Wait...That's a Symptom

Think perimenopause is just hot flashes and missed periods? Think again. In this episode of Hot Flash & Sassy, we’re diving into the weird and unexpected signs of perimenopause that no one warned us about.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:04

Hot Flash and Sassy, a podcast with hot takes, hotter flashes, and a whole lot of sass. Hey everyone, welcome back to Hot Flash and Sassy, the podcast where we say the things about midlife that everyone else is thinking, but not always saying out loud. Today's episode is one of those wait, what conversations. Because let's be honest, when most of us think about perimenopause or menopause, we think hot flashes, night sweats, maybe mood swings. But what about the symptoms that make you stop in your tracks and think, is this normal? Is something wrong with me?

SPEAKER_00 0:44

Oh, you know, like random dizziness. That's fun. I love the weird shit. Or your skin feeling like something is crawling on it. Literally happens to me. That happens to me too. Or sudden anxiety out of nowhere. Have we talked about that? My goodness. Yeah, we're going there today. We're talking about the weird, unusual, and totally unexpected symptoms that can come with hormonal changes. So you can stop second guessing yourself and start understanding what your body is really trying to tell you. Because here's the truth. We like to say this often, don't we, Holly? Yes. You're not crazy. Just a reminder. And you're not imagining things, and you're definitely not alone. We are here with you.

SPEAKER_01 1:28

Crazy with you. All right. So if you've ever Googled your symptoms at 2 a.m. and convinced yourself it was something serious. Oh, I love doing that. Maybe not at 2 a.m., but I'm the 2 a.m. Yeah. But this episode is for you. So we're gonna get on into it.

SPEAKER_00 1:44

Let's get on into it. Yay.

SPEAKER_01 1:47

Weird shit.

SPEAKER_00 1:48

Weird shit. Here we go. Um, so obviously these things are happening because of your hormones. So we've listed them all. We've been down the rabbit hole: estrogen, testosterone, cortisol, everything's playing a part in this, and they can all impact your brain, your skin, your joints, and your nervous system. So the symptoms can feel random because the hormones are literally random, especially at this stage of life. Perimenopause, it is random. Random. Yeah. So let's get into it. Um, one of the major ones is the neurological and sensory surprises. And I have a lot to say about this, Holly. So the list goes on, but it's electric shop, shock, and zapping sensations.

SPEAKER_01 2:35

You've got that one, have you?

SPEAKER_00 2:37

I have. Oh, I get like little zappy feelings. It's the weirdest. Like random, completely random. Random, like on my arm. In my arm, in my shoulder. You know, not even like something, you know, we've talked about joint pain. That's not a surprise with hormones, but um, the little shocks of pain are just kind of sporadic and really random. Yikes. Yeah, definitely. Internal vibrations are buzzing. Listen, I've had a little buzzing in my ear, but I don't know what the internal means.

SPEAKER_01 3:05

Okay, I don't know what that means either.

SPEAKER_00 3:06

And I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 3:07

I don't think I've had much buzzing. I don't know. So far, I'm doing all right. Have you ever had the random buzzing in your ear though? I do feel like yeah, but not very often. Definitely not very often. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:19

Yeah. And I don't know that I would have related it to hormones or to perimetric.

SPEAKER_01 3:23

Well, I'm sure other things can cause buzzing in your ear. Maybe there's a fly in there.

SPEAKER_00 3:29

They do say little critters can climb in there. No, that it don't gotta beard going. Come on, you're getting a bug in my ear. I don't think this one is as weird, but dizziness and vertigo. Yeah. I have definitely heard of people acquiring vertigo at this stage.

SPEAKER_01 3:47

I don't get vertigo, but I do feel like I have random bouts of like a dizziness. I have a hundred percent. Yeah, and I'm always like, why? Why is this so random? And I I get it, like if you stand up too quickly, right? Like it's just too much of a shift. But sometimes, like I'm just standing there, and I'm like, why all of a sudden am I feeling a little lightheaded?

