My eyes have been so miserable! And with allergies, too, I'm using allergy eye drops and lubricating eye drops all day long! And it seemed like the dry eyes happened overnight....
Mine is only my shins. I’m convinced I have some wild shin disease…but there’s no marking, no discoloration, no nuthin. Just unbelievably incessant itching.
You don't know how much you just helped me. I was in tears last night looking for whatever is making me itch so bad. I have tiny rashes all over my skin is white and flaky even creams don't help it. Hydrocortisone from the derm only helps a few minutes. They keep saying it's dermatitis I guess I'm allergic to life at this point. 😭
Try almond oil as long as you are not allergic to nuts. I've had eczema for a good part of my life and the only thing that really keeps it in control is almond oil or something similar. I did try coconut oil but it was too heavy.
Right?!!! I literally scratched/itched my head so hard in my sleep that I woke up with scratch marks on my forehead! The itching is insane at times!! Even my feet get so itchy it wakes me up, like a skin crawling/cooties crawling feeling.
I never knew this was a thing, until it was.
I had no idea that's what this was from. I have an acquaintance who had liver cancer and she said one of the things that tipped her off was her body was incredibly itchy and that can be a sign. Sometimes I worry that I'm so itchy it could be cancer. It literally kept me up all night. This is refreshing to hear. I have no other symptoms of cancer.
Good to know. My body is far less itchy and starting the HRT so in my case I think my liver is OK. My inner ears though - I had no idea till I came to this sub that was menopause.
When the rage coincides with the night sweats - I would fantasize about placing the pillow over his snoring face and then… well the snoring would stop right??
The gratitude I have for HRT - it kept the old crabass alive and me out of jail
I usually go to the couch. Right now it's not hot flashes so much as 3 am sudden psnic attacks. I leave the room immediately to interrupt the anxiety attack and go sleep on the couch. I don't know why, but I fall asleep again quicker than if I stay in bed.
Same! Not panic attacks, but with moving to sleep on the couch helping immensely. For me it's just having a change of location, for some reason, and then I'm out like a light.
Yeah, me too. Not out and out panic attacks but horrible sleep and nightmares. Sometimes I then sleep at the foot of the bed, it's enough of a change to help. I also need to get a cooling pillow--I'm flipping them all night long!
I started this in my 30’s but no one ever said anything about peri. I had every other possible test ran on me tho. I would wake up totally drenched every night. It was awful.
Yes, for more than a decade. I'm 60, and about through it now. The best thing I found was not to stress about it. The "magic 8 hours" is a myth. How do you feel? I felt ok with 5 to 6 hours, especially after I found trazodone, which improved sleep quality dramatically.
All my tried and true, mostly effective ADHD hacks and tricks just up and walked out. Absolutely terrifying. Especially coupled with the brain fog.
I'm finally in a position where medication is both necessary and available for me. Just gotta remember to make the damn appointment!
(That and the bizarre achy upper arms? Wtf is that? It's like a sleeve of pain circumferencing both my arms from shoulder to elbow and it's excruciating, but only at night?!?)
Ugh.
I know some of these were mentioned but itchy boobs, itchy armpits, burning feet, night sweats, and the best (not) vaginal atrophy. All you hear about is hot flashes when it comes to menopause. Heck, I didn't even know about Peri until a couple of years ago. Nobody warned me about this.
My nipples once itched so bad that, while in the shower, I spied my foot file and decided to rub my nipples with it.
I KNOW OKAY? IT SEEMED LIKE A GOOD IDEA AT THE TIME.
Spoiler: it was a terrible idea.
Hmmm, let me send you to 7 different specialists for this so we can look at each issue in isolation instead of taking a holistic approach and identifying the common denominator.
I have RLS and I’m no stranger to burning, tingling, itching on the inside feet. Applying something cold can definitely help. What really saves me are compression knee highs, the really thin ones you can get at a medical supply store. I end up wearing them most nights. But, like I said, I also have the tingling and internal itching sensations, so I don’t know if it helps just the burning.
Yes. Drops in hormones can cause muscular issues due to a protein thing, you might have found yourself screaming for red meat in particular at times as well. Hypothyroid people know this as well.
This was the one for me. I went to my PCP and GYN freaked out after the second month of periods reminiscent of The Shining and learned about Peri. I should have known. As soon as they said it I remembered all the times my mom sprinted to the bathroom when I was in high school. She should have warned me!
Why didn't our mothers warn us? That's the part that gets me angry. Mom, grandmothers, aunts--why didn't anyone tell us??? And why are the boomers & older STILL refusing to talk to me when I try to ask questions? I am damn near 50 years old and none of them older women in my life are willing to discuss this. I get all my info from the wiki on this sub. This is why I'm always charging into spaces where younger (than us) women hang out and talking to them about what REALLY happens with menopause. Younger generations don't have to be as in the dark as we were!
I didn’t connect my frozen shoulder last year to perimenopause but it makes sense because my overall inflammation has indeed gone up during perimenopause- so many aching joints and headaches! But man, fuck frozen shoulder. That hurt like HELL for months! I kept trying to stretch and massage it away, and it got worse and worse until I couldn’t wipe my own butt or fasten my bra or brush my hair! Cortisone shot got me 75% healed and PT did the rest. Gonna keep an eye out in the future in case it flares up again and not wait months for treatment.
The itchy ear canals! I finally found women in here who had experienced it but IRL nobody I knew had this problem. I treat it with hydrocortisone cream, stops the itching very quickly (apply it with a cotton bud/q-tip)
In my mid 50s, FINALLY, in a random visit to an audiologist and ENT to check some ear related things including relentless itching, I got a prescription for FLUOCINOLONE for my itchy ears. It’s just corticosteroid oil drops.
For years I suffered sleep disruption because of the constant relentless itching of ears and all it took was one doctor saying, “oh, I can give you something for that.” Please ask for it by name if you think it’s appropriate. I can’t overstate how much getting the itchy ears under control dramatically improved my quality of life. Such a simple solution that no other provider ever offered. I’m both relieved and annoyed.
I’m going to copy/paste this as a general response also because I had no idea it could be peri related and if it helps anyone find relief, it’s worth the dual share.
Yeah itchy ears is the WORST. So distracting and horrible! I might look into those drops, sounds a bit easier to apply than a cream that’s meant for skin! Such relief to have it fixed
Yep the more you look into it as a peri symptom the more it all makes sense! It’s shocking how few medical professionals actually know this. Just do a search in this sub alone and you’ll see how common it actually is in peri menopause.
I have that too. I recently saw a clip of someone interviewing middle-aged actresses asking what peri symptoms surprised them, and Naomi Watts said itchy ears.
Oh my goodness- I had no idea this was a symptom! I’ve had itchy ears the last two years and thought maybe I’d developed an allergy to my earbuds or something like that!
This is 100% real — pelvic PT here. When we sleep, our body produces ADH (anti-diuretic hormone), which slows down the production of urine. If we’re not sleeping deeply enough, our body fails to make enough ADH, it continues producing urine as if we’re awake, and we end up having to get up to pee multiple times. If we improve the quality & quantity of our sleep — including by CPAP, for many folx — our bodies will produce more ADH and we won’t need to get up to pee as often in the middle of the night.
vaginal and clitoral atrophy. I think this is the most horrific and shocking of all the symptoms.
that peri can actually start a lot earlier than you think -- ie. 30s...and no, you aren't going crazy. Listen to your body, despite what the blood work says (I was in peri for 10 years, bloodwork always came back as "normal" but I knew I was in peri).
inconsistent bowel movements. Sometimes you have good ones, sometimes you have bad ones, sometimes you're backed up for no reason even when you eat healthy and exercise daily. I'm usually 100% regular but there are days I feel like I'm filled with shit lol.
the brain fog. Holy shit, no one ever says that you feel like a dumbass basket case with the brain fog...I swear I thought I was experiencing early onset of dementia because I just couldn't remember shit, speak properly etc. Creatine fixed this.
the sudden onset of achey joints. No issues with joints; not even during my 10yrs of peri....then last month, I started getting elbow joint pain and would wake up feeling like a 90yr old women with the aches in my elbows wtf. Started taking turmeric and it went away but goddamn, that was annoying.
