Today I am in the mood to talk about the list of potential perimenopause symptoms I saw in a book. Those of us in perimenopause could talk about which symptoms we have, and those of us past perimenopause could talk about which ones they had. But I was reading the book while at the library, so I don’t have it here with me; it was a new release, and the new releases are like debutantes: they never get more attention than when they’re on the new-release shelf. So I like to leave them to it, and check them out when they have aged out and are far less popular. I’m not enjoying this metaphor anymore.
I wondered if by any chance the “read a sample” portion of the book on Amazon would happen to have that symptom list AND IT DID. So here is the list, from the book The New Menopause by Mary Claire Haver, MD, which I am definitely going to check out and finish reading in a couple of months:
acid reflux / GERD
acne
alcohol tolerance changes
anxiety
arthralgia (joint pain)
arthritis
asthma
autoimmune disease (new or worsening)
bloating
body composition changes / belly fat
body odor
brain fog
breast tenderness/soreness
brittle nails
burning sensation in the mouth/tongue
chronic fatigue syndrome
crawling skin sensations
decreased desire for sex
dental problems
depression
difficulty concentrating
dizzy spells
dry or itchy eyes
dry mouth
dry skin
eczema
electric shock sensations
fatigue
fibromyalgia
frozen shoulder
genitourinary syndrome
headaches
heart palpitations
high cholesterol / high triglycerides
hot flashes
incontinence
insulin resistance
irritable bowel syndrome
irritability
itchy ears
itchy skin
kidney stones
memory issues
menstrual cycle changes
mental health disorders
migraines
mood changes
muscle aches
night sweats
nonalcoholic fatty liver disease
osteoporosis
pain with intercourse
sarcopenia (muscle loss)
sleep apnea
sleep disturbances
thinning hair (on head)
thinning skin
tingling extremities
tinnitus
TMJ (temporomandibular disorder)
unwanted hair growth (whiskers)
urinary tract infections
vaginal dryness
vertigo
weight gain
wrinkles
Well, HELL!—as an elderly client of mine used to exclaim if presented with too many things at once. This is like the flip side of when you try to look online to find out why your feet are so frequently cold, and you get everything from “Because you need to turn up the thermostat a degree and put on warmer socks, genius, maybe walk around a little from time to time” to “Brace for imminent death.”
We don’t have to talk about ALL the things we might or might not be experiencing / have experienced. My parents and brother read this blog, so, you know. I’m not going to be SHARING-sharing.
But I will say that I am definitely noticing weight gain and, much more importantly, weight redistribution: the center of my typical weight range is only up maybe five pounds, so all my clothes should still fit fine; it’s the SHIFTING AROUND that’s causing me enormous wardrobe complications. My waistbands don’t fit! If I am experiencing irritability, perhaps it is because I am being uncomfortably squeezed all the time! I am experimenting with finding new clothing options, but I am feeling surly about it and not making much progress yet.
I was diagnosed with acid reflux / GERD in my forties, so I don’t know if that’s perimenopause-related or not. But it has been getting worse lately. I have a swallowing issue sometimes; commenter Ess referred to this as “cat throat,” and I have thought of it that way ever since. It used to happen only very very infrequently; now it happens much more commonly. I am also more likely to need a second dose of my daily medication.
JOINT PAIN. Yes.
I have had a few mild and fleeting feelings of vertigo over the last few months, and hadn’t had any idea it could be associated with perimenopause.
Dry eyes, yes. I didn’t know those could be a perimenopause thing.
I used to get UTIs pretty regularly, but in recent years had not; now they are back.
ITCHY EARS!! YES!! My friend Surely told me about that one!
Sleep disturbances: yes yes yes. Waking up early and not being able to get back to sleep; or waking up what feels like about every ten minutes for the last few hours of the night. And more recently, night sweats. Not terrible drenching ones, but quite dampening.
Wrinkles, yes, hello. A sudden acceleration, especially on the throat and around the eyes. The ones on the forehead are digging in deeper, and are obvious even if I am not raising my eyebrows which apparently I do a million times a day.
Anxiety and depression, well, it’s hard to say. Those have been ongoing for decades. It’s hard to say if they’re worse. And if they are worse, it’s hard to say if it’s because of perimenopause or if it’s because of the ongoing/impending situations with United States politics.
I don’t grow my fingernails long, but I’ve noticed them chipping/breaking before the point at which I’d usually trim them.
I have noticed that I smell a little funny sometimes, and that my deodorant doesn’t seem to work as well as before, but I’d wondered if that was because of adrenaline at work: I LIKE working at the desk, but it’s definitely a more up-energy role.
Incontinence, yes. Increasing over the years. I am going to address that this year, to see what can be done. The little strength-training workout has 30 seconds of jumping jacks, and I pee my pants a little bit each time, which is discouraging. I wear a liner every day now (I use the cloth ones from SugarMonkies, and I am dismayed to see her shop has permanently closed; let me know if you have had good experiences with another cloth pad).
Fatigue: who can say what causes what? Life can be tiring. I am getting older. I am sick of doing the same old chores over and over again.
I get only the occasional single chin-hair, but the entire lower half of my face now gets Noticeably Downy with fine, light peach fuzz.
My cycles are still pretty regular. I haven’t skipped one yet, or had anything else surprising happen. My PMS is worse, though, accompanied by new bloating, and I also get PMS symptoms mid-cycle. I don’t seem to be getting hot flashes, unless night sweats are from hot flashes I’m sleeping through.
I have been talking for a long time. Would you like a turn?