I know. I know. I need to eat. I need protein and fiber and vitamins and blah blah blah. But now that I’m in Peri, I hate food. Nothing sounds good. I’ll sit and stare at my fridge and can’t decide and just walk away empty handed. It’s easier to go hungry. And when I do eat, I choke it down and try not to barf it up

Am I alone in this???

Does anyone know why doctors readily prescribe oral birth control pills that contain estrogen without a blink of an eye, but when estrogen is requested as part of HRT they balk and suddenly have concerns about blood clots and cancer? If those concerns are real why wouldn't they apply to BCP?

Sorry if this has already been posted today. I just saw it. Print it off to take to the doctor, if you need!

Edit to add: I guess the link for the gift article isn't working. u/tea-boat posted this working link:

https://archive.is/rUUpr

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/15/well/live/menopause-hormone-therapy-acog.html?unlocked_article_code=1.I1E.kFyv.OHTHVvvm0-Lv&smid=nytcore-android-share

I am 45 and have 0 will or energy to do much of anything. I thankfully work from home but I'm an online teacher, and lately I've had 0 energy to focus or function well with my students. It's like my brain is dead and I could just drift off in my chair. I crawl through a class and then have to lie down to recover before the next one. I just want to stay in my bed forever at this rate because it's the only place I feel safe, and somewhat ok, as my health anxiety is also through the roof.

I'm 49 have been perimenopausal for a bit. I haven't had my period for six months...SIX. I thought I was gonna be free and clear. That mfer arrived today. I nearly cried. Menopause clock T=0 again.

Hello everyone, I hope you’re all doing okay 🙂.

So I just wondered how common tinnitus is a peri symptom. I’ve been in perimenopause since turning 51 and aged 52, developed tinnitus. There’s no physiological reason I should have it according to the audiologist it’s just one of those things that can happen to people as they get older. I find it quite an irritating symptom to deal with along with the other usual suspect symptoms.

So yeah would be interested to know of anyone has experienced similar and better still, if it ever went away.

Thanks in advance!

So, ablation next week (plus hysteroscopy, D&C, and myomectomy). Will be under general anesthesia for all this. Gyn messaged me saying she was sending over a prescription for pain meds for after the procedure. I was surprised, she prescribed Vicodin, enough for multiple days. I’m hoping I don’t hurt that badly, but it feels nice that she sent in a prescription of something more potent just in case.

After hearing about too many women who are straight up denied any pain relief, it’s reassuring to know I’m being cared for by someone who doesn’t want me to suffer. She also looked over my history of various bcp types and Nexplanon failures and advised against a Mirena and straight to ablation due to my 2 week cycles.

Hi Peri.
What the fuck? Yes I have fibrous, dense breast tissue, but that does not mean to make it rock hard. When I have the period that should have flown the fucking coop, I don’t enjoy this. Yes it will go down in a few days. Yes I’ve had a mammo and it’s ok. Yes I know it’s cyclical. For fucks sake leave the tits alone.
I’ve breastfed two kids. Gone through two pregnancies. Been dealing with breasts not liking hormonal changes. This is too fucking far.
I’m Gen X. I have no fucks left. Just stop.
Thanks
Tired ass human

Now that I'm in Peri menopause my periods aren't regular but I feel I get an extended luteal phase.

I know my period is coming but it takes its time.

My luteal phase always kicks my butt emotionally and mentally.

Have you any advice or help?

You guys. My cycle dropped to 23 days last May, and since then I feel like I’m falling apart.

-Stunning anxiety, especially premenstrually.
-Or utter depression snd lack of interest in, well, much of anything.
-My executive function has gone to shit. I can’t sequence complex tasks. I’ve been trying to get my family passports together for over a year and the series of steps required seems like a mountain.
-I’ve started getting wicked untreatable headaches during my period.
-My gut is a mess. I can’t digest gluten anymore; it makes my gut swell up like a balloon.
-Sleep is an elusive beast. Can’t fall asleep, or wake up in the middle of the night and can’t fall back, or wake up early in the morning in a panic.
-My sense of smell is flared up; there are people who smell so intensely I have to leave the room. (Not artificial scent and not unwashed. Just their natural scent). Sometimes this includes my partner and kids.
-I’ve gained weight for no obvious reason.
-My immune system has tanked. I’ve gotten seriously ill (Covid, flu, assorted viruses) 5 times in the last year. I generally have been a pretty robust and healthy person, getting ill once a year or every couple years.