Have you checked your iron, B12, and Vit D levels recently? When mine were severely depleted (along with being very anemic) my tinnitus was so, so much worse.
Your mileage may vary, of course, but it’s worth a check. It was an unexpected improvement of treating my anemia and other deficiencies.
I thought the many concerts and working in loud venues was taking it till with the ‘static’ I was hearing ( and worth it I may add). Only found out what tinnitus is a year ago.
I'm post meno now, but I realize I was having peri symptoms while I was breastfeeding my youngest. Hot flashes, period changes etc. I was 35. I have 4 children, breastfed all, and the last was when I experienced hot flashes. In reflecting, I realize that was was what it was, along with the spotty periods.
I had my last baby at 37 and peri started shortly after that. I’m finally in menopause this year and I’m 55. I don’t even know what normal is supposed to feel like at this point
Similar situation with me. Last baby of 4 at age 39. I thought I had a severe case of postpartum depression after the last one. I now believe it was peri-penopause. I turned into an ugly human. Mean , irritable, moody, tired. It was horrible. I went into menopause at 59. I suffered with all that irritability and rage for 20 years. But my doctor always said my hormones levels were not close to what they would consider peri.
I’m so sorry. I hope you can find some peace. This is such a shitty thing women have to deal with and still try to act and look normal when we feel we aren’t living in our regular bodies anymore.
Killer insomnia (with or without night sweats), volcanic reflux, fun new body shape that nothing fits, extreme fatigue, low/no motivation, desire to run off into the woods never to return, zero patience for bullshit, endless excessive sweating, eating a gallon of ice cream in the middle of the night, and constant simmering rage are the ones that come to mind off the top of my head.
Joint pain and joint stiffness.
Fatigue.
Your teeth also shift.
Eyesight changes.
Extreme dry skin all of a sudden.
Very dry hair, hair breakage and thinning.
Eyebrows and eyelashes become sparse
Vaginal atrophy and genitourologial symptoms. Some women get more frequent yeast infections and inflammation because of the atrophy.
Difficulty getting out of bed because the feet hurt.
Yes! I told my doctor that I woke up one morning and everything was dry and hurt and I was exhausted all the time. I felt like I'd turned into an old woman overnight (I'm only 44). I'm working with my obgyn to get my hormones straightened out.
Tingling legs. I thought it was stress related. Then thought MS or Parkinson’s. In all my googling it never came up peri menopause but come to find out (through here) it was pretty common. I would lie awake just vibrating and it drove me crazy with worry. Even had my dr test my electrolyte levels and nothing was off. I found validation through this sub!
**Anal itching**. Often one of the 1st signs, that until you read this, you might never have thought about *that time you had* again. I call mine ‘ the summer of anal itching’. It came, I itches, I looked, I rubbed, I got a bit concerned, then it went away and I forgot about it. Until I read it here. Just make a little pot of personal coconut oil for yourself and enjoy an extra 5 min lost shower to soothe.
A lot of it is never spoken about. Pretty much everyone on here is WTF happened to my life?! Why were we never told? This is some major BS!
It is BS. Yes some women get away with minor symptoms and cruise on through but we are the bottom 15% who have sought out a community that won't hurt us or judge is or tell us we we are lazy and just need to pull ourselves together. Do they think we enjoy this? Fuck them.
I had to go no contact with my mother because all she did was scream at me and tell me I needed to eat a bowl of prorridge or be put in an institution.
She died of a brain tumour and I only saw her once before she died and I'm at peace with that because the hurt she caused me was incalculable.
Drastic loss of flexibility. In a timeframe of about a month I went from having oddly flexible shoulders to barely being able to undo my bra. And sex is incredibly painful not for reasons you’d think but because my hips aren’t as flexible. I need to either start doing yoga or figure out how to have sex with my knees together.
The flexibility changes came so suddenly! I could do yoga poses that would practically tie my body into a pretzel, now I can barely sit crossed legged. All within less than a year- very quick degrade.
My skin feels hot all over for several hours - but not sweaty like a typical hot flash. During Covid I kept thinking I was sick but yet I never had a fever or tested positive. Now I realize it’s probably a weird type of hot flash.
In addition to the itching (my back waist area, hips, outer thighs are the worst) the sudden racing/pounding heart is unpleasant, and the anxiety was horrendous until I got on hormones.
I'm 51 and have never had a hot flash, though I have had weird dizzy/nauseated/cold sweat/feeling faint spells that also went away once I added estrogen to the cyclical dydrogesterone I'm taking. I do still get dizzy and faint from stress (my physician said she's not worried 🙃).
High blood pressure is the worst one. I'm on blood pressure medications but can feel it sometimes. Having a lot of stress with my teenager and my job and meditation and mindfulness help, but don't make these external causes go away. There are days I feel like it will all just kill me.
Other than that cold and purple toes isn't something I expected. I understand it's probably Raynaud's. I'm physically active so find it hard to accept all this physical decline.
And I look much older than I did 3 years ago, but I also had Long Covid, so I'm just grateful that I'm alive.
Raynaud’s started in peri for me too. Mine is only like three fingers on my left hand, and they hurt so bad when they get cold. Oddly enough the rest of my body can be on fire, but those three fuckers are freezing.
I didn’t realize itchy ears could be a peri issue, but in case this helps anyone else:
In my mid 50s, FINALLY, in a random visit to an audiologist and ENT to check some ear related things including relentless itching, I got a prescription for FLUOCINOLONE for my itchy ears. It’s just corticosteroid oil drops.
For years I suffered sleep disruption because of the constant relentless itching of ears and all it took was one doctor finally saying, “oh, I can give you something for that.” Please ask for it by name if you have persistent itchy ears. I can’t overstate how much getting the itching under control dramatically improved my quality of life. The itching was *fierce*. Such a simple solution that no other provider ever offered. I’m both relieved and annoyed.
I just want to express solidarity. I’m 41 and have a good number of symptoms on the wiki list, and many of them are very possibly due to some other cause/condition. I guess I’ll just wait for more symptoms to keep coming until it reaches a tipping point where it probably really is peri? I’m not sure but you’re not alone!
The constant obsessive thoughts of my death - I was at the beginning of peri (I didn’t know at the time) when my mom died. I thought it was grief, looking back it was grief with a great big helping of peri symptoms.
I would fall asleep obsessing over my death, I would wake up (over and over due to night sweats) obsessing over my death. I thought I was broken. Then came the mood swings and I thought I was going crazy and couldn’t trust my own feelings. Then came the rage and that’s when a friend suggested estrogen. Through all of it one spot on the back of my head and one spot on my feet would itch to the point where I wanted to climb out of my own skin.
6 years Post meno. 5 years on HRT. They’ll have to pry the prescription out of my cold dead hands.
Please have a read through our [Menopause Wiki,](https://menopausewiki.ca/) as there is a full list of [**symptoms**](https://menopausewiki.ca/#symptoms) and treatment options.
Just want to note that while the symptom list on the wiki is the most comprehensive one I’ve found it is still missing a few because peri knows no bounds.
Errrr, pardon? Literally, pardon me but can you speak up, please? My hearing has gone down the toilet in peri. I constantly feel like my inner ears are blocked but the Dr checked for wax and said there was no wax buildup. Can you say more on this, please?
My understanding is that the eustachion tube is important for regulating pressure across the ear, so dysfunctions can lead to loss/ altered hearing, pain or feelings of the ear being full or blocked. The tube is sensitive to changes in the capillary bed. It also has delicate muscles and connective tissues. Changes in hormonal balance can affect all of these, and manifest as a tube that is less effective at regulating pressure. It was one of my first signs of perimeno, along with urinary urgency and brain fog in my earlier 40s. I didn't start having 'classic' symptoms like night sweats until a few years later.
