Sick of peri
Posted , 10 users are following.
I'm over it. I've tried everything - take or don't take this supplement, eat or don't eat this food, get off sugar or have a little chocolate every day because life is short, get lots of exercise to lose weight or only a little so fatigue doesn't get worse, go to this or that doctor with a symptom, read this book, that website, etc. It just goes on and on.
I've decided that my gyn office is unreliable. It's a big practice and they're always grouchy and overbooked when I go there. The latest is that two different nurses gave me two different versions of lab results. When I went in with dry mouth a couple of months ago, the gyn ordered lab work on A1C, TSH, FSH, LH, and Vitamin B12. The web portal results were posted incorrectly, so I had to call to ask for the correct information. The nurse told me that everything looked normal. A few weeks went by and a different nurse called back out of the blue to say that the doctor had just looked at the report - yes, weeks later - and said my B12 was too high. They told me to stop taking my vitamin supplements - I'd also been on Vitamin D because my GI doctor said my level was too low on that. I have to go back to the gyn in a few weeks to get the B12 rechecked.
Now that I'm off the supplements, the symptoms that they were suppressing are back with a vengeance. I'm back to sleeping poorly, having that weird one-sided breast soreness that was gone, feeling sad and down all the time, and having severe bouts of fatigue. I have a full-time job. I am my sole support. In my mind, I picture myself being able to wash the dishes and do the laundry and manage my life, but in reality it happens only sporadically because I am too lethargic to do more than what I absolutely have to do. So everything gets done at the last minute, if it gets done at all, and sometimes I'm late to work and I have become unreliable in my own life. Everything is more than I can manage. I give up all my energy for the 40 hours a week when I'm working because I can't afford to lose my job. Everything else comes a distant second.
I know this is a rant. I just had to get it all out somewhere where people will understand. I try to talk to people close to me who might understand, but it doesn't help much. Every now and then, I have a few minutes of clarity when I feel hopeful, but it never lasts. I keep being told that peri is not a disease, too, and not to treat it like one, that it's just a phase that will come and go over time. I want some way to feel better that doesn't involve another supplement, prescription, doctor visit, lab test, any or all of the above, and still be able to enjoy life, because it IS short.
0 likes, 33 replies
samantha_12886 Guest
Posted
I do understand . I started going through it 9 years ago . Apart from my monthly cycle being all over the place I was fine . I have not seen for 6 months and the past 3 months have been hell on earth . My body doesn't feel my own . I'm scared A lot of the time . Every single ache ,pain, burning sensation and sniffle fills me with dread as I convince myself I'm dying .I can sleep most of the day as no energy at all. I'm 49 . I've been told these symptoms may never go away completely . I'm getting hot flushes every half hour , these are can cope with . The negative thoughts and just generally feeling poorly I am struggling with . I'm on HRT and anti depressants. So your really not alone . I wish I could find something positive to share . And yes life is too short . Sending hugs
2chr2015 samantha_12886
Posted
Guest samantha_12886
Posted
Samantha, I totally relate when you say your body doesn't feel your own. Hugs to you.
gailannie Guest
Posted
Hi Liz,
While I am nearly 61 and am in menopause, I certainly remember that peri phase and completely understand everything you are saying. I had a horrid two years of peri symptoms. I saw 6 different doctors, and I tried everything from birth control pills, bio identical hormones, herbs, and supplements. Doing the hormones actually made things worse. It seemed that the only thing I ever thought about was hormones and how bad I felt. I finally went off it all. And then it took quite a while for my body to come back to "normal". I did take an anti depressant for a couple years, which I do think helped.
Here's the very best I can offer with this peri experience. Do absolutely everything you can to help your body. And I mean that. Get in bed by 10pm, drink plenty of water, take a good multi vitamin, eat a really healthy diet, a little amount of exercise (don't over due as that uses up your hormones faster), do somethings just for you, try to destress your life as much as possible. Do somethings that are really fun for YOU. All of this should help your body and mind make this adjustment a little easier. Expect some odd period cycles, shorter cycles often happen.
