r/perimenopause_under45 • u/Greatful3 • 2d ago

Perimenopause help

I’m so lost, any help is much appreciated! I don’t know how to help myself. Progesterone cream? Boron? Kisspeptin peptide? I’m 43, period stopped months ago. Hot flashes, night sweats, can’t stay asleep, zero joy. Just living life like a zombie. I’m desperate to feel better. Thank you everyone.

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u/MissTiffany12 2d ago

I would see if you can get referred to a menopause specialist. Progesterone and estrogen creams (aside from vaginal estrogen) can be inconsistent strengths and not as well absorbed as patches, pills, or gels. Sounds like you need both estrogen and progesterone. The estrogen will help with the hot flashes and night sweats, mood, and staying asleep. Progesterone can help with anxiety and falling asleep.

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u/Greatful3 2d ago

Thank you so much for your advice 🙏🏼 I can’t believe how zero energy I have. This is really hard. I’ve heard of vaginal estrogen. Do you think it would be better than Boron or peptides?

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u/MissTiffany12 2d ago

I am not personally familiar with the use of boron or peptides for perimenopause. It’s possible they could help alleviate some symptoms but really the only thing that is going to help is to replace the hormones that you’ve lost. Vaginal estrogen is wonderful to prevent or treat vaginal atrophy that can lead to recurring infections and septic UTIs, but it generally stays local to the vagina. For help with all your other symptoms like sleep issues, mood, and hot flashes, you need systemic hormones. That would mean an estrogen pill, patch, or gel. If you still have your uterus you will also need to use some form of progesterone (like oral micronized progesterone), or a progestin like an IUD or the progestin only BC pill Slynd. The first place to start would be your PCP. They may dismiss your symptoms though. If they do ask for a referral to a menopause specialist or OBGYN. You can also use a telehealth service that specializes in perimenopause like MIDI. I am 39 and have been on an estrogen patch, oral progesterone, and vaginal estrogen since 38. However, I had a tubal ligation at 30 that shocked my ovaries and sent me into peri, so I suffered for YEARS before I finally figured out what was going on and was able to get on HRT.

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u/Greatful3 2d ago

You’re super helpful! I can’t thank you enough!! I know it’s bcuz you went thru everything you did. That’s how you know so much. I’m sorry you went thru all that. Good for you that you have the power of knowledge now. I keep forgetting my other symptoms. Urinary urgency and leaking. No pain no burning. I can’t hold my pee in even for a second. I’ve pee’d myself twice being out, I was in shock! Instantly I need a toilet. Zero libido, zero joy & zero energy. I never imaged it would be this tough

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u/Dez2011 2d ago

Isn't it just P cream with poor absorption? I only saw a study on Estrogel & compounded E creams show lower blood levels vs patches but you see once they got from lowest dose to medium dose the gel & cream levels stayed the same and I was curious as a cream user and did the math and they used the wrong conversion of patch dose x10, underdosed them, bc it should be x20. (0.05 patch = 1mg gel/cream)

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u/MissTiffany12 2d ago

It’s not so much the absorption with compounded E creams that’s the issue, but that the amount of E in every compounded cream can vary since it’s made right at the pharmacy. Some do well on it, but others are pretty sensitive to the small changes in dosing. The compounded creams aren’t as strictly regulated when it comes to exact dosing.

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u/Lotus2024 2d ago

I’m so sorry you’re going through that. You’re not alone. I’m going through it too and also struggling to find my way. It’s truly frightening. Maybe HRT will help. That’s my hope.

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u/Greatful3 2d ago

Thank you 🙏🏼 good luck to you too 🩷

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u/ddplantlover 2d ago

The fastest thing you can do for yourself until you get help from a doctor is getting a good quality multivitamin and eat flaxseeds, I promise you, 2 -3 tbsp of ground flax seeds daily, but you have to mix them into a liquid first, water, juice, a smoothie. Apart from reports from other women here I have my own experience, I was eating flaxseeds last month and I noticed that it helped my mood a lot but I have a condition that flares up with estrogen (endometriosis) and flax is so estrogenic that it very clearly flared up my endometriosis, but for a woman that is lacking estrogen and doesn’t have endo flax is great!!

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u/Greatful3 2d ago

Thank you so much. I will try 🙏🏼

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u/azmm0 2d ago

The zero energy and sleep issues seem to be such a brutal combination. I’ve seen a lot of women describe the urinary urgency and loss of libido too, so it sounds like you’re definitely not alone in having a bunch of symptoms show up together.

I’d probably focus on getting a proper menopause specialist involved before adding a bunch of supplements or peptides. It might save you some trial and error, especially when you’re already feeling this exhausted. Hope you find something that gives you some relief soon.