What the hey?

[mamagotcha]

So I'm pretty sure I'm in the thick of perimenopause... really, ever since things started up again since I had Linc. Eh, I'll be 45 in May, it's not unexpected.

But besides the oddball periods, I'm also having a couple other things that I didn't know were associated with menopause... or maybe they're not?

My scalp has gotten incredibly itchy and dandruffy. I bought Head & Shoulders for the first time in my life, and it doesn't seem to be touching it. It's getting a little better with spring's arrival, but sheesh, this is ridiculous.

I'm also having all the signs and symptoms of a period... except the actual period itself. I go through all the premenstrual stuff, even have cramps and backache and bloating for a few days, and then... nada.

About two weeks ago, I had about four days of really tender breasts... like the kind in your cycle, nothing really alarming... but just having it go on for so long (while still nursing a wiggly kiddo) just was no fun. I had no idea that this was part of perimenopause until I looked it up. I'd take a hot flash over sore boobs any day

Also... intermittent times of extreme horniness and extreme "don't you dare touch me." Makes planning a night out a little difficult.

Just whining. Advice accepted but mostly thanks for listening!

Comments

[paulaandandrew.livejournal.com]

Could it be head lice? When our kids were little, it was rampant at times. Check your hairline beneath for any nits which are about size and shape of a third of a grain of rice.

Yeah, and I get the tender titties, too.

[mamagotcha.livejournal.com]

Oh, we've been through the "bugsies" before, several times!

Nope. This is definitely plaquish, scaly stuff. There are a couple of places where it's worse (over my ears).

Eesh. Just thinking about lice makes me itchy!

[sarafoop.livejournal.com]

Sometimes you can get a yeast infection of the scalp, and it shows up exactly like that. I'd suggest using Nizoral for a week or 10 days and see what happens. I myself have seborrheic dermatitis and I use T-gel every other day. Just make sure you use a good sunscreen on your forehead, the T-gel makes the skin more sun sensitive and I burn at my hairline if I'm not careful.
Would you ever think about taking herbs? I have a friend who had good luck with taking Vitex daily to manage perimenopausal symptoms.
It sounds no fun. :/

[mamagotcha.livejournal.com]

Yeast infection! Now that would have been among the last things I would have suspected. Thanks for the recommendations, I'll try 'em out.

It's not all that bad, just annoying. Could be way worse, I know!

[vito-excalibur.livejournal.com]

Oh ick. Sorry. Hope it goes easier on you soon... :/

[mamagotcha.livejournal.com]

I know a lot of women have a much harder time of it than I'm having. Just a little whinge, that's all! Thanks for indulging me!

[essaying.livejournal.com]

I've had all of those except the scalp nasties. Wait -- actually, no, I had those too, but it turned out to be a sensitivity to my shampoo. I switched to something hypoallergenic and it went away. Worth a try, anyway.

[mamagotcha.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I've gotten a few other suggestions here, too. And it's been a really cold and dry winter here... that might have made things worse. I'd totally believe that I'm now sensitive to a shampoo I've been using for years now that the whole system seems out of whack.

[kightp.livejournal.com]

The signs-and-symptoms thing? Back in the day when I hung out at alt.support.menopause, we called those "phantom periods." Yep, perfectly normal; it probably means you've had an anovulatory cycle - you're running out of eggs, but your body still expects one, so it goes through most of the hormonal rigamarole to get ready for it and then - poof. As is everything else you mention.

There's so much nobody tells us about menopause, and the journey thereunto. If I thought of it at all as a younger woman, I imagined "irregular periods" meant they would taper off in some slightly erratic but predictable fashion and then - voila! - menopause.

Hah. Here's a mantra for your next few years: Expect the unexpected, and get friendly with the idea of chaos. The most unsettling thing about it, to formerly-regular-as-clockwork me, was that the whole concept of a "menstrual cycle" lost all meaning. It felt like being unstuck from the calendar.

In a very real sense, perimenopause is puberty in reverse, and I found it helped to remember how rocky and uneven *that* was for me.

[mamagotcha.livejournal.com]

Yes, phantom periods! Exactly!

