This poll ran on the Caria community site and is now closed. The final results are below.
- Yes88.19%1,157 votes
- No11.81%155 votes
1,312 responses in total.
Community comments
71Real experiences shared by the community, from the original discussion to today.
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Share what worked for you — comments are reviewed before they appear.
Marcy6 years ago
I find my short term memory has gotten much worse since entering perimenopause which is really frustrating at work
Leiann6 years ago
I read the XX Brain book by Dr Mosconi about brain health.../ so useful
Alyssareplying to Leiann2 years ago
I just saw that on Amazon. It interesting.
Joanne6 years ago
The hot sweats are uncomfortable and a cause of irritation at work.
Wendy6 years ago
I’m really struggling with concentration and memory issues at work which is causing much stress and anxiety
Warty6 years ago
Yes me too!
Michelle5 years ago
It’s such a relief to hear it’s not just me! It takes me twice as long to get through my work. Disturbed sleep doesn’t help of course How do you cope with it, do you take any supplements? I take magnesium and vitamin D which does help with fatigue. I’d like to know if it is likely to improve or stabilise. Good luck
Veronica5 years ago
Me too! I have brain fog snd I mix my words up. When colleagues laugh I feel stupid and it’s definitely knocked my confidence.
Elaine6 years ago
It’s quite a physical job, I’m exhausted by the time I go home. Before the menopause I had loads of energy!!!
Trace6 years ago
Menopause is the worst thing that’s ever happened to me n I wouldn’t wish this hell on my worst enemy. ?? I’m lucky if I sleep 4hrs a night ... it’s hard to sleep when your sheets n pillow are soaked. I’m an animal rescuer w 5 cats, 2 on a special diet that need to eat 4x a day every 6 hrs ... I can barely crawl downstairs to put food in 5 bowls .. my house is a complete mess because I barely have the energy to do anything because the minute I try to start.. I sweat is profusely pouring from my head to my knees .. this is complete n utter HELL ?????
Dawn5 years ago
YES!!!!! It’s such a viscous cycle!!
Melissa6 years ago
The anxiety is interfering the most. I get dizziness with it. Have missed days and struggling to get control of it.
Warty6 years ago
Me too - you are definitely not alone. I so wish the medicine world would find the right treatment instead of just offering anti-depressants. I’m not convinced that’s really the right path to go down.
Pattyreplying to Warty5 years ago
I agree with us too, fortunately I have an understanding boss and coworkers and I’m able to step away from what I’m doing when the anxiety kicks in. But the other day I had to leave work and go home because my anxiety was so bad it was raising my blood pressure and that was freaking me out and making my anxiety worse. I’m a nurse and take care of patients in a busy chemotherapy clinic, it is stressful to say the least when my anxiety fires up for no reason at all. I used to be able to handle loads of stress and multitasking without the blinking an eye, now, it’s suddenly like the weight of the world on my shoulders when it flares up without any warning. I think that’s the worst part.
Heatherreplying to Patty2 years ago
I feel this as well.
Jane6 years ago
Anxiety and insomnia - and just doubting myself all the time.
Warty6 years ago
Yes me too, but I can drop off a treat but wake regularly as clockwork at 4:00am. I’ve cut out caffeine (although I never had much anyway) but I seemed to be super sensitive anyway. I started to do a very very basic jog/run app. I found doing a jigsaw at night or switching off any screens (mobile and even tv) helped a lot. Read or listen to audible books/programs or self hypnosis/meditation downloads has helped calm myself in bed. Hope you find a solution!
Sunny5 years ago
Me too!
Dawny6 years ago
Yes it’s impacted work as i am still healing from my surgery one year on so not sure what would’ve been. The Brian fog is terrible.
Pinki6 years ago
I feel I lost confidence in my ability and myself. It’s really getting me down. I have no energy and I’ve put on weight that won’t shift!!
Jolange6 years ago
Totally agree no energy and end of day there is no me time as all I have energy for is sleep
Veronica5 years ago
Me too.
Sparkle3 years ago
Same for me. I feel like a complete failure as I just don’t seem to be myself any more.
MaryReBell6 years ago
Nine years ago my company told me they were not happy with my performance. I tried to find out what/why etc. They started a redundancy process. I was very stressed and saw my doctor who identified menopausal symptoms. Company made me redundant. I have since discovered a wide range of behaviours which come up without my noticing if I stop HRT. From no focus, loss of confidence, triple and more checking of everything, no short-term memory, demotivation, anxiety, insomnia, loss of balance, clumsiness and the only one I had heard of, hot flushes. I am in hospital at the moment for blood clots and they stopped HRT to be safe. I have become hysterical, a crying machine, super sensitive to pain and terrified that this means my working life is over.
