Well, must get off for one of my sleepless nights now. It's getting late here in good old Blighty. Night night, sleep tight. Will catch up tomorrow.

Just caught this before retiring.

I still have my ovaries, so yes, the hormones are still there to run riot.

Mopey,

The breast pain/lump could be a cyst....MOST breast lumps are NOT cancer. Course, you still have to have it checked. Argh! Is the pain coming from the lump? Some lumps are also just due to tissue changes (blame hormones again!).

Perimenopause can last UP TO ten years, but I think for most women it's less than that. And if it IS ten years, the symptoms aren't the same the whole way through. In the beginning, the only thing you might notice is irregular periods, and they aren't necessarily WAY irregular!

Every woman is different, so don't get caught up too much in how it was for someone else!

Before I knew what was happening, I was FRANTIC with worry!
I had no idea what was happening to me...had been talking to my sister about it. Then one day, she called me up and said, "I KNOW WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU!" She had just watched Oprah and they were discussing perimenopause.

I think that was the first time I had ever even heard that term! I don't remember learning about that in 5th grade health! LOL!

Well hang in there....you're gonna be fine!


NOW

I just remembered something else....

Women with more body fat tend to go through menopause later than their thinner counterparts, because they usually have more estrogen stored in their bodies.

My sister is a bit older than me, but heavier, and she had not been going through peri when I was, though she started shortly after. She also had a fibroid, then a hysterectomy....so her experience of it was different as well.

Just another tidbit of information!

mopey

this lasted about 1 year and then slowly got back to normal. It all started up shortly after d-d..........

Everythings been back to normal for years and I don't have any signs of Meno.

I found that my body definately reacts when I am going through stress.
After d-d I had a strange pain in the back of my head, I started to believe that it was a tumor. Got everyhing checked out and the doctors found *nothing*.
I also had painfull heart stabs...........got this checked out too and again the docs found *nothing*.

So many wierd things were happening and my body was going nuts.........

When things calmed down in our marriage, my body stopped reacting this way.

bb

Back after quite a good night's sleep - must have been the Horlicks that did the trick, as well as all the relaxation herbs and Lavender atomiser that I normally use.

Funny pains in the head and dizziness, palpitations, vision disturbances - yes I had all those as well. I realised that several things I'd suffered from in the past were probably due to peri-menopause, too. In fact, looking back I realise that peri was probably the cause of my major problem, painful intercourse and lack of libido, leading to a non-existent SF for some years, which more than likely led to H's dissatisfaction. Not that I'm saying this was a good excuse for having an A. I wasn't happy about this either, but felt powerless to do anything about it, until this A made us both sit up and think, and take some action.

Mornin' NOW......




Yes, the pain is coming from the lump. It hurts if I touch it. I certaintly do hope it's something as simple as hormonal tissue changes.



Last night, I was reading some of the discussion forums on the site DH59 gave me. A lot of the women said theirs lasted around 7 years.

Ugh! I just wasn't ready for this! One crisis at a time please God. He must think I can handle it hunh?



I know, me too. I had never heard of "periomenopause" until just recently.



Thanks NOW. But, if you hear about me on the 11:00 news, you'll know why I snapped......lol!

Hi Blondblossom......



Whew! You had me worried there. Although......I am totally not relishing the thought of doing this for even a year, if I'm as lucky as you that is.



Yeah....so sorry BB. Me too. In fact, this all started right after d-day then got bad again 4 months later when I found out he had told the OW, "I love you" and also told me he had phone sex in our bed with her. I do honestly think that there is a definite correlation between d-day and my cycle. I felt like my body was breaking down after d-day along with my heart.



Hmmmmmmmmmm........not quite there yet. Wished I was.

Thanks for sharing all of that with me.

Hi again DH59.....



Making a mental note of this. What is Horlicks?

I did go to that site you told me about. Thank you soooo much. It looks like it's going to be an invaulable source to me. I looked a little into the different rememdies but have more studying to do on that.



Sucks doesn't it? The only sign I think I had before d-day is that I had a few lighter periods last year, then all heck broke loose after d-day.

The length of peri varies. Personally I wouldn't mind 10 years as long as I can feel as I do now. It's not really causing me much bother. I think the mood swings will stop a little once the A starts working through, and I can cope with some missed sleep. I try not to bother too much when I wake up and I sometimes get back to sleep fairly quickly.

Horlicks is a drink you make with hot milk and a malt powder. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horlicks and http://www.horlicks.co.uk/
Very nice.

Hi Mopey,

It sounds like you have a few things going on, stress and perimen. I have a friend who is 47 that has multiple periods.

In my case, I had the night sweats in my early to mid-thirties due to stress. They have come back on and off, but I don't get the "hot flashes" that I have heard described. I used to have to change my night clothes in the middle of the night at its worst, yuk!

I didn't go to an OB/GYN for years, since I had my last son at age 28, I know, 2x4's. Anyway, when I heard the ILYBNILY speech, I suspected an A, but FWH denied up and down. Two months later I had the worst infection (yeast) and had it checked out and discussed the other symptoms, mood swings, crying at the drop of the hat at certain times of the month (these started pre-A). I was 41 yrs old at that point. My OB said it was the start on menopause and I could consider going on AD's. I was against them at the time but as the A progressed I did go on and off of them. I couldn't take the mood swings, these have gotten worse through the years the week before my period. I even know what it probably is but can't seem to stop myself from biting people's heads off!

I just went to the Dr's on this past Friday and he put me on Wellbutrin. I hope this helps. I was on Zoloft and Lexapro before. The Dr also mentioned some of the symptoms could be related to thryroid issues, I plan to have blood work done soon to rule it out (I hope!). That does run in my family.

In respect to the lump, my same friend I mentioned above had a lump and they did an ultrasound and it was a cyst. My older sister had an ultrasound bc of lumps and they also took a needle to see if they could withdrawel any liquid. If they could withdraw liquid, it was a cyst, they could not. So they removed it after she had a second opinion and tested it and it is benign. This was in January. They told her that these lumps are common and normally disapate on their own. Of course it is good to check everything out as that is the only way to go.

Take care

Can't believe it, another good sleep, and no Horlicks this time. The new herbal stuff must be kicking in. I will list what I am taking, based on info picked up from Power Surge.

Apart from a multi-vit/mineral, I am taking Omega 3 Fish Oil tabs, Dong Quai, Soya Isoflavones + Black Cohosh (combination, but can be obtained separately), Maca (for mood and flushing), Seratone 5-HTP (for mood and sleep), Valerian/Hops/Lemon Balm (combination, for sleep. I've taken Valerian on its own, but it didn't appear to work and made me feel groggy the next morning). I also use soya milk on my cereal at breakfast. I am also on a low-dose HRT which I did stop at one point, but went back on again (Vagifem - it acts more locally rather than getting into the bloodstream - it's a vaginal tablet and helps libido and lubrication). Seems I do need it - I thought I could manage with just the natural remedies, but the flushing came back again slightly.

Are we still a man-free zone?!!! Probably will be after this.