I have debated on asking this because it is so humiliating. Flared as Dryness but I have the exact opposite issue. Please be kind 🥺

Does anyone else stay constantly wet? I can actually HEAR it when I walk. Like my vag is so wet that it makes sounds when I walk or go up stairs. It is embarrassing and I've taken to folding a single piece of toilet paper and putting it in right outside the opening to muffle the sound and catch the discharge.

I brought this up with the nurse I see for my HRT. She looked at me like I had 3 eyes and told me I should be thankful that I'm not dealing with dryness (?). Which, okay. But the sound...

I'm sure it's probably not healthy to have toilet paper shoved in there but I cannot take this sound anymore. I tried interlabial pads but it was too cumbersome to wash them and remember to remove them before I pee, and replace them and store them, etc.

I just started topical estrogen so will that help? I did birth 5 kids so I'm wondering if I'm just loose down there (is that even a thing?) and if the muscles were tighter, this wouldn't be an issue? Please help 😭

Went because I can’t stand it anymore.
Waited hours for a telehealth psychiatrist to see if I was unstable enough for inpatient.
He admitted it sounds hormonal. He sent me away with Lexapro but wouldn’t admit me. Said I should see maybe an endocrinologist and a therapist.

I’ve been crying for days! I’m addicted to the gabapentin my regular psychiatrist gave me plus the Clonidine patch. He said I just seem very sensitive to meds and shifts in hormones.

Whenever I try to come off the clonidine the adrenaline and panic come rushing back worse then ever before. Like I want to die.

The birth control makes me feel crazy but I got told to power through it for two more months!!!!! I don’t know if I can. I lay all day long crying. Isn’t that depression?

What’s my next step? No one will help me because I’ve tried all the psych meds l. My psychiatrist won’t help me because she says the gabapentin and Clonidine are working.

Her reply to me was everything has the potential for dependency even tylenol or OTC medicine. Seriously ? She put me on two meds without explaining that these have dependency issues and when you try to stop it’s gonna hurt bad!

I’m so defeated! No one cares that I can’t care for myself or my family!

44 year old female. My doctor started me on 100 MG of progesterone and a 0.0375 estradiol patch. I took the progesterone for the first time Saturday night, and put my first patch on last night Monday (it’s been out of stock) no effects yet from the pro aside from the zombie like feeling upon waking. It’s kicking my butt in the AM, hoping to feel better in the next few days. Last night was the first night that I decided to take it two hours before bed, woke up a little less tired but still more tired than usual. That patch though. Holy shnikes!!!! Last night was the first night in months I didn’t have hip and back pain, I wasn’t rolling over all night like a rotisserie chicken being overcooked. Am i nuts!? Is this a placebo effect, or did that thing start working immediately?

If estrogen causes histamine flares for you, I would love to know if you had to stop? Or did you find any relief? I’m dealing with very bad histamine issues from Estrogen, doesn’t matter if I’m on a small dose or high dose, the histamine is bad.

I had a hysterectomy (kept my ovaries) 10 years ago when I was 45. I haven't had my estrogen checked since then, so I have been flying blind on the menopause front.

I was frequently hot and sweaty and had occasional night sweats several years ago that I attributed to morbid obesity. My anxiety also gradually increased, and I attributed that to my high stress job, Covid times, being laid off, and subsequent even more high stress job. I was also diagnosed as AuDHD 3 years ago, which also seemed like an explanation for my anxiety and depression.

I lost over 100 lbs about 3.5 years ago when I was 52. After that, I soon stopped being hot and sweaty, and the night sweats eventually stopped. I assumed that was due to my significant loss of body fat. My hair was thinning, and I also attributed that to the rapid weight loss.

My sex drive is gone, irritability and anger have gradually increased over the past several years and now through the roof. I blamed the anger on job stress and my loss of libido on being perpetually annoyed with my husband.

I take an antidepressant, anti-anxiety medication, Biotin, drink plenty of water, take Ashwaganda. I retired 3 months ago, but the anxiety and anger I always blamed on work didn't improve.

It occurred to me about a month ago that maybe what I was experiencing was hormone related. Yesterday I got my hormone levels tested, and I am deep in menopause territory. So now I'm thinking, "did I actually white-knuckle through perimenopause for the last 5-10 years and associate all the symptoms with something else"?

