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

[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.