SPEAKER_00 4:04

Mm-hmm. Yeah, definitely random. And I guess there's a lot of things that could explain it to your point. You know, I mean, if you get hungry, you can kind of get a little dizzy, dizzy, but the vertigo is really strange.

SPEAKER_01 4:16

Like an inner ear infection or something.

SPEAKER_00 4:17

There can be other things. There could definitely be other things going on. Brain fog memory lapses. Hello. Sign me up for that one. Um, metallic or altered tastes. I don't think I've had that. I have not had it, but I've definitely heard of people having it. Yes, I've heard of the metallic taste. Yeah. Wouldn't that be weird? Oh, I wouldn't like that. Well, you take a bite of your sandwich and everything.

SPEAKER_01 4:40

Or everything or certain foods.

SPEAKER_00 4:42

Or is it when you're not eating? Is it just like a taste in your mouth? If anyone has that, let us know. Yeah, we need info. Um, heightened smell sensitivity. Oh. That is neat. I have that. I really don't have a strong sense of smell typically. Yeah. But occasionally, I'll just walk in a room and I'm like, who's cooking? What is that smell? You know, I can't identify it. It's just one of those subtle things.

SPEAKER_01 5:05

Well, and if it's one that bothers you, I'm like, I gotta get it out of here. We gotta find it. You know. Like, what is that smell?

SPEAKER_00 5:12

There's not enough room spray in the world.

SPEAKER_01 5:14

There's not there's not because well, then it's just like masking. I'm like, it's not getting rid of the smell. And then to identify the smell.

SPEAKER_00 5:20

The room spray can affect me also because then it's too intense. Yes. Oh Lord, oh Lord. So well, um, that's the fun things that are associated with neurological and sensory surprises. That's a fun one. That is a fun one.

SPEAKER_01 5:36

How about skin, mouth, and sensitivity changes?

SPEAKER_00 5:40

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:41

That's another fun one.

SPEAKER_00 5:42

Yeah, let's hear it.

SPEAKER_01 5:43

So your body suddenly starts reacting differently. Burning mouth syndrome. What is that? What is that? Syndrome?

SPEAKER_00 5:50

What is that? What? No. I have not experienced that, but I'm assuming it's just as blanket as your mouth is burning.

SPEAKER_01 6:00

And it's a syndrome, which means you must deal with it kind of often. My gosh. That's awful. I would freak out.

SPEAKER_00 6:06

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:06

I don't that wouldn't go well for me.

SPEAKER_00 6:08

Is it like having uh the constant feeling of you know how your mouth feels when you've burnt your tongue on something? Maybe. Maybe that's what it feels like. I don't know, but that's sounds awful. We need our audience to report to us if you've experienced that. We need details. Okay, this next one.

SPEAKER_01 6:24

Itchy or crawly skin. Yeah, I get that. I get that.

SPEAKER_00 6:30

And you know, it's actually should probably be in the neurological section because my neurologist has actually given me medication for it. Really? Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_01 6:42

Well, okay, where do you have the the itchiness?

SPEAKER_00 6:44

Well, it causes Is that what you have, or is it the more of the um It actually feels like a bug's crawling on you, kind of that sensation. And I typically get it in my legs.

SPEAKER_01 6:57

Okay, that's where I I feel like it feels like a hair. Like, you know, like a hair falls from your hair, like a long one and it's stuck, or yes, something's on it. It just kind of like tickles you like sporadically.

SPEAKER_00 7:06

Yeah. Oh, it's literally. Did the medicine help you? It did, but you know how I am about scripts, so I kind of go away from it. Do you know what it was? I can't remember. I should have looked this up. I'll report back. Okay, yeah. She did have a name for it though. I'll have to look in my notes from my meetings with her.

SPEAKER_01 7:24

I never contributed to my hormones. I just didn't know what it was. I thought it was a little crazy.

SPEAKER_00 7:29

I actually attributed it to my hormones because of my thyroid.