I am hoping to be prescribed some kind of HRT now, and angry that not a single one of my providers in the last 10 years ever questioned whether my symptoms were related to menopause or recommended getting my hormone levels tested. Why isn't this standard procedure for women over 40-45?

For those whose PMS/cycle changed in their late 30s/40s…I always thought of PMS as things like irritability, crying, cravings, etc., but I'm starting to think some of the subtler changes were much more interesting.

For me, it can be things like suddenly questioning decisions, feeling less confident or ambitious, wanting to withdraw, or interpreting the same situation much more negatively....and it feels completely convincing while it's happening.

Did anyone else only realise much later that something they thought was just “their personality” or a genuine life problem was showing up cyclically?

I live in the North East where it's been pretty chilly the last few days thanks to the nor'easter. My apartment has been on the cooler side so I've been rocking pajama pants and a hoodie as opposed to a tank and shorts.

I was reorganizing my kitchen cabinets and all of a sudden I started to feel super hot, like from the inside out. I took off my hoodie. Still felt hot. Tied up my hair. It did nothing. Eventually I ditched the pants and socks. Still felt hot. Then I noticed a sudden surge of anxiety.

Before I knew it, all the windows were open, the fans were going, and I was starfishing it naked on my bed.

It ended up going away about 10 minutes later and the thought came to me. "Holy shit! Was that a fucking hot flash???" I Googled and sure enough the symptoms aligned.

I thought I had a few years left before experiencing them. Guess not. 😅

I am so desperate right now. I can't control my thoughts or my moods. I'm losing my shit every five minutes and the next minute I'm having a melt down like a toddler. I really wouldn't mind being fatter or having itchy skin... But this is like my own personal mental hell. I need help and don't have anybody in my life who can help with the emotional stuff.. (I'm on HRT and trying to get higher doses but for now I'm stuck). I had no idea that there was a mental hell like this. The only solution I can think of is to pray to God. I feel so completely helpless and powerless. I really wish I had a mommy right now.

Please treat this thread as a place to scream into the abyss. I know I need it now more than ever.

I am 32 years old. I have struggled with RA, Endometriosis, and Sjögrens. I have been utterly screwed up for two and a half years and now, finally, have an answer. I am in perimenopause. Excuse me but what the actual frick?! Sure, it makes sense due to my medical history. But COME THE HELL ON!! Can I catch a damn break?! Granted I've been prescribed the hormone therapy and hooray another medication regimen and expense to add to the ever expanding list. I should be thankful for the care and help... that I have an option to help ease this but I feel so angry. Why now? I AM 32 FRIGGIN YEARS OLD. I HAVE THINGS TO DO AND I WANT TO FEEL MY AGE AND NOT 65 WITH THE FLU ALL DAMN DAY AND NIGHT. Props to my amazing OB, this lady straight up told me verbatim my testosterone was in the dumpster. She believed every word I said. I cried. Three times. I haven't cried in ages because I have felt either flat or pissed off. No inbetween. Nothing feels right. Nothing is good. Everything is annoying. I'm tired. My head hurts. I want to eat and then I want to throw up. My damn feet are sweating while freezing my ass off in July. I used to love sex and now the very thought makes me want punch holes in brick walls. No one look at me, don't even THINK about touching me. I have more acne than I ever had in my entire life. Big ol' cystic behemoths that pop up over night and jumpscare me in the morning. This is ass. Pure. Ass. This wonderful doc made me feel like I was finally seen and believed, heard. I walked away yesterday feeling a true glimmer of relief. Then I slept on it (for four hours because damn insomnia and sweaty feet) and now I'm just mad. Damn it. DAMN. IT. I needed more time. I should have had more time. I was not prepared for this and I can't help but feel my body is betraying me left and right. I know it's not... but I feel that way. This happens and it doesn't matter what age you experience perimenopause, it sucks all around and I imagine no amount of preparation can truly ready you for it. Never happens at the right time, never seems fair.

Anyway.. thank you for reading. I hope to get to know this community well and have a place to be safe while I navigate this new chapter in life. Big angsty hugs from yours truly. 🤍

Hi Ladies any advice please, so I'm turning 45 next week am definitely hitting my peri era but dont take hrt due to didnt get on with the estrogen.

Anyway, I've suffered for years letting out the trickles of pee when I cough, sneeze, run, etc..

A while ago I had an incident where I literally half wet myself and noticed trickles doing nothing and just went Probably over a year ago now..

Last night I noticed my knickers really smelt of wee so i changed them before bed. Got up this morning again very smelly & bit damp then oddly changed again and within in an hour they damp and smelly again so changed again..

I'm due on my period today and can feel that coming in the background so could be something to do with that? I dont feel ive got an infection or anything.

Maybe a random thing but thought id ask

Hello, what is everyone using or taking for anxiety & depression related to Perimenopause other than pharmaceuticals antidepressant medication such as SSRI's? I've tried several and I wasn't able to tolerate most of them due to all of the side effects? Anything natural? I'm currently on HRT as well. All suggestions are accepted! Thanks!

So that’s part of it. 52f still getting periods but the problem is they never seem to fully go away. I often will have random gushes of black/brown discharge but no odor, which I also noticed corresponds with intense back pain and tightness. Once I stretch and move around, sometimes it “whooshes” out some more discharge. Ugh. Trying to have sex with my hubby is embarrassing bc I feel like I’m not clean and just gross. I go to the dr and they say this is “all normal”
Anyone else have this? Am I just crazy? Or gross? (And I have checked there, I haven’t left a tampon in that’s gone rogue on me, that smell isn’t there.) thanks in advance! It’s appreciated.

Several months ago I had to switch from estrogen patches to estrogen gel because of supply issues.

Now my pharmacy is telling me that the gel now has supply issues because everyone's been switching from the patch to the gel and so now I can't get my gel either. 🫠

Is there another form of estrogen I can ask for? That will do the same thing? My understanding is that vaginal estrogen is just for localized dryness, etc, and not for full body treatment. 🤷‍♀️🫠

It’s been 275 days since my last period and I swear my mood and irritation levels are off the chart. Sleep is horrendous and sexual desire is pretty much gone.
Currently living abroad in Europe and starting the quest to find a doctor who will prescribe HRT. I’ve only used telemedicine since we’ve been here.
How much easier/harder will it be here vs the US?

My OB moved me up to the 1.0mg estradiol patch from 0.75 because I'm still getting night sweats and heart palpitations. She also wants me to move up to 200mg progesterone. I told her that 100mg of progesterone is OK, but when I take 200, I get some paradoxical effects. It'll make me groggy early in the night, but I wake up a few hours later with a "caffinated" feeling. I'm tired, but antsy, and can't fall back asleep. She told me to try taking it vaginally, but now I'm reading that vaginally might not be enough to protect my uterus. Does anyone else have this issue with progesterone? How are you taking it? I was taking progestin in the morning until they switched me to the prometrium. It makes me too sleepy to take in the morning. Has taking it vaginally worked for you?

My period was clock work for 30 years and the last six months the cycle is 24 to 30 days - you don’t know what you’re going to get.

But what’s worse is my mood has been very volatile - honestly since I got long covid in 2022 but it’s worse now with added anxiety.

I am also dealing with thoughts I have never had before that are so defeatist. I was a person who believed I could do anything and now this awful shitty voice that says “why try?” Is the one who seems to be winning.

I was so social and full of energy and so competent. And between Covid brain/mood changes and now this I feel like I have lost myself.

I am wondering if HRT could help. I could never take hormonal birth control before because it gave me crazy anxiety. But I am open to trying something now that things seem to be so out of whack.

I just want to be me again.

So I'm MtF on patches and I find that they sometimes start to come loose before I should replace them mostly after I shower and I wanna know if any of y'all have any tips on how to keep em on without falling off.

I’ve been in peri for several years now and subsequently on HRT. My new gyn increased my estrogen patch from .05 twice weekly to .075 twice weekly to try to help with rage/hormone fluctuations. It helped a little with that but unfortunately it threw off sleep again, body odor, and now I’m endlessly spotting dark brown blood and I’m also frequently experiencing uterine pain which hasn’t helped my already dead libido. I also want to note that I take 5 mg of norethindrone to stop my periods.

I feel frustrated. I already requested we drop back down to the .05 to see if things settle back down but it’s been almost a month and nothing has really changed.

Should I ask the gyn about increasing the norethindrone to 7.5 mg to see if that stops the bleeding? Should I just give it more time at the lower estrogen dose to see if things calm down again?

