View Full Version : For ladies of a 'certain age'
Miss Understood
14-01-06, 09:41 PM
I'm am at that stage of life when things start to 'change' as it were. A couple of years ago, I went through several months of awful night sweats and monthly irregularity etc.
The night sweats have now seemed to have gone away. I've adapted to being a bit more sluggish generally and a bit more forgetful. I have accepted I shall never be the spring chicken I once was and that on the odd day that there is a spring in my step, I rejoice!
My last 'visit from Auntie' as it were was last May. Which coincided with the last of the night sweats. 'Great' I was thinking, that's it, been through that stage without having to resort to HRT, no dreadful hot flushes in the middle of a supermarket or anything. All done and dusted.
Then what happens? Out of the blue, this week, I start to feel slightly ratty, slightly tetchy and slightly hormonal. And yes, 'Auntie' has arrived for an unexpected visit which had me scampering around borrowing the necessary 'equipment' until I could get to a shop.
Anyone know or experienced how long this latest stage is likely to last? Am I likely to kick back into a monthly cycle or will I wait another 9-10 months?
Any advise gratefully received.
And sorry gentlemen, but I did try to warn you!
Oh, sweetheart :blink:
I am nowhere near old enough to give you advice :rolleyes: :lol: :hihi: :hihi: :hihi: :whistle:
Btw, if you find out, will you let me know please? :unsure: :rolleyes: :blush: :lol:
Annabel
14-01-06, 10:00 PM
:o I too am very much menstrual, fraid to say! :lol: :lol:
However, I work with two ladies who are defintely post menopausal and they all were martyrs to their hot flushes! blinking terrible it was ! There we would be, at our desks, when one or other of them would come over all weird, start fanning themselves furiously, puffing and taking off as many clothes as is decent, flinging open windows...sweat dripping off them...now I recall it it was such a horrid time for them....I would sit there in disbelief at what was going on :bigeyes: One of them had hot flushes for at least a year, poor thing, the other one was on HRT for ages, then when her doc told her to come off them, all the hot flushes came back... :o
The one who was told to come of HRT tried all the alternatives like evening primrose oil and black cohosh :blink: etc etc but nothing helped apart from going back to her GP and begging to be allowed back on the HRT!
I am scared to death what it will be like when its my turn!
As for you, Miss Understood, get yourself down the doc, you dont have to suffer you know! :no:
:( Oh groan, I don't want to do this bit :cry:
I am of a certain age, hun, and I don't know any more than you do :bigeyes: :lol: :P
hi mu
they usually say that you should count a whole year before your last (as you say visit from auntie) before you can safely say they have stopped completley
trouble is every one is different and the same will not apply to two different people could well be that you may experience some more visits though probably not on a regular basis
not all women experience hot flushes some just have night sweats
it really is best to visit your gp and let them know what has happened :thumbs:
Lady Penelope
14-01-06, 10:37 PM
:lol: Don't get me started on this!!
Oh MU don't worry honey, I'm going through the same thing :lol: and although I am no spring chicken I haven't reached 50 yet and all sorts has been happening to me over the last year or so :blink:
After my Court case last year...Auntie totally stopped......no hot flushes though I was very forgetful...what did I say? :lol: Some sweaty nights though and I put a little weight on around my middle. I popped off to the Doc's who did a blood test and the results were that I was very low on one of those....ostroeginny things :cry: She said I was too young so a no no to hrt....which I wouldn't take anyway. Though she said probably stress of NFH may have brought everything on early. Funnily enough Auntie for the first time gave me a little visit this week, weird. :blink: Talking to my sis who is a little older,she went through the same thing. One or two visits a year from Auntie, though she had terrible flushes and sweats at night. The only other thing which happened to me earlier this year was really bad depression and I cried all the time :honk: . I had months previously been taking prescribed Anti Depressents from my doctor and after my Court case someone stupidly said 'oh you don't need those anymore' so I stopped just like that. It was a bit silly of me really as I went around a little like a zombie for weeks, :bigeyes: I guess that being a withdrawal symptom. Anyhow, back to what I was saying about depression...I remember being really really low just before Christmas and did a little research and found that it was probably all part of the same thing and maybe a little of SAD syndrone, so I started to take St John's Wort, it has helped me no end :) I don't really have any other symptoms apart from wanting to invest in a 'Greenhouse' and becoming Mrs Victor Meldrew :lol: though I do eat a lot of oily fish and fresh veggies so maybe this helps me a wee bit.
Actually I'm glad you brough this up, you've reminded me I really need to pop into my docs too just for another check up and blood test :)
We can compare notes MU :P
Let us know how you get on at the docs okay?
We're not ready just yet for the WI you know :lol:
Hugs
LPxxx
Miss Understood
14-01-06, 11:03 PM
Thanks all - it's nice to know there are others out there thinking about this and even experiencing it!
Thing is, I don't feel the need to go to the Doc's. (Doctors and I don't really mix!). And I'm certainly not keen on taking any drugs (I average five paracetamol a year if I'm unlucky!) so HRT is a no-no. I'm handling it in the usual way - it just took me by surprise. I'm just curious as to what to expect next and when!!!!