SPEAKER_01 7:33

Oh, yeah, that makes sense. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 7:35

Yeah, so I would not have thought perimenaboles. Oh, I've got itchy crawly skin. Yeah. But yes, I've there was some hormone activity due to my thyroid.

SPEAKER_01 7:44

Okay. Yeah. Okay, the next one, I've talked about it before, it's a big one acne or rosacea flare-ups.

SPEAKER_00 7:51

Yes. Do you think this is a good time to remind our audience about how you tried the omega-3 and found success?

SPEAKER_01 7:57

I was gonna tell them because like this is perfect timing for me to share. So when we did our episode on skin, I learned something from it, which is that omega-3 can help you with cystic acne. And so I tried it and it has been like a game changer. Now I take a high dosage one. I because I don't get a lot of the foods that have high omega-3. I don't like seafood and it's in other things, you know, but I don't care for it or consume enough of it. So I got a again, a high dosage of it, and I take it religiously.

SPEAKER_00 8:31

Really?

SPEAKER_01 8:32

Because within 30 days I had improvement.

SPEAKER_00 8:35

Now I did have listen, hold on, because this has been uh something you've suffered from for a very long time.

SPEAKER_01 8:43

Years, yeah, and I'm still have some, I'm still dealing with acne because I I've had cystic acne and I've also just had acne, right? And I still have that, which is different, but that's easier to treat. Um, it's easier to hide, it's easier to all the things. Um, it's not as painful. Those cysts hurt. I did get one that popped up in a very high stress time for me, and also my pellets were kind of wearing out, but it was so short-lived. So normally when you get one, it takes like weeks to get it to go down, and it's very painful. This one was much smaller. Get out, and it went away fast.

SPEAKER_00 9:17

That's a huge testimony.

SPEAKER_01 9:19

It is the best thing I've done. Like, I'm like, people don't I like it's such an easy fix. I was just gonna say how simple it's a trip to Walgreens. I I knew like omega-3 was good for you. The reason I didn't take it is because I hate fish, and you know, you hear those like fish burps, and I'm like, I can't have that. Which I don't. The one I take does not bother me. Okay, so you didn't get that? No. And I did research into the one to get to to try to there are some people that said they still get it. I don't know what they can do to make that 100%, but I don't have a problem with it. Maybe some people are just more sensitive. They might be. Yeah. Um, but I I have not had that issue, and it has been like the best thing that I've done.

SPEAKER_00 9:59

Go omega 3. That's exciting.

SPEAKER_01 10:01

And I learned it here on the podcast. Yes. I love it. It's never showed up in any of my things that I've looked up to help me with my this Google research.

SPEAKER_00 10:10

I always joke about it. Maybe it paid off here.

SPEAKER_01 10:13

Well, it did because when I heard it, I was like, I don't know, can that really help? And when I Googled it, it was like, yes. And the reason they knew that is that they studied um places that have like a high omega-3 intake, right? So, and those people all had really nice like skin. But it makes sense, it helps with inflammation. I mean, that's what it is. Or regions of the country, yes. Oh, and that's how they thought there's like there must be a connection to like their diet. Yeah. And it is huge. So if you suffer from hip cystic acne, try the omega-3. It might not work as fast, but it looks like within 90 days you should see it. But what I read was like within 30 days, and mine was like at 30 days, at 30 days I had not one. Unbelievable. It's crazy. That's huge. So I love it. Big thing. Okay. Moving on from acne, dry eyes. I also have that.

SPEAKER_00 11:05

I have dry eyes, but I've always kind of had dry eyes.

SPEAKER_01 11:08

My tear ducts don't produce enough. Okay. Do you wear contacts or glasses? Contacts, okay. Yeah, and glasses. Yeah. Yeah. Me too. And that's what I I also feel like. And I have dry eye seasons that has more to do with like allergies and stuff. 100%, yes. But that's interesting.

