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. 2024 May 1;31(5):390-398.
doi: 10.1097/GME.0000000000002339. Epub 2024 Mar 23.

"Not feeling like myself" in perimenopause - what does it mean? Observations from the Women Living Better survey

Nina Coslov  1 , Marcie K Richardson  2 , Nancy Fugate Woods  3
Affiliations

"Not feeling like myself" in perimenopause - what does it mean? Observations from the Women Living Better survey

Nina Coslov et al. Menopause. .

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to understand the meaning of the phrase "not feeling like myself" (NFLM) when used by those on the path to menopause by exploring the relationship of symptoms reported to ratings of NFLM.

Methods: Participants responded to the item "Many women report just not feeling like themselves during this phase of life. How often was this true for you over the past 3 months?" choosing from "none of the time" to "all of the time." They rated bother associated with 61 symptoms and provided demographic information. Individual symptoms and the symptom bother scale scores were correlated with NFLM. Symptom scale scores were then entered in a two-stage multiple regression model to identify symptoms associated significantly with NFLM.

Results: Sixty-three percent (63.3%) of participants reported NFLM 50% of the time or more over the previous 3 months. Individual symptom ratings correlated with NFLM ( r > 0.300) included the following: fatigue ( r = 0.491); feeling overwhelmed/less able to cope ( r = 0.463); low feelings ( r = 0.440); anxiety, more nervousness ( r = 0.398); being irritable ( r = 0.380); harder time concentrating ( r = 0.378); difficulty making decisions ( r = 0.357); feeling like "I can't calm down on the inside" ( r = 0.333); being more forgetful ( r = 0.332); tearfulness/crying ( r = 0.306); and worrying more ( r = 0.302). A two-stage regression analysis revealed less education completed and greater overall stress ratings as significant predictors in stage 1. In stage 2, five symptom groups met the P < 0.001 criterion: anxiety/vigilance, fatigue/pain, brain fog, sexual symptoms, and volatile mood symptoms.

Conclusions: NFLM was associated with anxiety/vigilance, fatigue/pain, brain fog, sexual symptoms, and volatile mood symptoms. Recognizing symptoms associated with NFLM may allow for more accurate expectations and improve perimenopause care.

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Conflict of interest statement

Financial disclosure/conflicts of interest: None reported.

Figures

FIG. 1
FIG. 1
Flow diagram for derivation of study sample included in analyses. LRS, late reproductive stage; MT, menopausal transition; NFLM, “not feeling like myself”.
FIG. 2
FIG. 2
How often survey participants reported “not feeling like themselves” during the previous 3 months.
FIG. 3
FIG. 3
Correlations between individual symptoms and “not feeling like myself.” NFLM, “not feeling like myself”.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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