Even though I haven't had a hot flush, am I likely to experience them at some point in the future? Night sweats I can cope with, you just get up in the morning, shower or bath, change the bed linen and voila, done and dusted. But the hot flush, when I work with (and manage some of) a team of men in a very male orientated environment, is something I'm not looking forward to!
And LP, I'm not yet eligible to join Saga either - but not for long!
Lady Penelope
14-01-06, 11:21 PM
:) Lol MU
From talking to some girlfriends who are much older than me, everyone if different. Some have not experienced 'hot flushes' at all :) though some of my friends have :cry: and really suffer thus having to go on HRT. Others have sailed through with 'Auntie' stopping and nought else, lucky things.
Guess I am a litttle like you, I hate taking any form of tablets, even for headaches, though I do as I said take the Herbal St John's Wort. I am almost convinced that 'stress' can have a major effect on the 'femail bits n bobs' as with everything else.
I wouldn't worry too much though and to reassure yourself, pop along to the docs and see what they say.
LPxxx
:bigeyes: Oh my! :bigeyes:
Blimey, I am unprepared for all this too :o . My poor old mum made such a huge thing of it all though, bless her. It was all talked about in hushed tones and we had to be 'understanding' :unsure:
Oh, well, looks like I can dispense with the pregnancy testing kits then :lol: :hihi: :hihi: :hihi: :unsure:
hi again
as long as you are feeling fairly ok in yourself then it should be ok not to visit your gp if you really dont want to
lady p is of course right st johns wort is really good they call it the sunshine pill :) although i found they took a few weeks to kick in
i suffer with hot flushes not nice at all having to strip off to a sleeveless top in matalan days before christmas is embarrasing to say the least people are wrapped up in coats scarves and gloves and im in a state of semi nudity and my hair is wringing wet :blush: :blush: wishing the floor would open up and swallow me is an understatement
but i never get night sweats so maybe you only get one or the other and not both :thumbs:
and if any men are tempted to take a peek at this thread consider yourselves lucky when dolly parton sang "sometimes its hard to be a woman " she flipping well meant it :D
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(er indoors @ 14th January 2006 - 10:44 PM) 1476</div>
and if any men are tempted to take a peek at this thread consider yourselves lucky when dolly parton sang "sometimes its hard to be a woman " she flipping well meant it :D
[/b]
:thumbs: :lol: :hihi: :clap2: :help: :jump:
Lady Penelope
15-01-06, 12:02 AM
:lol: I'm loving this thread !!!!! Wooooyooooo er indoors :lol: :notworthy: :thumbs:
Sp sweetie you can ask for :help: any time :lol:
Lordie me :lol: say's me with sinatra in the background :thumbs:
LPxxx
Miss Understood
15-01-06, 12:25 AM
Maybe I have had a hot flush without knowing it.
I remember one morning around October (I work in London in the week, going home at weekends) after several months of finding it generally far too hot up there (my home being cooled by the breezes off the south coast), I left my base in Islington in shirt sleeves and walked merrily to the Angel tube station, thinking for once, it's pleasantly warm rather than hot. Got off the Northern Line further north about 25 minutes later and walked from the tube station to my place of work (about 5 minutes). Everyone I passed was wearing thick winter coats and even scarves!!!!!
So, do hot flushes last over 24 hours or are they five minute wonders?
hi mu
mine never seem to last more than a couple of minutes and generally tend to affect the upper half of the body face neck and chest but they can occur several times in an hour :sad: or i can go days without one :thumbs:
although what you experienced could well be due to hormones linked to the menopause us females are so complex no wonder we are superior to men :hihi:
Miss Understood
15-01-06, 12:51 AM
There's nothing so powerful as the female hormone!!! ;)
I have a feeling my wife is going through the change right now, she's been having the irregular "visits from Auntie" for several months now but hasn't had the night sweats so far thankfully, she's not had a visit recently though so maybe she'll be getting the sweats next? I don't know???
I'm really glad you women on here feel able to discuss this as it really helps us men understand & hopefully cope with what looks to be a very difficult time for you all.
hi c1rcle
what a gentelman :notworthy: it takes a brave man to try and understand women
your wife should come on the forum too the more the merrier :thumbs:
Eeyores mam
16-01-06, 11:37 AM
Have read all your stories and can empathise with all of you. No two people are the same. I found this out when I went to the doctors and told him I`d had hot flushes and night sweats for some 10 years and he told me I was one of the unfortunate ones that will have them forever probably. Everyone is muffled up in the winter while they walk their dogs at 8 am or so and I am peeling off the layers. My daughter visits and complains of the cold house and I am melting. Its not a lot of fun but mine is an extreme case. Most women get over the sweats and flushes after a couple of years.
Lets not forget the osteoporosis that you can get after all that as well. Mine is in the lower back at the moment and as I had a fearsome reaction to the tablets the Doc gave me I am now on loads of calcium vitamins and fruit and veg to try to prevent the spread.