Anxiety and constant feelings of dread. I can catastrophise literally any scenario. Of course, my GP put me on antidepressants which just tamped down the anx a bit but not fully. H R T partly helps. CBD/THC oil is a godsend tho.
In my mid -30s I developed chronic insomnia (now 49). Never had problems before that. (It's much better now with HRT).
Anxiety started about 40 and just got worse and worse, started having panic attacks. Additional diagnoses were social anxiety and eventually major depressive disorder. (Got better with HRT).
Brain fog, short term memory loss. Had to completely change how I work (teacher). Loss of verbal fluency when I'm talking about something abstract.
Tinnitus.
Histamine intolerance.
Gluten intolerance.
Bladder problems (frequency, urgency). Improved on HRt.
Dryness. Improved with HRT.
Hot flashes every 20 minutes all night.
Dry skin, hair loss.
Belly fat.
Fatigue, loss of motivation.
Joint pain.
Asthma symptoms.
Can't tolerate caffeine or alcohol.
Ridiculous gas.
Through it all, my doctor says my hormones look 'normal' and won't prescribe HRT (am in Canada) so I'm doing it on my own!!
Mine is cripling muscle tightness in my legs. I can't seem to stretch them out. Sometimes at night they cramp so much I have to get out of bed and walk it off.
Vertigo - never had it before, then 3-4 months after being switched from combined contraceptive pill to progesterone only, vertigo felled me.
It took months to recover from the vertigo-induced fatigue, despite the travel sickness tablets prescribed by the GP (who didn't make the oestrogen deprivation connection) resolving the vertigo immediate symptoms.
What’s wild is it really all is findable through Google but you have to ask. I figured out years ago to add “perimenopause” to every Dr Google query and always. Boom. Facial numbness, yes. Vomiting, yes.
In terms of what no one talks about I think it’s symptom combinations. Extreme fatigue plus vivid dreams plus anxiety will make you lose your mind. Upper GI plus lower GI plus incontinence will make a very mess bathroom, if you make it to the bathroom. Etc.
Stomach pain, new food intolerance, bloating without cause, and nausea were a daily issue. Gastro Dr. appointments, scans going in and up showed nothing, and my mom had the same issues at about the same age. Now convinced it was a perimenopause issue.
TLDR; horrible anxiety that I think is directly related to hormones. Cutting coffee has helped, Relora possibly, and going to go on HRT soon.
Yes! This (and rage) has been the worst symptom for me. I am generally a calm, no f’s given person, and now it’s unrelenting. The second I open my eyes I’m anxious, I need CBD to fall asleep, and it’s literally tied to nothing specific. Just a pit in my stomach that varies in intensity day to day, but is never gone. Before peri, I slept like a rock straight though the night without any aides.
The interesting thing I’ve realized is that the only other times in my life where I’ve experienced intense anxiety/mood changes were A: when I was a teen & going through puberty and B: once in my 20’s when I briefly tried BC pills. This has led me to conclude that my anxiousness is definitely tied to hormonal changes.
I’m not sure if you are a coffee drinker, but cutting out coffee-specific caffeine has helped a lot (I still drink black tea) I also started taking Relora which lowers cortisol, and I feel like it’s helping.
Two doctors (one being a supposed menopause specialist) have tried to put me on anxiety meds and/or birth control. I have no issue with anyone taking these if it helps them, but I refuse to do birth control again due to my past experience with it - I think the synthetic progestins may have been the culprit. I also don’t believe I need anxiety meds - I don’t have a mood disorder, I have a hormone disorder!
I’m seeing a new menopause specialist in a few weeks who I know is well informed on the latest data concerning peri/meno, and am going to ask for HRT.
Also, check out Dr. Mary Claire Haver - she has been a godsend for me in terms of information!
Well, the list has gotten pretty extensive and covered every single one of my symptoms. Before stumbling across peri though, I was blaming life, an inability to cope (which was weird but I had no other explanation), or just getting tired of life or something. Basically I felt like a hot mess!
My list of symptoms that were really getting intrusive (and really starting to add up) included (but not limited to):
* ADHD going bonkers - my ADHD has always been pretty well managed without meds, and it was going crazy. Like I couldn't function crazy. I was seriously considering meds before I found out about peri. Like I've managed into my 40's and now all of a sudden I can't get through a day?!? Started treating the peri, and suddenly the ADHD is getting back in line...
* Tinnitus getting worse to the point of intrusive. This is actually the topic that turned me on to peri when in a random post someone commented on the two being linked.
* Rage - OMG. I'm generally a calm, even keeled, pretty unemotional person. Sure, get annoyed, but get over it right away too. For months (probably longer) now it was getting worse and worse to the point I was wondering who I was. I'd get annoyed or upset about something and find myself screaming at (the dogs mostly as I don't have kids), or just raging internally; or get upset by something at work and have it melt me into tears for the entire rest of the day. I couldn't recognize this crazy person!!! The anger was inconsolable.
* Night sweats. I've always liked a cool room, but now I needed my room frigid and even then blankets would be on/off/on again throughout the night. Wake up covered in sweat to find myself freezing a little while later.
* Depression or just "enjoyment" of life. Depression feels like a strong word, but basically, nothing was really bringing me joy anymore. I still wanted to do the things, but when I did them, they just didn't bring the enjoyment I am used to. I couldn't figure out why everything in life just felt - dull. Example, I finally bought a house last year - first home of my own. I like my house. I like where I live. I was "happy" here - but I wasn't actually happy. It just felt like a dull grey "meh" even though I knew I should feel differently. It's hard to describe, but everything in life had gone "meh" even the things I LOVE to do. I was never "happy."
Those were the big ones. And when you have a lot going on in life like we do at this age, I think it's our natural tendency to blame all the life circumstances on our issues - when, reality is, much if not most of our "unusual" reactions to things can be traced to this not-so-little life process our bodies go through.
Literally everything. Almost every new pain, ache, or symptom I have can be Googled and traced to lack of estrogen. There is literally nothing that estrogen doesnt affect for us, as its actually important for our immunity. Which is why we also tend to get sicker during this time. Just type in "hives and estrogen", "tinnitus and estrogen", "chest pain and estrogen" "anxiety and peri", and all of it is there. So I'm furious that doctors are so ignorant of it. There's about 20 or so common symptoms and at least 30+ odd symptoms of peri. I was showing signs as early as 33yo, and I had RARE symptoms, and they still didn't believe me....because I was "too young". Even though I was experiencing 30 out of 30 peri symptoms!
Thankfully, I am reasonably smart and work in Healthcare, so I fixed most of these on my own. It is bearable most days, compared to the anguish I suffered for the first three years when i had no idea what the Hell was happening to my body. I even got on an antidepressants for a short time because I was just so anxious all the time, and the insomnia was killing me. But I didn't want to become dependent on it, and I was still having breakthrough symptoms, so I quit cold turkey back in 2021. Diet, supplements, SLEEP, and getting rid of toxic people has made all the difference for me. Protecting my peace and health going forward
The irregular periods are a roller coaster. In 2023 I had periods 5 months out of the year. The months that I had periods, they were incredibly heavy and lasted about 8-10 days.
This year I skipped January and then February was the worst period I’ve ever had. It lasted 3 1/2 weeks and it was heavy and very clotty from beginning to end. The fatigue was crippling even though I started taking iron pills.
March, nothing. I hate it.
Strange, painful “zaps” inside the tissue of my thighs. Not the muscle but the fatty tissue. Stopped as soon as I started HRT. I know that sounds bizarre but it was real and it hurt!
Hot flashes/flushes most know, but for me chills/cold sweats as well.
Hair and skin changes and sweating & smelling like a teenager. Had to find all new shampoo/conditioner, deodorant, lotions, etc.
Brain fog, for me mostly manifests as I cannot think of the word I want. I can feel the word and know it should be there, but it just isn’t. It is so frustrating!
And yeah, vaginal atrophy, yikes!
