just wanted to take a survey- my gyno- said his skinnier women have worse symtoms then his heavier women, something to the fact that estrogen is stored in fat cells , whatever !!- blah, blah - but i was curious how true this is - im on the skinny side and i have to agree with him , he also said his redheads are bleeders ! anyone like to add there 2 cents to this ?

PROVE IT!!!

I don't know anything about redheads but i have heard that before about skinny women having a harder time with symptoms than heavier ones....i'm rather skinny myself but i don't know if my symptoms are worse than those that are heavier....i guess i'd have to gain alot of weight in order to know if it's true....

I've read that skinner/smaller sized women have more symptoms too. I am on the small side and feel I've had a very rough time of it. When I survey my women friends - I would have to concur, that those who are smaller in frame and weight are struggling more overall than my friends who carry a few more pounds. Interesting. Kathleent

Definitely true!
You only have to look at the Hystersisters website to read that the plump ladies have no problems after their ovaries are taken whereas the slim ones suffer dreadfully. It's common knowledge there!
I myself fell into the slimmer category and when I lost my ovaries it was hell!
I am pleased to say I now have a little pot belly-I'm still not fat-but it is my hormone store and I am glad of it

nah i don't agree,

I suppose it may be a degree of HOW much fatter you have to be to have less symptoms. I was a wee bit overweight during peri, although I was still within the BMI range of normal just at the very high end, and menopause symptoms made me skinny. So I don't know.....

And I would say it would depend on the symptoms themselves. I have seen heavier women have more problems with fibroids and bleeding, rage and (well scratch the rage, I've seen this from skinny ones too)

I'd also say it depends on personality. Some people have a higher threshold for suffering than others. I myself have a very low threshold.

I;d like to believe that there is finally a reason i feel so crappy. It's my size!! at least there is an answer. I have sister in laws and friends.who breezed through this and are quite heavy. Maybe there is a link. I know my nervous personality from the get go hasn't helped either. Whatever the reason. I still say it's just not fair!!!!

I'm surprised a doctor would make a statement like that.

I believe it's a person's personal body chemistry, health issues and ancestry, etc., which predisposes them to an easy or rough peri/menopause. NOT their weight.

I know some of both sizes who both have it rough. I don't agree with his statement at all.

I totally agree...I think some of us are predisposed to having more struggles during peri and meno than others...based more on heredity than anything else. My mother had a terrible time during meno and I seem to be having many of the same struggles as she did. My MIL...also very slender sailed through meno virtually symptom free!

I really don't think size has much, if anything to do with this issue! I think some doctors tell patients what they think they want to hear!

My mother was extremely overweight and almost went crazy during peri.I am of a very normal weight,used to be very slim-and I am having early peri and very bad symptoms.So personally I think it just depends on the woman.

I was told this my doctors as well..

I asked what was up with the increase in symptoms(crazies) as I lost weight...

Cant explain the science, but something to the effect, that fat contained weak estrogen's.., so as you lose weight, you have less available ...

I have heard this too. I "was" on the skinny side at the onset of peri. I went on an AD and gained weight, so I am not a skinny as I use to be. I have a obese friend who has done great through this time in her life. She will be 50 this year.

I was a jr 7/8 at the beginning of peri. Now I am a 12 fighting to get to a 10

I think there is truth to this, but as in everything else there are exceptions. I also think the health of one's adrenals is a huge determinant of how a woman handles meno, since they are the main source of lower levels of hormones when the ovaries shut down.

Honestly, I think I'm so vain that even if someone could guarantee that my symptoms would disappear if I gained 10 pounds, I would probably refuse. Because then I would have depression about the weight gain.

I'm totally agreeing with this one and I'm living proof!

I don't know about redheads being bleeders, but they are known for needing a larger dose of anesthesia during surgery, and are more likely to get nauseous and vomit in the recovery room. (according to my husband who worked in recovery 12 years) Medications affect them differently for some reason that I don't know.

I've always been on the slim side, and an extremely sensitive to hormones. Birth control pills make me throw-up! I don't take any hormones. So far, I don't think that I'm having a harder time with perimenopause than heavier women. I'll let you know later...

jem

I don't think maybe weight has so much to do with things during peri because lets face it- hormones are up, down all over the place-completely out of balance at that time.
I think that weight is a factor in how a woman copes after menopause. It is a medical certainty that estrogen is stored in a woman's fat cells. Therefore the more fat she has, the less she feels it when her natural estrogen making capability is reduced. Post menopausal women-even skinny ones, have little bellies because that is where their estrogen is stored.
Larger women with more fat cells have more places to store their estrogen-its that simple.
So given that it is a medical fact that estrogen is stored in fat ,larger women are less likely to have problems in the long term.
It's not a myth or a doctors fabrication, it is a medical truth.
janet c

NO... don't agree had more probs when I was overweight... Dr must have had tongue firmly planted in cheek when he told you about redheads surely

gizzie

i have to agreee to some degree that this may be true. i am a size 4 and have had a much harder time with symptoms than my sister who is 50 and very overweight and has very few symptoms at all. my mom as well who was overweight during her meno stated she never felt a thing so maybe, just maybe there is something to it...who knows?

