A Question for the Ladies~Menopause

With the length of time that some of you have had this DD, I'm hoping a someone can tell me how going through menopause affected your crohn's.

I have (sadly and reluctantly) come to the conclusion that I am perimenopausal. I'm 44 so it's not a huge shock but with all the horror stories you hear about menopause, I have been dreading it both emotionally and how it may affect my crohn's. Having my period each month has always made my symptoms worse...increased D, cramping and stomach pain and just flat out being a b**ch sometimes.

Do you feel that going through menopause made your symptoms any better or worse? I realize I probably have a few years before I enter full blown menopause, but just wondering what to look forward too.

I am 53 and have been menopausal at least since age 50. Although it's hard to know for sure, I was on low dose birth control to completely stop my periods. With all the cramps and bleeding, and no need to procreate :), I was lucky enough to be without periods for about 2 years (age 48 to 50). I decided I should stop the birth control to see where I was, and lo and behold, no periods came back.

So... not sure when it happened. BUT - unfortunately, I ended up with killer hot flashes - up to 18 a day (not to mention a few during the night). I never got drenched in sweat, but it sure was annoying. Fan on, fan off, covers on, covers off. It was ridiculous so I went on every other day HRT (very low dose). It seemed to help. I don't get as many hot flashes, down to 3 - 5 a day.

Out of curiosity, I tried stopping the HRT (first I went to every 3rd day, then stopped). It was awful. So I went back on. I'm not sure how much longer I want to do this because of the known bad health effects. I am on Humira, which may be aggravating things, don't know for sure though. I recently heard about using Levapro (an SSRI anti-depressant) for hot flashes - it's an off-label use. I plan to bring it up when I see my GYN in June.

Bottom line - it's totally individual how it affects you. Best wishes that you have it easy!

Sudsmom

Thank you for the replies!

@ kazbern-thats how I have figured out I am perimenapausal, my for the most part regular period is now coming every 18-23 days and lasting 6-7 days. It's driving me insane because I don't know if I'm flaring or if it's just the increased symptoms I get because of my cycle. All I know is I'm feeling a lot more miserable lately.

@Sudsmom-When I was on Humira, I would get hot flashes for about a week after the shot. Thats one thing I am NOT looking forward too with menopause! I live in Vegas where it's warm most of the time any way, I would be totally miserable!

HRT scares me. I have been using an IUD without hormones for the last 13 years for BC and I love it, really don't want to have to go on any hormones if I can help it, but I will have to see what happens.

Thank you both for sharing your experiences!

I am turning 41 this month and am menopausal without HRT. My doctor told me some women with auto-immune diseases go through it prematurely. He also told sometimes the younger the worse the symptoms. I had an albation procedure done two years ago, which took care of the bleeding back then. I will get a period every one in awhile now. I had severe endometrosis wth no fibroids. This I also was told could have been caused by CD..My CD was at its worst during the perimenopausal stage, but I am not sure if there is a correlation.

Cindy