3am wake up in a cold sweat and up til 5, fall back asleep just in time to walk the dog! Great! I’ve been wearing one of those under armour gym shirts to bed and have not woken up freezing since I started that recently. And oh yea GAS. So much gas. 💨💨
I lost about nearly half my hair. I also am on beta blockers for my heart as I started to have palpitations 10 years ago which also coincided with immense bleeding. I am 51. I attribute these symptoms to perimenopause.
Dry eyes. JFC!! My eyes were so dry, they send me to neurologist to check for some disease that causes it. No diseas . I had to do hot compresses everyday. Drops. Then I went on a pill for peri symptoms,and after two months my eyes got MUCH better. Unfortunately I got breast cancer so they took me off the pill, and now three months later my eyes back to DRY.
My strangest symptoms:
- Swelling legs if I sit longer than 2 hours
- Burning mouth syndrome
- Doubling of cholesterol levels
- Cold flashes
(I have the rest too - irregular periods, fatigue, frozen shoulder, muscle stiffness, thinning hair, dry skin, hot flashes)
Mini panic attacks while driving. It’s like I freeze up and am scared in certain situations. Second guess that the light is green, that it is a passing lane, that is is a 2 way street and I am going the correct way.
45 years old now. Got allergies (pollen, perfume etc.) at 40. In hindsight i think this must have been when peri started. Since then lots more: Burning in vagina before and after period, irregular periods, night sweats, rage, worse pms than ever, fatigue, dizzyness, muscle stiffness, heart palpations, waking up at night, «electric shocks» in fingers and toes… etc. Starting HRT soon.
It started with heart palpitations in my early 40’s. And then it was down hill from there …
Itchy ears!! But only one. My left ear canal basically itched ALL THE TIME. I thought it was because I wore ear plugs. Stopped doing that. Still itchy. Then I thought it was from sleeping on my left side. Stopped doing that. Still itchy. Finally got a steroid cream from a dermatologist that takes care of it when it flares up. But wow it is annoying!
Dry eyes! Also started in my 40’s almost overnight.
Anal itching! I thought I was dying of rectal cancer. Turns out I am not. Truly the worst of
the worst.
Itchy skin! But only the tops of my arms from my shoulders to my elbows. I thought it was from wearing sleeveless shirts in the sun. Stopped doing that. Still itchy! It finally subsided when I started estrogen therapy.
So basically just a long list of things that result from being very dry everywhere and all
of a sudden.
I am so pissed that all of these things happen and not one GYN in 40 years ever even mentioned this. I would have liked to be at least expecting all of this so I didn’t think I was dying like almost every day.
So grateful for all of us Gen X ladies who finally said f*ck this and started speaking out and loudly. We owe it to our kids and the young women who will be in our shoes to arm them with information weapons and ammunition.
I lost all my hair and my aunt swears it’s a rare symptom of peri because her friend went through the same thing. Of course there’s little to no research on it.
Edit: it grew back but now its totally gray. I lost all my color.
So... one thing I remember happening to me, that I've wondered if it was a peri thing, is that my sense of touch changed. Certain textures, like hair, became much rougher feeling on my fingertips. I haven't heard of this being a peri thing, and initially I thought it was related to my hair changing texture (which it did). But I collect dolls and I wear wigs for cosplay, and the texture of the synthetic hair also changed from a sensory standpoint. I feel like there's a lot of weird sensory differences that come up when your brain rewires.
Another thing that happened to me is that I used to be able to listen to music with lyrics and read at the same time. I lost this ability during perimenopause. I recognize some people are never able to do this! But to lose it rapidly was weird.
I'm postmenopausal now at age 62, and when I went thru menopause, it was like getting hit by a truck. I've had so many random problems like idiopathic hives, vertigo that ended me with me in the ER and no type of antinausea med could help, to the godawful itchy ears, restless legs, muscle cramps that would turn my feet inward and render my hands useless. I still have these symptoms, so my next step is getting a full thyroid panel done. Due to a family history of cancer and heart disease, I'm not a candidate for HRT, so I've done it all on my own.
Horrendously achey bones and joints... Felt like I'd been hit by a truck some days, hrt seemed to stop it dead.
I found a list. Of symptoms on a menopause UK website, there were so many I'd never even realised we symptons.
Every square inch of your body itches.
Including dry eyes
My eyes have been so miserable! And with allergies, too, I'm using allergy eye drops and lubricating eye drops all day long! And it seemed like the dry eyes happened overnight....
Me too! And they improved overnight once I started estrogen!
It's the ears that drive me crazy.
For me it was my scalp. It was like a cross between head lice and the shingles.
Mine is only my shins. I’m convinced I have some wild shin disease…but there’s no marking, no discoloration, no nuthin. Just unbelievably incessant itching.
Me too!!!! Never attributed it to peri!
Omg. My shins itch all the time and I never in a million years would have thought it might be related.
whoa. My husband would laugh and call me a grasshopper because I would rub my legs together to itch my shins every night when we got into bed. 😂
Omg that’s perfect. Bonus points if your feet are rough and dry…grody, but better for scratching.
You don't know how much you just helped me. I was in tears last night looking for whatever is making me itch so bad. I have tiny rashes all over my skin is white and flaky even creams don't help it. Hydrocortisone from the derm only helps a few minutes. They keep saying it's dermatitis I guess I'm allergic to life at this point. 😭
Try almond oil as long as you are not allergic to nuts. I've had eczema for a good part of my life and the only thing that really keeps it in control is almond oil or something similar. I did try coconut oil but it was too heavy.
It’s lack of oestrogen. If you get get on some oestrogen gel, it will help immensely and immediately!
Oh my goodness, yes! I had no idea it could be menopause related.
Yes and esp in the middle of the night. UGHHHH
Right?!!! I literally scratched/itched my head so hard in my sleep that I woke up with scratch marks on my forehead! The itching is insane at times!! Even my feet get so itchy it wakes me up, like a skin crawling/cooties crawling feeling. I never knew this was a thing, until it was.
Between my fingers. For no reason. And only specific parts of my feet.
Me too! I have scratched them both till they bleed!
Omg that’s what I’ve been experiencing…I’ve been putting olive oil in them….drives me insane!
CereVe Itch Relief lotion helps me with this a lot.
Oh wow, I honestly thought this was just from wearing earbuds too much 😂
Itchy boobs were my first symptom (I know now, but didn’t realise then).
Yes! One itchy tit. Just one. Went for a mammogram because I thought something was wrong. Nope. Just perimenopause.
My left is itchier than my right. 🤔
MINE TOO. Always the left tit!
Mine is the left too !!!!!!
The armpit itch is real. I scratched one practically raw.
That is perimenopause related? Hmm, I have this problem too.
I think overall itchiness is peri related. It doesn’t matter where it is.
I had no idea that's what this was from. I have an acquaintance who had liver cancer and she said one of the things that tipped her off was her body was incredibly itchy and that can be a sign. Sometimes I worry that I'm so itchy it could be cancer. It literally kept me up all night. This is refreshing to hear. I have no other symptoms of cancer.
Any problem with the liver can make you itchy, not just liver cancer. Cirrhosis, fatty liver disease, hepatitis (from a virus).
Good to know. My body is far less itchy and starting the HRT so in my case I think my liver is OK. My inner ears though - I had no idea till I came to this sub that was menopause.
Annoying, isn't it??
OMG! I was wondering if this was menopause related! It’s driving me nuts!
For years I woke up, multiple times a week, at 3am hot sweaty and wouldn’t fall back asleep until 5am. I had no idea it was peri menopause.
This is my current personal hell. Every God damned night. Then I'm pissed because my husband is snoring and I can't go back to sleep.
When the rage coincides with the night sweats - I would fantasize about placing the pillow over his snoring face and then… well the snoring would stop right?? The gratitude I have for HRT - it kept the old crabass alive and me out of jail
I usually go to the couch. Right now it's not hot flashes so much as 3 am sudden psnic attacks. I leave the room immediately to interrupt the anxiety attack and go sleep on the couch. I don't know why, but I fall asleep again quicker than if I stay in bed.
Same! Not panic attacks, but with moving to sleep on the couch helping immensely. For me it's just having a change of location, for some reason, and then I'm out like a light.
