question for women in their 40's

**mobaymom** · 01-17-2012, 04:56 PM

I'm 43. A mom of five and just found out this past summer that I am in perimenopause. It sucks. Bigtime. Hormones are all over the place and it's like PMS to the extreme. I hate it.

However...I have an excellent ob/gyn...his suggested going on the pill..and I"m so glad I did. I feel like I used to, I feel normal again!

We only have one child home..the other 4 are out and on their own..the oldest is married and has two kids..I do miss having a houseful of kids, but I so enjoy the quiet time I get with myself and with dh.

We travel a lot!! either they come here for several weeks 5 times a yr or we go there for for several weeks 5 times a yr. It's not perfect,, but it works for us. I sure do miss them.

**thriftstorequeen** · 01-18-2012, 06:04 AM

Welcome to the club! I'm 58 now and enjoying life very much these days. I loved my forties and found them very freeing

We have raised five kids. They are all grown and have families of their own. We love being with them but are also enjoying our alone time. I've been dealing with this a bit longer than you and for me it has gotten much better. I sometimes tear-up or cry when the kids leave after a visit and head for home. Life is all about change, which I've never liked much. But it is what it is. It's a good feeling to know that you had a chance to hold this dear ones for a time. It's also wonderful to see them having families of their own. My family is spreading around the US. So this fall my hubby is retiring. We bought an RV, which will be our permant home. We planned to travel and visited each of our kids

Looking forward to this new adventure. On second thought maybe change is a good thing, it brings us new callenges

I had mood swings and hot flashs going though the change. I tryed some stuff but most things didn't work for me. I don't have the mood swings anymore but I still get hot flashes now and again. I'm so glad that you found something that helped you. Enjoy this stage of you life. Life is such a wonderful gift from God

**bunnys** · 01-19-2012, 07:23 PM

I will be 48 in March. Knock wood but aside from 3 summers ago when I had a 13 day period and a 17 day period and then the next summer when I had a 10ish day period--nothing.

No hot flashes, weight gain, mood swings, period issues, night sweats, insomnia or whatever else one gets when perimenopausal.

But! I am a vegan and I eat A LOT of soy and maybe that has something to do with it? Also, I exercise a lot.

Or, maybe it hasn't hit yet? I don't know. I hope that's not it.

We'll see...

**pammy** · 01-20-2012, 06:53 AM

Interesting because I was wondering the same thing about my self. I asked my gyno about it because my emotions were everywhere, seemed like I would get what would be described as hot flashes, be crying on a commercial... His response? Are my cycles normal. At the time, yes. So he said I was fine. So I thought it was stress. Well, now they aren't normal. Stress or hormonal imbalance from perimenoupause, who knows.

Only DD left 2 years ago, I'm still trying to deal. Hang in there!!!!

**mobaymom** · 01-21-2012, 10:00 AM

Originally Posted by pammy

Interesting because I was wondering the same thing about my self. I asked my gyno about it because my emotions were everywhere, seemed like I would get what would be described as hot flashes, be crying on a commercial... His response? Are my cycles normal. At the time, yes. So he said I was fine. So I thought it was stress. Well, now they aren't normal. Stress or hormonal imbalance from perimenoupause, who knows.

Only DD left 2 years ago, I'm still trying to deal. Hang in there!!!!

I think you need to find another doctor..one who actually listens to you. My doctor has been my doc for over 25 yrs, so he knows me well. He knows I'm not a complainer so when I showed up in his office he knew something was amiss.

Ask them to do labs and check your FSH level.

At first I thought the same as you...that all these changes in my cycle were due to stress or just normal for me. It wasn't until I had a 17 day period that I was really, really concerned and got to his office as fast as I could.

Thankfully we found a bc pill that works and I am feeling like I did at 25. I've lost 10lbs without trying, I feel GREAT, I actually want to do things and be around people again. lololol

**VeggieMom** · 01-21-2012, 12:00 PM

It sounds normal to me. I had a surprise little one (almost 2 now), but my eldest is 21, the others 19, 16, 14. I imagine I'll be very sad when the house gets quiet. But I'm looking very forward to being the greatest Grandma ever.... just not too soon!

**mobaymom** · 01-23-2012, 07:54 AM

Originally Posted by VeggieMom

It sounds normal to me. I had a surprise little one (almost 2 now), but my eldest is 21, the others 19, 16, 14. I imagine I'll be very sad when the house gets quiet. But I'm looking very forward to being the greatest Grandma ever.... just not too soon!

Mine are 24, 22, 20, 19and 15. I have two grandbabies ( 2 1/2 and 1 yr) I love being a Grandma...

I have one child at home and it's odd...very odd..I'm used to having 7 ppl running around and used to cooking for a small army.....now I hardly ever cook, we have a lady who comes in everyday and she takes care of all that stuff.....that was really hard to get used to!!