My meno friend Sharon and I both share lots of symptoms that involve dryness of eyes, nose, weird throat feelings, alteration of voice and apparent increase in 'allergies' around the head region.
We are both very skinny. I wonder if there is any truth in the theory that ladies with small amounts of body fat suffer badly from oestrogen deficit because the lack of body fat prevents them from being able to store it efficiently. Pile in and give an honest opinion as to whether you are small, medium or large in the body fat department. Let's see if this theory has any truth to it! My question is: Do
skinny ladies suffer any more than those who have a more normal or indeed above normal weight?
Here goes:

My name is Kathy and I am skinny as a rake. I would describe my peri-meno symptoms as moderate to severe. Main symptoms have been migraines, Brain fog, fatigue, insomnia, health panics, IBS type problems and the mucous membrane stuff mentioned above.




PS Hi Sharon where are you? I Keep sending you personal messages but I don't think they are getting through!



Regards,

XIII

Well, interesting thread....

I was slightly overweight, BMI was 26...I went 6 months without a period and got hit with terrible symptoms...such as:

anxiety
panic
worse hot flashes
dizzy/lightheaded
fatigue
depression
insomnia

thanks to all that I dropped 25 pounds...have since gained back 8...and BMI is 23.

I would say my symptoms were severe....I have taken steps to fix things and now I am doing very well.

I do not know my BMI.

I would say I am overweight however at 5' 6". I am 15O lbs but have been this for the past 4 years. The distribution of fat has altered and I go up and down a bit depending on the seasons!

I have suffered in my view quite a lot with peri so I think I disprove the theory that skinny girls get it worse.

Sorry.

Amanda M

A BMI of 26 and weighing 150 lbs at 5' 6" is, IMO, not overweight. I think what she meant was...women are have a real lot of body fat...a large amount...do they suffer less because fat stores estrone, a weak form of estrogen.

It's an interesting question, and one I have wondered about privately for years. I have two friends who are morbidly obese....one is barely 5 feet tall and weighs almost 200 lbs. The other is about 5'6" and is probably closer to 300 lbs. I worry about their health---but that's not the point of this post. To be honest, neither of them had any bad meno systems when they went through menopause. Their periods became erratic and then just stopped. It's a delicate issues, so of course I haven't discuss it with them.

But it makes sense if the body piles on weight in an attempt to keep estrogen levels where they used to be, that women who already have estrogen stored in adipose tissue would have less severe effects? Am I making any sense?

Mary Lou, and definitely skinny, reporting in with a moderate amount of symptoms, the worst hands down being muscle tension But I sometimes have the severe dry eyes and weird throat feelings of the original poster. Put me down for tummy woes, too which although not diagnosed, seem to be a like IBS.

Actually, research has shown that estrogen DOMINANCE is responsible for the most severe menopausal symptoms. What this all means is that the theory of estrogen dominance is very real, but its significance lies in the overall ratio of estrogen to progesterone — and this ratio is an individualized and dynamic one. Of all women experiencing symptoms of estrogen dominance, some with low levels of progesterone may do very well with progesterone supplementation, whereas others with normal progesterone levels may be better off focusing on changes that can normalize their estrogen or testosterone levels. How do you know where you fit in? Especially when our hormonal system is in a state of constant flux, trying to regulate itself to our own UNIQUE balance.

That's why it's so hard to treat hormonal "imbalances". EVERYTHING is affected, from thyroid hormones to insulin levels, to estrogen, estrone, estradiol, and estriol levels. I bet you didn't realise there were so MANY forms of estrogen in our bodies. This also includes levels of growth hormone, IGF-1, progesterone, testosterone, androstenedione, DHEA and on and on and on.

So you see, it's just not that simple. All women are different, and have a different hormonal profile, regardless of body fat percentage. It is the CHANGES in her unique hormonal profile, that begin with perimenopause that cause the symptoms. I think that all women should be profiled by getting hormonal bloodwork done at age 30. This bloodwork should be drawn daily during one month, so that her entire cycle and the change in levels that occur, can be used as a template for when she starts perimenopause. THEN her peri blood levels can be compared directly to her menstrual levels, and see exactly what hormone(s) is/are going haywire, and causing her to have symptoms.

