Been going through menopause for about 12 years!!
Posted , 11 users are following.
Hi
I had my last period about 10 years ago, and now at the age of 63 I am still having numerous menopausal symptoms and wonder if I'm going to be one of the unlucky women who just doesn't become free of symptoms!! I still have....
hot flushes day and night
brain fog
dizziness and balance problems
overthinking things
feelings of doom and gloom
days of feeling tearful for no reason
cramp
forgetting words and mixing words up
There are more symptoms and sometimes I think that it's so easy to blame all aches and pains on the menopause.
I used to have monthly hormonal migraines when I had periods, now I get a dulled down version of them.
Ten years ago I was typing when I suddenly forgot a word that I was just about to type, it took me ages to bring it to mind, ever since this I occasionally forget words that I am about to type/write, it's so annoying, I also sometimes mix my words up, my head feels full up of things to do and things to say that it feels as if my head in in competition with itself.
I do feel as if my menopause is never going to end, nothing really bothers me about it because it has become my life! 😦 😃
1 like, 34 replies
SSekouB Betty97
Posted
All I can say is your post has done more for me than the last 10-years of doctor's visits!! Thank you!! I am 57, had my last period almost three years ago, and still having every single symptom on the Menopause Chart, except hot flashes. Never had hot flashes, mine have always been cold flashes Having one as we speak.
Thank you so much for posting this, because I had a feeling, because of the persistence and intensity of my symptoms, that they weren't going away anytime soon. It is near impossible to find any person or article that will confirm that having symptoms long after post-menopause is common, normal, and to be expected for an unfortunate minority of us.
I appreciate your post in a "misery-loves-company" sort of way. Thank you for offering the hope that I may continue to suffer, but can do so with the same grace and humor that you display.
Betty97 SSekouB
Posted
Ahh thank you SSekouB
Sharing our experiences is good and reassures others, yes I seem to have been menopausal forever and am still trying to change my way of thinking and trying to find a new direction in life, trouble is my life has always revolved around my family and still does, l'm always going out and about with my children and their families but I worry about being left behind if you get my drift?
But all in all I do cope and my release is to always being able to laugh at myself and with others, I like to think that I have a cheerful approachable nature, my daughter in law who is a mental health nurse says I suffer from a kind of depression that's not a true depression in that I can get all doom and gloom when on my own but completely come out of it when out and about or have family around me.
You are going in the right direction in that you are living with your symptoms and trying to not let them rule your life !!!!
sakura26 Betty97
Posted
HOW do we get doctors to pay attention and do something about this? Menopause is a running joke that is just swept under the rug, and yes there are some lucky women that have no symptoms but there are many others like us. Is there a way we can give a MAN menopause? Because I'm pretty sure if we could there would be a cure. And by cure I don't mean like certain 70 year old celebs we'd be able to have children at 70s, but we'd retain the healthy, youthful hormone balance we need to feel calm and well mentally, stay fit and slim, prevent bone loss, and look and feel as vibrant as a man the same age who we all no can still have children. How the hell did evolution screw us like this? And HOW do we make doctors DO something about this and not sweep it under the rug as no big deal or a joke? More women need to talk about it in public. You'd think doctors would love to find new treatments as they'd get rich with all the women that need help. Currently the only thing I've heard of is Ovarian Rejuvenation, but it's mainly geared towards women wanting babies though it could help others just regain health. And currently it's very expensive and not tested enough for long term. There's also supposedly the melatonin miracle but that's in Italy. And melatonin makes me crazy anxious so I can't even take it. Peace out ladies 😃
Betty97 sakura26
Posted
HI Sakura
I completely agree with all you say!!! I also think that if it was a male problem it would have attention and treatments, as it is we are left feeling neurotic!!
I also reckon that if men had babies they would only have one haha
I am freely open with my daughters about the menopause so that if they do get symptoms they will be in for no surprises, they also know that my last ever period went on for six weeks with me going from light periods to six weeks of flooding, I was virtually housebound with it, I had to protect the bed mattress and didn't dare turn over in bed because it was instant flooding, I eventually went to the dr who took one look at my pale breathless face and sent me for a blood test saying that I might have to go into hospital that day for a blood transfusion!! I avoided the transfusion but was given iron tablets and tablets to stop the bleeding, after a scan which was clear it was said that my womb was having a massive last clearout!! the things that us women have to put up with!!
debra16694 Betty97
Posted
OMG Annette - i think we were separated at birth! Thats exactly my same story...only i had about 6 months of flooding off & on - once that was over & my period stopped i didnt really start getting the crazy symptoms until about 3 years after that. i did suffer from insomnia & hot flashes/flushes thru it all, but the crazy symptoms happened much later. i just want to wake up normal again.
Betty97 debra16694
Posted
Haha Debra it's good to know we're not on our own 😃
My symptoms started before my periods finished, I woke up one night feeling really hot and thought that I was coming down with a virus, but when I got up I felt fine so didn't think any more of it, then it happened again about two weeks later, at that point I wondered if I was starting the menopause, I can't really remember if at that time I was getting symptoms but not really recognising them, after my last period I naively thought that I would just have hot flushes for up to about five years, how wrong was I!!