Sounds lousy but you get used to it and just live your life as best you can. I try very hard to ignore all the signs of maturity and do what I can. As long as I can take the dogs out twice a day and move round easily I can cope.
My next door neighbour took up Yoga and its doing her a power of good and I`m going to go to Tai Chi and keep fit classes when they start at our new Community Hall. Here`s hoping they work.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Eeyores mam @ 16th January 2006 - 10:37 AM) 147710</div>
My daughter visits and complains of the cold house and I am melting. [/b]
True - every flippin window is always open :lol:
Having lived through it with Eeyores mam though, got to say, she coped admirably with it all (apart from the odd screaming fit of pure frustration) She also went to the health food shop for various bits and pieces, they were very helpful with their advice and what she takes, does seem to help.
Also plenty of exercise and fresh air, Eeyores mam is erm..... well over 60, and in no way looks it, she walks the dogs twice a day and eats loads of fruit, so she must be doing something right :)
I'm glad someone started this thread. I've been trying to find a site that discusses this subject. All I can find is stuff from younger women asking about periods and pregnancy. I was given a hormonal coil about 10 years ago as the doctor thought I had been on the pill for long enough and I was still being visited by Auntie (never heard it called that before). I was late forties. When they removed it 3 years ago (I was 55), they assumed I was post menopause and prescribed HRT. WRONG. I was visited by said relative about nine months ago rather unexpectedly :bigeyes: . The HRT being one that prevents bleeding supposedly.
Couldn't deal with this immediately as more worried about sick partner. Went for scan in November, recalled for new scan December. Turns out I'm still "armed and dangerous" and it is still normal "Aunty" if I stopped taking HRT which I shouldn't have been prescribed in the first place. Oh yes and as a side issue I also have a large fibroid :cry: .
I'm 58 FFS. Why me?
Crikey :cry: Armed and dangerous at 58, that is quite unusual though, isn't it?
According to mr.sp I have been going through the change for the last 30 years :lol: :hihi: :hihi: :hihi: [He confuses it with pmt, poor love :rolleyes: :lol: ]
I hate the irregularity thing - blooming annoying, and the change in metabolism/body shape....and the aching joints. It definitely takes me longer to come downstairs in the morning until my joints have loosened up a bit :blink: :unsure: I started taking calcium in my early 40's too.
Oh, groan :sad:
hi janieb
Its possible that if you are on the contraceptive pill for a long time it can mean that you have a later menopause and the fact that you have fibroids means that you may have heavier visits from auntie (love that term ) and they may be prolonged :sad:
Its just the way things go and although we may all get similar symptoms each of us will experience different things
they say the general age for menopause is 51 yet i was only 43 and my gp also asked me to discuss things with my mum as its likely that you follow the same pattern as your mother
if all of this is really getting you down ask if there is a well woman clinic locally to you and arrange for a visit the nurses in my one are brill i would be lost without them they can go through things with you and are a mind of information
good luck :)
After reading this post I am not a happy bunny...
We have visits from Auntie every month, then when finally it goes away we have flushes and sweats. Can't WAIT :bigeyes:
Men seem to have it so easy!
I wish everyone that is going through this lots of cool days and sweat free nights.. :)
oh tact
sorry mate we are all making you feel miserable :(
Its not as bad as it sounds really and im sure you have got lots and lots of lovely years before it happens to you :thumbs:
men do get it easy though it has to be all their fault :lol:
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(er indoors @ 16th January 2006 - 6:01 PM) 147756</div>men do get it easy though it has to be all their fault :lol:
[/b]
I find it easier to accept the blame than to deny it in my house especially when Auntie is due for a visit, "duck & cover" as they used to say in those old public service announcements. :hihi: :hihi:
Lady Penelope
16-01-06, 08:58 PM
:hihi: :thumbs:
:lol: :hihi: :hihi: :hihi: :thumbs:
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(c1rcle @ 16th January 2006 - 7:15 PM) 147764</div> <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(er indoors @ 16th January 2006 - 6:01 PM) 147756men do get it easy though it has to be all their fault :lol:
[/b]
I find it easier to accept the blame than to deny it in my house especially when Auntie is due for a visit, "duck & cover" as they used to say in those old public service announcements. :hihi: :hihi: [/b][/quote]
:lol: @ c1rcle
maybe a tin helmet would be a good investment :thumbs: :thumbs:
Lady Penelope
16-01-06, 11:52 PM
:lol: and a white flag!!! :P
c1rcle, you might be better off waving a bar of chocolate :hihi: (or is that just me) :bigeyes:
Did somebody mention chocolate :unsure: :lol:
:lol: yi win
your partner is very sensible :thumbs: see tact and sp dont sell yourselves short just a bar of chocolate
yi win gets a bottle of red wine too tsk tsk :nono:
I dont eat chocolate :( but i will sit down and behave for a chunk of cheese throw in a bunch of flowers and im good for at least two hours :hihi:
:lol: :hihi: :hihi: @ er indoors :thumbs: