For a couple of years now things have been changing with me.
Depression, mood changes, bad sleep pattens, weight gain.
I blamed it all on Multiple Sclerosis and my worsening condition.
However, it wasn’t until I experienced some seriously late periods (which were very scary!!) and regular hot flushes that I started to realise that I was dealing with a different condition.
I initially thought “well, it can’t be menopause as I’m too young. That’s for women in their 50s!”. After googling my symptoms, I came across the phrase Perimenopause.
Perimenopause means “around menopause” and refers to the time during which your body makes the natural transition to menopause.
The time when women usually experience Perimenopause is aprox 40-44 years. I am currently 44 years old.
After accepting that this is how life is now I realised just how similar MS and the menopause are.
So much so that I had believed it was all down to MS…well until the disappeared periods and the repeated negative pregnancy test!
Some of the most common symptoms of both MS and perimenopause include:
fatigue
problems with thinking, learning, concentration and planning
depression and anxiety
sexual problems
bladder problems
Head aches
night sweats
joint and muscle aches
having to pee more often
Many women with both conditions presume that perimenopause it is another MS symptom but there are ways in which this condition can be helped:
Lifestyle changes can improve your experience.
Stay hydrated
Eat healthily and ensure your calcium level is high
Reduce caffeine and alcohol
Keep moving and do as much exercise as you can
Sleep well
Embrace stress management and use methods such as mindfulness, deep breathing and meditation
Speak to your GP and consider Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT)
At the moment I manage the symptoms with many of the above techniques plus additional cod liver oil supplements for my joints.
I do not yet use HRT but knowing this is available as my menopause progresses is helpful knowledge.
Despite initially being rather sad that life has now progressed to this I can now see that there is so much help and advice out there and that this chapter can be a happy one 🙂
The Kids, Me and MS 