SPEAKER_00 11:24

But for those that don't suffer from it regularly, this could be a symptom of your perimenopause or menopause. Yep. Um, bleeding or sensitive gums. Ah. Yeah. So I don't have sensitive gums, but I have sensitive teeth all of a sudden. Oh, interesting. Since perimenopause. Okay. Yeah. So my teeth actually hurt when I eat something cold. And you know, I love me a little bit of ice cream. Yeah. And I typically like vanilla ice cream with crushed nuts on top. Okay. Can't get the crushed nuts because you gotta chew them. And it hurts. And it hurts you to chew those? Um sorry. And I can 100% attribute it to perimenopause because I've never had any issues with my mouth or my teeth before that. Interesting. Yep. And I do have healthy gums. I've validated that with my dentist. Okay, good. Okay. Make sure you're going to the dentist. Yes, regularly.

SPEAKER_01 12:15

It affects your entire body. Um, new allergies or sensitivities. Well, I think my teeth fall into the sensitivities. It could, yeah. I think that it's interesting because you hear that your allergies change like every seven years, and I'm like, do they? Or what if it's what if it's this? What if it's your hormones actually changing your allergies? Yeah. I never knew that.

SPEAKER_00 12:36

Look at us just uncovering all the madness here on the weird shit episode. We are.

SPEAKER_01 12:41

I love weird shit. We're not naming the title that because I don't think we can put weird shit on there, but that's essentially what this is. We could do like a number sign.

SPEAKER_00 12:50

We could, we could. Just weird shit. It's the weird shit episode. Crazy. All right, so moving on, another segment of weird shit that may be attributed to our perimenopause, menopause journey, aka these wild ass hormones, is bladder. Yeah. Yeah. Crazy. So frequent UTIs.

SPEAKER_01 13:14

Yes. So I had a problem with this after my hysterectomy. And even though I started getting hormone replacement, you still gotta think my hormones were still all over the place, right? It was adjusting, I was getting new ones put in. Like it was still crazy. Even though I could feel better, I still had things. I got UTIs just constantly. Unbelievable. I could drink a beer one night. Don't take away my beer. It was like a dehydration. I would wake up the next day, full on. Like, shit, I have one. Oh my gosh. That. So um it's interesting that's that's gone now. I think it's just leveled out because I'm not having as much fluctuation. It's been long enough. I've been on my hormones. They're more consistent.

SPEAKER_00 14:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:01

So I'm not gonna get that shit under control. But I think that's a big thing to to look at, especially if you are someone that has this hysterectomy and you're throwing your body just into kind of chaos. Is it that can absolutely happen?

SPEAKER_00 14:14

100%.

SPEAKER_01 14:15

100%. So I would assume if you're just in perimenopause or m you know, going through menopause and you have that depletion, that it would absolutely cause that.

SPEAKER_00 14:22

Yeah, I would think so.

SPEAKER_01 14:23

And those are miserable. Miserable, painful, not comfortable. Gosh.

SPEAKER_00 14:28

Yep. I love this one. Urgency or leakage.

SPEAKER_01 14:32

Wait, isn't that half to do with just having the babies? Because I mean, are you jumping on a trampoline, Renee? Nope. Sure not. But there are some of our followers out there that maybe don't have children. And do you got leakage? I mean, I guess you might not want to announce that, but listen. I just love the term leakage. It's cracking me up. If I sneeze standing up, I'm peeing a little.

SPEAKER_00 14:58

Oh, yeah, I gotta cross my legs.

SPEAKER_01 14:59

I hurry.

SPEAKER_00 15:00

Sit down.

SPEAKER_01 15:06

My greatest is we went to, I think, a workout class after I had my my oldest. And she was probably like two, so it wasn't like, and I and I was like, it was like a boxing class. And I went, I went with Jake and like we start. I I went to the bathroom before we start, but then of course we're a few minutes in and I'm like, oh my God, I'm I'm gonna pee my pants. And he's like, well, just go to the bathroom. Wouldn't you go to the bathroom before we start it? I'm like, you don't. I can I could pee, stand up and do a jumping jacket, I'm peeing again. There's no controlling that. There is no controlling that. I don't know if mine's worse through Perry Menopause and Menopause because I already had that issue.

