Peri-menopause! I'm only 40!

A

Amadeus

Cathlete
For crying out loud, I thought I was going crazy. I've had palpations, irregular heartbeats, and this wonderful insomnia thing happening.

You guys, I'M ONLY 40 YEARS OLD. I was so looking forward to my fourth decade. Now it looks like there's nothing but torture and insanity left. It just makes me so darned mad. I am SO mad at my body for pulling this about face on me.

So is this "state" going last until 50? And then menopause begins?

I actually broke down and cried right after completing the Imax warm-up this morning and I'm crying right now. (I take it mood swings are part of the deal.) I did manage to suck it up and complete Imax in good fashion. And it did make me feel much better, but someone please tell me life isn't going to be all sleeplessness from here on out.

This is like some stupid puberty form HELL.

Thanks for letting me rant, I just had to do it.x(

Julie
 
I can empathize! And I won't be 38 until Wednesday! My problems are night sweats during certain times of the month and occasional dizziness/lightheadedness. I can practically hear my hormones raging about inside me. x(

I saw something on t.v. about finding out when your mother started menopause and that will give you a pretty good indication of when you will enter it. Peri can start as early as 35 and menopause can hit as early as mid 40s. This doesn't help me though because my mom had to have a hysterectomy prior to naturally occuring menopause.

I have been cursing for awhile now - gray hairs, enlarged pores -I'm too young to be this old!!! But, thanks to Cathe, I'm in better shape now than I was when I was 25. So in that respect I am thumbing my nose at old age!

If the symptoms get too overwhelming, consult your GYN. Hang in there!

Lorrie
 
My mother had a hysterectomy also, uterus only, kept her ovaries. So the symptoms would pretty much be the same. So, go ahead and ask your Mom! She could still provide valuable clues.

As far as perimenopause (I am 45), some melatonin at bedtime, I take 1 mg daily helps a lot with the insomnia, I also leave a mint-flavored sublingual by my bed so I can take the teeniest nibble if I wake up at 3 or 4 and can't go back to sleep. Wonderful stuff.

Take that daily flax seed for the Omega-3s. Exercise and these two supplements are all I do, and eat healthy take a multi, etc. but I did all that before. Only new thing is flax and melatonin.

Search the web and talk to your friends. Some use black cohosh, chasteberry. There are a lot of things to try before you give up. But yes, there are no end to the indignities of living in a human body.

Tiny veins in the legs, then larger ones, eye circles, gray hair, chin hairs to diligently remove, flappy booby-scraps, insomnia, heavier periods closer together (oh joy), am going to have to cave in to reading glasses soon (the worst thing so far), knees get sore more easily. That's my Master Decrepitude List, so far. The key concept is "so far". I console myself with "it could be worse" and I know that it soon will be.

Forty was scary, but somehow, I never thought about it, but it just keeps going! I wish I could be 40 again.

I know all the cheery/optimistic sorts will jump in here and provide their uplifting counter-comments. I don't mind being honest though!! :)
 
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EEEEEK, you're scaring me. I know I'm doing something weird, cuz I'm having hotflashes all the time and I have bouts with mild depression. I wonder if that's just my pill, tho. Oh, who knows. I'm 42 and I expect it now or soon. Is it really *that* bad? If so, then I do have one consolation. I just had my children (3 really close) and those pregnancies, so close and so late in life, were really horrible. I still don't feel myself, and I'm thinking that perimenopause will just be a continuation of how I felt during my pregnant yrs. I probably won't even be able to tell when pregnancies stopped and menopause started. Just a decade and a half of hell. How bad can it be?

**Looking for nearest roof to jump from**

Robin http://www.smilies-world.de/Smilies/Smilies_klein_1/flower.gif
 
Well, you're not alone! I'm just going to be 35 and already started! At first I thought I was too young then I saw a part on the Today show about it and realized I was wrong. My mom also said she started early. I guess we just do the best we can, be good to ourselves and stay positive. At least it helps knowing someone else is going through the same stuff! ;-) Susan
 
What is sublingual?

Spider veins, eye circles, knee aches and chin hairs - that's me too! Actually, I have an entire peach fuzz beard which I Nair away once a week! My mom is always warning me about saggy knee skin - oh joy, can hardly wait for that!

Lorrie
 
Sub-lingual means under the tongue. They are chewable pills so they taste good. I don't put it under my tongue, I just chew off the tiniest bit and chew it thoroughly and let it absorb.
 
right there with ya

Although my doc says I'm too young to be entering perimenopause. I'm 44 and I've heard many stories of women younger than me that have begun that journey. I started having night sweats about 3-4 yrs ago. The doctor I was going to then did a FSH test and it came back negative so he concluded I was not in peri******. I still thought I was.
Then I saw Pam Peeke on Oprah Winfrey. She was describing the symptoms and I was like that's me, got that, yep, that's me. I have bouts of depression and anxiety, heart palpitations, ears ringing, periods are still regular but heavier. We moved and I had to get another doc and she says I'm too young yet I don't think so. She says that genetics really doesn't play a role on when you start menopause. I have noticed that my middle is getting thicker and my exercise is still as intense and frequent. Of course, I've noticed I can't eat like I used to either. I've been coloring my hair and have been for several years. I'm behind on my coloring and the gray is taking over. I can't stand it. :)


Sharon
 
Read these 2 books:
1. Outsmating the Midlife Fat Cell by Debra Waterhouse
2. Fight Fat after Forty by Pamela Peeke,MD

Both books talk about menopause in depth, and how to live through it positively. I highly recomend them. BTW I am 41 and also empathize your situation. :)

Take time to enjoy those who matter most to you & do all things in moderation :)
 
Hi! Just a question--cuz I sometimes have the insomnia problem going on!! You mentioned that you keep some mint-flavored sublingual by your bed to nibble on to help you go back to sleep. Please explain what that is and where to buy some??
I find that Valerian helps me better than Melatonin.

