Hay ladies... this may be like asking "How long is a piece of string ?" but, how long do menopausal symptoms go on for ?

One of my BF had a total hysterectomy at 34. Now 56, having being told 4 years ago she had completed menopause (FSH levels) she is starting to suffer many of the symptoms - headaches, mood swings, low sex drive etc even her skin is breaking out !!!! Familial history for me is unreliable as my Mother had a total hysterectomy at 32, and has no recollection of any menopausal symptoms. My sisters history seems quite different to mine too. Sister had regular periods until complete cessation at 48. No symptoms until 50, and has been hell on wheels for 4 years.

I clearly was in peri-menopause from age 43. Menopausal symptoms have been present for 18 months. (No periods for 11 months, 1 show......so strictly speaking I haven't been through menopause yet as 12 months is the rule of thumb but....)I have got off pretty lightly so far with the symptoms (no chronic manic mood swings like big Sis TTL !!!!) but just wondering how long until life returns to "normal".

No periods I can live with. Heating up at night and throwing off the covers I can live with too. Sex drive in the not so sure ! Even the and the 5kg weight gain I can reconcile.

I'd just like to know what others have experienced please.

Menopause seems to be a subject even us here on this forum are pretty closed mouthed about. Or maybe it's just a reflection of the average age of ladies here ?

Thanks

I think menopausal symptoms can go on a long time, like up to 10 years, but as you say it is very individual.

Re your BF: Having a hysterectomy (uterus removed) would not put her into menopause unless the ovaries were actually removed.
Were her ovaries removed along with the hysterectomy.

I can't comment personally as I am 37 and have just had my ovaries removed preventatively to prevent cancer, and I have not had any menopause symptoms as yet. Just to clarify - I did not have a hysterectomy and therefore still have my uterus.

I have had a lot of discussion with other women further down the road than me and general consensus is that yes often the libido goes down the toilet, but if you persist and partake in activity you do enjoy it! You just gotta get past the fact that you have litte desire now.
I'm really not looking forward to feeling like that

Hay thanks NightSky !

Yep, BF had ovaries removed too (as did my Mother) - maybe I have used the wrong terminology, but I thought that total hysterectomy meant removal of ovaries as well ? Soz for that.

Oh that's joyful to know symptoms can go on for 10 years..... Maybe this is where I have got confused as I thought the lead up to the cessation of menstruation (menopause) ie:-peri-menopause could last for up to 10 years, and once your periods stopped you were done ????? As, stated, I am confused as this is not what has happened to either my BF or my sister. Symtoms for them came AFTER....How long is a piece of string, I know. I am just getting rather impatient to have all this drama gone, as I have too many other issues to deal with right now, to be dealing with this AS WELL

Interesting though that medics are now acknowledging "male menopause" too as having physical symptoms, not just pschological ones. Colleague of DH's has just been told the physical symptoms he is suffering are probably related to MM !
In general though, the males get off DAMN lightly. Would certainly swap places right now !

I'm 43, and had a hyst at age 36, kept my ovaries.
Had no real menopausal symptoms up until past 18 mths.
A week before my period would be due, I would experience very painful breasts. Some months nothing at all.
Since last Dec I have been experiencing constant bouts of vulvitis, dryness, itching & discomfort.
GP prescribed Ovestin cream & Acigel... which seems to work, but before things can heal properly , a week before my period will be due I'll sometimes get thrush again, and the whole cycle continues. Have been keeping a calendar so def feel its hormonal. My GP prescribes also Fluconizole, 4 tablets taken every week for 4 weeks.
I have seen a Gynae, who has ruled out all other possibilities like excezema, , dermatitis, psoriasis atrophy & lichen slecrosis. She did blood tests which came back normal levels.
The longest break I've had now in past 9 mths is 3 weeks.

Def not one of the menopausal side effects you read of

Hay Linzi32 Nice to see someone else on this forum thread, I thought it was pretty dead !

I hadn't heard of these symptoms either until I went to the GP for an (overdue) cervical smear last week. She wasn't my regular, and she asked me (obviously) about menopausal symptoms etc and thrush and (what I presume is) vulvitis (is this dry vagina and itching ?)

I said I hadn't had trouble with thrush for many years and everything else was ok. She expressed surprise at this as apparently I had 'signs' of thrush....News to me you can have 'signs' of thrush without any of the symptoms ?????

Anyway, for what it is worth, and probably cold comfort i know, SOMEONE has heard of these symptoms and the link to menopause. And it would make sense that they ARE linked to menopause. I mean, after all, hormonal changes pre-menstruation can trigger thrush, so why not at the other end of life ? And stress is certainly a link, and if menopause 'aint stressful, nothing is !

I feel for you Linzi32, I really do. I have found dealing with menopausal symptoms on top of everything else that is going on in our lives, WAY too hard.

Have you consulted a naturopath at all ? Sometimes alternative remedies can be extremely useful. I have certainly found them to be.

Hugs hon and welcome to the thread.

Hiya

hooray another EBB board to frequent

Declining estrogen can cause thrush like symptoms, with the burning, itching and discomfort... therefore the vulvitis.
I have had too many swabs taken from my GP to mention 3/5 have come back positive for yeast infection.
I very rarely had thrush prior even when pregant.
Now, even antiobitics give me vaginal thrush.

Have tried a tea tree oil cream, zinc/castor oil cream, bepanthen on external areas. Zinc/castor oil being the best. The Aci Gel has been great but expensive at $50 for 20 applications, which I have to use 2/3 x a week. Ovestin cream 2x a week
Have also upped my yoghurt, and have tried Pro Flora pro biotic capsules. Maybe because its not vaginal has had no success
I think I really will try a Naturopath

Oh boy, Linzi32, you have been through the mill !