After I got off all meds, and my body had time to adjust, I really felt pretty normal. Over the years, my periods slowly tapered to every couple months, then three, then six before they stopped. And honestly, I didn't even notice. It took 5 years before vaginal atrophy and dryness set in. So this whole thing is a marathon, not a sprint.
You are not alone, crazy, or falling apart. And you have every right to rant. None of this is easy, and it sure makes life difficult.
Guest gailannie
Posted
Thank you, Gailannie. I read this shortly after you posted it and really appreciate your advice. I have tended to forget that I deserve to enjoy life and that the basics still matter. The truth is that I've been lucky up to now. I was one of those people who got away with eating whatever I wanted and not gaining weight, not having to go to the doctor much, etc. I thought I'd just keep going like that, but I know now that I have to make changes and be responsible for my health. Your encouragement is most helpful.
melinda128 Guest
Posted
Liz, I am in postmenopause and 58. I know exactly how you feel. Alot of us do. You rant and vent to us. Ask, we might not have the answer, but we can talk about it. Honey life is too short. I have learned more on this site than in a doctor's office. Sending you a big Mommy's hug!
Guest melinda128
Posted
You're right, Melinda... this site is better than a doctor's office!
jan66332 Guest
Posted
Hi Liz I’m completely with you on this I’ve read self help books been to my gp numerous times , which hasn’t really helped gp wants to put me on antidepressants now as my symptoms has caused me to have health anxiety which with the perimenopause is a living nightmare , I have a professional job which I have to be up beat to work colleagues and patients which believe me isn’t easy some days which are few and far between I can feel great could take on the world but then it likes someone’s flicks a switch and bang back to feeling tearful dizzy moody very tired etc etc .... which then subsequently brings on my health anxieties too ... in the last 4 years I’ve lost my mum my dad my marriage my house .. just can’t see a end to all this .... Liz I just hope things will get better soon for us... and as I’ve just read it does get better over time ... can’t wait 😊 x
2chr2015 jan66332
Posted
Hi Jan. Like you I will have a good day or two and then BAM. I can't get off the couch! I'm so sorry for all that you have been through these past four years. Peri is bad enough without all that other stuff. Geez girl. Hang in there ((hugs))
jan66332 2chr2015
Posted
2chr2015 jan66332
Posted
Just hop on here anytime you are feeling low. We are all in this together🙂
Guest jan66332
Posted
Jan, I know how you feel. It is so hard some days at work and I know all about that switch! I take everything so personally and it's hard not to feel sensitive. Please keep posting here.
Suki_girl Guest
Posted
Hey Liz. Take it easy. Look after yourself. Do what you feel is right for your body. By our age no one knows our bodies better than we do. It is just you at home? So, what does it matter if the dishes get left or the house isn't vacuumed? Leave it until you feel like doing it. That's what I'd do. Unfortunately, I don't have the luxury with 2 school children at home - something I neglected to think about when I decided to have kids late in life (that I would be having menopause while they were still at school). But I console myself with the face that I know 3 other mums who have had breast cancer. I count my blessings.
Guest Suki_girl
Posted
Hi Suki, you are so right. I'm doing better with the housework. It was getting pretty bad. I have Crohn's disease, too, so keeping anxiety at bay is a real battle. I don't have kids but have two nephews and my sister is divorced, so I try to do what I can to spend time with them and also my parents who are in their 70s. There are a lot of things to manage but I do the best I can. I guess that's really all we can do. Take care.
janice92660 Guest
Posted
i understand completely, that happened to me, when they said i had fibroids, and when i go through menapause they will shrink, but they didnt , they got massive, and i had to have a hysterectomy, i wish i had gone down the route i usually go down, which is holistic, it takes time, but it can work..
i feel what ever you get in life, it has taken years to come to the surface. ie health problems.. but as you say life is short,but its worth a try.
no one wants to spend life, what ever age feeling rubbish..
maybe go see a natrapath, then take from that, and do what ever suits you in the end.
j x
Guest janice92660
Posted
Janice, I agree about things coming to the surface. Will not get into details here but dealing with some accumulated baggage from family relationships and just now understanding what's really going on and how it's affected my health. Thanks for suggesting the holistic approach. I am looking into that more.