Monday 4 September 2017

Our female relations must really have suffered ....

With the menopause and being post menopausal. Thanks to the internet, there is loads of advice about what you might expect during pre-menopause and the menopause, so I am not going to elaborate too much here. Normally I wouldn't talk online about these types of things but sometimes, you have to bite the bullet if it might help just one other person. On the whole, I have and am still having a relatively good post menopause time. Some of the things mentioned are others experiences.

I was lucky with the pre-menopause and menopause and didn't suffer too much but I know from conversations with other women, that for some, it is an horrendous experience. As oestrogen levels drop, our bones can start to become slightly less dense leading to the possibility of breaks as we age. The usually trouble free levels of testosterone take effect and coarse hairs spring up all over the place but in particular, we start to grow bits of moustache and beard. It has taken me 3 years of electrolysis to get rid of all mine. Our hair/eyebrows/eyelashes (and other parts of anatomy hair) can, for some, diminish at an alarming rate

Long after the post menopause phase of our lives, other problems kick in as we age. Smear tests can become a bit of a nightmare and it would be all too easy to give up and not have them but you do need to persevere if possible. Things are available from your GP to prepare your body for this procedure and insist on a speculum for a child or young person, it is much more 'comfortable'.

It is hard to imagine that the womb, goes from being a nice firm pear shaped organ to a withered, prune like dehydrated pear. Structures that hold it and everything else in place can begin to sag. There is a real possibility of prolapse and stress incontinence can kick in due to changes taking place in and around the urethra.

The vagina drys out to an alarming extent, collapses slightly in on itself and begins to rub together, a kind of sandpaper effect. If you are still sexually active that too can cause problems. All your outside bits do the same as your body fat diminishes and things start to change shape and move against each other. Again, products are available.

A recent check up by the gynae consultant was due to problems that I and my GP hadn't been able to sort out satifactorily. No details here about that but suffice to say, he was the most kindest and gentlest youngish chap. Hence changing from trousers to skirts and other small lifestyle and medication changes that should make my life more comfortable.

The consultant said that the statistics of problems for post menopausal women cannot be accurate as a huge proportion must keep silent and suffer.

Never, ever, suffer in silence. Go to your GP. Topical oestrogen products are available (ie they don't permeate around your whole body just stay where they are put). Lubriacants help with other problems. Stop using soap to wash down below, instead opt for an emollient and stop using talcum powder.

You may need to visit a urologist if other problems develop and become a nuisance but don't give up, help is at hand, you simply have to be brave enough to seek it out.




20 comments:

  1. Congratulations for talking frankly. I could not sleep for days, then I would sleep for 24 hours. I was a mess and since I had gone back to school, I was suffering. I was only 43, early for menopause. I took premarin/estrogen for 26 years to be able to think clearly and remember words. At 69 I hsd to give up the estrogen after uterine cancer. No, not caused by the premarin/estrogen. I have not suffered any of the other symptoms you mentioned, thankfully. I just have no memory...lol. You are right--there are remedies for all the problems. I did not grow a mustache, thankfully. Right now, I think my loss of eyebrows and hair on my head is a thyroid problem. My thyroid is underperforming right now. I use Dove soap and discovered it does not have to be rinsed off the body, even down there. Any irritations in the lady parts can be cured by using a wash cloth instead of tp. Toilet paper has been made using chemicals, and my parts do not respond well to chemicals down there.

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    1. We use white toilet paper but it can still cause problems. The emollient is working fine for me so I shall stick to that but thanks for the Dove info.

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  2. Like you I have had a good pre and post menopausal experience apart from my sleep. But having worked shifts for so many years I think my body clock was screwed anyway. I've had an underactive thyroid since I was 30 so I can't blame the menopause.

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    1. I forgot to mention the sleep changes. If I get 3 hours a night I am doing well!

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  3. So lovely to read your post as I am going through"it" at the moment. Not too bad - the occasional hotty and I now know what Boy George meant when he said he'd rather have a cup of tea than .....!!! I am 56 so have been lucky that it is happening fairly late but not looking forward to the hairy face!

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    1. I didn't grow a moustache but did have loads of coarse grey hairs arrive on my face and neck. Thankfully, most have now gone.

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  4. Problems have ramped up for me in the last 6 months, and the hot flushes can be debilitating, especially when I have 10 or more a day. HRT is still under consideration, but I feel that GPs don't have enough time to discuss things properly, and that's what I really need before a decision can be reached.

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    1. I was very lucky with lack of hot flushes but don't think my oestrogen levels were very high anyway.

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  5. I'm 53 next month and am still having periods!! They now come every other month so there is light at the end of the tunnel. However over the last year I've had so much pain in my joints. I've read up on this and think I've got "menopause arthritis" due to falling oestrogen levels. I don't want to take HRT so am putting up with it. Low mood also is a nightmare for me. I salute you for talking openly about it all.

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    1. Thank you. My joints ache more than they use to and I have delveloped arthritis in a few places but it only flares up occasionally.

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  6. I seem to have got away lightly. Had about half a dozen hot flushes and that was it!

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  7. Sleep eludes me otherwise like Sue I seem to have got off lightly.

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    1. So did I but things have changed recently.

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  8. I'm a little scared now. I think part of the problem is that it is so seldom talked about openly. It really does seem to affect people very differently. X

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    1. No need to be scared, you'll probably sail through and these are the most you might have.

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  9. I guess I'm one of the 'lucky' ones as I had my last period at age 60+2weeks!! I don't have the hot flashes but I am way less tolerant of heat in general. I always wore a sweater year round, even if it was well over 30C. Now I can't stand anything over 25C and rarely wear a sweater. I do have the occasional whisker but I'm fortunate as they are very light in colour, so not too noticeable, only to me with my 10X magnification mirror and I pluck the little devils!!

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    1. Blimey, that is quite late isn't it? I probably had about 50 hairs removed, tough little blighters to kill off!

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  10. I had a complete hysterectomy 10 years ago when I was 51 which put me immediately into post menopause. It was pretty rough for a while. I took estrogen for a few years and then stopped when I had an abnormal Mammogram. (turned out to be a cyst.) The worst thing has been the hot flashes which were bad before the surgery. My mom told me once that her grandmother had them until she was 80!! Hoping that won't be the case with me!

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    1. Gosh, poor woman. These latest problems only kicked in, in the last two years.

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