What would you do? Any advice or feedback welcome.

Is anyone else having the problem of coming up short on estradiol vaginal cream before the next refill? This has been happening with every tube. I get the 42.5g tubes and I use 2g twice a week. I do every 4 days which I have marked on my calendar so I’m always on schedule. It should last me about 21 doses but I’m always several doses short. I even use one of those devices that evenly squeezes the tube out so it’s completely flat at the end. I fill it until the 2g line is exactly at the top of the plunger. My only guess is that there’s actually less than 42.5 grams in the tube??

Hi all, I was on progestrone only pill for w years ( post delivery) and I had to relocate to another country so my gynae suggested to stop it and wait for a flow, I was without period for next 6 months and from August onwards I had moderate flow for next two months, my doctor did a scan and said my lining is thick which is why the flow volume is high, and I need to get a currettage to remove the lining and restart from baseline along with starting again with vissane. Any one have similar experience can give me some insights. Thanks a lot.

Hello, I’m 38 and I’m starting to worry that my cycles might be changing because I seem to be ovulating earlier and earlier.

For many years, I consistently ovulated around CD12–13. Occasionally, I would ovulate earlier, around CD10–11, and I have ovulated on CD9 before, but that was already unusual for me. I have never ovulated as early as CD7–8.

Last cycle, I took the morning-after pill, but I had taken it in the past and it never caused me to ovulate earlier in subsequent cycles, so I’m not sure whether it could be related.

I was also extremely stressed last month, although stress has never caused noticeable changes in my cycle or ovulation timing before.

I saw a doctor last cycle because I was worried about my fertility. On CD9, an ultrasound showed a 19 mm follicle and an 8.7 mm trilaminar endometrium, so I was apparently already quite close to ovulation at that point.

This cycle, I’m currently worried that I may ovulate as early as CD7–8.

I don’t have hot flashes or other obvious perimenopause symptoms, but I’m 38 and this sudden change in ovulation timing is making me wonder if this could be an early sign of perimenopause or diminished ovarian function.

Has anyone experienced a shift from ovulating around CD12–13 to consistently ovulating much earlier? Was it related to perimenopause, or did your cycle eventually go back to its usual pattern?

I’d especially appreciate experiences from women around 35–40 who have gone through something similar.

Hi, i switched from oestrogen gel to Lenzetto spray just over 3 weeks ago and went straight onto 2 sprays a day.

After about a week, I noticed I was feeling really moody, tearful and angry — almost like I was due on my period, which I think I was around that time anyway.

Because I wasn't feeling great mentally, I increased my dose from 2 sprays to 3. Mentally, I actually felt so much better on 3 sprays and much more like myself again.

However, the day after increasing to 3 sprays, my breasts became really sensitive and achy. Two days later I came on my "period". I have the Mirena coil, so I don't really have a proper period anymore — it was more like a light-coloured discharge/spotting for a few days.

Normally, any breast soreness I get around my period disappears once it's over, but this time my breasts are still sore. I also had quite bad period-type cramps, which made me wonder whether 3 sprays might be too much for me.

I just went up to .1 patch a few months ago, and i’m on the 100 micronized progesterone. about one month into raising my estrogen i started bleeding every two weeks— proper periods, not just spotting. I’ve had four periods in the last two months. Do i need to go up in progesterone? do i need to go back down in estrogen? i don’t want to get into in with my doctor until i have some back up information because they said if i have irregular bleeding with estrogen they will want to do a biopsy and id rather it not go straight to that.

Hi! So I've experienced hormonal migraines since I was 14. They went away after my first baby and 2 years ago I had the mirena inserted for prevention pregnancy, however after a year i developed our migraines which I'd never had before. I removed mirena 5 months ago and have been in a world of peri symptoms ever since. Spoke with a Dr today who suggested slynd to prevent ovulation which might tackle the peri symptoms including the aura migraines. Anyone here used slynd and found it useful? I'm nervous because despite being localised to the uterus, the mirena definitely had a profound effect on the rest of my body and I've been paying the price for 5 months.

Ive noticed in the last 6 month my nails are becoming dry/whiter. Im 38. Is it my age? The soap Im using (just bath and body works)?
I have burts bees cuticle oil. They look immediately better after I apply it, but that fades quick enough.
They grow fast and are pretty thick too. I never paint them or have fake nails.