SPEAKER_00 15:49

We're blaming ours on the babies. That's what I'm blaming, but I guess it could be worse because of it. But oh my gosh. That's a tough one. How about general dryness? What does that mean? I think it's Well, because it says bladder. I mean, maybe some people What do they say?

SPEAKER_01 16:07

Vaginal dryness if that's what they're doing.

SPEAKER_00 16:09

I would think they would say vaginal dryness, but what about the people where they have the er the sense that they have to pee, but then don't?

SPEAKER_01 16:16

Isn't that a UTI?

SPEAKER_00 16:18

I think that could be a lot of things. Yeah. Yeah. But it's hormones to blame everybody. Just so you know. All right. Um, changes in body odor. I'm not sure. Have I brought it up on? I think I brought it up.

SPEAKER_01 16:34

I don't know if you brought it up on here. I just know. Because do you remember the text message you sent me once?

SPEAKER_00 16:40

It was after I first got my pellets.

SPEAKER_01 16:43

I sent Holly a message and I said, D what deodorant do you use? Because listen, she only asked it because I had asked her because I was like, I got a smelling problem, a sweating problem.

SPEAKER_00 16:57

I knew about her sweating problem, so I thought maybe she had some tips on deodorant to use. But after I started getting the pellets, I noticed a sense of smell that was emitting from me that I had never noticed before.

SPEAKER_01 17:15

What if you always had that smell and it was your sensitive sensitivity to your smelling? What if? And what if nobody told me that I can smell? I would have told her, okay.

unknown 17:26

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 17:26

Later on I followed up. Um, I think it was a few days later, and I'm like, do you smell me?

SPEAKER_01 17:31

No, I just I've never been past Renee and thought she smelled bad. So it's yet.

SPEAKER_00 17:38

It's okay.

unknown 17:39

It was the funniest thing.

SPEAKER_00 17:41

It's really hard to ask a coworker and a friend if you are emitting an odor. Yeah, you don't want to do that to anybody.

SPEAKER_01 17:49

You're like, hey, no. Am I smelly? But she's not smelly, though. She's not. I'm confirming. I would tell you, you're not. It's my heightened sensitivity. It's just you're smelling it. It's yourself.

SPEAKER_00 18:00

Well, and I'm super self-conscious, right? You know, I mean, this whole era of life has made me very self-conscious. I'm worried about what my hair looks like, what my skin's doing, how bad my wrinkles are, you know. So you're really self-conscious. Just added how I smelled to the mix. I think you smell delightful. Pro tip: I started using a men's deodorant. And I feel like that manages things.

SPEAKER_01 18:23

You don't think that smells funny? Because that's like a different smell, but no. I use more like the fresh scent, so it doesn't smell like that, like sandalwood.

SPEAKER_00 18:34

Avoiding all of that. But it is probably stronger, so that helps. And then also it's aluminum-free. I don't know if that has something to do with it or not, but there's all sorts of research around using deodorant that's aluminum-free. So perhaps. But if you are sensing an odor about yourself, try um changing up your deodorant to a men's deodorant. There you go.

SPEAKER_01 19:01

There you go. And we had we had given a tip about a lotion that we use, and it smells fantastic. It does smell fantastic. And that would help you too.

SPEAKER_00 19:09

Yeah. Oh, I love that stuff too. Oh gosh. Smells good, feels good, takes away wrinkles and crepey skin. All kinds of good stuff. Amazing. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 19:19

All right. Okay. Well, we're gonna talk about what you can do. This is all going, you're dealing with all this weird shit, which is awful.

SPEAKER_00 19:27

It's awful.

SPEAKER_01 19:28

Um, we're gonna I'm gonna tell you to do things that we've told you to do before. Right. It's all the same. So first and foremost, advocate for yourself.

