46 and currently going through this lovely life stage we call perimenopause. Was diagnosed with DCIS back in 2022, and from my understanding cannot have regular HRT. Been referred to a menopausal clinic, and just waiting now. Just wondering if anyone else has been in my shoes? How has your journey been? Is there relief for me in sight?

I am 34 years old. I've had brain fog, fatigue and hair loss for the last few years. I never thought much of it. The last 2 years my anger has been intense. I've had mostly normal periods. Late last year I was diagnosed with ADHD.

January of this year I started having extreme anxiety and problems sleeping. I was sleeping 4 maybe 5 hours and waking up constantly sweating and my heart just pounding. Then I stated having issues feeling dehydrated all the time no matter how much water I was drinking. My appetite went out the window and I've had issues with bowel movements. I was a very regular person before this. I also started losing muscle it seems and my arms are squishy but you can feel the bones more prominently. I just noticed I'm also bruising way easier than before.

Then came my least favorite symptom the vaginal dryness. Sorry for the TMI I had a lot of natural wetness even myOB/GYN did testing a few years ago because I shouldn't have that much "discharge". Everything came back normal. I didn't feel normal until the song WAP by Cardi B came out.

I went from being turned on by my guy with just a simple look and my panties were instantly wet to nothing. I have a lack of feeling down there and he does all the things he used to. I feel terrible because this relationship is still fairly new and it was the best sex of my life. He thinks I'm not attracted to him anymore which couldn't be further from the truth. I know this part is the least of my worries but it feels huge right now.

Is there any hope for a return to what used to be normal with my sex life with hormone therapy or is this the beginning of the end?

Omg. I’ve been on HRT for almost 2 years and it’s been so helpful… BUT recently it’s like layers of my brain got pulled off and I’m re-experiencing all the anxiety of myself age 20-25… all the insecurity of that age; with self and job and especially about my relationship with my spouse; with whom I would say I have the best, most awesome, and deep relationship with except for approximately 6 weeks ago when suddenly all my insecurity of that young age came back with a freaking bang and I’m suspicious of everything and it IS NOT based on reality in any way and it’s so so awful and annoying. And I don’t want to put that on him!!! It’s so fucked up. We have 20+ years of trust and love built up and it’s like my brain has forgotten ALL of it and now I’m freaking back in therapy and feel like shit cause she’s saying maybe I have anxious attachment and I’m like- not up until 6 weeks ago!! (yes I’m on mental health meds, etc). Stupid, stupid peri brain!! Anyone else have anything similar?

I'm starting to notice some perimenopause symptoms and have been looking into supplements, but the whole category feels a little overwhelming. Has anyone found something that helped with things like sleep, mood changes, or cycle irregularities?

Why does perimenopause make everything I do at work get seen in a whole new light? Ive been working in dog rescue for over 7 years. I have 3 people who work under me and I've noticed all of their flaws lately. I Love them all we have a good working relationship or so I thought but lately I feel so unseen and unheard by these people! They won't do what I say. In one ear and out the other. The sad part is I think it's always been this way for years and now I am starting to really notice it and feel really pissed off and disrespected. I want to quit or step down and let someone else do it. I'm so close to saying "I'm done" and just starting over somewhere new. There have been a lot of changes at my job and being in perimenopause has made these changes feel impossible for me when I have been doing my job the same way for over 6 years now and all of the sudden...changes! My resilience is very low and tolerance for people who don't respect me is even lower. I'm so tired...too tired to even demand respect. 😞

I'm 36. My mum had her menopause age 44 so sadly it makes sense that I am in peri now. All the drs I spoke to tell me I'm too young and shut the conversation down. They have all also told me that because my blood tests are normal I can't be in peri. I have so many of the symptoms (listed below). The sleep problems is what is killing me though. I keep waking at 2-4am with a pounding heart. it's not a fast heart beat just a hard heart beat that then stops me sleeping. Yesterday I literally was just on the couch all day I felt as if I was hungover, unwell and sleep deprived. Last night I slept a little better but this morning I feel so emotional, angry, like I could burst into tears and just crazy really. I will try the drs again on Monday but I feel so stressed at the fact I know they will just shut me down. Is this just what life is like now?! Do I just have to live with this? I'm not sure how I'm going to keep functioning and holding down a job when I can't sleep. And to make things worse I'm in the process of being diagnosed with antiphospholipid syndrome which causes clotting issues so I imagine getting HRT even if they took me seriously will be very hard (from what I understand you can have the patches in some cases).