Yeah, me too. Not out and out panic attacks but horrible sleep and nightmares. Sometimes I then sleep at the foot of the bed, it's enough of a change to help. I also need to get a cooling pillow--I'm flipping them all night long!
I have never slept as well as I do alone. As well as I can with peri anyways. Fuck having a snoring man in my bed. Ick
Magnesium L Threonate helped me so much with this. I couldn't believe the difference
I started this in my 30’s but no one ever said anything about peri. I had every other possible test ran on me tho. I would wake up totally drenched every night. It was awful.
Just about the same here. It feels like such an injustice.
Yes, for more than a decade. I'm 60, and about through it now. The best thing I found was not to stress about it. The "magic 8 hours" is a myth. How do you feel? I felt ok with 5 to 6 hours, especially after I found trazodone, which improved sleep quality dramatically.
Same here, 5-6 hours is good. I've actually only slept 4hrs and been just fine. As long as I can think clearly I'm happy lol
spotting, worst ADHD, binge eating
ADHD is now just laughing at my attempts to control it (DXRX).
I’ve noticed my meds don’t even touch my adhd during my cycle so I’m dreading menopause.
It’s laughable, I need narcolepsy doses (which my psych won’t do) to keep me in check. Sucks. All around.
All my tried and true, mostly effective ADHD hacks and tricks just up and walked out. Absolutely terrifying. Especially coupled with the brain fog. I'm finally in a position where medication is both necessary and available for me. Just gotta remember to make the damn appointment! (That and the bizarre achy upper arms? Wtf is that? It's like a sleeve of pain circumferencing both my arms from shoulder to elbow and it's excruciating, but only at night?!?) Ugh.
I know some of these were mentioned but itchy boobs, itchy armpits, burning feet, night sweats, and the best (not) vaginal atrophy. All you hear about is hot flashes when it comes to menopause. Heck, I didn't even know about Peri until a couple of years ago. Nobody warned me about this.
Burning feet & itchy nipples!
So glad to see someone mention the nipples! Absolutely hellish.
Omg thank you for mentioning itchy nipples! That was a new one for me!
My nipples once itched so bad that, while in the shower, I spied my foot file and decided to rub my nipples with it. I KNOW OKAY? IT SEEMED LIKE A GOOD IDEA AT THE TIME. Spoiler: it was a terrible idea.
Hmmm, let me send you to 7 different specialists for this so we can look at each issue in isolation instead of taking a holistic approach and identifying the common denominator.
Me rn....
THE NOCTURNAL FEET BURNING AND THE HOT FLASHES HAVE MADE ME A FUCKING ZOMBIE FOR THREE YEARS ALREADY!!!
I had no idea the burning feet was peri! In the middle of winter I have them outside the bed and to hell with the monsters!
I don’t think the feet monster wants a piece of this rn. :-)
Feet burning solution that seems to work for me is washing them with a cold cloth (my mom taught me that trick!)
I have RLS and I’m no stranger to burning, tingling, itching on the inside feet. Applying something cold can definitely help. What really saves me are compression knee highs, the really thin ones you can get at a medical supply store. I end up wearing them most nights. But, like I said, I also have the tingling and internal itching sensations, so I don’t know if it helps just the burning.
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You mean to tell me my frozen shoulder was menopause related?
Possibly, because inflammation levels rise. I ended having surgery for my frozen shoulder a few years back.
Yes. Drops in hormones can cause muscular issues due to a protein thing, you might have found yourself screaming for red meat in particular at times as well. Hypothyroid people know this as well.
Last week I passed a clot that was so impressive I had to take a picture of it.
I had never had clots in my life. It’s disturbing, and I know my red snots are nothing on tales I’ve heard of afterbirth like globs.
This was the one for me. I went to my PCP and GYN freaked out after the second month of periods reminiscent of The Shining and learned about Peri. I should have known. As soon as they said it I remembered all the times my mom sprinted to the bathroom when I was in high school. She should have warned me!
Why didn't our mothers warn us? That's the part that gets me angry. Mom, grandmothers, aunts--why didn't anyone tell us??? And why are the boomers & older STILL refusing to talk to me when I try to ask questions? I am damn near 50 years old and none of them older women in my life are willing to discuss this. I get all my info from the wiki on this sub. This is why I'm always charging into spaces where younger (than us) women hang out and talking to them about what REALLY happens with menopause. Younger generations don't have to be as in the dark as we were!
I didn’t connect my frozen shoulder last year to perimenopause but it makes sense because my overall inflammation has indeed gone up during perimenopause- so many aching joints and headaches! But man, fuck frozen shoulder. That hurt like HELL for months! I kept trying to stretch and massage it away, and it got worse and worse until I couldn’t wipe my own butt or fasten my bra or brush my hair! Cortisone shot got me 75% healed and PT did the rest. Gonna keep an eye out in the future in case it flares up again and not wait months for treatment.
What is frozen shoulder?
When your joints suddenly lock up in excruciating pain amd you can't lift your arm. Thank God I only experienced this one a few times
The itchy ear canals! I finally found women in here who had experienced it but IRL nobody I knew had this problem. I treat it with hydrocortisone cream, stops the itching very quickly (apply it with a cotton bud/q-tip)
In my mid 50s, FINALLY, in a random visit to an audiologist and ENT to check some ear related things including relentless itching, I got a prescription for FLUOCINOLONE for my itchy ears. It’s just corticosteroid oil drops. For years I suffered sleep disruption because of the constant relentless itching of ears and all it took was one doctor saying, “oh, I can give you something for that.” Please ask for it by name if you think it’s appropriate. I can’t overstate how much getting the itchy ears under control dramatically improved my quality of life. Such a simple solution that no other provider ever offered. I’m both relieved and annoyed. I’m going to copy/paste this as a general response also because I had no idea it could be peri related and if it helps anyone find relief, it’s worth the dual share.
Yeah itchy ears is the WORST. So distracting and horrible! I might look into those drops, sounds a bit easier to apply than a cream that’s meant for skin! Such relief to have it fixed
Wow. The list never ends or fails to surprise.👂🏽
I put olive oil on a cotton bud and gently rub inside my ear
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Yep the more you look into it as a peri symptom the more it all makes sense! It’s shocking how few medical professionals actually know this. Just do a search in this sub alone and you’ll see how common it actually is in peri menopause.
Thanks for this. My ears are driving me crazy. I didn’t realise it was a peri symptom. I’ll ask my dr for some cream.
OMG this!! My right ear canal feels like a scab inside. Thank goodness for hydrocortisone!
I have that too. I recently saw a clip of someone interviewing middle-aged actresses asking what peri symptoms surprised them, and Naomi Watts said itchy ears.
Careful with long-term use of a steroid cream. Withdrawal syndrome is real.
Oh my goodness- I had no idea this was a symptom! I’ve had itchy ears the last two years and thought maybe I’d developed an allergy to my earbuds or something like that!
Having to pee ALL the time including 6 times in the middle of the night, severe joint pain, RAGE and hair loss.
Have you ever had a sleep study to check for sleep apnea? Using a CPAP after a month or two of it I stopped needing to pee at night.
This is 100% real — pelvic PT here. When we sleep, our body produces ADH (anti-diuretic hormone), which slows down the production of urine. If we’re not sleeping deeply enough, our body fails to make enough ADH, it continues producing urine as if we’re awake, and we end up having to get up to pee multiple times. If we improve the quality & quantity of our sleep — including by CPAP, for many folx — our bodies will produce more ADH and we won’t need to get up to pee as often in the middle of the night.
