Menopause was Re: Weight Loss Discussion Thread

[Butterfly]

Thank you Helly. Taking it easy, but trying to get moving again and lose some of the menopausal tummy.

[hellymedic]

Slow & steady is best; KEEP GOING!

For myself, I'm not weighing as I'm too wobbly. I have regained some hip & thigh blubber but little tummy.

Menopause is WEIRD; just when you think it's all over, comes another run of hot flushes; I'm 62 FFS!

[Butterfly]

Slow & steady is best; KEEP GOING!

For myself, I'm not weighing as I'm too wobbly. I have regained some hip & thigh blubber but little tummy.

Menopause is WEIRD; just when you think it's all over, comes another run of hot flushes; I'm 62 FFS!

I mostly seem to have missed the hot flushes so far (are cold flushes a thing? because I've had those.) Bad sleep is tedious and joint pain really annoying when it comes to moving more. I feel somewhat that hormones from breastfeeding crashed straight into menopause hormones and I'm fed up with them all!

[hellymedic]

I've been blissfully free of most menopausal woes:
Weight was not much of a new issue and I was fairly steady till lockdown.
Sleep's been mostly fine.
Hadn't noticed other stuff.
Hot flushes started over a year after my LMP and initially were cosy in the winter if I was outdoors.
At the moment they mostly strike in the evenings when I get too hot to do ANYTHING but this only lasts a few minutes.
It's kind of warm in London right now, which isn't helping and I'm not otherwise too bothered.

[Kim]

are cold flushes a thing? because I've had those.

*snork*

[Beardy]

Backs out of room quietly.

[fimm]

Which part of the thread title confused you, Beardy?
 

[hellymedic]

It's kinda warm in London right now...

[zigzag]

someone i know has just published a book few days ago - menopause unzipped

(that's all i can tell about this subject)

[Mrs Pingu]

Backs out of room quietly.

But I don't think we do want our chaps to back out of the room quietly, do we? People in general need to know more about menopause in order to be more understanding (I'm thinking that the general workplace would be a good start) surely?

[hellymedic]

someone i know has just published a book few days ago - menopause unzipped

(that's all i can tell about this subject)

Is that Jen (Vagina Bible) Gunter?

I rather like her...

[Beardy]

Backs out of room quietly.

But I don't think we do want our chaps to back out of the room quietly, do we? People in general need to know more about menopause in order to be more understanding (I'm thinking that the general workplace would be a good start) surely?

I was there for Dr Beardy, and neither my s-in-l or my sister ever spared my blushes when discussing their symptoms with Dr B. I‘ve also no real doubt that at least one, possibly more, of our joint friends will likewise not spare my blushes. I may even be around when my daughters get there, and if so, I’ll provide whatever support is necessary.

So if there’s any practical or moral support needed, I’ll be over there in the corner pretending I can’t hear unless I’m needed.

[Mrs Pingu]

[barakta]

I agree, more open discussion about menopause and indeed menstruation in general would be good. As someone who hit 40 who is not sure if she's approaching peri-menopause or not, it's helpful to hear about a range of perimenopause and menopause 'symptoms' as it were.

I also like Jen Gunter, very human, sensible and talks SENSE about gynae stuff on the Internets. I have also come across MamaDrJones (https://www.youtube.com/c/MamaDoctorJones/videos) who is another North American ObGyn who talks a lot of sense about all things obs and gynae.

Both are trans inclusive and perfectly sensible about stuff.

[hellymedic]

Hitting 40 gave me the hitherto mythical 28 day cycle...

[Flite]

I don't wish to depress you, but:
I had to have a hysterectomy aged 37. 
The one remaining ovary that was supposed to keep producing some hormones quickly abandoned that idea.
So I was on HRT for about 25 years, which at least meant I could work.
It took several determined efforts before I could cope without HRT, but the symptoms are still there.
I hate the brain fog, loss of concentration, inability to make decisions and mood swings, but most of all it's the loss of sleep. 
I'm now nearly 74, and feel that the slide from menopause to dementia is going to be seamless.
Has any work been done on any correlation between severity of menopausal symptoms and dementia?

[arabella]

I did try educating the rest of my (all-male) team a few years ago.  But I hesitate to go on about it too much on account of giving them an excuse to say I'm not doing my job properly on account of forgetting everything (keeps falling out of my brain) etc. 
So for the last few years I've been running my life as one massive to do list including every trivial little thing to save me forgetting it.  Though of course the fact of writing a to do list means my brain says 'don't need to actively remember that any more'.
It's great (fx: sarcasm)  emptying nest + menopause for the ideal way to feel on top of absolutely everything in my life.  One at a time, please.

fwiw: on the one hand my uterus has now shrunk too much for a mirena coil
on the opther hand as I've not yet got to 55 I'm still deemed to be fertile from family planning pov
I'm suspecting massive belt and braces approach
and tbh my last coil overstayed its 'replace by' date by 2 years to no unexpected bundle of joy (phew) 'cos I misremembered how many years it was good for (or is this a weight thing and 'cos most people weigh more than I do it's gauged for someone weighing ha;f as much again and lasts half as long again for me.  Probably not.

[hellymedic]

A friend of a friend had a 'surprise' arrival at 53 so it's not just a theoretical issue. It might not happen much BUT...

[fimm]

A friend of a friend had a 'surprise' arrival at 53 so it's not just a theoretical issue. It might not happen much BUT...

WHAAAAT!!!
I'm 48 and thought I was past it...

[hellymedic]

That's the point! Many ARE past it at 48.
This FOAF is the wife of a dentist, known to both my brother and a dentist friend, not a mythical beast in a tabloid rag.
I was menstruating regularly till well past 55...

[citoyen]

I did try educating the rest of my (all-male) team a few years ago.

I work on a women’s health magazine these days so menopause is pretty much a routine topic. So I was mildly surprised when the Big Boss one day apologised to me for taking about her menopause symptoms in my presence. I had to point out that parking any squeamishness at the door is a basic job requirement.*

I’ve learned a lot since starting this job. I admit I’d never even heard of endometriosis or pelvic meshes until we ran features on those subjects.

You don’t get it easy being women, do you?

(*I interviewed a woman who talked about a particular supplement she took to “put a bit of butter on the bread”. I thought this was a good line so used it in the write-up but she was the one who got squeamish and asked me to take it out!)

[citoyen]

Has any work been done on any correlation between severity of menopausal symptoms and dementia?

From what I understand, there appears to be a link between hormones and Alzheimer’s but it’s one of those “needs more research” things.

[Chris S]

Has any work been done on any correlation between severity of menopausal symptoms and dementia?

From what I understand, there appears to be a link between hormones and Alzheimer’s but it’s one of those “needs more research” things.

You can say that about pretty much anything. We're all just one big chemistry set after all.

[arabella]

which reminds me ...
pelvic meshes:  there's a lot about problems in women with pelvic meshes but they're not the only recipients.  Men are also at risk of problems.

[fimm]

My mother carried on bleeding until she had a hysterectomy in her late 50s. She had fibroids. I've got fibroids, and so has one sister. The youngest hasn't had such problems - yet... I'm grateful that (so far) I've not had the same level of grimness that mum and sister had/have. I think the fact that I had a mirena coil anyway probably helps.