Menopausal, but still in the thick of it with young children.

[Noreen Claire]

It's official, I'm menopausal! But, I'm also only 47 and my youngest just turned 5. Please hit me with your best advice for getting and staying fit and healthy physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Thank you very much!

[Spryte]

Someone will have a more complete list but mine includes a few things that might help. Stretching. Yoga. Biking daily (I cheat and use an exercise bike with a show to motivate me to come back). Find the healthy way you like to eat, the way that helps you maintain your weight but not balloon, and stick with it. I eat a modified keto diet, after trying everything else. I like the food and stay at a healthy weight. I use a retinoid at night and Vit C serum in the morning. Always sunscreen. I get these from the dermatologist at the annual skin check. Don’t forget the annual skin check! Oh, and don’t bail on the Gyn. If you begin to experience more frequent or your first UTIs, your Gyn can help with prevention. Estrogen cream helps! Vaginal atrophy is a thing, who knew, pre-menopause? There’s help, so don’t despair. Oh, and my final thought: perfume. Our body chemistry changes and I don’t want to smell like an old lady. I like Olfactif.

[gardenmom5]

Yoga was wonderful.  It activates the parasympathetic nervous system and will calm cortisol levels. (power yoga, and hot yoga activate the sympathetic nervous system, which is stimulating)

cutting sugars (that includes a lot of replacements)

[Selkie]

Nutrition and movement are key. Eating a whole food plant based diet has me feeling better and healthier in my 50s than in my 20s (dh, too). I am also very active and get 15,000-18,000 steps a day.

[SKL]

My only advice is to always dress in layers that are easy to put on and take off.  🙂

[Amy Gen]

I found that alcohol greatly increases hot flashes and sleep disturbances. If you currently drink, I’d consider giving that up. If you don’t already take magnesium and L-tryptophan and maybe even NAC, I would see how you respond to those. For me, menopause greatly increased both my anxiety and depression. I didn’t really recognize what it was because instead of getting sad, I was even more ragey and irritable. Obviously that is not a good situation when you still have kids of any age at home. Personally, if I had it to do over, I would have tried antidepressants much earlier and save everyone hurt and frustration. 

[Selkie]

Eating a diet rich in soy products helps prevent hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms, plus has the added benefit of being very protective against breast cancer. (The old notion that soy products increase cancer risk has been thoroughly debunked, and the opposite has been found to actually be true.)

[Alicia64]

I had super bad insomnia when I was going through menopause. I know this sounds woo-woo, but I swear it helped. I told a friend who was into herbs about my insomnia and she recommended buying loose leaf lemon balm at a local health store and making a lemon balm tea thirty minutes or so before bed. (It's very safe. They use it on newborns and the elderly in the late afternoons.)

Maybe it was a placebo, but it seriously helped me. I remember thinking that I should never drink the tea and drive. It was that potent.

The other thing that was so difficult for me: vaginal dryness. When we had TeA, it felt like there was broken glass inside me.

I finally was given a vaginal cream from my OB. You might even get it ahead of the game, and get it now.

One more thing: when I was going through menopause I became very, very claustrophobic. I'd never been before. I didn't want to be in elevators or crammed in with a bunch of people on a tram type thing going to the top of a mountain.

Then when I was totally through menopause, it went away entirely.

My blog is for women over 50 losing and maintaining.

[regentrude]

30 minutes ago, Alicia64 said:

Then when I was totally through menopause, it went away entirely.

Could we maybe clarify what we are talking about here? It sounds like you're referring to perimenopause - because one can never be "through" menopause. 
So I am wondering whether the OP is actually talking about menopause or perimenopause?

[regentrude]

I can only comment on perimenopause (I still haven't made it to menopause). So OP please disregard if that isn't what you need.

I learned the hard way that hormones can mess with your brain big time in scary ways. I recommend being extremely cautious with hormone supplementation and carefully watching the mental health. Topical progesterone was dangerous for my psyche.

