Hello Louise
![welcomemm :welcomemm:](https://www.menopausematters.co.uk/forum/Smileys/extended/welcomemm.gif)
. I agree with the other ladies & what you said here . . .
My spelling has got worse and I have started typing words the wrong way round or mis typing. I forget words or names that are familiar to me. There is just a complete blank.
is exactly what started happening to me in perimenopause in my mid-40s & tbh it really scared me too. I didn't start HRT until a few years postmenopause & by then my memory was no better or worse than it had been when it started to scare me in peri a decade earlier, but in common with Sheila's experience, the HRT does subsequently seem to have improved it markedly. Also agree that inadequate sleep doesn't help & nor does too much stress, both unfortunately often to some extent beyond our control at this stage of our lives.
I'm now late 50s & have had a couple of long stretches when I had to stop HRT & sure enough, during those times I noticed that the scary black holes in memory were back. Same happens to some extent on the progesterone phase of my HRT. Again in common with Shelia I'd say my memory at this age is not as good as it was 20 years ago, but those instances when it freaks me out are far fewer! As for the typing . . . less said about that the better!
You'll find lots of support, empathy & understanding here. Keep posting & please don't be afraid to ask anything - nothing is too trivial, nothing taboo & there will almost certainly always be someone who's had whatever it is we're worried about. However bizarre it seems
![Shocked :o](https://www.menopausematters.co.uk/forum/Smileys/extended/shocked.gif)
!