Donna6 years ago
❤️❤️❤️
Patty5 years ago
♥️
Rhonda4 years ago
Mary, I am so sorry this has all happened to you! I can relate to so many of your feelings and symptoms. It is shocking how many symptoms we all share that are not widely known as symptoms of menopause and how they affect our work health. Hang in there! You are not alone. ?
Donna6 years ago
I’ve become much more dithery and indecisive, second guessing myself. Lost confidence in my own judgement. Can’t find the right word and forget stuff right at the wrong moment. Massively problematic in my job. Sleep problems and feeling exhausted don’t help. I’m on oestrogen gel and progesterone tabs (which I use vaginally and only for a few days - the 2 week oral business was making me crazy) but I think I need testosterone for the brain mush. GP not interested with covid at the moment but am hoping to get referred to somewhere that can/will prescribe in the uk. The hrt I’m on at the moment has helped quite a lot but it’s a long long way from feeling ok. I’m finding the whole thing utterly wretched tbh.
Veronica5 years ago
I’m with you. It’s difficult. I see the younger ones in work and I feel out of my depth sometimes. It’s not nice.
Carla4 years ago
I totally relate to you. Even lost my job. Not nice moment and now am doubting myself so much that I don't feel I am capable of finding a new job. And I have too….
Jane6 years ago
After reading the comments, I too feel like most of you at some point during work. I’ve had severe anxiety where I eventually had to take time off causing panic attacks leading to so much emotional pain, worrying about work, my health my home life taking care of things. But since hrt and anti depressants (although I’m not sure I should be taking AD) I’m feeling a lot better. I’m returning to work in September (school) so hoping I’ll be able to function as normal. X
Teresa6 years ago
I work in a pharmacy and do long hours on my feet. Before the menopause this was no problem. I entered peri menopause 2 years ago and recently I had to cut my hours as I can hardly make it through a whole day never mind a whole week. By the end of the day I am in so much pain and so exhausted that I even find the 20 min drive home almost unbearable. It is really getting me down
Dolphinsal6 years ago
I have been dismissed from my job as can’t function my brain and memory wont work
Cassarella5 years ago
I can relate as I’ve been dismissed twice from different jobs. I’m so sorry you’ve had the same experience. Big hug xx
Jacqui6 years ago
I have to write everything down otherwise I just forget what I’m doing, I can also get very emotional over nothing !
Melissa5 years ago
I feel your pain on the emotions!! I felt like a toddler having a meltdown over given the wrong color cup !! It could be over the littlest thing!!
Kat6 years ago
I have a lot of trouble remaining focused these days. The hot flashes are also awful to the point I sometimes have to stop what Im doing to get through it.
Anna6 years ago
My brain fog causes problems, and inside I want to scream at people, sometimes ?
Kirsty6 years ago
I lost a lot of confidence. Felt like the workplace was moving on and I wasn’t keeping up. I actually have a lot to offer and my experience is valued. I can still achieve what I want and won’t let anything stand in my way.
Anne5 years ago
Me too! I feel like I don’t know what I’m doing and am not capable anymore. It’s awful. I’ve had self doubts in the past but nothing like this.
Kalinah6 years ago
The brain fog, drowsiness, and arthritis pain make it very difficult to concentrate on my work. Working from home doesn’t help at all with my motivation, either ?
Claire6 years ago
Constant brain fog makes it difficult for me to stay focused , plus I get so tired I could literally fall asleep. Every day I feel is a struggle .
Jennifer6 years ago
Concentration and memory issues
Christine6 years ago
I got monthly migraines when thrown into early menopause aged 27 following the birth of my third child. I coped with the other symptoms (although the flushes and night sweats for worse in my early 60’s) but the migraines became daily by my 50’s and had to take early retirement as I was always having to be sent home. I loved my job but gave up the struggle at the age of 61. I still get the migraines but can now stay in bed till the tablets work.
Cassarella5 years ago
I have lost alertness and concentration to the point I lost two jobs.
Nichole5 years ago
I am struggling with memory loss, confusion, and concentration. It’s making my job even harder and I really need to be focused with what my job allows me to do. I also have hot flashes ALL of the time. I pour sweat when everyone else is freezing. All of this makes me extremely uncomfortable and very irritated.
Clare5 years ago
Hot flushes are more worrying due to the paranoia around due to Covid. Am I actually sweating and my temperature up or is it a hot flush which apparently doesn’t actually change it?
Hayley5 years ago
My concentration and memory are having a big impact on my ability to function as I used to be able to and it’s really affecting my confidence over the past couple of years - I’m 52. Recently I have also sustained a recent serious head injury (large cut, multiple fractures to left side of forehead, right side posterior orbital, and right cheekbone with cerebral haemorrhage - fainted while sitting on a high bar stool and head hit the ground first) it was only 3 weeks ago and I’m due back in work but I’m so much more anxious now & the hot flashes have also been relentless since. I’m having to really push myself to get through the day as it is and still getting headaches and my memory is even worse! I’m not sure I’m going to ever get back to “normal” ? (Whatever that looks like at this stage of our life!)