Getting in shape and building muscle mass will be more difficult as we age, so now's a good time to crank up physical activity. I found that the amount of physical activity and sunlight I need for optimal functioning is much larger than previously. I hike and kayak. Hiking is a great activity for the family and very adaptable to any ages; we took out kids into the woods each weekend since infancy. 

[MercyA]

44 minutes ago, Alicia64 said:

[...] it felt like there was broken glass inside me.

Yes. I experienced this and vaginal atrophy during breastfeeding. Replens moisturizer (available OTC) was like a miracle for me. Non-hormonal. I highly recommend it. 

Everything went back to normal when I was unable to continue breastfeeding, and I thought, "Whew! Never again--until menopause." 

So thankful for effective treatments.

Don't quote please. 🙂 

[MercyA]

47 here and going through perimenopause HARD. The insomnia is absolutely horrible. Torturous. I tried all kinds of teas and OTC sleep aids and now have to take Ambien 4x a week to function. It works SUPER well but has affected my daytime alertness for sure.

Can confirm what @SKL said about layers of clothing! Actually I just changed out of long pants and a long sleeved top with a cami under it to a skirt and a summer tee. Same house, same indoor temperature. At night in bed I always needed long pj pants, a tee, and lots of layers of blankets, and last night I found myself wanting no covers at all and no pants. ☺️ It's crazy. I've determined not to buy anything but easily layer-able clothing for the next few years. 

I appreciate this thread!

ETA: I still feel relatively mellow most of the time and I credit my SSRI for that. 

Edited November 27, 2021 by MercyA

[ScoutTN]

My body just quit when I weaned Ds at age 42. Full stop by age 45 when my kids were 6 and 4. 
 

Acupuncture saved my sanity when I was ragey and had horrible mood swings. It made night sweats and hot flashes go away. Vaginal cream from my doc saved my love life. Moderate exercise, lots of time outdoors, low carb eating - all these were helpful. 

[Noreen Claire]

2 hours ago, regentrude said:

So I am wondering whether the OP is actually talking about menopause or perimenopause?

It was a year from my last period at the beginning of this month, so I am finished with perimenopause and am officially in plain ol' menopause.

I have only had mild hot flashes, and I rarely drink. I am making a list of everything else that you all are mentioning so I can research it all! 😉

[KSera]

5 minutes ago, Noreen Claire said:

It was a year from my last period at the beginning of this month, so I am finished with perimenopause and am officially in plain ol' menopause.

I have only had mild hot flashes, and I rarely drink. I am making a list of everything else that you all are mentioning so I can research it all! 😉

So, you had your last period just four years after having your last baby? I have been wondering how late babies play into the timing of menopause. I've been expecting it means it's a long way off for me, but your experience says maybe not. I was having early peri symptoms before my last pregnancy and they began to reappear after my youngest weaned around 3 years old. If you're all the way out the other side to actual menopause, I *think* that means you're probably out of the woods for significant hot flash issues?

[Tree Frog]

I keep thinking I'm at the end of perimenopause, but about every 3rd or 4th month, my body says, "Ha! Fooled you!" I've been in it for about 12 years now. My primary symptoms were incredibly heavy periods and random cold body parts like my eyeballs, wrists, and a specific spot on my upper back. Now I'm having some sleep issues, so I'm taking notes to help. I'm not regular anymore, but the heavy days seem to be behind me (I hope!!).

 

[Noreen Claire]

26 minutes ago, KSera said:

So, you had your last period just four years after having your last baby?

I used to joke that I would go straight into menopause after weaning my last child. He was almost 3 when he stopped nursing, and that's when my peri- symptoms started - extremely long/heavy periods, hot flashes, insomnia, etc. That lasted about 12-15 months.

The one thing that I am liking about menopause so far (besides the no-longer-checking-my-cervix-daily-family-planning-method) is that my acne seems to have eased greatly. Finally!

Edited November 28, 2021 by Noreen Claire

[Selkie]

1 minute ago, Noreen Claire said:

I used to joke that I would go straight into menopause after weaning my last child. He was almost 3 when he stopped nursing, and that's when my peri- symptoms started - extremely long/heavy periods, hot flashes, insomnia, etc. That lasted about 12-15 months.

