MS: before and after menopause - warning boys - girl talk

So many times we see here mentioned menopuase, perimenopause etc, our symptoms worsening around menopause etc. I know I feel like c r a p p o l a around that time of the month. The best I've felt in 12 months was when I thought menopause had finally hit and I had no period for 60 days.

So my question is: those of you who have gone through menopuase, are you better or worse?

Also, those going through peri-menopause or menopuase now, how many of you feel hormones are causing you grief ?

Cheers all.

[Guitar_grrrl]

I'm right in the middle of it all.  Have had 3 cycles this year.  I'm never sure if my mood swings are due to MS or hormonal changes.

[twopack]

I didn't know I was periM until it was past tense.  Was 38 at first MS symptoms I knew of.  Was 48 when periods stopped.  The radical blood sugar drops lessed in frequency and the occasional migraines did disappeared forever when the fertility gods abandoned me.  Now I'm another 10+ years out.  I don't think the hormones did much for OR against the MS.

Mary

[wiggles94]

I've wasn't dx until 55 - but around menopause time is when I started noticing wierd things going on with my body.    Have been in menopause for about 5 years now.  I have more confusion, fatigue, weakness -  I wonder if Rebif adds to my sx. Overall I think my mood is more even. Premenstrual headaches, aches and mood swings are no more.

[Sparkysarah]

Before MS, aged 47 and monthlies still a pain and showing no sign of slowing down yet. I did not start my periods till 15 so quite late so assume menopause will be later than some as it is based on number of cycles.  All I know is that now I feel worse each month and I am convinced this is MS related. This month, right now my muscles are aching big time and I am very fatigued..blaaahhhhhh

Sarah

[JemmAus]

Blimey. Seems we're a mixed bag, although it seems headaches subside with menopause - I'm sure hoping for that one!

Dontcha all just LURVE being a woman!!

[jensequitur]

I've just had to stop taking the bc pill, because of a blood clot in my right leg.  Now I'm having my first period in years without the pill, and boy, it's not pleasant.  I've had the mini pseudo-flare before for PMS, but this is awful.

I know they've been doing estrogen therapy for MSers, and it's been pretty successful,  I would go back on the pill in a second if I wasn't worried about blood clots.

[JemmAus]

That's interesting.....nearly always I have pseudo flares that I can set my watch to - they are probably 90% of the time related to my cycle. Through in migraines and frankly I would do ANYTHING to fix what appears to be hormone-related symptoms.

I will be vile from day 1 through to 14 of my cycle on any month. Then not so bad. Then vile again next Day 1, with migraine for added oomph. Through in another migraine on Day 14.

What's the estrogen therapy? Do you have a link?

I've not been on the pill since 1986, when I got pregnant with my twins - YES while on it and YES I was taking it correctly! LOL

[JemmAus]

OOPS I meant "throw in migraines", not through..........it's 7am :P

[HVAC]

The MS has reeked havoc with my periods and my periods have affected the MS. I can't sort it out. For 28 months I had periods constantly with only a few days off that Is when my GP first noticed the MS and sent me to a Neurologist. Now I can go four months without one. My mood with it is all over the place as are my MS Symptoms. I even had an endometrial ablation which is supposed to stop periods but no such luck, I still bleed for two weeks, in the old days three to five days.

Yes and Migraines.

Then I am having all the menopausal symptoms. But the blood work says I am not perimenopausal.

[supermum_ms]

I was a late bloomer too, still not perimenopausal and i'm 46, nothings changed still 5 - 7 day flow, 2 -3 days of mild PMS but the fatigue I feel for the week of, is harder now. I too got pregnant with my dd whilst on the pill, i was hospitalised for a bad UTI and put on antibiotics which cancells out the pill (25yrs ago that little fact wasn't readily known) and bingo one little accident, but she's still cute lol.

Interesting thought, my mother didn't even know when she hit menapause, she was dealing with untreated bipolar and all the menapause sx blended into each other, she still thinks it odd that no one ever asked or mentioned menapause at the time. I still think going through menapause wouldn't of helped the situation one bit, though it would be nice to think that when mine do finally stop, it will be as unremarkable as she thinks it is.

Cheers.........JJ

[Udkas]

Hi there,
Interesting question, I have always found that my cycle affects my symptoms, but now i think the symptoms that I was having that were affected was probably my migraine part, as I get the kind of aura's that happen not always with a headache I think that my drop in hormone levels have caused my migraine auras, I am classed as peri-menopausal and I have had the worst migraines going with auras of every type.

I believe that our hormones can affect our symptoms, MS, migraine or TM.  I was wondering tho I get hot flushes all the time, and really bad night sweats, does anyone here find that the hot flushes worsen their symptoms, is that like running a temperature?
B.T.W.  I am diagnosed with TM and migraines.

[hbananas]

I'm not dx with MS, but like Udkas, I have TM.
I had my ovaries removed when I was 41 and took estrogen until I was about 52.  I had my first symptoms of the TM several months after tapering off the estrogen completely.  I think Quix had a similar start date.

[Udkas]

Interesting, very interesting.
hope you are going okay, hey do you get relapses of symptoms all the time with your TM, I have asked that question in a separate post.  I am over it!!!
lol.

[jensequitur]

I saw this several years ago in the news - one of the reasons I continued to take birth control.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=designer-treatment-for-multiple-sclerosis