Post seems to be worse

Claire, I have been suffering from menstrual migraines for 9 years. Would you prefer the three day migraines or the daily headaches. I can't take the migraines every 21 days anymore. I am almost out of sick days at work and don't get more until the new fiscal year this summer.

Claire, I'm so disappointed to read your post. I was really hoping that menopause would bring an end to the migraines. I miss 1 day a month due to menstrual migraines and only get 10 sick days a year. I am so sick of my head hurting. Why can't we get a foot or hand ache instead. At least I would still be able to function.

I'm sorry for your loss. Having worked in school, I can tell you it is VERY stressful. When I went to the OBGYN when all this hit me like a freight train, she said my symptoms didn't sound like peri. She said, "Those symptoms sound adrenal to me." So, you very well may be onto something.

hi staci - hmm, thats interesting what your OBGYN said - What specific symptoms do you suffer from? You are still in peri menopause, correct? i just would like to compare notes -,

Hello,

again I am 51 (52 in April) and 2.5 years post menopause (since last period).

That is interesting, because two GYNs I have seen don't acknowledge menopausal symptoms either. Doesn't mean they don't believe in it it's because medically it is hard to identify if it is hormone fluctuation, or something else, unless you get all the 'something elses' tested. Medically they want to make sure it isn't something else .

Also, it takes can take YEARS for your hormones to level down after last period. I had my hormones last tested less than a year ago and my estrogen was still pretty high. Food you eat can affect your hormones. Cashews can affect your hormones believe it or not. Drinking certain teas and wine can affect your hormones. .. Medication, etc. I avoid foods with soy. It is worth keeping a food diary and noting changes in body with certain foods. Also I know personally that insomnia is horrible on menopause and the body. Not giving the body enough recovery time, just makes everything worse.

Also, just because our ovaries shrivel (mine are shriveled) doesn't mean we do not have hormones. Medically I have other things wrong with me. Which puts me at a disadvantage. I get my blood work done regularly. I do not have an issue with my adrenals.

I have also had a full body ultrasound, and a ct scan. I only thing found was a small cyst on my left kidney they feel is benign but they are going to check it again in May just to be sure.

Also I am overweight. Weight gain, (lucky those who lose weight in menopause) contributes to inflammation, high bp, and other bad things. Estrogen is stored in fat especially belly fat. I suppose I am a ticking fat time bomb. I say that to my husband when to let him know he is jumping on my last nerve, ha!

There is a whole world of women with individual menopause reasons. I don't think we can say it is because of this or that specifically. Those reasons may produce similar symptoms but we are still all individual. I am sure some may have issues with their adrenals. There may be something to that and it would be good to get them checked.

I do think it is worth it for every one of us to have a check up at least once a year. Get our blood tests, check the adrenals, kidneys, cholesterol etc. I have had heart problems in the past so my NP has an automated call sent to me to come in for my check up and blood work. I have an appt with her end of this month. A week before I get my labs done so we can discuss it when I go in. I also get my mammogram in Feb. I used to get my pap in Feb, but I started feeling too much like a lab rat, so I go at the end of the year for my pap.

To be honest in my younger years I never went to the Dr. unless I had bad flu or the likes, even never gyn appt regularly. I miss those days...sigh.

Now in the past 10 years. I get my annual pap, mammogram, health screenings, blood works. My NP doesn't mess around with my health and my issues. I have had specialist for specific issues. Now that I have severe arthritis in my right knee.

All stages of menopause is no picnic as is aging.

I sometimes feel post menopause needs it's own forum at times.

But really I think the support and the kinship we feel no matter our individual issues and stories, can keep the fears, health anxiety, and feeling of isolation at bay.

