What causes symptoms to flare up in menopause?
Have your hot flushes increased lately, perhaps you are feeling extra sensitive, or you’re developing even more sleep problems. It might be that you have gotten a specific troublesome symptom under control only for it to suddenly come back with a vengeance. You might just find that everything was okay one day and the next, you're back at square one.
This is very common, but it takes a lot of you quite by surprise. You might think, "What on earth is going on? I thought I'd finished with all that."
Many things can cause your symptoms to come back with a vengeance or suddenly worsen. Here are a few causes to be aware of and what can help:
Hormonal fluctuations
You may think that your hormones will just fall gracefully in harmony with each other, and that's the way it goes right through the perimenopause and the menopause. But especially in perimenopause, your hormones can go up and down like a yo-yo, and they can peak very quickly.
So, you can have normal levels of oestrogen one day, but the next day, they could shoot right up. And then, the day after that, they could suddenly dip. And it's all these sudden hormonal fluctuations that can bring back symptoms or make them worse. So that's the first issue that's going on.
Poor sleep
Secondly, it's poor sleep. And we know that even one night's bad sleep can have a huge impact on your general health and your body's ability to cope with anything the next day. So, if you're suddenly finding that you're going through a phase of not sleeping very well, then it's not surprising that the next day, you're going to be extra tired, extra anxious, and maybe those hot flushes or the night sweats are going to start up all over again.
Dehydration
Dehydration is a big issue. For those of you who've been following my advice for a while, you all know all about how important plain water is, especially if the weather is really hot. We tend not to click that even if we are good enough at drinking water, during a really hot spell, we need to up that even further. If temperatures are rising, then your water intake needs to rise along with it.
Extra stress
Who is not stressed at the moment? You can be worrying about just day-to-day things. You can be worrying about your finances. It could be your family. It could be what's going on in the world. So, all sorts of stress and worries (even little extra bits now and again) will make us more vulnerable to those symptoms resurfacing and flaring up once again.
Not taking care of yourself
I do go on about this a lot. Self-care is a priority! It's not an extra thing that we do if we've got time. This is vital. We need to take good care of ourselves every day. But if we get extra busy, then we may forget or think, "Oh, I don't have time for relaxation. I don't have time for an early bed, or I just don't have time to do that wee bit of exercise that I normally do."
Letting go of our self-care or making it less of a priority, can cause our body to be less able to cope with the symptoms. So again, they'll just come back.
Forgetting to take helpful supplements
It could be that you're just forgetting some of your supplements. I often recommend extra supplements during perimenopause and menopause because our nutritional needs go up.
We can take them, we can feel better, and then we just forget or we think, "Oh, I don't need them anymore." And then we wonder why we don't feel as good, maybe more tired, or our joint pain flares up. Supplements such as calcium and magnesium, either fish oils or flaxseed oils for joints and mood, are really important. These are often areas that flare up quickly, just because you forgot these extra things in your diet.
Recovering from illness
Even a little cold, not feeling 100% for a few days, getting the flu or a tummy bug, or you might have had a bit of diarrhoea, can all take extra energy away from your body as you're trying to recuperate, and that in turn can make you more vulnerable to all these flare-ups as well.
What to do to help yourself?
If you've sorted your symptoms and they come back, look at what was going on in your life when these symptoms reappeared. Have you been looking after yourself? Are you extra stressed? Has your diet gone downhill? Are you not getting sleep? Very often, you will find a clue, and all you need to do then is just sort the issues that have pulled your reserves down that little bit.
Symptoms coming back after menopause
I get a lot of questions about this. You may be a few years post-menopause and you have got all your symptoms out of the way. You might've had a couple of years of feeling okay. Then suddenly, the night sweats are back. The hot flushes are back. The anxiety is back, or the joint aches or the digestive issues are back. And you might think, "Is this hormonal?" It's unlikely, especially the further away you get from when your periods stopped.
Other issues or health conditions can creep in at this time and cause similar symptoms that you experienced during perimenopause and menopause.
If you've gone through a period of stress, your body's reserves and your body's ability to cope with everything just decreases, and that's enough to allow these things to resurface.
You could be low iron. It could be a vitamin D or vitamin B12 deficiency. It could be thyroid imbalance. It could also be diabetes or heart disease. All of these can trigger symptoms that are practically identical to menopause symptoms.
So, if you're post-menopause, maybe three to five years after your periods have stopped, if any menopause-like symptoms come back, it's always a good idea just to double-check with your doctor.
I hope you found this one helpful. Symptoms coming back and disappearing is a really common situation, but, being aware of what can trigger them will then give you the ability to be able to deal with them a lot easier and also a lot quicker.
So, if any of you out there have been in this situation, did you find out what it was that triggered them and how did you cope with them? Please share. You know I love to hear all your stories.
And until next time, take care.
You may also find these topics helpful:
Does menopause get worse before it gets better?
Emotional Menopause Symptoms: Why they can worsen or come back
