Hormone rant - long

nancy324

nancy324

Cathlete
"Every woman is different". I'm so tired of reading this. x( The signs of perimenopause are so varied in type and intensity, I don't know what's what anymore. In the last month or so I've been getting so hungry that I don't even make it home for dinner. At 5:45 I'm running out to buy dinner to eat at my desk at work. My morning oatmeal which used to satisfy me until lunch time doesn't work anymore. Now I NEED a mid-morning snack. I called my doc to find out if it's a side effect of some medication I'm taking, and he said nope, but it could be perimenopause. Everything and anything "COULD BE PERIMENOPAUSE". Vertigo, fatigue in the late afternoon, fuzzy thinking, and now raging hunger. I do my research, but all the websites say almost anything can be a "sign" or "symptom" and everyone is different. I just picked up a VERY expensive suit I bought 3 weeks ago. Even trying it on at the tailor's, I knew it was too small already. I'm eating twice as much as ever. And it's real hunger, too. Not just the desire to snack.

I'll calm down now. Thank you for indulging me. Any other perimenopausal women out there with raging appetites??

I'm going to the doctor tomorrow to find out if I have an inner ear infection causing my vertigo. I can just guess what she's going to say. "It could be perimenopause". I suppose if my hair turned green and my nose turned purple, they'd say the same thing. x( x(
 
I feel your pain. I haven't had hunger issues, but I do sit and watch helplessly as my body does weird things. My skin is changing, my hair is graying faster than ever, I can't cough without crossing my legs, I have these stupid spider veins on my once beautiful legs...ugh. I'll stop there (but there's more!).
 
Thanks for understanding and sharing, LW. I guess we should be grateful that most of our complaints are fairly superficial, right? I sure am hoping for a verdict of inner ear infection tomorrow though. There's something about the "diagnosis" of perimenopause that makes the doctors think they don't have to go any further. :-(
 
I am only 42, but get the night sweats already.x( Not all the time, but they are there. Gross. So my doctor put me on a tiny bit of progesterone to take during days 12-24 of my cycle. This has sorta helped I think,,have not been taking it long enough to really tell. But I have noticed my raging PMS is alot better.

I too get the hunger...and I notice more annoying facial hair--again, gross! And I notice them in the most inconvenient places, like my rear view mirror in the car, I am thinking about keeping tweezers in the glove department!:p Oh, and if I gain bodyfat, it goes to the waist, where it never has gone before really. It used to be the lower body...sigh. I am not ready for this yet. Not at 42 darn it.
 
Soon enough, every ailment you have will be attributed to post menopause.

It seems a woman who has a health problem is either in some state of menstrual change or depressed.

I have been my smallest after menopause. And I was completely post menopasal at the age of 45.

I just saw a video about a woman who began to model at age 63. She is now 68 and is drop dead gorgeous.

She wrote a book called "Gracefully" and after I saw her short video, I immediately went to Amazon and bought her book.

She is natural too -- grey hair and all.

And to beat all, she has 6 children.
 
UGGGGGH Nancy I could have written this post myself! I posted here a couple of weeks ago similar to this-I went to the doctor to get bloodwork done and of course it all came back normal. I too have "gained" a larger appetite like you said, and I am gaining weight in my stomach-never in my life have I gained weight in my stomach! I got a couple of books on perimenopause that some posters said were good. I have gained alot of knowledge and I am taking some homeopathic meds too. My moods have improved ALOT and it has only been 2 weeks so hopefully I will be able to loose the tummy weight and get my eating back on track.

I know how you feel and I am sending you happy vibes!

Sincerely,
Lisa
 
tneah wrote: and I notice more annoying facial hair--again, gross! And I notice them in the most inconvenient places, like my rear view mirror in the car, I am thinking about keeping tweezers in the glove department!

Only prob with this scenario is that you also need to keep reading glasses with the tweezers. Not that I speak from experience or anything. really.
 
Nancy, my doctor started giving me the "could be perimenopause" lecture when I was 36. I am now 48. If I follow the same pattern as my mother and older sisters, I am not going to hit menopause until I am WELL into my 50's. So, is Perimenopause really 20 years long? I think not.
I feel your pain, girl ;(

Sarah
 
Jody, LOL!:7 Thank goodness my eyes are sharp as ever, if they were not, I would be oblivious to the beard I am sprouting.:7

PS, It's not that bad really, just more than "normal"...weird. Oh, and boy I will keep up with those kegels now that you all mentioned the other "issue".:p
 
Don't know if I'm suffering from that or not, but I'm nearly 40 and my Mom was COMPLETELY done with menopause at 46 so I'm thinking that some of the symptoms I have, which match some you listed, are that very thing (even though blood work I've had in the past two years says otherwise). I can completely relate to the suit that got too tight seemingly over night too. In the past year, I've put on 25-30 lbs and NONE of my normal clothes fit.

