Thread: Am I starting menopause?

Glad to have found this forum.I was recently tested and my blood work came back Positive...my hormone levels where low so perimenopausal? I say this because i had a period in July of 09..then nothing until December 09 but this lasted the whole month almost..just spotting..non stop. I havnt had a period since. I had the blood test done 3 weeks ago because i am feeling absolutely aweful My symptoms mainly seem to be my head feeling fuzzy, disorientated, forgetful, dizzy..Now i could probably manage life if it wasnt all the time. I can deal with the almost non stop hot flases and night sweats.Its like i,m in somebody elses body.I,m also very fatigued all the time and dont sleep well. I went to the GYN clinic last Thursday to ask about HRT.She first off told me i wasnt a candidate because i had to go without a period for 12 months...I almost cried right there and then.Then she looked up my blood work results and said "oh! i guess you ARE going through menopause" so she put me on a low dose Prempro. After taking only two of these i am finding that shortly after taking my lungs feel constricted, i have shallow breathing and a tightness in my throat..so now i,m not wanting to take anymore..This kinda hit me badly because i thought that maybe this would help me with getting on with a normal life..I seem to feel like i,m in limbo. My job is definately suffering and i,m thinking i,m gonna have to quit.I,m a dog groomer.I work with sharp scissors and i,m feeling like i,m not safe to do it. I have very few "good days" I dont even want to drive my car.This all seems pretty dibilitating.

Okay, I'm almost 48, and lo and behold finally getting back into shape after years of being sedentary (my bad), when shockingly I end up itching like crazy after stepping off my Nordy (Nordic Track) I just began using--remember, I said I'd just started exercising after being lazy for 20+ years. That was about 6 days ago. I thought it was sweat-related, maybe my body reacting to my sweat, but guess what? I stopped using the ski machine and I'm still randomly breaking out in hives all over my body. My body heats up in an area, turns red, and then the bumps appear. Sometimes on my face/scalp/ears/lip, other times on my inner thighs, still other times on my wrists and between the fingers, and also on my buttocks, breasts, chest, or shoulders. I never know when or where "Mr. Hivey" will pop up. I try not to scratch, but I'd rather do that than fling myself out a window () out of utter desperation. The only place I haven't broken out in hives yet are my feet.

I started my period 4 days ago and it's been different. Heavy at first but dramatically tapered off these past 2 days. (I'm usually a 7-day period woman). Usually day 2 is the heaviest, but this time day 1 & 2 were heaviest. Also, 2 days ago, I was in bed by 8pm, unusual for someone who normally hits the bed at 11 or 12am, and had chills for a couple of hours, felt my feet very cold, cried a lot, but by 11 p.m. they were gone and feet were warm again, dried my tears, but the hives were still alive and in full force. Had to take Benadryl again.

Have any of you had intense random breakouts of hives during menopause? I'm starting to think that's the culprit. I'm normally not one to breakout and have never suffered from allergies. I also thought maybe I ate something that caused the reaction, but I've been watching what I eat and nothing in particular seems to trigger a reaction. No new soaps, lotions, etc. either.

I just need to know if anyone else suffered with horrible hives during menopause. Also, no night sweats, hot flashes--yet. Sleepy--yes, achy joints sometimes, moodiness--yes, weepy--yes, dry, irritated eyes--yes. I haven't gone to my physician yet, but I will when my cycle ends.

I want to get back to my ski machine, but am so afraid I'll break out in mad hives. Agh!!!!

Anyone go through this? Or am I a freak of nature. I admit, these breakouts are scary when I don't know the cause.

Any tips, similar experiences, etc. are appreciated.

Thanks, ladies.

I agree lifestyle is a BIG factor. I'm 53, retired with very little "real" stress. I eat very healthy and workout 6 days a weeks. Still have ongoing issues of cramping, bleeding, mood swings etc. Pain in the butt. Never heard of the ongoing bleeding issue until this forum. Finally, a peer to peer site that helps. THANKS SOOO MUCH