I don’t know my own body anymore. Peri Menopause is certainly doing a number on me. My periods are irregular, plus I have fibroids and cysts that are being surgically addressed in August.
I used to know exactly when I was PMS and so understood my cravings and upped my protein accordingly. I could expect to lose 3-4 pounds afterward providing I ate healthfully during. Now, it’s late or early, lasts 2 days or 10. And shall I mention hot flashes and cramps? It’s been so long since I was food conscious for more than 2 cycles. I hope to be up to the task.
It’s a challenge! Anyone else struggling with this?
Oh yeah. I hate it too. My boobs are HUGE! Water weight? Are you kidding me? And mood swings, Good Lord! I'm going to have to find a better way of dealing with it than chips and ice cream!
Hopefully, we (my body and I) will come to an understanding!
Ah yes. I haven't had an actual period since April but I've certainly had times of weird fluid retention, cramps, sore legs, 2 lbs up, two lbs down ... None of which make any sense.
I'll be 42 next month and went thru menapause over night on my 40th bday. Well I had hot flashes & night sweats for a month. Plus a 6 month old baby!
No warning signs that it was coming. My body does hold on to fat (thus the reason I'm on this board)...went from 135 to about 190 after the birth of the kids, and in the last few years it's creeped up to 222, an all time high.
My belly fat makes me sick, the mood swings, all the signs.
It's a relief to meet others in the same situation!
Ha! I had to laugh when I read your post, hopingtobehopeful - I can certainly relate! Especially to the whole thing about not knowing when your period will arrive or how long it will last - what a collosal pain. And no one really talks about it, so I was unprepared when it happened (mother and grandmother each had a hysterectomy). I had been blaming my weight gain on perimenopausal changes, but then after doing research I could not find anything that linked the two. So I finally realized I just wasn't trying hard enough - now, 3 months later, I've lost 20 lbs and gained a fair amount of muscle. I must say - being in better shape sure makes you feel better about getting older!
So hang in there - if I can do it, I think just about anyone can!
Thanks 47yo! Good to hear. And yes, I believe it's not an impossible task, maybe just a little harder. But I am done using it as an excuse and will get this gracefully aging and hopefully shrinking body in gear!
Not going through menopause yet, but I agree with your comment. I really should be done with zits! Not as bad as those teenage years, but it shouldn't be here at all. Sigh!!
BUT........remember the line from "Fried Green Tomatoes" when the car full of skinny-twenty somethings cut Kathy Bates off in a parking lot? "Girls, I'm older than you and have better insurance."
My biggest peri-problem is mood swings. And, for me, mood swings were only resolvable through chips and ice cream. Now I am trying to find new ways...a walk, yelling at my boss - things like that
Meanwhile - off to buy some Clearasil for my face and Vit B for my moods!
you know I found when i went to healthier eating (whole grains, no sugar, no white potatoes, no wheat) and drinking a lot of water my mood swings improved. life got easier... more stable. of course it could all be in my head.
Yes, I agree with you gals. Staying off the white stuff - processed wheat, sugar - does help the moods. It also helps the water-weight. And I've had frozen-yogurt-things on-a-stick (not the brand name!) They are good.
It's that Catch-22 thing. When I feel better, I'll eat healthier. But wait! I need to eat healthier to fell better.
Do any of you take any vitamins or prescriptions for any of the cravings, mood swings, all the other symptoms? I have an appt with a doctor in about a month. It will be my first time to really ask some questions. the other doctors I'd seen dismissed my being in menapause, said I was too young, and of course had a 6 mo old baby ...but I joke that I haven't had a period since before the baby was born. He is THREE. So now that we've moved and are in a new state / new doctor I want to make sure I ask all the right questions. I feel like when I see Sally Field or those others on TV that I should be taking something. You know that commercial for .knowmenaupse?
But I'm not taking anything at all, and my mood swings are awful! YES the icecream helps. Anything cold. Rootbeer over crushed ice is my weakness.
Whose body is this? Dieting in Pre Menopause mode
i hear your pain.
Water weight? Are you kidding me? And mood swings, Good Lord! I'm going to have to find a better way of dealing with it than chips and ice cream!