I had the reverse, with thrush frequently when pregnant, but not now.

You have tried the lot by the looks !

Do continue the thread if you have success with a naturopath. If you are in the Tauranga area, I can thoroughly recommend Neville Caseley. Get back to me if you are, and I will give you his contact details.

Without him I would not have DD#3 and many other issues would still be "issues" and not a distant memory !

Can I join in too?

I've found out I'm probably peri-menopausal... still have all bits but getting thrush, night sweats, weird periods... mum was just a bit older than me when she began to go through menopause.. I'm only 42!

What sort of things will the naturopath recommend Camom - I take medication for a suspected SVT and am hopeless at vitamins but if I get any more run down this year I will

Oh yeah... the irony of EBB... one extreme to the other
when a good sex life saw me join the September 2002 Mums to be Board, to a waning sex life and on the Menopause Board

Hay Linzi32 Yeah girlfriend do I read you loud and clear or what ?????

I started laughing in bed the other night Highly inappropriate at the time, but there we are.....

When DH asked me why, the best I could do was say "How life changes"......

I then quoted an item I had seen on the net. T-shirt that read "I'm still HOT, but only when I'm flushing". Not funny (at least I don't think so but then again I am sensitive to the subject !) DH didn't think it was funny either, but you do have to keep some form of humour when dealing with "The Change". And man-oh-man what a change it is.....

No wonder no one wants to talk about it.

Apart from here that is

And hay Liljay ! Welcome to you too ! To answer your question re naturopathy -
It depends what stage you are up too and who the naturopath is. I know thats not a very satisfactory answer, but I have friends across the country who use different products so I guess it's not one size fits all. Black cohosh is found in "Remifem" and other products, and some people swear by this. Even my GP recommended this to me only last week.

I can sympathise with the "I'm only 42". I was 43 when my symptoms began. It sucks, but what do you do ?

This is so me at the moment.

Im tired of going to the GP each month and them looking down yonder and prescribing AB's or thrush treatment.

I also have a bartholin cyst at the mo too which is extremly painful.

How are you ladies getting on?

Did you seek help from a naturpath and what did they suggest?

I go to Neville Caseley * (www.nevdon.com) in Tauranga, and he has been my saviour, seriously.

I use his hormonal genopathic drops, and compared to what my sister went through, I really have very little to compain about !

Menopause sucks no matter which way you look at it.

And, a bit like life when the going gets tough, it DOESN'T help to have the happy-clappy brigade telling you "That's life" and "Get on with it".....

And as for the constant inspection of your nether regions....forget THAT !

YOU have MY sympathy

WoW thanks for the reminder to see a Naturopath.
Since my post in September I was almost back to normal, and in hindsight had a couple of months with no PMS symptoms for it to come back with a vengeance since December.
I had extremely sore boobs for 10 days and the flare up of vulvitis.
I no longer seem to cope with the Summer, and my body temp has shot up especially at night when sleeping.
As a result I get hot and sweaty which aggravates the vulvitis and the cycle continues!

I stopped all the creams and potions except using pinetarsol shower gel, and taking an anti histamine for the itching.
Still on 3x weekly of Ovestin cream.

If anyone can recommend a female Naturopath in Auckland I'd appreciate it.

Hopefully someone out there can help you with that one Linzi32. Mine really has been a life saver.

I haven't found G.P's to be all that helpful. Start on the subject and you'll get a ..."Yes, well, I'm sure it's not pleasant. In the past we just would have given you HRT, but we can't do that any more, so...."

Yeah, great. Thanks.

You just wait girlfriend, you'll get yours

GPs are pathetic, even the female ones. "Oh well, just something we all go through!"

Do they not do HRT anymore? Not that I think I can take it anyway as my hormones seem to upset my SVT and apparently its not recommended for women with a family risk of breast cancer?

I'm in Auckland too Linzi - will ask around about a naturopath and let you know what I find out. My SIL said there's a good one in Henderson somewhere but too far to go for me.

oh I just noticed this thread. Can I jump in too? Sorry to highjack. But nice to know there are some girls around who are chatting about it.

I'm wondering if menopause is about to happen for me. Suddenly after a lifetime of periods like clockwork, it all seems to be very irregular or spotting and I'm so exhausted when I do have a period. Been happening for about 4 months.

I've mentioned to a few friends, they all look stunned and say, "oh you're too young." I'm 42. So I guess that's about right really for this to begin.

I've made an appt with the Dr for next week, for smear etc, just to check there is nothing else going, and I'll request the my hormone levels are checked as well.

So they don't do HRT anymore? What does a Naturopath do? (forgive my ignorance)

Hi ladies

PrincessDi, I'm at the same stage as you (although I'm 48) with irregular periods and spotting. I suspect I'm a bit grumpier too Not good when you have a 7 year old!

Should I start taking something like Remifem now?

Have had Remifemen for a while just haven't taken it, but will start it tomorrow.
Will report back in the next week, & then in a month to see what difference I may have noticed.
Have just ended what I suppose is my cycle in the absence of periods

I would also like to jump in here and ask a few questions...

I am still having my periods like clockwork, however they are very light, but the PMT is sooo much worse. In the past I would grumpy the day before and that would be it. Now the grumps start nearly 2 weeks before, sore b**bs from then too, I have broken out in what looks like excema on my face, really tired all the time.

Is this the beginning of it all??