I'm 55, and reached menopause at 50. During peri-menopause had very erratic periods - timing was crazy and volume...anything from spots to a deluge. (sorry for being so graphic). Found it comforting to keep a change of clothes at work.
Had a few months of night sweats but that's all. Found drinking hot fluids like tea and coffee could induce the sweats as well. My mom experienced very heavy sweating..but not me - everyone is really different.
yes my shape has changed - I have changed from a kind of petite hourglass, to being a predominatn IT with flat butt. I seem to be reverting to my pre-pubescent body shape - which my brother called "hockey stick with hair".
Skin - for the most part still toned, but dry. I use a lot of mosturizer. Hair still thick and minimal grey (?? knock on wood) but eyebrow hair getting sparse.
My whole metabolism seems to have reved up - which means that the ice maiden is now comfortably warm all the time. Dear SO feels the cold, so our brilliant solution was to purchase heated mattress pad with dual controls. This thing is LIFECHANGING. Imagine hoping into bed on a winters evening and having it all toasty warm!
Final word - menopause is nothing to be afraid of - keep active my YLF sisters, and be good to yourselves.

Elizabeth's question about HRT is a good one that inevitably comes up in any discussion about menopause. Within my group of friends, we range from those who embraced HRT to those who used homeopathic methods to those who used progesterone creams to those who drank quarts of soy beverages... well, you get the picture. Ultimately, I think different things work for different women.

My own preference was to just let nature take its course. I tried to pay more attention to the fundamentals of diet, exercise and rest, and then just got on with the other, more interesting parts of my life. I did try drinking soy milk for a week or so, but couldn't really see any difference. For me, it would have been more of placebo than anything else.

Because I knew that weight gain was a possibility, I adopted a version of the Mediterranean diet, and watched my portion sizes, but I DID NOT try to adhere to a strict diet plan. My thinking was that, whatever changes I made to my diet, would have to be permanent--there would never be any point at which I could be "finished" with the diet. So I ate what I wanted. Those changes, along with exercising on the elliptical 3X week, helped me lose weight so I'm in better shape now than I was before menopause.

in retrospect, I really think that laughter was my most useful tool. I kept reminding myself that, if I could maintain my sense of humor and continue to enjoy life, this too would pass. And it did.

Thanks Shiny. I just posted on the health thread about the challenges of perimenopause. I am turning 50 in fall and although I don't get hot flashes, I do wake up overheated at night often and find my sleep is disrupted for a week or two at a time. It used to be that the hot nights were only one or two when I was at peak PMS but now it can last for a week or two. I am finding weight management to be a real challenge too. I think my metabolism has slowed. I have always had uncontrollable food cravings and moodiness during PMS and feel as though I am in that PMS state for weeks and weeks. I have also been awakened by abdominal cramps that are nasty. My periods were regular until about 8 years ago and then I went from a 4 week cycle to a 23-24 day cycle. Now I often go 6-8 weeks between. That would be great if I didn't feel PMS symptoms for the entire time from the 3rd to 4th week until I finally had a period. Not fun.

I do believe that stress exacerbates the symptoms. I had my annual physical and my doctor said it could be a few more years but she has also mentioned that most women experience peri symptoms for close to 10 years but don't connect the dots for the first few years. I have been having a really hard time with allergies this summer too and the sinus headaches were severe and prolonged enough that my doctor ordered a CT scan. I have had two cancer related experiences so my doctor does not order any tests that expose me to radiation unless the severity warrants it. I'm not sure if the allergies are part of the peri phase but another YLFer mentioned the allergies so it could be part of it.

Thank you all for sharing information on this topic. I read a book on nutrition for peri written by Ann Louise Gittleman and found it helpful but think I will try the acupuncture too. It might help the headaches and allergies too. Three birds with one batch of needles.

I plan to follow this thread too.

I'm pretty sure HRT is out for me, as I have not been allowed to take hormonal B.C. since I had a stroke on the pill over a decade ago. Then again what do I know.