And when I am elected President, I will pass this proposal into LAW!!!!
Thank you!

I'm 5'6" and 125 lb. and the only symptom I've had is prolonged bouts of heavy bleeding. Then again, I don't pay much attention to minor issues - I figure they're all a part of being middle-aged, whether peri-related or not. Generally, I feel great.

Armadillo, you've got my vote. Wonder what would happen if I took your suggestions to my gyn? I'm sure my insurance company would LOVE it, too.

I had bad symptoms when I was 10-20 pounds overweight. I have different bad symptoms now that I am at a healthy weight. Go figure. I think the only thing change I've made that might influence the result is the fact that I've added more lean muscle mass to my body via more exercise. That's my theory, anyway.

I am definately overweight and wish that excess weight theory was true. It would have saved me years of just about every listed symptom not to mention all the money I've spent. Unfortunately, I one of those women who was hit hard overnight with an array of symptoms (dizziness, woosie, mooooooooooody swings, insomnia, off balance feeling, fibroids, polyps, cysts, menstrual cycle alternating from flood to scanty, unreal feeling, anxiety which lead to the depression...).

I have two sisters who are also overweight and they are also having a "challenging" time to put it mildly going through this change. I have friends who are petite and they are sailing through this change with zero to minimum discomfort. Another example of how we are all so unique and can not all be placed in the same box.

Armadillo, I'd vote for you too! I'm normal weight, but very muscular, though I'm not sure what my BMI is. I exercise a lot--I lift weights and compete in a few different sports. I know that I definitely suffered from symptoms much worse that any of my family and friends who are overweight and inactive. Maybe the activity has more to do with it than the weight? My sister, who has PCOS and is overweight, had a hysterectomy and oopherectomy at 45 and suffered very few meno symptoms. I'm on BHRT, but I notice that on days when I train really hard and/or have a stressful day at work I can't sleep.

I forgot to mention that although my sisters and I are all overweight I've had more intense symptoms than my two sisters. I had a tubal ligation many years ago and I know that there has been some discussion about this causing early menopause. Neither of my sisters had their tubes tied. At times I wonder if this is why I've had such a challenging time.

Armadillo,
Even though I'm Canadian I'd still vote for you. I truly believe that what you said about e dominance is so true. I've missed 3 periods now and am feeling better than I have in 5 yrs. After alot of research and no help from my Dr. I am not sure but I think I was Estrogen dominant while going through peri. All the signs and symptoms were there. I know that it's far from being over but it gives me a bit of hope. Thanks. I'm 5'7" and weigh 155 . I put on 20 lbs. in the last year and felt the same at either weight.

was thin & miserable, now normal wt & miserable, heading upward & will give updates if anything changes. no sun in the forecast.

I'm 5'8 and right now I'm about 160. I was a skinny athletic kid--long bones but they're small around--120 lbs as a young adult--except when I went down to 109 during my first year of college due to lack of money to buy food and go to school at the same time. All of my life I have had dry skin and hair. I started needing to use bath oil when I was half way through the 5th grade. I realize now that my weight gain was probably when I went into peri. Other than that--and irregular periods--I didn't have symptoms. Still, I was comfortable and busy--so I didn't worry about my weight. I got up to 177 at one point but still didn't do anything to lose weight. By this time I was caring for my Mom and didn't really think about my own health or how I looked. I had one UTI by that time--the first in my life--and figured it was just bad luck. It was in the Fall of 2001. My last period was in the summer of 2000. Little did I know that it was just the beginning of several UTIs and several doctors that just thought I wasn't clean or that I was having dirty sex--at least they intimated that when advising how to avoid UTIs. No one connected my UTIs to the fact that I was post menopausal. I finally found out on the internet that lack of estrogen could be the cause. Turns out that was the cause. In the meantime, I quit drinking anything but water--hoping to not irritate my urinary tract. As a result I went down to 150 pounds and felt great-except when I had a UTI or was on the antibiotics that they give you to treat them. Up to this point I was just taking St. John's Wort and soy pills to control what I believed to be meno related mild depression and hot flashes. I added progesterone cream which really seemed to make me feel better for a while. In the Spring of 2006 I woke up one day--June 1, 2006--I remember because one of Mom's dogs died on May 31st--and I felt like I'd had a stroke. I was off balance, I had major brain fog and felt disconnected from reality. I started having bad hotflashes, insomnia and my depression worsened--plus a lot of other symptoms I hadn't had before and the progesterone cream, soy and St. Johns Wort no longer worked. This is what drove me to the internet for info--because the symptoms didn't go away. I realized it was probably due to low estrogen and went to the doc. I got vaginal estrogen cream at first and then went on estradiol patch and prometrium. I started to feel better and started exercising again and watching what I ate--although the terrible carb cravings are still with me--something I never had before what I call my "second meno." My vaginal atrophy came back on just the patch and P so I now have to use the cream too.