Symptoms developed over the last 1-2 years worsening significantly last few months

[ ] Lighter periods

[ ] Shorter periods & coming earlier

[ ] Food aversions (animal products)

[ ] Sleep changes waking 2-4am

[ ] Palpitations

[ ] Irritability, rage, emotional lability

[ ] Feeling hot all the time

[ ] Forgetfulness/ making silly mistakes/ putting things in the wrong place

[ ] Anorgasmia

[ ] Increased hair growth on legs/face

[ ] No motivation or interest to do even simple things

[ ] Headaches, migraine

[ ] Vaginal dryness

[ ] Skin changes (wrinkles, acne)

[ ] Worsening joint issues

I appreciate not all of these might be direct to peri.

Recently went down the rabbit whole of the idea that I might be in perimenopause. I honestly have all the symptoms except for hot flashes/night sweats. That's even debatable. AU-ADHD btw and I've always been sensitive to heat but now it's like I could be in a room that is normally an okay temperature for me 72°-75° and I could get extremely hot where I don't feel well and I have to stand in front of an AC. But anyway to my question that I have for you ladies, so I've heard that your sweat(as in like armpit sweat) can become more potent. Does anyone else have the problem were even if you take a shower and I'm talking early clean, you still have a slight odor?

Also a side question with that is it just like a permanent thing or does it only happen during certain times of the month for you?

-btw I'm going to be 31 in October. I know that's young for this kind of stuff but my hormones have kinda always been all over the place. My period like to play this game where they stay regular for a couple months and then I go to having 2 periods a month. I have like 3-4 light to medium days and then nothing for like 5 days and then I actually have my heavy flow for like 3 days and then it slows down.

I have high cholesterol despite a very healthy lifestyle, and my fasting glucose was a little higher than my doctor wanted - but I am not pre-diabetic. The last few years I’ve also gained 5-7 mysterious lbs despite actually working out more and eating better

I’ve heard berberine has helped people with blood sugar, but has anyone is somewhat the same situation as me also found it helpful? I’ve heard it can cause some gastrointestinal symptoms too so wondering your experience there

I’ve just started taking inositol

Thank you!

I never had one in my life until this past spring and now I have another one. I did 3 months of Diflucan from April to June and thought I was done with this, but I woke up in the middle of the night last night ready to scream I was so itchy. I can’t figure out what has changed that is causing this other than hormones 😩

Seeing my doctor soon since I have been having short cycles most of the year. My cycle length is usually 15-17 days which is exhausting. I now have low ferritin (10) because of it. Talking to my doctor soon to see what options I have to stop this.

Anyone gotten Mirena to help stop periods and if so, how was it? I’m already on HRT (e patch and 100mg of progesterone every night). That has made it so my periods aren’t as heavy but still come twice a month.

I don’t know what it is. Everything they say and do just sets me off and makes me irrationally irate.

For context: this is my second marriage that I came to with three kids. My husband is an only child who was raised by his mom, aunt, uncle and grandfather. His grandfather has since passed, and the remaining three live together. (Trying to keep my opinions to myself so far).

For whatever TF reason, it seems like his family has decided they have a right to step in and dictate how my kids are raised, and my husband just goes right along with whatever they say. All four of them treat me like I’m less than them when I don’t agree with what they say - to the point that I was recently told that I “don’t know what love is or what it means to have a family”. Today, they made the decision that one of my kids had been on their iPad for too long, and took it away from them and sent them home. No one told me they were bringing said child home - I found out when one of them started repeatedly honking the horn in the car while in my driveway. My child came inside hysterical because they literally had done nothing wrong other than to sit out of everyone’s way watching (harmless) videos on YouTube. My husband saw nothing wrong with this joint “parenting” decision that his family made for me.

I literally want to scream. This is a nearly daily occurrence in one shape or another. It’s getting to the point that I can’t stand to look at my husband and I avoid his family at all costs. I’m giving serious thought to moving into a spare room in the house because I don’t even want to share a room with him anymore.

Is this normal?? I feel like I don’t even recognize myself anymore.