I'm ready to sell them all on ebay and pay bills off with the profits.

x(
 
>Nancy, my doctor started giving me the "could be
>perimenopause" lecture when I was 36. I am now 48. If I
>follow the same pattern as my mother and older sisters, I am
>not going to hit menopause until I am WELL into my 50's. So,
>is Perimenopause really 20 years long? I think not.
>I feel your pain, girl ;(
>
>Sarah

Oh, Sarah! That is so unfair! :eek:
 
>I am only 42, but get the night sweats already.x( Not all the
>time, but they are there. Gross. So my doctor put me on a tiny
>bit of progesterone to take during days 12-24 of my cycle.
>This has sorta helped I think,,have not been taking it long
>enough to really tell. But I have noticed my raging PMS is
>alot better.
>
>I too get the hunger...and I notice more annoying facial
>hair--again, gross! And I notice them in the most inconvenient
>places, like my rear view mirror in the car, I am thinking
>about keeping tweezers in the glove department!:p Oh, and if I
>gain bodyfat, it goes to the waist, where it never has gone
>before really. It used to be the lower body...sigh. I am not
>ready for this yet. Not at 42 darn it.

tneah, isn't it lovely to have PMS and perimenopausal "symptoms" at the same time? I'm having both also. When I was younger, I naively thought it would be one OR the other. Not so. :(

By the way, I have tweezers everywhere. ;)
 
Amy, you give me hope. Maybe I should just cheerfully store away my expensive new clothes and wait for post-menopause to wear them?
 
Nancy - I'll be 40 in August. I haven't hit menopause yet, but I can definitely address your hunger issue. I have The Hunger almost every single month, no kidding. I get postively ravenous and could eat nonstop all day, sometimes for two days straight. I feel pretty lucky if it limits itself to one day. Actually, it's tapered off a bit... there were times a few years ago when I'd wake up in the middle of the night and be so darned starving that I'd have to fix a complete second dinner. :eek: Fortunately my body is still able to handle the extra intake, and I don't see any weight gain on my Hungry Days. I make darned sure that what I eat is healthy though! Hang in there, okay? Hormones are foul.
 
Shannon, I know exactly what you mean. I had that hunger for about 2 days each month for many years. I'm sure it was a "normal" part of my PMS. Two days I could handle. Now it's every day, day in, day out.

In a way, I guess I'm "lucky" that my onset is so late. At least I got away without any "symptoms" for 52 years. It is only in this 53rd year of life that any of this is occurring.

I think I'm going to have to go out and buy those books Lisa mentioned. Lisa, what are the names of the books that have helped you the most?

ETA: By the way Shannon, the forties were by far the best, healthiest, happiest decade of my life. Enjoy!! :)
 
My Mother is 54 and still gets her period like clockwork. Isn't it strange how the body works?

Oh, and Tneah--I have tweezers with me at ALL times. In my purse, car, desk, makeup bag, etc. Never know where or when you'll find a stray hair...:)

Oh ya, I forgot: I have had horrible night sweats for years. Always around the week before and of my period. I have nights where I have to get up and shower in the middle of the night or change my pajamas 2 or 3 times. It's disgusting--and SO uncomfortable I may only be 24, but I understand *that* at least. ;) x(

Allison

http://www.picturetrail.com/allisonj90
 
Wow Allison, that is weird, did your doctor tell you why? Well, thank goodness I am not the only one with dripping jammies!:p
 
>Wow Allison, that is weird, did your doctor tell you why?
>Well, thank goodness I am not the only one with dripping
>jammies!:p

Oh, I always get the typical response. It's either a.) you sweat a lot, b.) it's hormones, or c.) a side effect of Paxil (I've taken it for years)

I can't seem to narrow down which one of the above is the actual culprit. x(

Allison

http://www.picturetrail.com/allisonj90
 
OMG - it's not just me. I've been having trouble sleeping. I fall asleep just fine, I just can't stay that way for more than a couple of hours. My girlfirends are saying it's perimenopause. I hadn't heard about the raging appetite though I do have that too.

You mean crossing your legs when you sneeze isn't normal? I've been doing that for three years now. My eyes have been getting dry and tired quickly when using the computer for the past six months or so -yup, they tell me it's perimenopause.

The kicker is my doctor tells me I won't have ANY signs of perimenopause until I go off the BCP (which I'm on continously for "estrogen withdrawal" aka psychotic mood swings and killer migranes). No mood swings or migranes, but I've got all these other so called perimenopause symptoms.

I really do think they just tell all women in their 40's that what ever they're feeling is perimenopause. It keeps them from having to actually deal with us.
 
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