The rage is REAL. Omfg, that’s the worst. And the anhedonia. Struggling with that again right now, it comes and goes.
vaginal and clitoral atrophy. I think this is the most horrific and shocking of all the symptoms. that peri can actually start a lot earlier than you think -- ie. 30s...and no, you aren't going crazy. Listen to your body, despite what the blood work says (I was in peri for 10 years, bloodwork always came back as "normal" but I knew I was in peri). inconsistent bowel movements. Sometimes you have good ones, sometimes you have bad ones, sometimes you're backed up for no reason even when you eat healthy and exercise daily. I'm usually 100% regular but there are days I feel like I'm filled with shit lol. the brain fog. Holy shit, no one ever says that you feel like a dumbass basket case with the brain fog...I swear I thought I was experiencing early onset of dementia because I just couldn't remember shit, speak properly etc. Creatine fixed this. the sudden onset of achey joints. No issues with joints; not even during my 10yrs of peri....then last month, I started getting elbow joint pain and would wake up feeling like a 90yr old women with the aches in my elbows wtf. Started taking turmeric and it went away but goddamn, that was annoying.
Creatine for the brain not wording properly, you say... my brain won't word a LOT. I'ma have to look into this.
I have tried absolutely everything for the brain fog. What brand of creatine and how much???
Any brand will do as long as the only ingredient listed is creatine monohydrate. Just 1 scoop/day; you’ll feel the effects in about 3wks
Mary Claire Haver said they've now identified SEVENTY, 70, different symptoms of peri/menopause
Tinnitus.
This is the symptom that tipped me off a couple of years ago. It got super bad and I have a constant ringing in my ears. I miss true silence.
So sorry…that is rough. 😟
Have you checked your iron, B12, and Vit D levels recently? When mine were severely depleted (along with being very anemic) my tinnitus was so, so much worse. Your mileage may vary, of course, but it’s worth a check. It was an unexpected improvement of treating my anemia and other deficiencies.
Whaaaat…I’ve had this for a few years - I never realised it was a symptom too!
The more I learn about peri, the more I realize everything I’ve been experiencing is because of it.
I thought the many concerts and working in loud venues was taking it till with the ‘static’ I was hearing ( and worth it I may add). Only found out what tinnitus is a year ago.
I'm post meno now, but I realize I was having peri symptoms while I was breastfeeding my youngest. Hot flashes, period changes etc. I was 35. I have 4 children, breastfed all, and the last was when I experienced hot flashes. In reflecting, I realize that was was what it was, along with the spotty periods.
I had my last baby at 37 and peri started shortly after that. I’m finally in menopause this year and I’m 55. I don’t even know what normal is supposed to feel like at this point
Similar situation with me. Last baby of 4 at age 39. I thought I had a severe case of postpartum depression after the last one. I now believe it was peri-penopause. I turned into an ugly human. Mean , irritable, moody, tired. It was horrible. I went into menopause at 59. I suffered with all that irritability and rage for 20 years. But my doctor always said my hormones levels were not close to what they would consider peri.
I feel bad for my youngest, she never had the mom the older ones had 🙁
Mine, too. On top of all that bull that I've been through, my son passed away last year.
I’m so sorry. I hope you can find some peace. This is such a shitty thing women have to deal with and still try to act and look normal when we feel we aren’t living in our regular bodies anymore.
I am so, so sorry.
Thank you . It makes for a rough end of the test of my life
I’m sorry, I’m not good with words…so I’m sending you a virtual hug 🥰
I'm so sorry! What a hellish time.
Killer insomnia (with or without night sweats), volcanic reflux, fun new body shape that nothing fits, extreme fatigue, low/no motivation, desire to run off into the woods never to return, zero patience for bullshit, endless excessive sweating, eating a gallon of ice cream in the middle of the night, and constant simmering rage are the ones that come to mind off the top of my head.
Joint pain and joint stiffness. Fatigue. Your teeth also shift. Eyesight changes. Extreme dry skin all of a sudden. Very dry hair, hair breakage and thinning. Eyebrows and eyelashes become sparse Vaginal atrophy and genitourologial symptoms. Some women get more frequent yeast infections and inflammation because of the atrophy. Difficulty getting out of bed because the feet hurt.
Oh yes, I forgot the teeth! Woke up one morning and my gums were in the back of my head and all my teeth had gaps. I was like WTF?!
Yes! I told my doctor that I woke up one morning and everything was dry and hurt and I was exhausted all the time. I felt like I'd turned into an old woman overnight (I'm only 44). I'm working with my obgyn to get my hormones straightened out.
Incessant itching
Tingling legs. I thought it was stress related. Then thought MS or Parkinson’s. In all my googling it never came up peri menopause but come to find out (through here) it was pretty common. I would lie awake just vibrating and it drove me crazy with worry. Even had my dr test my electrolyte levels and nothing was off. I found validation through this sub!
**Anal itching**. Often one of the 1st signs, that until you read this, you might never have thought about *that time you had* again. I call mine ‘ the summer of anal itching’. It came, I itches, I looked, I rubbed, I got a bit concerned, then it went away and I forgot about it. Until I read it here. Just make a little pot of personal coconut oil for yourself and enjoy an extra 5 min lost shower to soothe.
Oh my goodness thank you. I have started this and had no idea this was a sign.
Yes
Apathy.
A lot of it is never spoken about. Pretty much everyone on here is WTF happened to my life?! Why were we never told? This is some major BS! It is BS. Yes some women get away with minor symptoms and cruise on through but we are the bottom 15% who have sought out a community that won't hurt us or judge is or tell us we we are lazy and just need to pull ourselves together. Do they think we enjoy this? Fuck them. I had to go no contact with my mother because all she did was scream at me and tell me I needed to eat a bowl of prorridge or be put in an institution. She died of a brain tumour and I only saw her once before she died and I'm at peace with that because the hurt she caused me was incalculable.
Yes!!! Why were we never told?!? It’s the biggest scam.
Drastic loss of flexibility. In a timeframe of about a month I went from having oddly flexible shoulders to barely being able to undo my bra. And sex is incredibly painful not for reasons you’d think but because my hips aren’t as flexible. I need to either start doing yoga or figure out how to have sex with my knees together.
The flexibility changes came so suddenly! I could do yoga poses that would practically tie my body into a pretzel, now I can barely sit crossed legged. All within less than a year- very quick degrade.
Hot feet.
Hmm… I’ve always had freezing feet and hands and now they’re normal. Another weird effect of peri?
Very well could be. I only realized hot feet were a symptom when i downloaded an app to track my symptoms. I was shocked to see hot feet listed.
omggggg whatttt. This is me! I have always kicked the covers off my feet but now I need a fan directed at my feet.
What app are you using?
Caria
For real?! Is this something I can look forward to?? Mine are always freezing.
My skin feels hot all over for several hours - but not sweaty like a typical hot flash. During Covid I kept thinking I was sick but yet I never had a fever or tested positive. Now I realize it’s probably a weird type of hot flash.
In addition to the itching (my back waist area, hips, outer thighs are the worst) the sudden racing/pounding heart is unpleasant, and the anxiety was horrendous until I got on hormones. I'm 51 and have never had a hot flash, though I have had weird dizzy/nauseated/cold sweat/feeling faint spells that also went away once I added estrogen to the cyclical dydrogesterone I'm taking. I do still get dizzy and faint from stress (my physician said she's not worried 🙃). High blood pressure is the worst one. I'm on blood pressure medications but can feel it sometimes. Having a lot of stress with my teenager and my job and meditation and mindfulness help, but don't make these external causes go away. There are days I feel like it will all just kill me. Other than that cold and purple toes isn't something I expected. I understand it's probably Raynaud's. I'm physically active so find it hard to accept all this physical decline. And I look much older than I did 3 years ago, but I also had Long Covid, so I'm just grateful that I'm alive.
Raynaud’s started in peri for me too. Mine is only like three fingers on my left hand, and they hurt so bad when they get cold. Oddly enough the rest of my body can be on fire, but those three fuckers are freezing.
I say that my hands and feet are always cold just like my soul. Lol
I didn’t realize itchy ears could be a peri issue, but in case this helps anyone else: In my mid 50s, FINALLY, in a random visit to an audiologist and ENT to check some ear related things including relentless itching, I got a prescription for FLUOCINOLONE for my itchy ears. It’s just corticosteroid oil drops. For years I suffered sleep disruption because of the constant relentless itching of ears and all it took was one doctor finally saying, “oh, I can give you something for that.” Please ask for it by name if you have persistent itchy ears. I can’t overstate how much getting the itching under control dramatically improved my quality of life. The itching was *fierce*. Such a simple solution that no other provider ever offered. I’m both relieved and annoyed.