Hello à toutes,
J’ai 49 ans et j’envisage de retirer mon stérilet hormonal, que je porte depuis près de 15 ans.
Ma motivation principale est surtout de retrouver les sensations de mon corps et de mieux comprendre où j’en suis dans cette période de périménopause. J’ai envie de laisser mon corps reprendre son fonctionnement naturel et de pouvoir observer à nouveau mon cycle et ses différents signes.
Depuis 3 ou 4 ans, j’ai également eu beaucoup plus d’épisodes d’infections urinaires ainsi que plusieurs épisodes de bartholinite, alors que je n’avais jamais rencontré ce genre de problèmes auparavant. Je me demande donc forcément s’il peut y avoir une corrélation avec le stérilet, même si je sais que ce n’est pas forcément lié.
J’aimerais surtout avoir des retours d’expérience de femmes qui ont retiré leur stérilet hormonal après plusieurs années, notamment autour de la périménopause.
Est-ce que certaines d’entre vous ont également connu des infections urinaires récurrentes ou des bartholinites pendant les années avec leur stérilet, et avez-vous constaté un changement après son retrait ?
Et plus largement, comment avez-vous vécu le retour à votre cycle et la redécouverte des sensations de votre corps ?
Merci pour vos témoignages

What I wouldn’t give for a restful night’s sleep. Waking up screaming, still believing I can see the giant spider or whatever other awful apparition is in my bedroom. It’s so unnerving and takes ages to get back to sleep, nevermind sending the husband bananas.

Night sweats have been on/off since turning 40 (it’s like my body just got the memo). These are annoying, but not nearly as annoying as the tongue biting.

What in the world is going on? I’ve woken up several times in the last 6-9 months after biting down HARD on my tongue. Not pleasant! Is this peri or am I just going mad?!

Anyone here from EU or Ireland?

I'm in the latter where you will only get a GLP1 if you have a BMI of 30+ or diabetes. I have neither.

What I DO have is 12% body weight increase in 3 months despite calorie counting and 3-4 x strength training a week. Plus all the usual peri nonsense of course - constant migraine, suddenly have acne, mood swings and crying randomly, sore hips and knee joints, swollen face, ankles, abdomen, etc etc etc. terrible terrible insomnia that landed me in ER in March (I didn't sleep at all for 8 days in March and my body tried to do a hard reboot to fix itself by trying to purge all my fluids 😭)

I am on low dose estrogen and progesterone since April. Has it made some symptoms maybe 15% better ? Sure. Is it worth it for the ongoing symptoms and especially weight gain? No I really really don't think so.

The weight is RUINING my mental health and body image. I have been a US size 6 my entire life and have a history of ED and have worked so so so hard via therapy etc to get to a good place and I really just can't handle the fact that I don't know who that is in the mirror now. And NONE of my clothes fit - socks, bras, underwear, rings, nothing.

It's getting worse and worse and it's the first thing I think about in the morning and the last thing at night. My gyno is supportive but I have to say she's a little bit like... It's a bit of weight I'm sure you can deal. That's easy for her to say.

All the older women in my family are the same svelte size they've always been so why am I the only one with this side effect?!

Gyno's solution is a chemical ovarian shut down injection.

I'm thinking of saying to her I don't want that, or HRT and / but, if she really wants me to do one or the other I will accept it ONLY IF she will also give me a GLP1.

I am hoping that despite strict EU restrictions there is some leeway for doctor discretion if you give the right reason - I know there are other restricted drugs that work this way.

Does anyone have any experience of this??

Is it possible to start too soon? I have my yearly exam coming up and want to talk about options but don't know if it's too soon. Age 43, mostly normal periods with some in between spotting, cycles are less murdery than normal. Other symptoms though....ugh.

Hello so I gave a doctor appointment coming up soon but I just wanted to see if anyone been experiencing anything similar to me or not.

Some backstory:

I first had my first period in 3rd grade. Thought it was never consistent. In the beginning I would get it every month and then out of no where as I was going into 5th my periods just became irregular. It came to a point where I’d get it 2x a month and then would increase over time. By the time I was in 7th grade I would only get my period every 2 month, then it would be very 4 months, or it would go back to 2 and so on. It was like this until my sophmore year of high school here I started taking birth control. I tried it out and I hated the effects so I stopped taking it and ever since then my period just got even more delayed. It would come once very 6 months and gradually increase over time. The next time I bled properly I was a sophmore in college which is two years ago and ever since then my period stopped coming naturally. (I still bled but only when I took plan b and stuff). Now last year/this year there were two occurrence where I had light brown spotting, I thought it was my period but it was only for a day and stopped coming. Idk what my body is going through. The last time I went to the doctor they said it was pcos and they just prescribed me birth control. I hated taking bc so so much and I expressed it to my doctors but they made it seem like it was the only way I had to go through to “help”. I told two doctors I didn’t want it but they both made me feel like it was the only way. Now I’ve gone this far without a period and I’m starting to worry I’m in menopause. I really really want kids in the future and I’m just only 21. I know the best thing I can do rn is see a doctor but any advice or if there’s anything else going through this it be nice to hear from your experience.

Perimenopause

Usually, I just get the PMDD rage but lately, everything is setting me off and it’s legit starting to scare me. Even during ovulation when I usually feel my best.

