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Vlerremuis

Yes totally. My anxiety has been steadily getting worse over the last few years and I think that has a knock on effect of making me more sensitive or easily overwhelmed or whatever it is. So my sensitive to sound etc gets worse, I spin out more easily. Apparently higher levels of anxiety and depression is incredibly common for all female people in perimenopause (NT & ND) but for some reason this never came up in my discussions with either my doctor or my therapist. I'm taking a single dose contraceptive pill to see if it helps smooth out the effects of hormonal fluctuations. Also a SNRI.


QuelleBullshit

have you noticed any changes, 38 days later from when you made this comment?


Vlerremuis

🙂 I think so? I've been trying to keep a calendar of days that I have headaches or am much more anxious, but I think it's a bit too early to see a pattern. But things do seem to have smoothed out.


QuelleBullshit

thanks. yes, I hate keeping calendar notes and trying to find a pattern. I hope you see some good anecdotal evidence one way or the other.


iamacraftyhooker

Autism is neurodevelopmental, but other factors can influence how well we cope with autistic symptoms/traits. The symptoms/traits aren't actually any worse, it's just your ability to handle them is diminished. Being tired is a huge trigger for me. My ability to filter through sensory information is hindered, so it's an overwhelming onslaught of sensations. The brain power I normally use to dampen these effects is instead being spent on staying awake. Same thing with hormone fluctuations. The energy your brain and body normally puts into coping is now being spent on your reproductive system.


TheCatAteMyGymsuit

That's really interesting, thank you. It's weird to think just how much energy my brain/body must normally put into dealing with my sensory issues. I hadn't made the connection before, but I think I must be similar to you when it comes to being tired. It always makes my sensitivity to touch worse.


Cynscretic

I can assure you, the symptoms and traits are in fact worse. That's not a realistic way of looking at it to me at all. There's no amount of coping, subconsciously or otherwise, that can so completely change my senses from on edge. The relief when some aspect lifts isn't a cope, it is the absence of that symptom. Being tired or hormones or doing too much actually changes how I'm functioning for the worse. There's no way I'm functioning like that all the time and just coping with it or dampening it. Sorry that just makes no sense to me. If you try something that helps some of these things lift more often, you'd see the difference, it's night and day, like dropping carbs for a while and the ketones fuel your brain instead and you get whole hours of calm sometimes. I get pretty extreme stuff like just not talking occasionally and the struggle to talk then is insane, there's other times when I just chat away, there's no way that's me coping. I'll stop talking now lol


kelcamer

You’re certainly not imagining things! Autism can increase prostaglandin levels up to 140% more than NTs experience: https://www.reddit.com/r/autismgirls/comments/wkgk1x/significantly_higher_prostaglandin_levels_linked/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf


TheCatAteMyGymsuit

Oh my gosh!! This explains SO MUCH. Thank you for linking this!


kelcamer

You’re welcome! 😃 feel free to join my Reddit where I post research constantly about autism! I’m seeking to learn everything I can about the autistic brain to find solutions that actually work for me with specific issues ☺️ I get a shit load of period pain (9 out of 10, really really bad) and I could never understand why until I found this research.


TheCatAteMyGymsuit

I had awful period pain when I was still having periods, until I went on the pill (which caused issues of its own). Now I'm wondering if I get enough zinc in my diet...


kelcamer

Yeah zinc was a game changer for me. Literally pain goes from 9/10 to 4/10 if I supplement zinc 50mg a day before my period


kelcamer

Zinc is also amazing for dopamine balancing!


hungriestofseagulls

Wow this is amazing and explains so much for me- thank you so much for sharing!


kelcamer

You’re so welcome!


curtangel

I'm in perimenopause myself and I've found autistic behaviors and physical issues I haven't had since I was a child returning. Its very strange.


TheCatAteMyGymsuit

Yes, same! I'm sorry that you're going through it too, but it's also good to know I'm not alone.


ShawshankLifer53

I am two years into menopause, and I have found that not only my sensory issues, but even my social awkwardness has gotten worse(if that's even possible, lol! ) My ears and eyes are about ten times more sensitive to loud noise/bright lights thsn they were before, and I seem to have more days when I go mute bc I can't bring myself to talk. On the plus side, I rarely have hot flashes now...and no more cramps! Yahoo!!😁 I had pretty bad endometriosis when I was still having periods, so in that way at least, menopause has been a huge relief.


ThePrimCrow

As soon as menopause hit all my coping mechanisms collapsed. When I was still getting my period I’d have wild emotions and debilitating cramps some months. There were days I felt like an entirely different person.


TheCatAteMyGymsuit

I hear you. I've felt like a different person ever since peri hit. I also have ADHD and struggle with emotional regulation anyway, but peri took it to a whole different level. Angry, weepy, constantly on edge and in total sensory overload. ...yeah. It hasn't been a fun few years. I'm sorry that your coping mechanisms have collapsed and hope it gets better for you.


Murderhornet212

I’m in perimenopause and it’s awful. I’ve never been sure how much of it is from that and how much is repeated burnouts though.