I am about 20-25 pounds heavier than I want or need to be and feel like my symptoms are the pits. So I say BS to that. Also I know some brunettes and natural blonds who are very heavy bleeders.

I agree it does have some bearing as I fall into the slimmer/smaller category and have had very severe symptoms. For instance my hot flashes are full on whole body soakers, and I have had all the 34 or so symptoms and then some at one time or another.

Having said that, I don't think it applies in every case and there are exceptions to the rule.

I believe a lot of other factors come into play as well as individual physiology ie. adrenals, thyroid, medication etc. I also don't believe general health or fitness has any bearing on the severity of symptoms either, as some of the fittest, healthiest people I know have had a rough time and conversely others I know who fall into the opposite category have sailed through without even experiencing a hot flash. (I want what their having.)

Ok, does this mean you were either fat and then became skinny or you were skinny and then became fat and your symptoms proved the dr's theory?

That would be the only way I can see that this theory can be proven and it's gonna take more than one woman to prove it.

Hmmm - I have a red haired, super-slim sister in law, same age as me (55) who has SAILED through menopause with barely a mutter while I, (slightly chunky with a pet potbelly) lurch through the 32 symptoms, discovering along the way a couple of dozen more to add to that delightful list! Grrrrrrr!

Hmmm - I have a red haired, super-slim sister in law, same age as me (55) who has SAILED through menopause with barely a mutter while I, (slightly chunky with a pet potbelly) lurch through the 32 symptoms, discovering along the way a couple of dozen more to add to that delightful list! Grrrrrrr!

Well, I'm the odd one then! I'm redheaded, 4' 11" and weigh 96 pounds. My only symptoms are mild hot flashes, mild insomnia, and mild anxiety over the past 12 years of this. I did have bouts of IBS on and off but even those are mild now. I say 'mild' because they seem like nothing compared to everyone else's descriptions of their symptoms. And I don't bleed bad at all.

I personally don't think it matters how skinny or large a person is,what color their hair is or anything else....we are all different and are affected in different ways when it comes to symptoms.And if i were to gain alot of weight and my symptoms improved,it wouldn't necessarily mean it was due to the extra weight,it could be alot of different factors,the same as if i gained alot of weight and felt worse.I also don't think anyone can claim that their symptoms are worse than someone else's....we will never know unless we walk a mile in their body.What someone may consider worse may be better for someone else and what someone considers better may be worse for someone else.It's no different than describing child birth.....i have heard women tell of their horrible experiences but they don't seem that bad compared to what i went through.......sometimes my experiences don't sound as bad as theirs.....since they're individual experiences we really don't know,do we?

No No No - how I wish this was true! I have never been skinny but can categorically say I have definitely had my fair share of symptoms and still have a way to go yet!

What I mean is I was a normal 130lb 5'5 before and when all this hit me I lost 25lbs and things got worse after that. So being 105 I can't handle situations as well...

Well, I don't agree with the theory of skinny women having it harder, I am 48 and peri and slender and having a easier time than overweight friends, I am more athletic, eat better and take magnesium and use a juicer and feel better and look younger than overyweight peri friends! Trista5

Very well said, Moonlight! I totally agree!

And, I recently lost 20 pounds...and, if anything, feel much better!

My doctor said that his heavier patients have more problems with hot flashes. I don't know about other symptoms.

I have relatively mild hot flashes; more problems with cold "flashes", actually.

FWIW, I'm on the slim side. (5'2", 105) , will be 55 next month, and haven't had a period in 5 months.

quote name=Simba 2 Date = Apr 4 2009
For myself, I am suffering pretty severe menopausal symptoms. Curiously enough the fat fell off me when all of the symptoms started when my periods finished at age fifty. It was quite alarming as people were commenting at the weight I had lost! Think in retropect it was my body using the oestrogen which was stored in the fat. Feel I have gone back to how I was when I was a lot younger as far as my figure is concerned, dont seem to have any fat under my skin anymore. Have also heard of large women suffering badly with panic and all of the other symptoms so cant really say for sure if skinny women suffer more - certainly know I have had enough of it after more than four years.

Simba (UK)

I wish that it was true that heavier women have less symptoms during this transition . I'd love to be one of those women who just breeeeeeze through, but unfortunately for the last ten years I've had just about every symptom listed--from burning tongue to labor pain cramps. Doctors need to stop making such generalized statements and I would really like to see the research behind this statement. My sisters and I are overweight and we started experiencing symptoms in our late 30's. Matter of fact I've packed on over 50 pounds since starting on this perimenopausal journey and not one pound has helped alleviate any of my symptoms .