I've never really discussed or revealed my symptoms to anyone in full because it seems not right that I can have so many symptoms when it seems most women sail through the menopause, or is it just that we tend to keep quiet about it for fear of being seen as neurotic haha 😃 oh and what is normal, but would like to feel it again!
debra16694 Betty97
Posted
hi annette - thank you for sharing your auto immune with me - I had never heard of that before, hopefully you do not suffer too much from it or have it under control. i was just curious because my last 3 blood tests have revealed rather high CRP Values which indicate high inflammation. Inthe last 3 months i feel like i have gotten slammed by arthritis - my 96 year old parents didnt have the aches & pains i have - hah!
yes, what is normal? i would just like to return to having endless energy & having a spring in my step & not have this anxiety about life anymore -. thank you for posting today, at least i know i am not the only "lone ranger" in my 60's still dealing with this - UGH!
Betty97 debra16694
Posted
Debra I can trace my AS back 40 years though I was only diagnosed with it 21 years ago, I don't let it rule my life and don't take medication for it preferring to let the aches and pains of it give me indications as to how bad it is and when it is easing off as daft as that might seem, the way that I have dealt with the AS for so many years does make it out of character for me to be so anxious about my health, I've always shrugged aches and pains off, yes I've worried in a normal sense about health etc... but not to this degree!
I think inflammation in the body can cause all sorts of symptoms including nerve damage which can cause dizziness and balance problems, so maybe menopause symptoms and other health symptoms are conspiring against us haha 😃
I do hope we get back our spring in life, we do seem similar in our thinking, to be honest I still have my spring when distracted. When you think about it our 50's and 60's are life changing years, children leaving home, retiring, the menopause and it's closing chapters etc.... are all reasons to feel totally redundant and useless without purpose, I'm certainly not ready to retire to a home or elderly people activities, I want to move on from this, just need to be free of the doom and gloom first!! how naive of us to think that the menopause would maybe last for five years!!
Betty97 debra16694
Posted
just to add RE your arthritis, AS is all about inflammation as well, it's another form of rheumatism I think.
Betty97 debra16694
Posted
Third reply!!! do you also have tingling? I put mine down to nerve damage due to my neck and back, just curious with you having arthritis, but I also wonder if it's also due to menopause?
debra16694 Betty97
Posted
hi annette - my last reply got moderated, but i was curious what auto immune you are suffering from...also, is your doom & gloom always focused on "death" & the worst case scenario? i swear to god, i was never this person before, but i just go to the darkest place in like a nanosecond - i am hoping this is just menopause related & will go away soon, because this is no way to live -
Betty97 debra16694
Posted
haha Debra I noticed that your comment was being moderated 😃
My auto immune disease is Ankylosing Spondylitis.
Yes my doom and gloom when there just seems to hang over me, it makes me wonder what my purpose in life is and I worry about the future and what's the point in making plans because I'll probably get an horrible illness that will kill me off before the year is out, really negative thinking!! and like you it is not the person that I was. Part of my answer to it is to talk to my family about it and it nearly always ends up in us having a laugh about it and I manage to put it into perspective until the next time, just hoping that it eventually leaves me!! I have found that taking Evening Primrose Oil eases this doom and gloom feeling quite a bit, it might be placibo but it works for me.
Yes my doom and gloom thinking can appear in a nanno from nowhere!! I feel as if I need to be on the go all the time to keep it at bay. A single negative random thought can set it off.
jamie53221 Betty97
Posted
Hi Annette, I am 62 years old, started menopause at 51 years old and i could have written your post myself as a mirror image. My guess is you are not taking HRT? Cold turkey like me? My condolences to me and you❤
Betty97 jamie53221
Posted
You're right Jamie I have never been on HRT, I haven't even approached a doctor about it, I tend to just live with it and hope that I eventually get through it, I don't take medication for anything unless I need to. The only thing I swear by is Evening Primrose Oil, that helps with the anxiety. At we know we're not on our own with these symptoms
debra16694 Betty97
Posted
hi annette - thank you so much for responding - after i posted my last post i investigated AS abit more & read about the eye issue. I never had the "painful" eye issue associated with the iris...my eye issue was or is obviously caused from either allergies or inflammation of the eye lids. So, i guess this is why "self diagnosing" is never a good idea. i have spent the day with this uncomfortable sensation in my chest & back that just moves around, its not a burning sensation, but rather feels more nerve related. i actually feel a bit like i am going to get my period...which is laugh - can this all just be menopause related? I just dont know what to do anymore to try & feel better. i have spent so much money on drs, ER's, specialists, naturopaths, nutritionists, supplements, elixiers etc. i have never tried HRT or BHRT, anti depressants or ant anxiety Rx's - i am trying to get thru this as best i can, but with all the crazy symptoms, its been a battle! Thanks for being a good listener -
Betty97 debra16694
Posted
debra I think it's great that you are avoiding medication! perhaps you could go through a period in your life where you don't see any doctors etc... unless you have to, the feelings in your chest could be menopausal, nerves or anxiety, but whatever it is I think it's probably nothing to worry about, you could try just getting used to it for the time being.
I find with my AS that the best way to be pain free is to move it and work it, I think that arthritis maybe needs to be worked as well, my husband has it in his knees and admits that movement makes it less painful
I do think that your feeling of about to be having a period and chest and back could be menopause symptoms, it makes sense to me, I wonder if we will ever be free of at least some symptoms or are we doomed
thanks for the good listener compliment haha my daughter in law is a mental health nurse and has said she could do with me to do inspirational talks simply because I don't give into things I fight against them, but putting me in front of an audience would turn me into a dithering stuttering wreck haha 😃