Everyone talks about the horrors of the menopause but very few talk about the horrors of the perimenopause.
To tell the truth, I know or knew very little about both due to the fact that, the concept seemed to be for “a lot older women” going through a meltdown.
I believe that all the information discussing the menopause is utterly complicated, uncomprehensible and confusing due to the fact that there seems to be so much uncertainty and little relatability to me who isn’t yet at that point in life.
There seems to be big questions about the dangers of taking Hormone replacement pills, patches and creams as much as not taking them.
The right amount of dosage too seems to be a big question mark!
Then who do you ask or go to for advice?
If I had to ask my GP about anything….I might as well talk to the wall!
“Yes”, there are now many more specialised “woman” doctors but they come with a price tag as well as being geographically inconvenient. “Yes”, these are all excuses but it is the truth. Especially when you do not know if the therapy will work.
Anyways, for a few years now, apart from my neurological illness, I’ve severely suffered from unexplainable symptoms such as nausiness, vertigo, pain in my upper arms, a constantly running nose, a swollen throat, teeth and gums which are tender, my teeth are constantly moving which is uncomfortable and are starting to overlap each other which isn’t aesthetically pleasing, brain fog, mood swings, extremely low levels of energy, joint pains and the list goes on.
In the four years that I have been in and out of hospital, not one doctor has been able to recognise my perimenopausal symptoms.
They all couldn’t understand why I was having these symptoms and above all, where the pain was coming from. The majority of them accused me of inventing my symptoms as they weren’t related to my illness and that I was just playing the “feel sorry for me” card! 🙁
I actually started recognising my symptons through ladies similar to me and experts on Tik Tok or YouTube. So “thank you” to all of you.
I think there should be much more research done on the perimenopause. If there already is, why do we know so little about it. And if there is, why does it all seem confusing, bias and unhelpful.
GPs should be better trained in this area and so should other specialistic doctors who will probably see these occuring symptoms in women which are not quite explainable if there is no underlying illness, such as joint pain, dizziness, limb numbness which are quite common in the perimenopause.
I have and still am suffering significantly from my perimenopause transitioning period (alone and in silence….apart from ranting on here :). It has been on going for at least four years now.
Within this time period and at the start of covid, my work hours were severely reduced as the government shifted all the funds to more medical needs rather than psychological ones….even if the later was in greater demand…figuratively speaking.
During this time, my health deteriorated drastically and I was no longer able to get up in the mornings and go to work…even if there wasn’t any, anyway.
The result of this was total isolation, a fear of going out and a disinterest in everything.
What was/is the solution to all of this?
Good question!
As I am highly sceptical about Hormone Replacement and all other similar medicines (even if some of them are now more natural), I try to get by on natural herbs, supplements, a healthy diet, a lot of daily walking in the woods with my dogs which is actually the best medicine and slowly slowly, sheer determination to fight this battle.
There is still a long way to go before doctors and governments understand that the perimenopause is a real and serious medical condition.
As mentioned earlier, there are now many more women doctors specialising in this field and are talking about it on social media, but as each person is different even if the symptoms are more or less the same, it still isn’t enough. Well, at least for me.
We also need to get rid of this stigma about us women being erratic, useless and brainless during this period and that we’re going to breakout into hot sweats and turn the air conditioning on!
It would be nice if men, husbands, boyfriends were more knowledgeable or at least aware of what we’re going through instead of seeing us as green headed monsters spitting fire.
Let’s hope for the best!
This is my story. I would love to hear yours.
Love life!
Love your fifties!
The photos are from Pexels.com. The names are: Cottonbro 3778361, Mariana Montrazi 7239496, Zaechka 1148603742-25561089