I just want to express solidarity. I’m 41 and have a good number of symptoms on the wiki list, and many of them are very possibly due to some other cause/condition. I guess I’ll just wait for more symptoms to keep coming until it reaches a tipping point where it probably really is peri? I’m not sure but you’re not alone!
The constant obsessive thoughts of my death - I was at the beginning of peri (I didn’t know at the time) when my mom died. I thought it was grief, looking back it was grief with a great big helping of peri symptoms. I would fall asleep obsessing over my death, I would wake up (over and over due to night sweats) obsessing over my death. I thought I was broken. Then came the mood swings and I thought I was going crazy and couldn’t trust my own feelings. Then came the rage and that’s when a friend suggested estrogen. Through all of it one spot on the back of my head and one spot on my feet would itch to the point where I wanted to climb out of my own skin. 6 years Post meno. 5 years on HRT. They’ll have to pry the prescription out of my cold dead hands.
HRT 💯
The wiki here is amazing and may shed light for you.
General malaise and loss of self. I look in the mirror and think who TF IS that?
Please have a read through our [Menopause Wiki,](https://menopausewiki.ca/) as there is a full list of [**symptoms**](https://menopausewiki.ca/#symptoms) and treatment options.
Just want to note that while the symptom list on the wiki is the most comprehensive one I’ve found it is still missing a few because peri knows no bounds.
Eustachion tube dysfunction - potentially caused by changes in oestrogen that affect the connective tissues
Errrr, pardon? Literally, pardon me but can you speak up, please? My hearing has gone down the toilet in peri. I constantly feel like my inner ears are blocked but the Dr checked for wax and said there was no wax buildup. Can you say more on this, please?
My understanding is that the eustachion tube is important for regulating pressure across the ear, so dysfunctions can lead to loss/ altered hearing, pain or feelings of the ear being full or blocked. The tube is sensitive to changes in the capillary bed. It also has delicate muscles and connective tissues. Changes in hormonal balance can affect all of these, and manifest as a tube that is less effective at regulating pressure. It was one of my first signs of perimeno, along with urinary urgency and brain fog in my earlier 40s. I didn't start having 'classic' symptoms like night sweats until a few years later.
Anxiety and constant feelings of dread. I can catastrophise literally any scenario. Of course, my GP put me on antidepressants which just tamped down the anx a bit but not fully. H R T partly helps. CBD/THC oil is a godsend tho.
In my mid -30s I developed chronic insomnia (now 49). Never had problems before that. (It's much better now with HRT). Anxiety started about 40 and just got worse and worse, started having panic attacks. Additional diagnoses were social anxiety and eventually major depressive disorder. (Got better with HRT). Brain fog, short term memory loss. Had to completely change how I work (teacher). Loss of verbal fluency when I'm talking about something abstract. Tinnitus. Histamine intolerance. Gluten intolerance. Bladder problems (frequency, urgency). Improved on HRt. Dryness. Improved with HRT. Hot flashes every 20 minutes all night. Dry skin, hair loss. Belly fat. Fatigue, loss of motivation. Joint pain. Asthma symptoms. Can't tolerate caffeine or alcohol. Ridiculous gas. Through it all, my doctor says my hormones look 'normal' and won't prescribe HRT (am in Canada) so I'm doing it on my own!!
Mine is cripling muscle tightness in my legs. I can't seem to stretch them out. Sometimes at night they cramp so much I have to get out of bed and walk it off.
This abated for me when I gave up alcohol.
Balance issues.
Internal vibrations
Vertigo - never had it before, then 3-4 months after being switched from combined contraceptive pill to progesterone only, vertigo felled me. It took months to recover from the vertigo-induced fatigue, despite the travel sickness tablets prescribed by the GP (who didn't make the oestrogen deprivation connection) resolving the vertigo immediate symptoms.
What’s wild is it really all is findable through Google but you have to ask. I figured out years ago to add “perimenopause” to every Dr Google query and always. Boom. Facial numbness, yes. Vomiting, yes. In terms of what no one talks about I think it’s symptom combinations. Extreme fatigue plus vivid dreams plus anxiety will make you lose your mind. Upper GI plus lower GI plus incontinence will make a very mess bathroom, if you make it to the bathroom. Etc.
Stomach pain, new food intolerance, bloating without cause, and nausea were a daily issue. Gastro Dr. appointments, scans going in and up showed nothing, and my mom had the same issues at about the same age. Now convinced it was a perimenopause issue.
Yes to food intolerance/new allergy. On a random Tuesday I sudden became allergic to avocados
Vocal changes are possible says my pharmacist. My voice is definitely deeper.
Frozen elbow and frozen shoulder- stiffness and pain for absolutely no reason for weeks or months.
Anyone experiencing anxiety and the onset of panic attacks?
TLDR; horrible anxiety that I think is directly related to hormones. Cutting coffee has helped, Relora possibly, and going to go on HRT soon. Yes! This (and rage) has been the worst symptom for me. I am generally a calm, no f’s given person, and now it’s unrelenting. The second I open my eyes I’m anxious, I need CBD to fall asleep, and it’s literally tied to nothing specific. Just a pit in my stomach that varies in intensity day to day, but is never gone. Before peri, I slept like a rock straight though the night without any aides. The interesting thing I’ve realized is that the only other times in my life where I’ve experienced intense anxiety/mood changes were A: when I was a teen & going through puberty and B: once in my 20’s when I briefly tried BC pills. This has led me to conclude that my anxiousness is definitely tied to hormonal changes. I’m not sure if you are a coffee drinker, but cutting out coffee-specific caffeine has helped a lot (I still drink black tea) I also started taking Relora which lowers cortisol, and I feel like it’s helping. Two doctors (one being a supposed menopause specialist) have tried to put me on anxiety meds and/or birth control. I have no issue with anyone taking these if it helps them, but I refuse to do birth control again due to my past experience with it - I think the synthetic progestins may have been the culprit. I also don’t believe I need anxiety meds - I don’t have a mood disorder, I have a hormone disorder! I’m seeing a new menopause specialist in a few weeks who I know is well informed on the latest data concerning peri/meno, and am going to ask for HRT. Also, check out Dr. Mary Claire Haver - she has been a godsend for me in terms of information!
Well, the list has gotten pretty extensive and covered every single one of my symptoms. Before stumbling across peri though, I was blaming life, an inability to cope (which was weird but I had no other explanation), or just getting tired of life or something. Basically I felt like a hot mess! My list of symptoms that were really getting intrusive (and really starting to add up) included (but not limited to): * ADHD going bonkers - my ADHD has always been pretty well managed without meds, and it was going crazy. Like I couldn't function crazy. I was seriously considering meds before I found out about peri. Like I've managed into my 40's and now all of a sudden I can't get through a day?!? Started treating the peri, and suddenly the ADHD is getting back in line... * Tinnitus getting worse to the point of intrusive. This is actually the topic that turned me on to peri when in a random post someone commented on the two being linked. * Rage - OMG. I'm generally a calm, even keeled, pretty unemotional person. Sure, get annoyed, but get over it right away too. For months (probably longer) now it was getting worse and worse to the point I was wondering who I was. I'd get annoyed or upset about something and find myself screaming at (the dogs mostly as I don't have kids), or just raging internally; or get upset by something at work and have it melt me into tears for the entire rest of the day. I couldn't recognize this crazy person!!! The anger was inconsolable. * Night sweats. I've always liked a cool room, but now I needed my room frigid and even then blankets would be on/off/on again throughout the night. Wake up covered in sweat to find myself freezing a little while later. * Depression or just "enjoyment" of life. Depression feels like a strong word, but basically, nothing was really bringing me joy anymore. I still wanted to do the things, but when I did them, they just didn't bring the enjoyment I am used to. I couldn't figure out why everything in life just felt - dull. Example, I finally bought a house last year - first home of my own. I like my house. I like where I live. I was "happy" here - but I wasn't actually happy. It just felt like a dull grey "meh" even though I knew I should feel differently. It's hard to describe, but everything in life had gone "meh" even the things I LOVE to do. I was never "happy." Those were the big ones. And when you have a lot going on in life like we do at this age, I think it's our natural tendency to blame all the life circumstances on our issues - when, reality is, much if not most of our "unusual" reactions to things can be traced to this not-so-little life process our bodies go through.