Pleasant Dreams !!




Linda :)
 
Mogambo-

I don't think I've ever heard it better expressed than you said it: "there are no end to the indignities of living in a human body". Your post is hilarious and true, and thank you for it!

-Another Not So Cheery/Optimistic Sort
 
RE: Reverse puberty

Hey, Julie! I too have experienced changes in my sleep pattern over the past 2 years or so, although I haven't had any of the other symptoms of menopause or peri-menopause (I turned 41 in July). I don't know what the solution to it is aside from continuing a good, intense, progressive workout program that includes a lot of heavy weight-lifting - that seems to keep most of my galloping moodiness at bay.

Annette
 
Oh dear, ladies!!!!! You're scaring me!! :-wow

No symptoms for me -- YET -- I'm 35!! I'll have to ask my mom when she started peri...... :-hmmm

Hollie
 
Gosh, I sounded like a really big baby yesterday. Somebody buy me some HUGGIES!

I did try valerian root last night one capsule before bed. Didn't help at all when I was awake from 3-5 am. I'll try two tonight. Lord help me. I think the insomnia is the worst.

Oh did I mention memory loss? Oops, no I "forgot". Last night we went out for dinner, my husband asked me if had any cash to pay the bill. I said "yes" because I knew I had printed out his paycheck (self-employed), gotten the deposit slip (with cash back on it) ready and tucked it in my purse. Speed ahead to when the check comes for the six of us in the family, I look in my purse: there's $20.00 and the paycheck ready to deposit, still sitting there. DUH! It wasn't a huge deal, but how could I do that? I don't feel like I should trust myself any more.

"Flapping booby scraps" just put me on the floor. Thanks, I needed that. :)

Robin, welcome to Perimenopausal Express to SUCKVILLE. (Boy do I have an attitude problem.) Sounds like you're riding the groovy train, too.

I'll check the recommended books at the library, and the recommended remedies I picked up black cohosh. Made my stupid annual female exam appointment yesterday. I hope I don't bawl through it.

Annette, glad to hear from you again, thinking maybe you didn't want to return from vacation. Are you a Cancer/Moonchild, too? I'm July 12.

Thanks all of you who posted. This is very unexpected, trying, difficult. I guess I'll just have to reinvent "old age". For crying out loud, Madonna has to be going through this, too. I think I'll just act like her}>.

Julie
 
I've been at it for over 5 years!

I just turned 43, and I've been doing the evil perimenopause thing for over 5 years. First, my periods got heavy and long.
Then, the heart palpitations started; I thought I was dying. I even went to a cardiologist, and he said to just accept them. Then, the mood changes, anxiety, SEVERE bloating, low libido and night sweats started. Now I think I've started daytime hot flashes, but it might just be because it's so damned hot around here STILL.

I've been on and off the pill (even though my tubes were tied at 35) to fix the period trouble and deal with the night sweating. I had endometrial ablation to finally fix the heavy periods, and they are MUCH better. All of the other symptoms continue, and I am at my wit's end about what to try next. I have worked out 5 days a week for 9 years, and it continues to get worse. I can't imagine what I'd be like without the exercise.

I can only hope that the symptoms improve after I truly enter menopause. I am fairly miserable for 3 weeks out of 4, and am considering going back off the pill to see if I can stand it. I feel like a science experiment in the works!!!

Sandi
 
I've been at it for over 5 years!

I just turned 43, and I've been doing the evil perimenopause thing for over 5 years. First, my periods got heavy and long.
Then, the heart palpitations started; I thought I was dying. I even went to a cardiologist, and he said to just accept them. Then, the mood changes, anxiety, SEVERE bloating, low libido and night sweats started. Now I think I've started daytime hot flashes, but it might just be because it's so damned hot around here STILL.

I've been on and off the pill (even though my tubes were tied at 35) to fix the period trouble and deal with the night sweating. I had endometrial ablation to finally fix the heavy periods, and they are MUCH better. All of the other symptoms continue, and I am at my wit's end about what to try next. I have worked out 5 days a week for 9 years, and it continues to get worse. I can't imagine what I'd be like without the exercise.

I can only hope that the symptoms improve after I truly enter menopause. I am fairly miserable for 3 weeks out of 4, and am considering going back off the pill to see if I can stand it. I feel like a science experiment in the works!!!

Sandi
 
I've been at it for over 5 years!

I just turned 43, and I've been doing the evil perimenopause thing for over 5 years. First, my periods got heavy and long.
Then, the heart palpitations started; I thought I was dying. I even went to a cardiologist, and he said to just accept them. Then, the mood changes, anxiety, SEVERE bloating, low libido and night sweats started. Now I think I've started daytime hot flashes, but it might just be because it's so damned hot around here STILL.

I've been on and off the pill (even though my tubes were tied at 35) to fix the period trouble and deal with the night sweating. I had endometrial ablation to finally fix the heavy periods, and they are MUCH better. All of the other symptoms continue, and I am at my wit's end about what to try next. I have worked out 5 days a week for 9 years, and it continues to get worse. I can't imagine what I'd be like without the exercise.

I can only hope that the symptoms improve after I truly enter menopause. I am fairly miserable for 3 weeks out of 4, and am considering going back off the pill to see if I can stand it. I feel like a science experiment in the works!!!

Sandi
 
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