SPEAKER_00 19:36

It was just on our tip drop Tuesday yesterday. Thanks to Susie. She said that's the one thing you can do. Advocate for yourself.

SPEAKER_01 19:43

Advocate for yourself and be comfortable with what it is that you're asked to do. Right.

SPEAKER_00 19:49

You're not crazy, number one. So if you are experiencing one of these symptoms, don't just suffer with it. Tell your doctor about it. See if there's something that you can do to supplement or help yourself through this crazy stage of life. And track those symptoms. Tracking. That is the most important, literally, because you might be eating something that you're suddenly sensitive to. Yeah. You don't know. You're right. But unless you see it happening daily or weekly when you have those symptoms, it's really important. So in the morning, what time you wake up, what you're eating all day long, what type of exercise you got that day, everything. Then what symptoms you're experiencing.

SPEAKER_01 20:29

Because you're not gonna remember. Like you think you will, right? Like, I'll pay attention to what I'm eating. But hello, we talked about the brain fog people. You're not gonna remember. You are not gonna remember. Write it down. You must write it down. Write it down.

SPEAKER_00 20:40

So yes, and even if you remember it tomorrow, just wait for a week to go back to remember.

SPEAKER_01 20:45

Yeah, by the time you're at the doctor, and they're like, How often does this happen?

SPEAKER_00 20:47

You're like, uh It's so embarrassing. I mean, the doctors look at me like, have you lost your mind? I'm like, hold on, I'll get my notes out instead.

SPEAKER_01 20:56

And you're like, Yes, I have, but I have notes.

SPEAKER_00 20:59

I'm in perimenopause. Okay, let's just deal with that.

SPEAKER_01 21:03

Back off. Back off. All right, and then just yeah, you're gonna talk to your provider. You want to make sure that you explore options. So uh lifestyle, HRT, if that works for you, those supplements that Renee mentioned. And remember, community matters. You're not alone. You have us. And there's probably so many people going through that weird shit, and you think about you're not talking about it. Because of course, I'm not gonna walk up to someone and be like, I just keep getting UTIs. Wanna talk about it?

SPEAKER_00 21:30

Tell me how they feel, Holly.

SPEAKER_01 21:33

Maybe I'll try it. But I just mean like it is important to know there are people going through it and you're not alone, and it is sometimes hard to talk about and to find those people.

SPEAKER_00 21:43

It's really hard. Yes. Yeah, but you don't want to freak anyone out. You just need one, right? You just need that one person that you can bounce ideas off of. Our experiences because I I mean every time we air an episode, somebody says, I have that.

SPEAKER_01 22:05

I experienced it. You're crazy. I went down that road. It is absolutely crazy. It is amazing. And we do. We want to hear from you guys, especially some of this stuff that maybe we have not experienced, to hear what you guys are going through. We would love to hear from you. Definitely.

SPEAKER_00 22:20

Okay. So if you're sitting here thinking, wait, that's a symptom too. You are not alone. As we've said, you are never alone in this. We're definitely going through the same thing. We've validated the list of weird shit today because a handful of them Holly and I are also experiencing. So this phase of life can feel confusing, frustrating, and a little overwhelming at times. A little, that's an understatement. Sometimes a lot overwhelming. But knowledge is power, and the more we talk about this, the less alone we feel. Your body isn't failing you, it's communicating. And you deserve support, answers, and care that actually makes sense for you because you are a unique individual.

SPEAKER_01 23:04

Amen. If something from today's episode resonated, we'd love to hear from you. What symptoms surprised you the most? What made you go, okay? Now this explains a lot. And if you know someone who's been saying, I just don't feel like myself lately, send this episode their way. It might be exactly what they need to hear. Don't forget to follow, rate, and review the podcast. It helps us reach more women who need these conversations.

SPEAKER_00 23:26

And as always, stay sassy, stay informed, and take care of you. We'll see you next time.