My whole point is that I have been low on E when I was skinny and when I am fat.

Both of my maternal grandmothers and mother had hysterectomies due to heavy bleeding. My paternal grandmother was pleasingly plump. My Mom and her mother were/are skinny little things. I don't know what other symptoms they might have had. My Mom got put on Premarin when she went to the doctor complaining of cramps in her feet!

I think I was probably low on estrogen all of my life and I think I put on fat when I entered Peri to try and make some estrogen. The dose they give you for replacement isn't ever really enough, IMO, because they're afraid of what too much estrogen can do. Still, I wonder stometimes if they shouldn't go ahead and give you enough since they're giving it to you anyway--and the estrogen you make from fat is the bad estrone. It's kind of like a half-hearted kind of help you get from docs--if you get any help at all. It's like offering a person dying of thirst just a drop of water instead of a good swallow. Just yesterday I added 25 mg/day of DHEA in an effort to complete my recovery because I still don't feel the way I used to--when I was taking my good health and my natural estrogen for granted.

Miss Tibbs

You have my vote Armadillo.


I have always been on the thin side. I have weighed anywhere from 105 (in high school) to my current weight of 128. I do the treadmill, yoga and free weights but I have noticed that my stomach area has a lot more fat around it than it used to. I always had a flatter stomach until I started peri so maybe my body is wanting to store more fat for the estrogen. I am unsure but I know doing my exercise routine has made me feel a lot better.

Mopsy

Hello Kathy! I have been having all sorts of computer glitches. I did get your last personal message ,but I couldn't get the keyboard to type.
Saw a Rheumy today to get his opinion . He said I either have Sjogrens with dryness or dryness without Sjogrens.Wow...I was really impressed with his deduction. He did mention an estrogen connection and said he has seen women with this problem, but still wasn't very helpful. He wrote up orders
for yet another type of bloodtest and a chest x-ray ! They are supposed to determine the diagnosis for Sjogrens !
I am seeing an Ob Gyn next week with a hormone blood profile to get her input. She was a breast cancer surgeon and now does hormone pellet implants. I will ask her if there may be a correlation between weight and estrogen storage.It will be curious to see what she might say on the subject.
I think she is my last resort for some help! After this appointment I will just give up trying!
Thanks Kathy for starting this topic !

Hugs,

Sharon

Thank-you for your replies. As I suspected, menopause is far too complex a subject to be able to pigeon hole. The sad fact is that no-one really knows how to solve the problems of fluctuating hormones because the base model is so incredibly complex. How can deficits or excesses be corrected when there is no clear baseline amount to strive for? That is why I personally avoid hormone suplimentation. I fear that the only answers lie within improvements to lifestyle, sensible exercise and optimum diet. I think that you have to be very careful about reading articles on the net because they all have their own hidden agenda but you might want to read this: www.auau.com.au/health2.html
Food for thought I think.



Kind regards,
XIII

5'5 116lbs Fatigue, fatigue and more fatigue. Headaches and the change of voice (nasal sounding) also dry membranes . Taking Black Cohosh for 2.5 weeks and am really feeling better :0)
Would recommend it.
Girlsmom