Dianthus, the sleep disruptions due to night sweats are really getting to me lately. I sleep poorly anyway -- I snore and so does DH so one or the other of us ends up awake for awhile in the wee hours each night (we joke that we take turns sleeping). This leaves me foggy-headed the next day. However last night I tried melatonin for the very first time and it (plus hot flash fan on high) zonked me out for a blissful 12 hours. I hope that wasn't a fluke.

I'm pushing 51 now and so far, it's not too bad. I'm *warm* all the time at night, it makes my hubby laugh how much I put the covers on and off all night, but I rarely get a real sweat going.

That being said I've had about 3 *real* hot flashes, complete with nausea and if that's what you are going thru you have my sympathy!! One time it happened while I was really stressed, my dog was dying in my arms and I ran upstairs to get dressed to go to the vets in the middle of the night, and what happens?? I have to sit down for a hot flash! Yes, it stopped me in my tracks!

It may be going easier for me as I am on BC pills for extremely heavy bleeding. I won't even know if I'm finished my period until I'm about 55 when the doc thinks we should try and take me off and see what happens. Should be fun! NOT! LOL

I've never experienced night sweats or proper hot flashes. I do get "warm flashes" though, when it feels like the temperature and humidity have suddenly spiked. Fortunately, I'm the only one who notices. I'm not quite officially menopausal, but not far off, unless of course, I do have another period all of a sudden and have to start the countdown again.

The worst part of the process for me was one very bad period during which I was hemorrhaging so badly I went to the hospital. They told me I did the right thing. I was home alone at the time and didn't want to pass out from lack of blood with no one to find me. That was pretty scary, but only happened once. Other than that, it's been a pretty smooth ride.

The most irritating thing long-term is the increased belly fat. Earlier this year I realized that despite losing ten pounds, my waistbands were still just as tight. I was not a happy camper, especially because I have so little waist to begin with. But with the decrease in estrogen, we retain our fat more like men, less in the butt and thighs, more on the belly.

All in all, I am just glad to be done with periods. I am almost 55 now, and I was seriously starting to feel that it was unfair I was being burdened with them well into my 50s, especially since I was having very low blood iron problems. So glad to have all that in the rear-view mirror.

This is a great thread and I am really enjoying reading about everyone's experiences, very helpful! Thanks for starting this thread.

Thanks for sharing everyone. It's helpful to hear others stories.
My grandmother said she breezed through menopause, my mother had a hystorectomy in her 20's so I didn't know what to expect. I was post menopausal at 48. I thought I had just breezed through it too but now I think I probably just didn't connect the dots as someone mentioned above.
Even though my mom had a hystorectomy in her 20's she still had problems with hot flashes in her 40's-50's. I feel like even though I'm past menopause by 10 yrs I still have hot flashes sometimes and night sweats. It hasn't been too bad though. And boy is it a relief to not have periods anymore.

As I recall there was a simple blood test one's doc could order that specified where one was in the whole process? I remember begging for drugs. I had days at work when I would suddenly be filled with rage. (This was a long ways from my normal temperament.) HRT probably saved my job & my marriage LOL. And just as I got to the point of needing it less, the big study results were released & I tapered off with no probs.

But there's a wonderful element to all these changes that's difficult for me to put into words. For me, I felt a desire to reinvent myself. I had great surges of creativity, a contentment with simple things, a calmness, less concern about what other people think, etc. So there can be some good mixed with the sweaty

How did I forget to mention the mood swings! In my aquaintances it's the husbands who beg the doctor for HRT for their wives. When on it, they are rational and "normal". When off, they say their wives are impossible to live with.
My SIL is in her 70's and still has bad night sweats, moodiness and menopausal fog. Her doctor says that some women have menopausal symptons for the rest of their lives. Hormones give relief but also cause sore breasts and lumps. Each case is different but it helps to know that you are not alone. My mother's generation never talked about such things