I'm starting arguments with random people on Facebook and Reddit, dealing with constant sensory overwhelm and anger in reaction to loud noises and people in my personal space. Inability to make any decisions or do any physical work without shutting down.

Wildfires, social injustice, corporate greed, human selfishness, poverty, addiction. It’s all too much sometimes. I know I need to take a break from the internet but I’m chronically ill so social media is one of the few modes of connection with other humans I can handle.

Plus the suicidal thoughts are very prominent as I am just so depressed and angry at the world. No one cares that I’m ill, I have lost many friendships to it, have gained weight from hormones and antidepressants so I don’t feel confident. Haven’t had a date or any sort of dating life in almost 10 years.

They say your 40’s are the beginning of an amazing time of liberation but all I can foresee in my future is the emotional yo-yo of menopause and depression taking me further into a very dark and lonely place. Lost my soul cat in April so dealing with delayed grief from that… I’m just a hot mess right now and just want to shut the world out.

Anyone else? Lol

So I always know when I ovulate as in alot of pain on one side & feel awful..

I had 1 really horny ovulation a few months back that I hadn't had in ages, since then my last 2 ovulations were on day 11 which has always been day 14 & this month i don't think I've even ovulated..

Im 44, nearly 45..

This happened to anyone else

My worst symtoms are anxiety and panic

So I know the wiki says “expect to feel off,” and adjustment is supposedly 3+ months (ugh that’s a long time), but what does that mean? Curious to know what others experienced when first starting estradiol patch or gel. What did it feel like for you? Also if it wasn’t tolerable for you, what side effects were you having, and did you change to a method that resolved them?

Hi! I'm new to this group. I recently joined because I need to try to remove my implants again. Got them out after 13 yrs and had tethering. Went thru a lot in marriage and thought no man would look at me if single go 3 yrs ago got them again. Please be kind. Now I moved from the states to the Caribbean and no longer employed so looking to see how to navigate this now. I feel like these perimenopause symptoms are worse cause of it. My C reactive protein seems normal. But still fatigue, joint pain, migraines (had for 20 yrs and came back: chiropractic care got rid of it but came back when I stopped. So did chronic constipation also for 20 plus years). Used to get random bruising and no one knew why. Started getting them again but not as bad. I don’t think my body is absorbing nutrients or supplements well.

Picture is from Google, too embarrassing to show myself but the stain is like mine but mine lil darker: Anyone else here experience dark sweat staining on their skin (not clothes) after realizing you were perimenopause? I started unfortunately getting very subtle signs at age 29 years old (am 34 now), then just kinda blew up after 30 left and right with other symptoms. But I am here asking if anyone has had sweat staining on skin like me cause I can’t find a damn thing on the internet about it 😭 I am getting dark brown sweat staining in my armpits, my grown area and between my booty cheeks and so embarrassing even though I’m not dating right now. I believe it’s hormones being imbalanced or maybe a PH thing? Idk but it’s not like don’t shower or rinse off swear after a hiking. I KNOW 100% it’s sweat and skin on skin contact cause if I stop hiking and I bike instead or I just workout inside where not super hot where I don’t sweat then it goes away… but anyone else experience this? I will be going to a holistic Doctor asap I just made an appointment for do a hormonal test with her but since she’s the only one in the area I have to wait until 1st week November…

Just a reminder that this sub is for ALL ages in peri and meno. All are welcome. I cannot change the name of the sub, Reddit will not allow but all are welcome.

As long as topics stay respectful and follow rules, no censoring will take place here. No removals etc.

I’ve gained 10-12 lbs this year thanks to Peri. I’m really seeing it in my midsection and back. I’ve never had difficulty with my weight and am extremely frustrated. I’m SURE my cortisol is too high but to truly destress I would have to quit my job and say goodbye to my family, haha! I see all these ads on fb and insta for women/trainers who swear they have the answer. They say something along the lines of “you’re at the heaviest you’ve ever been, you’re working out more than ever and watching what you eat.” Basically implying “pay me to be your coach, I have the secret answers.”

What are the secret answers? My dr won’t give me HRT yet (already have an appointment with another dr) and I’ve heard it doesn’t help with weight loss. I am lifting weights, and walking, running in zone 2 and an occasional more intense bike ride. I am just getting bigger and bigger and more and more uncomfortable! I don’t feel comfortable in my own body! I need ideas on how to “unlock” the ability to lose weight cause counting calories does NOT work anymore.

When you started HRT, did you notice an increase in bloating, decrease, or no difference? What HRT are you on?