Feeling quite excited about my next period now that my new period pants have arrived (thanks for the tip off Leah). I obviously have no idea when I might be able to review them due to symptom number 4 – irregular periods – and I’ll probably forget that I even bought them due to symptom number 1 – brain fog!
Meanwhile on the 8th day of menopause our bodies gave to us … a whole load of aches and pains.
Apparently the drop in oestrogen can cause stiffness and inflammation in the soft tissues around joints. This in turn manifests as joint pain and particularly can affect hips, knees, shoulders etc. Women can go from feeling fit and well to having a lot of aches, pains & stiffness and feeling like they are developing arthritis.
Another symptom is tingling extremities and a feeling like pins and needles in the hands or feet. Apparently this can feel like numbness tingling, ants creeping all over legs etc or a burning pain. Not nice. Many women seem to particularly suffer with it in bed, again with knock on effects on sleep. This symptom can be caused by fluctuating hormones impacting on our nervous system. And for some women it can lead to inability to grip with their fingers or even lose their balance while walking, due to numbness in their toes.
And who would have associated any of that with the perimenopause? I haven’t had much experience of this delight yet although have for several years noticed achey feet when I first get out of bed in the morning. At that moment I can feel like an old woman. But luckily it soon passes.
While we’re on all the painful symptoms I might as well include women who feel like they have electric shocks going off under their skin. Oh and breast tenderness. And increased headaches & migraines. And even a burning tongue / mouth and/or sore and bleeding gums. Yep that’s another 5 separate symptoms that all result in pain of some kind.
In fact there are so many possible symptoms of the menopause that I have no chance of fitting them into my alternative 12 days of Christmas without shoving several into each day.
The usual options can help – a low inflammatory diet with lots of veg & fruit and as much fresh food as possible, minimal sugar / alcohol, stretching exercises such as yoga, exercises to build muscle and aerobic exercise. You may have spotted a pattern building up here. Why is it never ‘get pissed and scoff chocolate?!’
Another nutritional aid to help with inflammation in the body is turmeric and I add some into my morning smoothie everyday, along with Black pepper to aid the absorption. Others swear by the usual menopause supplement combinations or using magnesium supplements.
Please like / share to help other women in their 40s and 50s who can feel like they are about 70 years old at times. Sue X