#perimenopause

[jadedbirch]

Gather around, my young friends and fellow dinosaurs, let me tell you about some BULLSHIT no one ever tells you about. I'm talking about menopause and perimenopause. Now, menopause has a very stringent medical definition. You have to not have had a period for exactly 12 months and a day to be considered in menopause. All the bullshit before that day once you start going through The Change is considered perimenopause. Here's some bullshit you might experience that people actually talk about when you're in perimenopause:

- shorter time between periods

- irregular periods

- hot flashes and/or cold flashes

- fucked up sleep

- OMG NIGHT SWEATS

- Vagina as dry as the Sahara desert

- lighter periods and/or endless bleeding like it's The Flood but it's in your pants

- lack of interest in Adult Fun Times

This time of joy can last anywhere from a couple of years to a god damn decade and there's no medical way right now to predict it.

Here's some of the REAL bullshit they don't tell you about but your dinosaur aunt is here to let you know:

- You can start perimenopause in your 30s, don't listen to idiot doctors who tell you you're "too young" because they don't know your body like you do.

- Perimenopause will make you HELLA DUMB. Seriously, I'm talking Bigly broken brain. Brain fog? Check. Short term memory? Wave goodbye to it. Ability to make words form out of thoughts? Yeah, good luck to you.

- Perimenopause can cause horrible fatigue because in addition to losing estrogen, you're also losing testosterone. Oh and that also leads to muscle wasting, cool cool.

- Things might suddenly hurt more because estrogen is known to be neuroprotective.

- If you're super lucky like I am, and like to collect rare illnesses, you might even get Burning Mouth Syndrome 💀

- And meanwhile, while you're going through this bullshit, you'll be getting gaslit by doctors who are operating based on 30 year old debunked data about how HRT causes breast cancer (not really) and that they shouldn't put you on it until you're in actual menopause. (Data shows starting HRT early can potentially prevent Alzheimer's in later years.)

- There are entire online clinics right now (I use Midi Health) focused on providing care for peri and menopausal patients and they will happily prescribe you HRT even if your regular PCP or OBGYN do not (if you meet the criteria). I've been pretty impressed with how holistically they view the patient. For full disclosure, I learned about them from my integrative health doctor and they do not accept Medicare (yet).

I'm 46 years old right now and I've been symptomatic for perimenopause for the last 8 years, although it's gotten the most dramatic in the past 2 years or so, which I hope means I'm almost done, holy hell. Yeah I was on the early side, but if it can happen to me, it can happen to you, so it's never too early to think about these things. And I hope to at least spare some of you the mind-fuckery I've been through because no one told me about most of this stuff, including my own mother who just DOESN'T REMEMBER what happened to her and now I completely understand why. And because I also have a connective tissue disease, I used to just dismiss my pain and fatigue as being caused by that illness rather than the loss of hormones.

Anyways, this is why we need Elders in our lives, so they can do Grandma Story Hour like I just did and validate you when the entire medical field tries to gaslight you. I hope you've found some or all of this educational/useful. Please share with your friends because we really do NOT talk about this stuff enough. (Ewwww Moon Blood!)

Stay well, and don't let the bastards grind you down!

[cleoselene]

in a comment with my ol' pal @elon-musks-disrespectful-nipples I bemoaned the fact that no one really warned me how fucking shitty perimenopause would be

like I got plenty of warnings from lots of women and girls about my period but LADIES we are falling down on warning women about perimenopause

I didn't have migraine headaches before perimenopause. Oh, I got headaches. Bad ones, even. BUT NOT MIGRAINES!

Hot flashes feel like they come from the inside of your soul, btw. You can try to stick your head in a freezer or stand under an air conditioning vent, but until it passes, NOTHING will make you feel cool and comfortable.

I had some wicked PMDD in the first couple of years but that has THANKFULLY passed as my periods become less of a thing

feel free anyone to reblog and add your perimenopausal nightmares to warn your good sisters what might be coming

[chadots]

Everyone should receive a guide at age 39 to prepare themselves and their loved ones for the absolute absurdity of perimenopause. I’ll get it started:

Has your personal temperature has lost all contact with reality?

Can you not fall asleep because your feet feel dry?

Do certain smells make you inexplicably angry?

Congratulations! You’re perimenopausal. Don’t worry. It only lasts 4 to 10 years.

[cleolinda]

Excited to announce that I have been dealing with some kind of mysterious neck strain with absolutely no cause for the last two days, and it has finally occurred to me that it could be a silent migraine symptom (“silent” migraine in that it doesn’t feel like a headache, it’s just all the other side symptoms). Extra fun: I’ve had a lot of stress or weather headaches in my life, but I don’t think I had silent migraines until after perimenopause started last year. (Please refer to my discussion of pre-menopause hot flashes, cold sweats, and itchy eardrums here.) I am absolutely disgusted with human existence and will be applying migraine meds and an ice pack after lunch.