I've read up on this, and I'm informed enough about my reproductive system to have a good idea what's normal and what's not. None of this is feeling exactly wrong, but you're right about the chaos. Go with the (lack of) flow, I guess!

Heh. You're also right on the money with the puberty-in-reverse... there are more unexpected pregnancies, more abortions, more twins and more genetic anomalies for both teens and women in their 40s.

[wordweaverlynn.livejournal.com]

I haven't had the scalp stuff, but my eczema is very susceptible to hormonal cycles. So I bet any other underlying skin condition would be, too.

The invisible period thing also happens to me. And don't ask me about hot flashes unless you want to hear major bitching. Then there's the brain freezes. (sigh) What were we talking about?

But all in all, middle age is a great improvement on childhood or youth.

Incidentally, I proposed a WisCon panel on menopause in fiction and life. Nalo Hopkinson wrote a wonderful novel -- The New Moon's Arms -- about a woman whose hot flashes really are power surges. Magic power.

[mamagotcha.livejournal.com]

Hmm. You've got me thinking... I've done several rituals for young girls reaching menarche, and about a billion blessingways for new mamas, and even one for a brave and wonderful friend facing cancer... but I've never attended a Happy Croning party.

While I'm not having hot flashes (or rather, not debilitating ones, just rip-off-the-clothes for a while), I'm definitely feeling like I'm getting to cash in on my life experiences... I'm a member of a group of attachment parents, and while we all have little kids running around, I'm definitely the oldest there (by about 10 years, for the most part). It's kind of nice to have people asking questions and then, you know, really listening to what you say because you've managed to grow up a pile of kids without losing 'em. Hope I keep my marbles long enough to enjoy it!

If they run that panel, I am SO THERE. Thanks for the novel suggestion, I'll see if I can find it!

[elainetyger.livejournal.com]

Glad to read other people's comments, especially the phantom periods. Not so frequent with me, but it definitely sounds familiar. I just turned 45 in November.

My mom had debilitatingly heavy periods into her 50's and still would hemorrhage once or twice a year into her 60's. I had 7-8 day periods with 4 heavy days when I was younger. Oh, and 25 days apart from day 1 to day 1.

Now it's like, I still more or less have that schedule, except sometimes it's 35 days and sometimes 15 days, and it's mostly a lot lighter. Last month was a very notable exception to that rule >:( And sometimes we trickle trickle for 3 weeks at a time, which feels oh so sexy. Yeah right.

Not too much cramping though. FemEstroPlex by Metagenics really helps me with the mood swings.

Time for another filter group, Gotcha?

[mamagotcha.livejournal.com]

Heh, maybe! I figured the cut text was enough to warn off anyone who might be icked out, though.

Glad to know I'm not alone... sounds like you're having a much worse time of it than me, hope it levels out soon!

[elainetyger.livejournal.com]

No, it's actually physically much better this way than back in the tampon-plus-2-giant-pads days. I just try to avoid confrontations with people during the premenstrual days. I never used to have PMS back in the heavy-flow days, and now it's like no physical pain, but ok, what kind of person will I be? Angry, manically happy, depressed? Spin the wheel!

[rubrick.livejournal.com]

No advice on menopause, but on the dandruff front, I've always found H&S to be useless, and Selsun Blue to be remarkably effective.

[genderfur.livejournal.com]

Am I the only woman in the world who *enjoys* getting the tender breasts?

'Coz I *do*! I get tender boobs before I bleed, and I *adore* having them squozen, even more than usual (and my usual enjoyment of breastplay is very very very high).

As to the other stuff:
I think I've missed one period completely, about a year ago. They've definately been getting lighter and lighter during the last few years. Another fun new thing (not): I've had irritating periods. Literally, I mean: whatever was falling out of my uterus was irritating to my pussy, and I couldn't wait to finish up the bleeding for the month. That's happened maybe 3 times.

I'm also thinking that it's time to get my meds reviewed, as most anti-depressants only for for a few years for any given person. But it occurred to me last week that menopausal stuff might be affecting thigns too, and that's just so variable day-by-day that it will not be helpful in trying to evaluate any medication-induced change in my emotional outlook.

(I'm also thinking that it's time to start research on hormones, etc. Ooh, what fun.)