The one thing that I am liking about menopause so far (besides the no-longer-checking-my-cervix-daily-family-planning-method) is that my acne seems to have eased greatly. Finally!

I'm actually loving menopause. My favorite part is that the terrible migraines I used to get like clockwork every single month have disappeared. It's like a miracle! I've never had a single hot flash or night sweat or any of the other negative symptoms that some women experience.

[BlsdMama]

1 hour ago, Selkie said:

I'm actually loving menopause. My favorite part is that the terrible migraines I used to get like clockwork every single month have disappeared. It's like a miracle! I've never had a single hot flash or night sweat or any of the other negative symptoms that some women experience.

You and me both. I thought the horribly heavy periods were just normal, then about six months ago my periods just totally disappeared… along with the massive two day mood swing that precipitated them. I’m so incredibly grateful. 

[Amy Gen]

2 hours ago, KSera said:

So, you had your last period just four years after having your last baby? I have been wondering how late babies play into the timing of menopause. I've been expecting it means it's a long way off for me, but your experience says maybe not. I was having early peri symptoms before my last pregnancy and they began to reappear after my youngest weaned around 3 years old. If you're all the way out the other side to actual menopause, I *think* that means you're probably out of the woods for significant hot flash issues?

I had baby number 4 when I was forty and baby number 5 at forty-three. Around fifty- two, I started peri menopause which included migraines, insomnia, anxiety and depression and so many hot flashes. At fifty-five my periods had wound down to every 3 months or so, but I never went any longer between them than a couple of months, then chemo stopped them altogether and I feel much, much better. 

[PronghornD]

For sleep problems, I work to control light exposure in the evenings. I wear amber glasses two hours before bedtime. I wear a sleep mask and keep my bedroom very dark. And I wake up the same time every morning, even on weekends. With these measures, I was able to quit Ambien, which made me dangerously groggy in the afternoon.

[kiwik]

19 hours ago, Noreen Claire said:

It's official, I'm menopausal! But, I'm also only 47 and my youngest just turned 5. Please hit me with your best advice for getting and staying fit and healthy physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Thank you very much!

I had surgically induced menopause when my kids were 7 and 9.  My only advice is watch out for UTI's.  Although it was surgically induced I had actually had got flushes for a year and missed the 2 periods before surgery so it as happening early anyway.

[Pawz4me]

If you're truly in menopause then you should be past the worst of the issues like hot flashes, mood swings and sleep issues. And that's a blessing. I'd start concentrating on doing all the things for bone and heart health. Once you get past peri if you can avoid other health issues setting in (which is a big IF for most of us) then life is pretty darn good.

[PronghornD]

2 hours ago, Pawz4me said:

If you're truly in menopause then you should be past the worst of the issues like hot flashes, mood swings and sleep issues. And that's a blessing. I'd start concentrating on doing all the things for bone and heart health. Once you get past peri if you can avoid other health issues setting in (which is a big IF for most of us) then life is pretty darn good.

Except some of us get long term issues. I think I have had hot flashes on a daily basis for around twenty years!

[Pawz4me]

2 minutes ago, PronghornD said:

Except some of us get long term issues. I think I have had hot flashes on a daily basis for around twenty years!

Yeah, well . . not to downplay the misery of hot flashes (because they truly are miserable), but if that's your biggest menopausal health issue then count yourself supremely lucky. That's why I said "if you can avoid other health issues." 

[RootAnn]

19 hours ago, Selkie said:

Eating a diet rich in soy products helps prevent hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms, plus has the added benefit of being very protective against breast cancer.

Interesting. One of my friends had a huge increase in hormonal issues when she started consuming lots of soy-rich products. I've avoided obvious ones because they disagree with my gi system but it made me feel better that I wouldn't make the peri symptoms worse. (If I make it to March without Aunt Flo showing up, I'll be in meno, too.)