SnowElf5 years ago
Sorry to hear that, Hayley. 3 weeks is very soon after an injury like that. Take it slowly and nurture yourself. It can take months to feel ‘normal’ after a head injury but most people make a good recovery. Fingers crossed for you. (Have you tried taking naps throughout the day and limiting screen time to allow your brain to rest? A lot of people find that helps.)
Katherinereplying to SnowElf5 years ago
Great advice!!!! My story is almost similar, I am 52 am I also suffered a brain injury getting hit with a heavy door in the left temple , last January. I thought I was OK but to learn that I was suffering a concussion and was unable to do any screen time it was exhausting , debilitating . Lots of rest and napping, taking extra care,, and be patient with yourself, it was at least six months before I noticed improvements.As snow elf said rest your brain , so important. ?
Vivi5 years ago
I suffered hormonal chronic fatigue for 6 years. Now I have significant troubles with painful rashes on my hands and body. For about 3 months, my hands were bandaged. Still, now 3 months later, I have to be extremely careful with my hands and skin. I have excessive issues with heat (think hot flashes, but for most of the day). Insomnia and sleep disturbances. Tremendous anxiety. And at bedtime, I now regularly get overwhelmed with emotions and cry. I have a bevy of other symptoms, too. I have been significantly disabled over the last 7 years. On the upside, the hair on my legs is almost all gone (a sign I’ve been told is indicative of progress), and with diet, exercise, meditation, supplements, and time, I have been showing signs of improvement. Working during all this has been impossible at times. And the only work I am able to manage for years had been PT, intermittent, and from home.
Katherine5 years ago
Yes I also struggled with my workplace, confidence level decreased, and slight anxiety, find people irritating, petty, behaviours are so intolerant at this time,, all I can do is work on my own inner peace and show love and gratitude ?
Kate5 years ago
As I work in mental heath we have to a lot of training on a regular basis and I do believe this menopause is effecting my concentration I struggle sometimes to take it all in which causes my anxiety to worsen
Dawn5 years ago
My job is Homemaker. For 20 years I have run my household as my full time career. It wasn’t planned. My first born was 3 months premature and her health issues kept her out of childcare now our youngest has been diagnosed with epilepsy that we are still trying to get under control. Mood swings, hot flashes, random anxiety attacks, why in the world do I smell like this I just took a shower, no I’m not crying!!! And we haven’t even gotten to the neurologist appointment yet. It’s ten minutes from the house. Not to mention the fatigue that has me falling asleep while making breakfast, lunch, dinner, the bed, feeding the animals (we’re country folk ?) laundry, banking and bill paying, grocery lists and shopping (since when has 75 pounds of sugar fit in a 5 pound bag?? Wait, did I need sugar?? Where’s my list?? Oh yeah, I left it on the counter along with my purse where my wallet lives...again!! ) I am so thankful that I was blessed with a wonderful sense of humor.
Marie5 years ago
I was having a day of inexplicable rage on Thursday and I totally lost it at a colleague (who I line manage) when we disagreed about something. Argued with him and then burst into tears and basically told him I wasn’t coping with kids at home, lockdown, work, etc. This isn’t true! I just wasn’t coping on that day. Now I feel so embarrassed and like I’ve compromised any respect he had for me. Doesn’t help that he’s a 30 year old man who doesn’t have kids.
Melissa5 years ago
The foggy brain is one thing that didn’t help but the meltdowns of emotions ( I felt like a toddler given the wrong color cup ) I cried at the drop of a hat !! I literally had to leave my job , I thought It was my job !! Guess it was just me !!
As5 years ago
I’m interested to know what support networks you have at work specifically for menopause. I created a private group on our work’s Facebook page - we started with 8 members, we’ve grown to 16. I’m hoping that as professional women we can put suggestions to the leadership team that creates a supported and inclusive environment for us all.
Heather2 years ago
I would love to join
kristi5 years ago
I’ve gotten stuck in an anxiety/depression spiral. I can’t deal with customers right now. Fortunately my husband and I have a small business together. He’s worked things around so I can do the office work at home, but I now feel guilty because I’m shouldering him with extra work (he has his own health issues). I’ve just started hrt and I’m praying it helps. ?
Laura5 years ago
I no longer work or leave my home the anxiety is so severe I don’t even go to the drs anymore.
Rhonda4 years ago
Laura, I know what you are feeling! I told my counselor, who I have seen only twice for anxiety since I had to take medical leave from work due to panic attacks and anxiety, that I think my next job should be something I can do at home, away from others, and I saw him raise an eyebrow…I honestly just want to become a hermit! I am so anxious about any interaction with anyone that it feels like a dreadful confrontation. My husband doesn’t understand why I feel like it’s a confrontation, as he only associates that word with a situation that has become aggressive or defensive. I wish I had stumbled on to this site before my last visit with the counselor. He basically suggested I get a different therapist to help me-Made me feel six shades of crazy.
