueLW]

It's The Change.  Does what it says on the tin!  As we age we need to recognise that we can't take on everything as we did when younger.  Are you able to cut back on your business in order to re-visit your other interests?

I don't consider 55 old.  My neighbour has just taken early retirement from her eminent career because of menopause symptoms.  She was forgetting words in meetings and the stress was making her flushes worse.  She's 57.   But she's able to ride her horse every day, hasn't got a grey hair on her head and looks good.  There is something wrong in me that needs to be corrected.  I'm hoping now I've changed to a different HRT I might reap some benefits soon.  Loss of energy has been an enormous issue for me, coupled with anxiety these have been my worst symptoms.

No, I can't cut back on my business.  It's already suffering from my lack of energy and the Brexit uncertainty.  Another chunk of stress for me to deal with.  I import from the US and export to the EU as well as sell in the UK.  It's a nightmare of worry.

[SueLW]

Do see your Nurse about swelling, it's often due to water retention.

It's definitely water retention.  Not sure if it's from the HRT (or lack of enough of it) or from my thyroid dose.  I have a private hormone doctor and a GP.  Neither of them are even remotely bothered about my fluid retention.  I've seen both of them in the past 2 weeks and both of them have ignored me when I bought it up but I persisted with my GP until she arranged a urine test to see if my kidneys are OK.  The heat isn't helping.

[Emerald2017]

Sue, my daily exercise is a lifesaver for me, I am a cross fit athlete and my training is too important.
Try to do your best!
Are you sure that your low energy is due to meno? Maybe you are just depressed?
I am single, 42 and feel that my energy depends on how I feel! When I was obsessed with my early meno, I was thinking to give up my career and had really low mood and no motivation.
Now I feel better and try not to think so much about.

[CLKD]

What ever age if we feel old I think we begin to look it!

VitD can cause low energy levels I may have said already .....12 months ago I felt ill but after a blood test confirmed my thoughts and a course of capsules, I felt a lot better.

Water retention can be serious ......... could you ask a practice nurse or Pharmacist for advice?  Does elevating the lower body help ? 

[SueLW]

What ever age if we feel old I think we begin to look it!

VitD can cause low energy levels I may have said already .....12 months ago I felt ill but after a blood test confirmed my thoughts and a course of capsules, I felt a lot better.

Water retention can be serious ......... could you ask a practice nurse or Pharmacist for advice?  Does elevating the lower body help ?

My Vit D is good and i supplement anyway.  My ferritin is a bit on the low side, but I'm supplementing and eating for that. 

My water retention goes down overnight.  Elevation in the day isn't possible, but I tend to put my feet up on the sofa in the evening.  I'm surprised both doctors took so little notice of it to be honest.  The urine test is checking for protein. 

[SueLW]

Sue, my daily exercise is a lifesaver for me, I am a cross fit athlete and my training is too important.
Try to do your best!
Are you sure that your low energy is due to meno? Maybe you are just depressed?
I am single, 42 and feel that my energy depends on how I feel! When I was obsessed with my early meno, I was thinking to give up my career and had really low mood and no motivation.
Now I feel better and try not to think so much about.

It could be that I need more thyroid meds.  I don't think I'm depressed.  I am today!  But I probably won't be later or tomorrow.  That's not depression.  I sink into black holes, often driven by my lack of physical energy.  Nobody gets this energy loss.  It's not normal.  Before this happened I was fit and active.  I was a hoop dancer.  I hooped every day.  Rode my bike or walked all the time.  Worked full time, was restoring my cottage using traditional building materials and methods, did my housework and big garden.  I never sat down.  Then one day as I was walking back to the car from a concert my legs just suddenly drained of energy and felt like lead.  Getting back to the car was exhausting.  At first it would only happen now and then.  But now it's more or less a constant.  It's not something I can push through.  It's always my legs.  The thighs feel weak and leaden.  I've just been over the yard to pick up some stock that was left at the wrong unit for me.  It's hot out there, but I set off at normal pace, then on the way back my legs were dragging and I had to slow down. 

I have been referred to an endocrinologist but the appointment isn't until the end of October.  This is because I failed a short synathen test 2 years ago but the result was ignored.  I found it recently and pushed for a repeat but my GP won't repeat it!  Hence the referral.  So I could have an adrenal problem going on as well. 