[jhscdood]

Ok so as a trans man about to enter my 40's, I took advantage of my annual HRT refill appointment with the provider at Planned Parenthood to talk about

perimenopause

which is the period leading up to your body shutting down the ovaries and fertility for good. It usually starts in your 40's but can also start as early as your mid-30's.

Among people who still get their period, period changes (change in flow, schedule, etc) are one of the first and most obvious symptoms that perimenopause has begun.

As I am on both long-term birth control and testosterone, and thus haven't had a period in 4 years (and my periods were never regular to begin with thanks to PCOS), I'm not likely to have that symptom.

The other symptoms of perimenopause to look out for are:

Mood changes (including mood swings, anxiety, depression, irritability)

Hot flashes

Weight changes / fluctuations

Sleep changes

Headaches / worsening of headaches

Symptoms CAN be treated, such as with SSRIs or estrogen.

Estrogen HRT for perimenopause is not contraindicated with Testosterone - you can take both at once and it will not reduce the effectiveness of the T. Estrogen does have other side effects to be aware of (Nausea, diarrhea, the usual).

So, if you are transmasculine, in your mid-late 30's or 40's, and you're starting to feel inexplicably funky, talk to your PCP about perimenopause.

[allhailthe70shousewife]

[tramblr]

For the moms

[iamveryold]

Harry Potter, specifically Dramione, fanfics are my midlife crisis. Going through perimenopause and wanting to cry every 37 seconds is so confusing. Is it my kids? My parents? My job? My attachment to fictional characters?… that is making me cry in public? Who knows? I wish I had real life friends who read what I read, I need someone to talk to about this stuff!!!!

Edit to add: Narcissa just told Draco “I’m proud of you” at the same time as my son walked in and now I’m actually sobbing in public so…….. yay hormones?

[lamajaoscura]

"Q: What is the average age for perimenopause? The average age for perimenopause is whatever age you happen to be when you google any of the following:

What age perimenopause?

Skipped period start of menopause?

Why do I have free floating rage?

Additionally, you may have started perimenopause if you call your mother or any older woman in your life to ask her what a hot flash feels like."

[zelphafrost]

The perimenopausal urge to sequester yourself away from everyone so you stop feeling so fucking combative and angry.

[legoloveletters]

I am an Old Person. Like, Ask Jeeves old. Netscape Navigator old. Friendster old. Tom was everyone’s friend old.Tumblr used to be super spicy old. Feral GenX middle child old.

Between a childhood formed by my parents’ religion, to military service, to public school teaching my life has largely spent Following Rules. They got me, y’all. I stopped buying physical books, my entire music library is digital, and even if I did have my old VHS and DVD movies, I have no way to view them. Whatever word processing device I’m using corrects my spelling and suggests a softer tone.

Have I given up thinking for myself? Did I, in fact, ever start? I think about Luigi Mangione every day. That young man suffered, recognized the suffering around him, and ALLEGEDLY (because innocent until proven guilty still exists if only in our stupidly optimistic minds) made a very powerful statement.

Think a moment on that extraordinary act of self-sacrifice.

I’m sure I had a point but my perimenopausal brain loses focus like … well now I can’t even come up with an adequate simile.

Free your minds. Free Luigi. Take care of each other. Look for mutual aid organizations in your area.

Best of luck to us all during the shitbird’s second administration. (jk we’re all fucked.)

[jadedbirch]

As follow up to my rant post about Peri/menopause, I wanted to provide this resource to the trans/nb community since I'm not an expert, but this guy seems to be. Also, yes, you can still go through Peri/menopause after a hysterectomy - another common question on my original post.

There's also a Reddit for trans men over 50 that seems to have some discussion and resources.

[aibidil]

I've had a vision. within 5-10 years, tons of millennials are going to be perimenopausal and every post is going to be something like

SIR, that's the pausie

[butterfly meme] is this ESTROGEN DEFICIENCY???

and omg it's the pausie

McGonagall "Why is it always you three" meme labeled low estrogen, low progesterone, low testosterone

"Why not both" memes but it's like HRT *and* contraception and everyone is crying instead of happy about the prospect of both

[its-all-down-hill]

[ambitionectomy]

For The Boston Globe, I drew this “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” parody. Only for perimenopause, that period (so to speak) of unanswerable questions (except by God).

[allhailthe70shousewife]

I AM NOT A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL AND I AM NOT GIVING ADVICE. I am perimenopausal and I read that alcohol can make perimenopausal and menopausal symptoms worse. I was drinking maybe 1/2 a beer to 3 beers a week. I decided to stop all alcohol and see what happened. I feel better. I realized I had been experiencing horrible hangovers from sharing one beer with my husband. It’s like even small amounts of booze just made feel poisoned. (I still smoke the same amount of weed.) So if you are perimenopausal or menopausal and having a rough go please talk to your doctor about what you can do to make it easier on you.