And the latest kicker- I was telling my partner I’m having these flushes of heat, often when I’m working. They said “you mean hot… flashes?” 😮 and I was like, oh shit oh dear, I mean yes, I mean hot FLASHES. Which I associate with my frumpy old middle school Latin teacher and just can’t believe it’s coming home.

What is happening to me! What the actual fuck! Anyone else getting it from all sides? How do we survive this without tanking everything in our lives? Are we just destined to be shells of our former selves from here on out?

I’m 42 and already on transdermal estradiol patches and progesterone pills. I just. I can’t believe this. I feel like I have a different body than I did 18 months ago. Tell me I’m not alone!

I went to my doctor today to get an increase to my HRT and I mentioned wanting to try adding testosterone to my routine. I'm desperately low on energy and my libido is D-E-A-D. He flat out told me he'd never prescribe it.

He instead said he'd perscribe me vaginal estrogen so sex wouldn't hurt and seemed pleased with himself. It smacked me in the face so hard that it doesnt matter if I WANT sex. Whats important is I can lay back and take it without too much discomfort.

I'm so tired of being treated like a freak or a fiend because I want to enjoy intimacy with my partner.

I'm just fucking tired, period.

I have been referred for this so just wondering if anyone has had it and if it helps.

Hey all,

I am 541 days without a period at 31, I have Endo but my OBGYN kicked me off her service because I won’t take hormonal contraception because of the awful side effects I’ve had since starting god knows how many of them at 14.

Bleeding free for 541 days and now I’m bleeding all day ? Not heavy but even so. What the hell ? Has anyone else have this experience ?

Is anyone experiencing heart palpitations at night before bed and while sleeping? What are you doing to assist with the palpitations? I personally think this is from taking 200mg P. This dosage hasn't been good to me. All feedback welcomed!

Hi everyone! I'm 48 and in late perimenopause. For a while now, I've noticed that my armpits seem to have a strong odor all the time, and my old deodorant just doesn't cut it anymore. I feel like I can't even step out of the shower without already smelling bad!

What am I supposed to do? Should I try an antibacterial deodorant? Would that be too harsh on my skin? I've also heard about persimmon soap, but I'm not sure whether it's meant to help with this particular issue.

**P.S.** The smell doesn't seem to be related to how much I sweat. Even when I barely sweat at all, the odor is still there... I feel like I'm a teenager all over again! 😩

Hey all

If you’re reading this .. firstly grab a brew, secondly please drop a response, thirdly forever in your debt!!!

Tired for over a year.. looked into all explanations, Iron, thyroid etc. I cannot accept that tiredness/ dry etc is simply the menopause..

Rolled my sleeves up and took on the GP ..

GP blamed menopause- would not consider Iron ( ferritin low or thyroid fairly high and antibodies very high .. instead told my oestrogen is low and upped my patch from 50 to 75.

Bloods did not show this and still having regular periods ( this was Feb 2026) .. may extreme shoulder pain, X-ray osteoarthritis discovered, admittedly quite bad but I questioned why no pain before May .. ignored.

May to July - horrendous, I actually have PTSD, nerve stuff, all down my arms, felt like I had water running down my arms, vice life pain upper shoulders and neck, eyes drying than ever, nerve and numbness in legs, hip and groin pain..

Crying fits with GP - blamed shoulder OA and menopause- upped patch to 100mg no change to P ( currently 100)

July until now .. the above and so much more, flu like symptoms, every virus gping I’ve caught and now a bout of invitigo, breathlessness, three day migraines, joint pain but weirdly the nerve stuff has gone

I’m 52 periods each month .. I have explored autoimmune but could this be that my patch is to high ..

I’m so sorry this is so long winded but you are my go to before attempting to discuss with GP as the dismissal is just soul crushing!

If you could find it in yourselves to please advise I would be most grateful

53F - I’m going to have a Hysteroscopy and D&C under anesthesia next month. The tricky part for me is that I live alone - I worked up the courage to ask a casual friend to take me and stay with me for several hours after we get home, but she can’t stay longer than that. All the official instructions say to have someone for “24 hours,” but that isn’t possible.