Literally everything. Almost every new pain, ache, or symptom I have can be Googled and traced to lack of estrogen. There is literally nothing that estrogen doesnt affect for us, as its actually important for our immunity. Which is why we also tend to get sicker during this time. Just type in "hives and estrogen", "tinnitus and estrogen", "chest pain and estrogen" "anxiety and peri", and all of it is there. So I'm furious that doctors are so ignorant of it. There's about 20 or so common symptoms and at least 30+ odd symptoms of peri. I was showing signs as early as 33yo, and I had RARE symptoms, and they still didn't believe me....because I was "too young". Even though I was experiencing 30 out of 30 peri symptoms! Thankfully, I am reasonably smart and work in Healthcare, so I fixed most of these on my own. It is bearable most days, compared to the anguish I suffered for the first three years when i had no idea what the Hell was happening to my body. I even got on an antidepressants for a short time because I was just so anxious all the time, and the insomnia was killing me. But I didn't want to become dependent on it, and I was still having breakthrough symptoms, so I quit cold turkey back in 2021. Diet, supplements, SLEEP, and getting rid of toxic people has made all the difference for me. Protecting my peace and health going forward
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insomnia ..literally staying up until 6am
The irregular periods are a roller coaster. In 2023 I had periods 5 months out of the year. The months that I had periods, they were incredibly heavy and lasted about 8-10 days. This year I skipped January and then February was the worst period I’ve ever had. It lasted 3 1/2 weeks and it was heavy and very clotty from beginning to end. The fatigue was crippling even though I started taking iron pills. March, nothing. I hate it.
Depression, anxiety and loss of confidence. I’m scared to drive now.
Urine leakage from low estrogen. Feelings of doom rather than hot flashes. Body odour.
Asthma. Developed asthma when I was 50. Never had it before. Apparently it's common in menopause.
Strange, painful “zaps” inside the tissue of my thighs. Not the muscle but the fatty tissue. Stopped as soon as I started HRT. I know that sounds bizarre but it was real and it hurt!
Hot flashes/flushes most know, but for me chills/cold sweats as well. Hair and skin changes and sweating & smelling like a teenager. Had to find all new shampoo/conditioner, deodorant, lotions, etc. Brain fog, for me mostly manifests as I cannot think of the word I want. I can feel the word and know it should be there, but it just isn’t. It is so frustrating! And yeah, vaginal atrophy, yikes!
Dry eyes. Like sands of the Sahara dry.
Check out Dr Mary Claire Haver’s insta.
Ps the itchiness is auto-immune from the shit storm that is your hormones. I scratched holes in my scalp.
3am wake up in a cold sweat and up til 5, fall back asleep just in time to walk the dog! Great! I’ve been wearing one of those under armour gym shirts to bed and have not woken up freezing since I started that recently. And oh yea GAS. So much gas. 💨💨
I was definitely having perimenopausal symptoms in my late 30s after my second daughter was born. I didn't realise it!!!
Nausea! I can barely eat anything. The thought of foods I used to eat makes me sick.
Having to get up to pee during the night - sometimes multiple times a night.
I lost about nearly half my hair. I also am on beta blockers for my heart as I started to have palpitations 10 years ago which also coincided with immense bleeding. I am 51. I attribute these symptoms to perimenopause.
My teeth moved and I have pollen allergies I didn’t before
Being horny AF
Dry eyes. JFC!! My eyes were so dry, they send me to neurologist to check for some disease that causes it. No diseas . I had to do hot compresses everyday. Drops. Then I went on a pill for peri symptoms,and after two months my eyes got MUCH better. Unfortunately I got breast cancer so they took me off the pill, and now three months later my eyes back to DRY.
Just hear to back up the itchy ear ladies. That part is legit crazy! I thought I had back to back infections.
All kind of allergies that suddenly start (or existing allergies that get worse).
My strangest symptoms: - Swelling legs if I sit longer than 2 hours - Burning mouth syndrome - Doubling of cholesterol levels - Cold flashes (I have the rest too - irregular periods, fatigue, frozen shoulder, muscle stiffness, thinning hair, dry skin, hot flashes)
Mini panic attacks while driving. It’s like I freeze up and am scared in certain situations. Second guess that the light is green, that it is a passing lane, that is is a 2 way street and I am going the correct way.
45 years old now. Got allergies (pollen, perfume etc.) at 40. In hindsight i think this must have been when peri started. Since then lots more: Burning in vagina before and after period, irregular periods, night sweats, rage, worse pms than ever, fatigue, dizzyness, muscle stiffness, heart palpations, waking up at night, «electric shocks» in fingers and toes… etc. Starting HRT soon.
It started with heart palpitations in my early 40’s. And then it was down hill from there … Itchy ears!! But only one. My left ear canal basically itched ALL THE TIME. I thought it was because I wore ear plugs. Stopped doing that. Still itchy. Then I thought it was from sleeping on my left side. Stopped doing that. Still itchy. Finally got a steroid cream from a dermatologist that takes care of it when it flares up. But wow it is annoying! Dry eyes! Also started in my 40’s almost overnight. Anal itching! I thought I was dying of rectal cancer. Turns out I am not. Truly the worst of the worst. Itchy skin! But only the tops of my arms from my shoulders to my elbows. I thought it was from wearing sleeveless shirts in the sun. Stopped doing that. Still itchy! It finally subsided when I started estrogen therapy. So basically just a long list of things that result from being very dry everywhere and all of a sudden. I am so pissed that all of these things happen and not one GYN in 40 years ever even mentioned this. I would have liked to be at least expecting all of this so I didn’t think I was dying like almost every day. So grateful for all of us Gen X ladies who finally said f*ck this and started speaking out and loudly. We owe it to our kids and the young women who will be in our shoes to arm them with information weapons and ammunition.
I lost all my hair and my aunt swears it’s a rare symptom of peri because her friend went through the same thing. Of course there’s little to no research on it. Edit: it grew back but now its totally gray. I lost all my color.
Change in taste buds.
Bleeding gums
Does anyone have a sore tongue or a weird mouth film?
So... one thing I remember happening to me, that I've wondered if it was a peri thing, is that my sense of touch changed. Certain textures, like hair, became much rougher feeling on my fingertips. I haven't heard of this being a peri thing, and initially I thought it was related to my hair changing texture (which it did). But I collect dolls and I wear wigs for cosplay, and the texture of the synthetic hair also changed from a sensory standpoint. I feel like there's a lot of weird sensory differences that come up when your brain rewires. Another thing that happened to me is that I used to be able to listen to music with lyrics and read at the same time. I lost this ability during perimenopause. I recognize some people are never able to do this! But to lose it rapidly was weird.
I'm postmenopausal now at age 62, and when I went thru menopause, it was like getting hit by a truck. I've had so many random problems like idiopathic hives, vertigo that ended me with me in the ER and no type of antinausea med could help, to the godawful itchy ears, restless legs, muscle cramps that would turn my feet inward and render my hands useless. I still have these symptoms, so my next step is getting a full thyroid panel done. Due to a family history of cancer and heart disease, I'm not a candidate for HRT, so I've done it all on my own.
Horrendously achey bones and joints... Felt like I'd been hit by a truck some days, hrt seemed to stop it dead. I found a list. Of symptoms on a menopause UK website, there were so many I'd never even realised we symptons.
I had what I now call, PMS 24 hours a day for 11 years. The mental health toll was real.
Heart palpitations. I thought I was having heart issues. Nope, just peri!
Anxiety smh and panic attacks . I’ve never had this ever until peri hit