Amen....

There are many variables that have to be factored in besides one or two pounds on the scale. Regardless we are all in this together and we all want relief. Although I would be interested in seeing the research behind this generalized statement, in the long run it's irrelevant. I am more interested in finding total relief for myself and my peri/meno sisters. I'm even more interested in preventing my daughter and upcoming generation of women from dealing with all of this. I would not wish what I've gone through the last 10 plus years on anyone!

I wouldn't know

well i guess the jurys still out on this one, but thanks to all that gave an opinion, i guess every ones threshold of severe could also come into play here , what is mild to one might be severe to the next, so who knows !!!

I agree with you. What I have heard is that it is better to be a little overweight prior to actual menopause and better to be thinner after menopause. Something to do with the estrogen situation. Which is just lovely cause we all know how EASY it is to lose weight during this period of our lives, right. BTW I am 40lbs overweight, brunette and have done okay during many years of peri with the exception of heavy bleeding (due to fibroids I think). My estrogen is depleting hence my fibroids may be shrinking hence my periods are getting lighter. However, to take the place of that I have had terrible terrible anxiety/panic and some depression. I will say I have had situational depression at various times of my life but due to actual stressors happening in my life. I was a pretty resliant person. But, this stuff is kicking my tush. So, although I may be storing estrogen in my fat cells, it isn't helping my brain cells all that much, lol.

speaking of skinny, i'm small framed, yet since meno.........any fat on my body that is left, goes right to my stomach, now i'm totally out of porportion....and i've had all 34 meno symptoms...........4 years post meno!

Well I have my doubts about this theory, I'm very overweight, twice what I should weigh and am a natural redhead. My friend has very dark brown hair and she is very skinny. My friend sailed through menopause with only a few migraines, me on the other hand have very symptom going and then some! As for being a bleeder thats very true! I have always had very heavy periods.

Just my two cents....

I don't think it matters. I'm slim, but I know people who are not, and they are having a terrible time of it. My periods are way off, and my sex drive has recently plummeted, but my moods are very stable. I think every woman is different.

Susan Love mentions in her book on hormones that estrogen is also created from our muscles -- more estrogen than from fat actually. That may be the reason some skinny ladies do well during peri, if they have good muscle mass. I am one in fact & am a runner, yoga do-er, weights, all that -- I am having a rather uneventful peri -- LMP was July 4 & periods erratic since last Nov -- so I am probably nearing complete meno.

I think, on the whole, just being a nice normal weight is best -- not underweight, but not too OW. Exercise of any sort helps & since it increases muscle mass & thus maybe helps our hormones to be in better balance -- just another good reason to hit the gym.

Any proof for this? any studies?

But I had heard women who smoke tend to have an earlier menopause than non-smokers, they have worse flushes and they often don't respond as well to treatment of their symptoms.

Any proof for this? any studies?

My information about muscle producing estrogen comes from "Dr Susan Love's Hormone Book". She has an extensive chapter on estrogen production post meno -- she describes in detail ovarian function in pre, peri, and post meno.

But I had heard women who smoke tend to have an earlier menopause than non-smokers, they have worse flushes and they often don't respond as well to treatment of their symptoms.

Her book also mentions this fact -- could be their smoking has caused other health problems too & thus their symptoms are worse.

when i weighed 130 lbs. i had way more symptoms and problems than now, weighing 120 lbs.........but i highly doubt it had anything to do with the 10 extra pounds i was carrying around....

It has been suggested that estrogen hangs on longer in our "fat" cells. Perhaps that is why we tend to gain weight when in peri and beyond. A divine way to help ease us through those years? Maybe....

I think your gyno might be right. I'm thin and have been told this also. My problem is I can't put weight on right now. It's confusing when your anticipating weight gain.

Gosh .. I hope this is not true!!
I have no opinion as this is all so new to me .. I have no clue!

I did do the BMI thing and it showed I was at 18.6 normal but close to being under normal.
All I know is .. I do not need more factors causing this to be worse than things already are!

Hmmm .. Should I eat some cake lol?

I think it all comes down to the history in the family, my mum had it easy, yet my nan had the worst time, her health issues skipped her daughters and now all her grandaughters are suffering badly some are identical to her including myself, the only difference is these days dr's can tell you that its menopause in her day she was put in a home because they thought she was crazy. In saying that my nan and her granddaughters are all small in height and weight. 48kg and 5'1"

Mmmmm might book myself and cousins in for some fat transfer ( joke) if only that was the answer to all our problems. i would do it in a heart beat.