[CLKD]

You could.  But it could be hormonal.  I remember crashing fatigue really well.  That sudden feeling of weakness particularly in the thighs.  Usually B4 a bleed.  I remember Mum sitting down suddenly and going to sleep instantly ........

It is 'normal' in that it may be hormonal.  It is unusual for you so of course you need to know the causation.  Anemia?  Lack of VitD?  Low blood sugar, how's your diet over-all?

As we age we simply cannot achieve as we did in our 20s, 30s, 40s .......... and people are considered 'old' past 60 .  Maybe my grandparents were but I don't think that is true these days!! 

[Annie0710]

I feel for you Sue, you have the thyroid meds AND hrt to balance, that's tricky

Have you had you B12 tested ?

X

[SueLW]

I feel for you Sue, you have the thyroid meds AND hrt to balance, that's tricky

Have you had you B12 tested ?

X

Yes, I did a private active B12 test and my levels were good.  I have since started to supplement to make sure they stay that way. 

It is very hard trying to do both at once.  The symptoms overlap.  I suspect if I had been given better thyroid diagnosis and treatment a few years ago my menopause might not have been so bad.

[SueLW]

Sue, I'm sure you've thought of this but could it be low blood sugar?  I would be out walking the dog mid afternoon and suddenly my legs would feel wobbly, I'd feel shaky and sick and as if I was going to faint.  I made sure I had biscuits or a snack with me at all times.  I also had panic attacks which made me feel very shaky too.  I'd also get the mood dips, one minute ok, the next really low as if someone had flicked a switch

It's so complex and so frustrating!

Good idea to mention.  But it isn't that.  I know what that feels like.  This is different.  And eating doesn't help either.  Thank you though.

[Kathleen]

Hello SueLW.

You say that you have just switched to  Utrogestan vaginally every other night,  were you taking it continuously before then or have you just started this regime?  I ask because feeling tired, weight changes and swollen ankles are listed as some of the side effects although  the patient leaflet doesn't specify if these reactions are more likely with intermittent or continues use.

I completely understand your frustration.  I have been fiddling with HRT for five years now and although things are better I feel far from normal. I especially hate it when I'm invited to events that  I would have enjoyed previously because now all I can think about is how I will cope if I'm feeling awful on the day, or even just part of the day!  It is this uncertainty  and instability that  has  pretty much destroyed my confidence.

Wishing you well.

K.

[Dancinggirl]

Sue - I found Utrogestan very sedating and I couldn't use it vaginally because it aggravated my atrophy.  The best HRT combo I had was the Mirena with Oestrogel. I had a premature meno so I've tried just about everything there is. We are all different though and what suits one lady won't suit another. 

When menopause hits, it's really not just about the hormones dropping as it often coincides with all sorts of other health issues as well. It's called ‘ The Change' for good reason because so much DOES CHANGE.  I would liken it too bereavement for many of us and we have to go through various stages before there is a kind of acceptance that life will not be as it once was and we have to find a new way of living life that we can be at peace with. HRT can help this transition and buffer many of the evil effects but treatment is still far from ideal.

There are some lucky women who do ‘ride the change well' and they seem to suffer less - these small band of women behave with such distain towards those of us who struggle and this makes things even worse.   I do think it is largely down to genetics, so it is a lottery as to how bad it will be and how well we cope. For many, it is the devastating effect it has on our mental state that is so hard to cope with and until the medical profession wakes up and starts treating us holistically, and not just for the menopause but for so many age related issues, there is going to be a big price to pay.

We keep saying how wonderful it would be if there were good Wellwomen clinics around the country that would help us through all the various stages in a women's life.  No post code lottery for treatment and properly trained professions that keep up to date so we could trust them. We dream . DG x

[CLKD]

Properly trained professionals would certainly be a start!  Allowing GPs more time might help too.  I remember when we sat in the Waiting Room for ages and were seen in order, those in the village still talk about That Clock 

I found one way around events or being asked to do something for someone was to tell them that I needed to check my diary and that anyway, I would need back-up in case a, b, c happened.