Hi Debra,

I am still in peri. My first symptom was a migraine aura. Shortly after, I began having severe anxiety, headaches, nausea, heart palpitations, awake at 3am with weird surges, dizziness, and these strange sensations that weren't hot or cold. She recommended I see a endocrinologist. I tried to make an appointment but the soonest appointment was 3 months away and by then many of the symptoms had subsided. Looking back, I think it was a bit of PTSD. I had never heard of a migraine aura before it happened to me and my first one was very intense and lasted 40 minutes. I became paranoid it would happen again. I find when my anxiety is out of control, so are my symptoms. Less anxiety equals less symptoms. I do think my adrenals were fatigued from anxiety and worry. This resulted in excess cortisol, which caused a lot of the symptoms. When your hormones are reducing, cortisol picks up.

hi Staci - thanks for responding - hmm, i am so confused by what is causing my symptoms & yes, i had all of the same symptoms as you except i didnt experience migraines per se but had my fair share of ocular migraines - Could you elaborate on your "weird sensations that were not hot or cold" - The reason being, is i experience warm/hot burning in various parts of my body.

i am 7 years post, & didnt start experiencing all these weird symptoms until 3 years ago & oddly enough, that came after caring for my parents for 11 years in some capacity, closing out the estate, being estranged from my sisters, preparing for a wedding, being estranged from my son & daughter in law for a year, being threatened & evacuated several times for fires & debris mud flow....so yes, i have questioned whether my symptoms are menopausal, PTSD/anxiety, or metabolic. My dr laughs at me everytime i bring up menopause, my thyroid checks out, but all these symptoms continue - my anxiety seems to be getting bad again - the only symptom i have that you dont have is achy/puffy/swollen legs & tingling hands which leads me back to thyroid - i know that menopause severely impacts your nervous system, but so does anxiety, thyroid etc. i just want answers!!!! ugh!

im sorry to hear if yr loss. can i ask why she committed suicide??? and yes things went drastically downhill but not until after my periods. now it seems i get lesser windows of feel ok and more of anxiety and just not feeling good. its hard to explain ..but its defintley an uneasy feeling. let alone the electric shocks that wake me up and that horrible feeling right before a hot flash..this whole thing is just bad its really not living its surviving one symptom to the next. thank u ...for sharing ur loss and hang in there.

yes i do believe anxiety kicks up the symtoms but the symptoms kicks up the anxiety. the horrible feeling right before a hot flash the shock feeling that wakes me from sleep racing skipping heart. or just plain feeling weird cant explain it..some days i just cant move .some days i have brief whete i feel somewhat ok ..idk theres got to be some sort of help out there

Debra,

It is hard to describe. It is a sensation that usually starts on the back of my arms or sometimes in my legs. It may or may not come with a wave of wooziness that almost feels like panic, Sometimes a bit of dizziness thrown in. It feel like it comes in a wave. It is like a tingle sensation. To me it feels more cold than warm, but that isn't quite right either. It is just strange and subtle yet overwhelming. I'm not sure if it causes the heart to race or I just begin to panic. Usually, my hands and feet feel flush afterwards, but nowhere else. If I remain calm, it subsides. If I panic, it builds. All of my tests came back negative. I was having heavy periods closer together for about two years and in general was hotter. Oh, and I could feel the rage. But, I didn't have any symptoms until the migraine aura, which caused a severe panic attack and a trip to the ER. I haven't been the same since and that was a little over a year ago. My vision has been off and I just feel weird most days and just not normal. I have a lot of anxiety, which I did not have before.

Like you, I was under a lot of stress. I had a very stressful job and was (still am) taking of my mom who has cancer and kidney failure. Add in, my employer denying my FMLA and getting fired (first time ever), plus being the sole provider and having no income. It was and still is a complete disaster. I am just sad and depressed. I have no desire to be hopeful or happy as it seems to be tumbling downhill.

I am sure it was all hormone related because her mother took her life 50 years ago form postpartum depression after her baby brother was born. Also her brother has hyperthyroid and had to have his thyroid removed several years ago. So I am sure it was all hormonal menopause related, because there was no other reason for her to have done this. She was a loving happy women always helping others. Her sister is in a hospital having a nervous brake down and I not sure anyone has told her about this they do not want to make her worse. They both went downhill around the same time. Hormones can be horrible.

Very inspirational post mam.

You r right our bodies r changing and we have cope with it by eating right and taking test.

Its natural process..every woman has to go through it ..Some pass by easily with less symptoms but others like us suffer alot

Tk

Hang is there