Women of a certain age...

[Carnation]

I'm not sure if it is. It's more like a cramp.

[jojo2316]

Mmmm. Like an anxiety tightening?? Is this a menopause symptom? How old are you carnation? Im 47… and getting all sorts of weird things. Not to mention a massive uptick in anxiety!!

[Carnation]

Yeah, it could be described as a tightening /squeezing. It can happen when I'm not even doing anything.

I've been studying menopausal symptoms for some time and this symptom cropped up.
I'm post menopausal (I prefer not to say my exact age for privacy reasons but I'm years older than yourself).
I thought I was, finished with the change but I'm still having some of the symptoms. A lot of the symptoms are similar to Anxiety, including anxiety itself.
The crawling on the legs, skin itching hot flushes waves of fatigue, feeling tearful for no particular reason, loss of patience, weight gain. The list goes on and on.
If a doctor tells you it's only up to a couple of years, don't believe it, it can go on for yonks. I don't miss the time of the month, that's for sure, but your body still goes through a bit of a monthly cycle minus the cramping and bleeding. It's more a feeling, it's hard to describe.
Are you pre menopause jojo?

[jojo2316]

Yes i am. My periods are still very regular, and i haven’t had any hot flashes yet. But i am having huge emotional symptoms! ALL of the ones you listed. It so exhausting

[Carnation]

If I remember rightly I got the emotional stuff first.
Tearful, lack of patience / short fused, sudden impulses, fatigue, fear.

[jojo2316]

Yes yes yes to all the above!!

[Carnation]

It's understanding why you are like that, I didn't at the time. I mean, no one teaches you about menopause and my mum didn't speak about it. Doctors don't tell you that you might be pre-menopausal.
I remember waiting in a queue at a sandwich bar for a take and someone pushed in (which is quite common) and I walked out and burst into tears. I felt so silly because the owner noticed and came out to me. When I explained it felt so menial to be in such a state.
There was a plus though, because every time I went in they made sure I was served promptly.

[YoullNeverWalkAlone]

Another symptom that can arise post meno is varicose veins, something to do with the loss of hormones, probably the reason varicose veins are more common in women than men...

Ive got one after menopause some years back, but it seems to be getting bigger in length as I get older, don’t know if any of you ladies have these, if you have, do you know if they can they cause aching and give you jip....

When I was going through the menopause I found a good site, not unlike this site but for menopause....It’s called...
Menopause Matters, maybe worth taking a look for you newbies to the menopause, I found it helpful back then, don’t know what it’s like now.

[Carnation]

I've not got them YNWA but my o/h has and No, they don't give him any issues.
I know what you are thinking, your leg issue. Well, it's not. Stop overthinking.
Thanks for the menopause recommendation, there's certainly a lot of issues on the subject.

[YoullNeverWalkAlone]

Lol...I knew you’d think that Carnation but honestly it hasn’t anything to do with other issue, I never knew they could come after menopause, I knew about pregnancy and nurses are more susceptible to them, I do get aching in mine and just wondered if it was common to do so....

If they can come after menopause because of the lack of hormones, then why are they more common in women then men if they don’t have those hormones to start with....strange....

Anyway, I hope that site is as good as it used to be and helps somebody x