Perimenopause & hormones

[Tuckervill]

Dogmama, sorry to hear about your bad night. That would absolutely shut me down.

Karen

[sundial]

Maybe I'll start cooking eggs on my forehead & save electricity.

That's just a miserable existence. My massage therapist sells a product called Progestone cream. This is a bioidentical cream that helps relieve symptoms of menopause--hot flashes, moodiness and headaches. She swears by it. Perhaps this could help you relieve your Lupus symptoms as well.

[jennrod12]

Jenn, they have more sensitive/accurate blood tests now than they used to for testing your hormone levels while you are still on the pill. You get your blood drawn on the last day of the week when you are not taking your pills- on the seventh day, just before you start the next pill cycle. It is supposed to let you accurately know whether you have started menopause yet, or whether you have completed it, or even if you have not started menopause at all yet. Ask your doctor about the new blood tests, hopefully he/she would know all about them.

Thanks, Lisa! I'll have to look into that.

Jenn

[dachshund]

I just noticed this thread, and thought I would weigh in.

I'm determined to get through this without hormones. I just hit a phase where the hot flashes are waking me up, but I still refuse to do HRT. Sleep medication, maybe.

My symptoms have been all over the map. I get 3 or 4 things going on, then they stop and a new set of symptoms start. In the first year I really thought something was wrong with me - I couldn't concentrate on anything for more than 30 seconds. I had the heart palpitations constantly for 2 months, then they stopped. I'd get dizziness, a sensation that feels like an electrical charge, hand pains, etc. etc. It wasn't until I found a list of common menopause symptoms that I realized it was all (probably) caused by fluctuating hormone levels.

The worst by far is what they call "mood swings." I call them Fits of Rage. I've had moments when I would have paid good money to be able to strangle the next person who came near me. Just uncontrollable rage. Once I realized that these were, too, part of menopause, it let me step back and wait them out.

I was describing the fits of rage to a friend who had already gone through this. She started laughing: "When your estrogen dips lower, you're getting a glimpse of what it's like to have more testosterone!" Yowza.

Anyway, below are a couple of lists of the common symptoms. My strategy is to spend as much time as I can making myself happy, and to limit activities that will make me irritated. Eat right, exercise as much as possible. And I'd like to comment that this might be easier to deal with if there weren't age-related changes going on at the same time. Sheesh.

http://www.minniepauz.com/35symptoms.html
http://34-menopause-symptoms.com/

[KnottedYet]

Oh, Dachsund, I'm right there with you!

And on that "Minnie Pauz" list, I think I've got all but 4 or 5!

[Zen]

Just wanted to add...My blue period was preceded by the lack of sleep.

just don't go cutting off an ear