Anne5 years ago
It feels like the working world has moved on without me...doubting myself and my skills...don’t feel capable anymore. It’s awful. I’ve had self doubts in the past but nothing like this.
KateHw5 years ago
For me it’s the nightly lack of sleep (1-3 hours sleep every night) that causes me the worse issues. Luckily I’m self employed and work from home for the last 10 years so can work around it but even so it’s impacted my work as I now struggle to get the bare minimum done because I’m so exhausted all the time.
Rhonda4 years ago
I changed jobs from teaching in-person to teaching online when COVID hit. The online school was so stressful and I never slept because the work was never done. As a result, I changed back to in-person teaching, but couldn’t get hired back at my old school where my daughter still attends. I ended up at a school which had severely violent and behaviorally difficult students …I was teaching Kindergarten! The incidents were so difficult, emotionally and physically demanding throughout the days to the point that I started having panic attacks. I couldn’t help the student with the behavioral troubles, and was so overwhelmed by the injustice and lack of support in the system to protect or help the other students that he was traumatizing dailly. I felt like I couldn’t teach anything! We spent most of our days discussing our feelings about the situation or doing kids’ yoga together. It finally came to a head and my GP authorized me to take medical leave of absence for anxiety and panic attacks. It took three months to come out of the funk of feeling anxious daily, feeling like a failure at my career as a teacher, feeling like I let my husband down (he helped me complete my degree in education), and fear of what my children would think of me for leaving my job. Working as a teacher while being a mom has proven to be too much for me to handle, especially with the level of stress the last two teaching experiences gave me. I still have such anxiousness at the thought of returning to the classroom that I am looking into other options for work; however, I honestly feel best when I can just be a stay-at-home mom. Our lives are so busy with three children, ages 9-14, attending 3 different schools, having at least 5 sports to juggle amongst the three of them, and other school activities that I am overwhelmed just trying to keep up with them. I had a panic attack that left me crying for hours the other day, just at the thought of having to deal with someone at my son’s school because we missed some important information for him to join a club. Now that I have discovered that so many of my symptoms could be related to menopause, a huge lightbulb went on for me! My counselor was stumped as to why these feelings have just recently come about, whereas prior to all this, I have been a smart, successful business woman and competent mother. I appreciate hearing other’s experiences of how menopause has affected their professional lives, because it has given me comfort to know that I am not a failure or losing my mind. Thank you!
Tammy4 years ago
I have such bad restless leg syndrome and hot feet. I barely sleep at night and these 30+ days periods. The brain fog has caused me to make mistakes that has caused the bank I work for, money. I don’t drink caffeine and don’t know what more to do.
Amy3 years ago
I'm going to quit, I just can't do it anymore. Work/Life balance just isn't working. And I only work 45 hrs a week! I'm just not doing enough. I can't keep up.
Sparkle3 years ago
Gave up work as I just could not cope any more with the stress and pressure. The place was toxic anyway so a blessing. Found this article spot on with matching symptoms right down to the nightmare. : https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/jun/11/i-started-to-unravel-why-do-so-many-women-over-40-struggle-with-stress
Christy1 year ago
I have to say that my perimenopause symptoms have made it nearly impossible for me to function at work and in general. I took a 6 week leave of absence until I got the right treatment to help me level out. It was the worst time in my life because I felt so out of control of my emotions and everything physical that was/is going on in my body. I truly felt I didn’t know who I was anymore. I am now on anti anxiety and anti depression medication along with progesterone. I am feeling so much better and am back to work. I still have mood swings but not nearly as debilitating as the last few months. Unfortunately along with feeling better, I started my period after 7 months of no period 😔 I was so close to getting through. I am hopeful though with the new medication that things will not be as bad. I did a gene test to see which anti anxiety anti depression medication was best for my body to metabolize and let me tell you- it is spot on! I’ve been on anti depressants since I was 15 and I’m 50 now, no other med has had this great of an effect on me. Gene test was worth it 😊 I hope you all are doing well! We got this!
Jameka1 year ago
Intervals of Night sweats cause me to oversleep. When I wake up my hair looks like a wet dog & it takes longer to make it presentable. Now I’m late for work, my eyes are burning, I have a fatigue headache & I’m cranky.
Taunya10 months ago
I’m exhausted all the time!!!! I can’t concentrate a lot and it’s hard to retain new information!
Anonymous9 months ago
Yes!! My memory was terrible!! Now I’m on HRT and it is so much better!!! Just do it! I thought I was going to have to change careers because I use my brain so much!!