The Mock Turtle

I hope you can get an appointment soon. That sounds awful, both the symptoms and difficulty in actually being seen.

Good luck Del, I hope you get an appointment soon, and they are helpful.

My brain fog is getting ridiculous and it's impacting my ability to do my job.

I managed to book a phone appointment to speak to a GP (booked it about six weeks ago!) which is later today. I'm really hoping she can do something as I feel like I'm losing my marbles.

That all sounds very familiar Del. I didn't do HRT but have supplemented instead. Vitamin B vits made the most difference to anxiety.

I'll try anything! Is there a particular brand you'd recommend? (And thanks all.)

That's sounds awful Del. Fingers crossed you get seen by someone.

I kept leaving the gas on and the door unlocked.

I take Dr Seaweed - the menopause formula. I honestly feel a lot better on it.

https://doctorseaweed.com/products/meno ... day-supply

Ta, I will ask the doctor (assuming I can ever get to see one) to make sure that wouldn't be a bad idea together with some medication I'm already on.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CghYT1HD ... JmNzVkMjY=

Someone you may recognise 🫣

Ah, that’s fab, Luna! Glad it’s helping.

I’ve been pottering along on my three lots of HRT - patches and pessaries since august 21, and additional gel since May this year.

I definitely feel more “normal” nowadays, but one unfortunate side effect is that the levels of oestrogen appear to have activated a fibroid.

I’ve had plenty of tests and am assured there are no other concerns at the moment, but can’t help feeling bitter that the ONE benefit to being menopausal (no periods) has now effectively been taken away

I’m thinking of trying to reduce the gel in the new year to see if I can find a balance where I can feel ok but not have to wear pads all the time

I hope I'm not teaching people to suck eggs but when we were at Los Christianos market they were flogging ice towels which are easily available on Amazon and apparently they really help with hot flushes etc

I had my bloods taken and I've been told I'm not menopausal but I've booked another appointment with the GP as I can't function as I am so something is going on. Two of the tests they ran were abnormal so I googled and it could be anything from dehydration (for one) to losing weight (another) to a brain tumour (both).

If the GP tells me to lose more weight I may punch them as I'm only just outside my BMI.

Irritatingly I've read that FSH blood tests are pretty pointless but I know there is no point saying that.

I thought that was the case too, that bloods can't be used to indicate if you're menopausal or peri menopausal. Have a look at the Dr Newsom website before your appointment, she gives advice on what to ask for and I think her advice is that if a woman is experiencing symptoms, then she should be given HRT, no other tests are needed.

My GP didn't make me jump through any hoops or do any blood tests, it was just a couple of phone calls. Getting the prescription filled was another matter however.

Well, it was the GP who referred me for the blood tests so clearly I lucked out

I will take a look at Dr Newsom and will go prepped. Luckily my appointment is face to face this time and I'm off work so no stress.

I think some GPs still have very outdated and/or limited knowledge about menopause and peri menopause so will faff about with stuff like ordering bloods first. Keep pushing

I agree with Sal. If you can do an e-consult maybe request an appt and ask for the "menopause lead" for the surgery. I found doing this worked after a dick of a GP was massively unhelpful. I also told them what I wanted, which was HRT "as I understand I can self refer for this based on my symptoms alone". It's infuriating that women have to battle for this sometimes.

Yes, apparently as hormones fluctuate so wildly during peri then blood tests are unhelpful, as you could just have had them on a day when your oestrogen was reasonably high.

If you are in the right age bracket then it should be assumed you are peri, and offered hrt. Making you take blood tests is just wasting nhs money when there is no need.

I second asking for the person who deals with menopause at the practice, research what you want and don’t let them fob you off with anything else. There really is no harm in trying hrt - if it’s not helping you can just stop, it isn’t ‘stored’ in the body.

My periods are still coming at 44 and a half, and very regularly too, although the cycle time varies a bit. But by god I’m getting so emotional in the day or two before it comes- does anyone else experience this?

It doesn’t help that I’m emotionally a bit all over the place anyway but it seems particularly bad during SLMT at the moment and I don’t recall this being as much of an issue before

I get more homicidal now Hazey (and I’m a similar age). I’ve also started getting awful headaches a few days before SLMT. I thought it was wine causing it but fortunately(?) it seems to be hormonal instead.