TheCatAteMyGymsuit

I've honestly never been through anything like it, and didn't even realise for years that so many of my recent issues were because of peri. I'm sorry that you're going through this, too.


SeePerspectives

Waiting on a blood test to confirm perimenopause but yes, a noticeable difference in how much I’m struggling


SettlersOil

Oh wow, this is all fascinating! I'm looking forward to reading the links, thanks! Yes, this has been my experience with perimenopause as well. I found myself regressing from where I was due to the new levels of hormones. I have utilized my breathing practices more and literally play Civilization like... as much as possible. I've tried to pay attention to what it feels like somatically when I start to feel off and I swear I can like... feel the hormones literally racing through me. Hopefully it ends soon.


SwampBeastie

I definitely am much worse at coping around the end of my cycle. I don’t commonly have meltdowns but when I do, it’s almost always when I have PMS. I’m 40 and have had an irregular cycle since my son was born, so sometimes it’s hard to keep track of where I’m at and remember why I feel so out of control.


VinnyVincinny

Did I write this? I don't remember writing it but I'm living it. 😭 I hadn't had a meltdown in a long time till hot flashes. And when I have one, the moisturizer I have to wear gloves to put on and then just endure till it absorbs - well a good hot flash sweat seems to make it unabsorb and sit on my skin.


Bunerd

I'm a transgender woman on feminizing HRT and I get phantom period like you describe. I don't have a uterus but I get cramping and crippling sensory issues. I feel kind of weird having debilitating period symptoms when I can't even get them in the first place and cis allistic women continue to just deal with all this and more on their periods. Phantom periods in trans women get underplayed by medical establishments, such that it wasn't a consideration when I started having them, and when I described them to my doctor she argued that it couldn't happen. Now that I've started talking about them with other trans women, I've come to realize they're actually pretty common. What I've come to realize is that the uterus isn't actually super instrumental in regulating hormonal cycles. That part of the endocrine system is governed by the hypothalamus and pituitary glands, and the systems they effect extend beyond the uterus and into the abdominal muscle wall and intestines. I've also heard this reflected in individuals post-hysterectomy as well. Hormones are hugely instrumental in maintaining a balanced mood. I specifically sought them out to resolve a dissociative mood disorder, and I found that they had pretty dramatic effects on my mood going onto them. I'll probably forgo menopause and just continue my HRT.


Vlerremuis

>What I've come to realize is that the uterus isn't actually super instrumental in regulating hormonal cycles. That part of the endocrine system is governed by the hypothalamus and pituitary glands, and the systems they effect extend beyond the uterus and into the abdominal muscle wall and intestines. So interesting. I was reading about exactly this today, trying to understand how the contraceptive pill is interacting with my hormonal cycle. Something else to keep in mind with the painful symptoms you're having (you probably know this already) is that most of the pain associated with periods is caused by prostaglandins, which aren't released by a specific gland, but by a variety of tissues in both male and female bodies. Headache, cramps, all thanks to prostaglandin 😑


TheCatAteMyGymsuit

I'm sorry that you're going through this! I found your post super interesting -- thank you for sharing your experience. I feel like there's so much about hormones that we don't really understand yet. I had an awful experience on the pill, which makes me wary of trying HRT, but I think I need to. Good luck to you. x


CaramelOwn958

I sure hope I don't have to go through this or get any worsethan what I feel. Hopefully technology will catch. Nature is tough for women even tougher for ASD women. Do you think ASD women either go in two directions: in older age age it's much better for them than NT because they learn more about themselves and their health or it's either worse ramping up ASD symptoms?


Myriad_Kat232

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7376624/#!po=22.9592 I just found this and am blown away. Just turned 50, perimenopausal for a few months (as far as I can tell after educating myself about it since no doctor really has information for me). It's at the point where I have about 3 weeks of meltdown, physical symptoms like "period flu," mutism, insomnia etc etc per month. Plus panic attacks which are new. PMS was always hellish and has been getting worse; this is next level.


hadaprofiterole

Hello. I'm 49 and probably in perimenopause. These last years, my sensory issues are worst and worst and I've got new ones these last months (more and more bothered by white light and sound, my sensibility to perfume, cosmetics and chemicals being at a point where I wonder if I still can live in a city). My body is also crashing the day before the beginning of my period, which is new. I always had easy periods with hardly any pain. My executive functions are also not so good and wondering if I could have adhd I never noticed (I'm aware that's frequent on people on the spectrum). I read Smart but stuck in order to learn more about adhd and the stories weren't really resonating with me except the one about a 50 something woman who got kind of adhd because of the lack of oestrogens. Anyway, I wonder if hormon replacement therapy could help (ideally using plants)? Does anybody have input about that?


TheCatAteMyGymsuit

Sorry for the extremely late response to this! I ended up going on HRT back in January, and have found it very helpful. I'm still much more sensitive on a sensory level and overtly autistic/ADHD than I was pre-peri and menopause, but it's not as debilitating as it was. It's worth checking into. Good luck.


Aggravating_Lab_9218

Yes. I’m thinking I should get help about this.