Menopause / post-menopause difficulties

Christine Hendrickx may have some research on menopause in autistic women. I'm post menopausal having had early menopause from my early 40s, so I'm not entirely up to date as I'm 7 years post menopausal now. My peri menopausal symptoms were attributed to caring for my autistic son so I didn't receive appropriate care, if anyone actually does anyway. I know that hormonal contraceptives affected me more than non autistic women. I definitely had more meltdowns during menopause and found it more difficult to think straight. I think that's probably true of non autistic women too though. My GP at that time was female and of the opinion that HRT only prolonged the symptoms of withdrawing from production of hormones by the ovaries, and that if you can cope without HRT it's best to power through it, so to speak. With sleep I just tried to accept the lack of it instead of comparing my sleep patterns as a younger person. I take naps during the day when I can. I try not to look at my phone when I wake up and think about the time and how many hours are left before I have to get up. I sleep alone when I can because another hot body next to me doesn't give me a cool place to move to and just exacerbates the heat in the bed and the room. I know these tips may not help if you're in a committed relationship as some people seem to take offense at the need to get some sleep in a separate room. On the plus side it's great not to worry about getting pregnant every month. It's great not feel like your judgement is clouded by the hormonal urge to procreate. With hot flushes I washed armpits and feet 3 or 4 times a day. Wearing natural fibers helps with keeping cooler. There are necklaces that you can buy that are cooling. My heat seemed to emanate from deep within so I would have liked to try a cooling necklace. On a lighter note, there's a series on Ch4 currently that I'm enjoying called The Change. The premise is a menopausal woman has kept a ledger for years recording all the invisible work she has done for her family, timing it on her watch and writing down in minutes and seconds how much of her time (life) she has sacrificed. On her 50th birthday she goes on a quest to rediscover herself. I'm very much at that point. Being post menopausal feels like my time after years of confirming and serving others. 

Christine Hendrickx may have some research on menopause in autistic women. I'm post menopausal having had early menopause from my early 40s, so I'm not entirely up to date as I'm 7 years post menopausal now. My peri menopausal symptoms were attributed to caring for my autistic son so I didn't receive appropriate care, if anyone actually does anyway. I know that hormonal contraceptives affected me more than non autistic women. I definitely had more meltdowns during menopause and found it more difficult to think straight. I think that's probably true of non autistic women too though. My GP at that time was female and of the opinion that HRT only prolonged the symptoms of withdrawing from production of hormones by the ovaries, and that if you can cope without HRT it's best to power through it, so to speak. With sleep I just tried to accept the lack of it instead of comparing my sleep patterns as a younger person. I take naps during the day when I can. I try not to look at my phone when I wake up and think about the time and how many hours are left before I have to get up. I sleep alone when I can because another hot body next to me doesn't give me a cool place to move to and just exacerbates the heat in the bed and the room. I know these tips may not help if you're in a committed relationship as some people seem to take offense at the need to get some sleep in a separate room. On the plus side it's great not to worry about getting pregnant every month. It's great not feel like your judgement is clouded by the hormonal urge to procreate. With hot flushes I washed armpits and feet 3 or 4 times a day. Wearing natural fibers helps with keeping cooler. There are necklaces that you can buy that are cooling. My heat seemed to emanate from deep within so I would have liked to try a cooling necklace. On a lighter note, there's a series on Ch4 currently that I'm enjoying called The Change. The premise is a menopausal woman has kept a ledger for years recording all the invisible work she has done for her family, timing it on her watch and writing down in minutes and seconds how much of her time (life) she has sacrificed. On her 50th birthday she goes on a quest to rediscover herself. I'm very much at that point. Being post menopausal feels like my time after years of confirming and serving others.