This is so wild. I think it's been seven years for me too, which puts me as entering peri at around age 34. Some of your first symptoms you list: breathlessness, itchy ears, tingling sensations, muscle twitching - those were mine too and began in 2017. Because I didn't know it was peri I began an odyssey of trying to figure out what was wrong - especially since my symptoms were so neurologically-based the routes of B12 deficiency and MS were taken, ultimately coming up cold. In 2020 I experienced bone-crushing fatigue that lasted for 3 solid years so my primary doc landed on CFS / ME. But it turns out that all along, peri! What a rollercoaster from a fever dream this has all been.
Thank you for putting the cortisol / anxiety stuff in perspective too - that's very helpful considering it's one of my main symptoms. And the reminder that our bodies aren't betraying us, they're actually doing all they can to keep us in balance. I'll try to keep that with me during the harder parts. Looking forward to reading more.
Thank you, DAW, for sharing your story here and being so open about your experience! It's important for others to hear about all of the variances in how perimenopause can show up in our lives. For some women, it might be the brain fog or anxiety that are the worst, while others deal with heavy bleeding or both.
I can relate to everything you say. What we've dealt with is very similar - you're my peri twin! Peri can set the stage for CFS/ME as well as reactivated Epstein-Barr virus so it's good that you worked with a doctor to get checked out. I'm keeping a list of Substackers I want to do a collaborative article on my site with; if you're open to that, please let me know. I'm glad I found you and you found me!
Yes Epstein-Barr played a part in my health journey over the last several years too. It’s all overlapping.
I’d be down to collaborate for sure sometime! Let me know what you’d be interested in working on - I think there is a direct message function on here somewhere…
This is so wild. I think it's been seven years for me too, which puts me as entering peri at around age 34. Some of your first symptoms you list: breathlessness, itchy ears, tingling sensations, muscle twitching - those were mine too and began in 2017. Because I didn't know it was peri I began an odyssey of trying to figure out what was wrong - especially since my symptoms were so neurologically-based the routes of B12 deficiency and MS were taken, ultimately coming up cold. In 2020 I experienced bone-crushing fatigue that lasted for 3 solid years so my primary doc landed on CFS / ME. But it turns out that all along, peri! What a rollercoaster from a fever dream this has all been.
Thank you for putting the cortisol / anxiety stuff in perspective too - that's very helpful considering it's one of my main symptoms. And the reminder that our bodies aren't betraying us, they're actually doing all they can to keep us in balance. I'll try to keep that with me during the harder parts. Looking forward to reading more.
Thank you, DAW, for sharing your story here and being so open about your experience! It's important for others to hear about all of the variances in how perimenopause can show up in our lives. For some women, it might be the brain fog or anxiety that are the worst, while others deal with heavy bleeding or both.
I can relate to everything you say. What we've dealt with is very similar - you're my peri twin! Peri can set the stage for CFS/ME as well as reactivated Epstein-Barr virus so it's good that you worked with a doctor to get checked out. I'm keeping a list of Substackers I want to do a collaborative article on my site with; if you're open to that, please let me know. I'm glad I found you and you found me!
Yes Epstein-Barr played a part in my health journey over the last several years too. It’s all overlapping.
I’d be down to collaborate for sure sometime! Let me know what you’d be interested in working on - I think there is a direct message function on here somewhere…