I’ve had colonoscopies, and been fine to take care of myself for the rest of the day, but this might be more than twilight sleep. Anyone gone through this procedure that can reassure me that I’ll be mentally alert enough to take care of myself that evening? This is making more anxious than the procedure!

I’m wondering if anyone here has experienced positional or orthostatic headaches and had it be related to perimenopause. I’m 46 and definitely in perimenopause. For the past 1.5 months I’ve had daily headaches. If I’m lying down, I’m totally fine. When I stand or sit up I get around an hour, sometimes a little longer, before I start to get headaches. If I don’t lay down they get progressively worse. My PCP referred me to a neurologist. They suspect a CSF leak, and I do have all of the symptoms of that. I had a brain MRI and it was normal. CSF leaks can be difficult to diagnose with imaging, especially if they’re spontaneous and not caused by a known injury to the head or spine. I’m waiting for a call back from my neurologist after the MRI, but I’m also just looking for anything else that could be causing these headaches. Today, both my mom and MIL, suggested it could be related to hormones so I thought I’d check here to see if anyone has had a similar experience.

I just want to know if it gets easier. I was on 100 mg and just went up to 200. 100 made me groggy in morning but now with 200 that feeling is worse.

Will I adapt?

It made me sleep for 9 hours straight, felt difficult to wake up, and now it’s noon and I have low motivation and I feel sleepy and slow and dumb.

My body fluctuates from sweaty hot to painfully freezing cold regularly throughout the day, it is so annoying and frustrating! I don't get night sweats, but I am shivering cold when I crawl into bed for an hour or so before I heat up. Has anybody experienced this and had HRT help?

47yo w PMDD and ADHD and feel like I’m losing the plot 🫠

I was on the Estrogel-Prometrium combo for about a year and it was working well to combat brain fog, low mood, etc. Not perfect (the hassle of the gel was annoying) but really pretty good, and sleep was great as the Prometrium acted as a sedative.

But my periods were getting heavier and heavier each month, and despite taking a daily (high quality) iron supplement for over a year, my ferritin levels just wouldn’t get above the danger zone.

I asked my women’s health GP about having an ablation and she suggested it would be better to try Zoely instead as it uses the same estrogen as Estrogel and is prescribed for women with PMDD, and it would enable me to skip periods to limit the iron loss.

I’m now halfway through month two and I’m sleeping about 4.5 hours a night. I don’t know what to do. I had a follow-up consult with her two weeks ago and she said it would be ok to take Prometrium with it to help the sleep piece, but that just made me feel awful emotionally.

I don’t know how to properly articulate what’s going on or figure out a way through because my brain just feels like it’s stopped functioning entirely.

Appointments with this doctor are $250 a pop so I’m reluctant to make yet another one if this is just a stage I need to ride out.

Please, if anyone has any suggestions, I’m all ears.

Pretty much what the title says. I’ve had zero energy for quite some time. For the past several months, my periods have been every 2-3 weeks. The periods are not heavier than normal, but the frequency is concerning. I got tested for low iron and ferritin and sure enough, I’ve got it. However, just taking an iron pill isn’t going to be enough. I need to address the root cause. So I’m going to the gynecologist next Wednesday.

Symptoms: fatigue, headaches, dizziness, shortness of breath/air hunger(also have asthma), brain fog, irritability, distract ability (ADHD meds not working well due to iron deficiency), hot temper, etc.

Am I missing estrogen?

43F perimeno
Hysterectomy this past June
Before hyst (and still now) taking Testosterone cream (for libido), Progesterone at night (for sleep), and vaginal estrogen for GSM.

The past couple of weeks I have felt completely unhinged. I am exhausted constantly despite sleeping well (I do wake up once around 1am but go back to sleep), my patience is hanging on by a thread, road rage is a new reality for me, I can’t control my thoughts (like I struggle to focus and words are hard) and my libido is non existent. My labs 10mths ago for all the non hormone things looked good (thyroid, iron, blood counts, vit d, etc)

Am I missing systemic estrogen? I went ahead and made an appt with a women’s health practitioner. Is estrogen patch/gel something I should bring up in this appt to help with this shit show I am feeling like 🤪

Thanks in advance for your help ❤️