Tuesday

Perimenopause...maybe but we can't help....

Well, I saw a Doctor. Unfortunately, I don't think hormones and menopause were really her field, as I believe is the case with most Doctors. Which is a real bummer considering every single woman is going to experience this at some time in their lives.
I went in there fully armed with all my symptoms and all the information i've read about about perimenopause and my family history. She listened to me. To a point. Though despite all the information I gave her she still made suggestions that the iron tablets I had been prescribed might be causing me nausea (I had the nausea BEFORE the iron tablets) and then she suggested I might be pregnant despite me having gone over my cycles and personal information. The upshot of all of it being that she said at 41 i was too young for her to prescribe HRT and said that i needed to be referred to an endocrinologist...mentioning under her breath things like cushings and lupus....neither of which my symptoms fit with, but ok, fair enough, cover all bases. Finally, she prescribed me anti emetics for the morning sickness like nausea. Which having left and collected my prescription I discovered has contraindications with 2 of my regular medications and I can't safely take them.
I felt defeated. facing a wait to see an endocrinologist who may or may not discover anything and no answers or support or help. I cried then. Everything i had read on the menopause forums was true. People are not being helped with this, they are being given the wrong treatment and are being left feeling completely lost.
Jon stepped in then. We'd talked about the fact there might be a need to see someone who specialises in this privately and Jon said right, we tried, lets call the clinic. The clinic being Dr Newson's in Stratford upon Avon. So, we called them up and chatted to a wonderful lady who was so sorry i'd hit a wall with my GP and got us an appointment for March 22nd. She gave us all the info and booked us in. Job done. I'm seeing Dr Rebecca Lewis and i'm so soo thankful to be in a position to afford to access this. I hope so very much to have some answers soon,

Changes? Is it the menopause?

I've been really rather struggling of late, certainly for the last month but probably since Autumn of last year. I've just not felt quite right and not known why. As with most vague feelings or symptoms we tend to dismiss them and put them down to time of year, or age or in my case anxiety and depression. The last month has brought things into a sharper perspective and I now believe I am either perimenopausal or beginning an early menopause. My Mum went through hers aged 41 so it has always been at the back of my mind that it might happen to me, but when i started having what felt like morning sickness i didn't immediately put two and two together. Having been to the doctors and had a whole fleet of blood tests, i'm actually pretty healthy all round, nothing big and bad sat there like diabetes and my liver and kidneys are all fine. I do have anaemia, which doesn't surprise me due to how heavy my periods have been (again, another hint towards changes) but as nothing else came back I was given lansoprazole for the nausea and it hasn't helped. It does come and go and it isnt constant, exactly as I mentioned, like morning sickness. When my period went missing a month ago bells finally began to ring and I started looking into hormonal changes, the more i read the more it made sense. My sister in law recommended menopause matters and in a matter of minutes i'd read countless forum posts expressing exactly how i was feeling...oh hell. I actually had a bit of a cry then. It's a big thing, finally realising that this is it. It's an even bigger thing reading that unfortunately the menopause is a really badly understood area of medicine and so many people out there aren't getting the help and support they need....and selfishly, am i going to be one of them? From there i've been reading, researching, learning, making notes...tomorrow i have an appointment with the nurse already booked and am going to try and get one with a doctor, and i'm going to take with me an armful of notes and questions and thoughts. I hope that when i next come to write here I might at least have the beginnings of some treatment. 

This is my favourite photo of George and Bella. 

Ripponden

George's project - Dogs of Hebden Bridge and Todmorden