Physical changes in menopause?

[suzannaerin]

I forgot to add---diminished eyesight! Even with a magnified mirror, it's sometimes hard to see the black chin hairs when going a'plucking! haha. I don't enjoy having to wear progressive lenses, either.

[Jewels5]

Menopause for me was medicine-induced, so it's hard to say whether my symptoms came naturally, but the biggest change I've noticed is hair thinning. My hair has always been thin and baby fine so the change is probably more noticeable to me. Another change is I can't eat the way I used to, but that's not a bad thing. I'm still fortunate to have a high metabolism but I have to keep up with exercise daily, which I always have anyway. As far as skin changes, my skin never felt or looked better since I have been dry brushing. I highly recommend it, especially for fair skinned people like me. My skin feels baby soft. Also, almost daily I take about a 10-minute nap to recharge...not sure if that is menopause or if this just happens to people as they get older. LOL I'm 47 and don't feel old.

[athompson10]

Thinning hair has been annoying, since I have fine hair to begin with.

My most noticeable symptom is a slower metabolism - it takes sooooo much longer for me to lose weight, even if I'm being vigilant with my eating and workouts. I also sleep more. My whole life I've needed 7-8 hours of sleep nightly to function at my best; now it's more like 8-9.

Oh, and my minor injuries take longer to heal. I tweaked my rotator cuff in March and it was at least two weeks before I picked up a weight again. To offset my lack of upper body work that month, I undertook a 30-day squat/lunge challenge, gave myself tendonitis in one foot and am STILL feeling the aftereffects of that.

[Mickey12]

I've been experiencing a lot of joint aches. I didn't think it was associated with menopause but my doctor said it can be. I see that at least one poster commented on joint aches and it's good to feel like I'm not the only one. It seems like the most common symptoms are the hot flashes, weight gain and hair thinning.

I had blood work today to check my estrogen levels. I've been having skipped, irregular periods for about a year and now haven't had one since March, I think. I'm hoping I'll feel better once I'm finally done with the transition. I'm 49.

Kim

[Jewels5]

Originally Posted by athompson10

I also sleep more. My whole life I've needed 7-8 hours of sleep nightly to function at my best; now it's more like 8-9.

This is interesting. I seem to be sleeping less. I always needed 8-9 hours and these days I can't sleep past 6 (hence the need for my daily nap).

[eam531]

Skin is getting a bit crepe-y.

Fine lines are appearing above my upper lip, and I have never smoked in my life, nor do I bake in the sun.

No thinning hair on my head, and I still have my eyebrows and lashes, but I have lost almost all of my other body hair.

I had terrible problems with insomnia during perimenopause, but that went away, thank heavens!

I have to really watch my food intake or I'll gain weight. My diet is uber-clean; it's all about how much I ingest. I have had to do some tweaking over the past few years because a few pounds crept on. They're gone now.

Maintaining strength, balance, and flexibility is really key.

[Ann1964]

Menopause was awful for me. Started going through it at 40 and all the icky stuff lasted until 48. I am 50 now and no more hot flashes or terrible bad moods.
My skin got dry, gained stomach fat, exhausted, and felt like I could kill someone. LOL
I am good now and I only took Better Health Naturally crème. I don't take anything now.

[mandie123]

Well, I really don't know if alot of my prob or from lyme or menopause,(joint aches,insomnia,mood swings etc).But the crepy skin is crazy,I don't have any celulete but the upper arms and legs all have that old skin look. Hair on head is still thick but all the other hair on me is about gone Thank God my sister(2 yrs older) experiences the same thing so we joke about it all the time.What else can you do! I'am just coming off of hormones after 15 years(had a comp hysterectomy) and don't notice any adl stuff(yet).

[hotncmom]

Thanks for sharing, ladies! I was wondering if once you are "over the hump" so to speak, if the fluctuating hormones stabilize and things get back to a "new normal".

This is particularly upsetting to me because I am still pretty young - mid 40's. I didn't expect these changes until around 50. And as a society, we've come to believe that 40 is the new 30, etc. and that in our 40's we still feel young, a lot of us still have young kids, and we are bombarded with media images of women in their 40's and 50's who still look "hot"...well, it is just hard for me to look at my legs, once my pride and joy, already riddled with spider veins that started coming on in my 20's, and now on top of that cellulite creeping up.

Lately DH and I have been at odds because he wants me to dress differently (ie. wear shorter shorts and skirts) and I do not feel comfortable doing that. It is nice to know that in his eyes I look the same as I did 20 years ago, but when I look in the mirror I see the forehead lines, the spider veins, and the real no-longer-really-young version of me. I can dress very well and look very attractive but I just think that if I wore what he wants me to wear it would only accentuate my flaws.

As for workouts, all I can do is the best I can do for that day, and if that means taking it down a notch, that is what I will do. I do think it's important to just keep active and work on that flexibility because I don't want to lose the ability to do what I love as I get older.

[little bird]

I was having problems with my skin. I added powered collagen and vitamin e. I got compliments on my skin the second day after I added the vitamin e. I hope I am not violating policy with this comment