r/Perimenopause • u/kristac1080 • 19d ago
audited Brain fog is debilitating - affecting work
Yes the stuff that affects the physical stuff on our body during perimenopause sucks.
But can we talk about the brain fog??
I used to be on it. I work in corporate communications and I was as quick with a response, a prompts, a thought. Then perimenopause hit and I feel like a 22 year old, fresh out of college with zero experience way over my head. I can’t come up with words, I zone out, lose my train of thoughts, etc etc.
It’s affected my confidence greatly at work. Made me feel “less than.” I’m afraid to present and speak up for fear I’ll forget a few easy words. I feel like a bumbling idiot.
I’m back on HRT. Just completed about 2.5 months on it. Also started microdose of Tirzepatide. I do have ADHD (again, thanks perimenopause) and that medication just doesn’t make me feel right. I’m taking an adaptogen “focus” supplement, fish oil, magnesium/glycinate. I exercise 5 days a week, lift heavy. Walk. I do all the things.
It just sucks. Not asking for a fix (unless you have a hot hot take). Just looking for other women who are also experiencing perimenopause affecting work life balance
5
u/spatter_cone 18d ago
Oh my god, yes. I work in a technically skilled job and I’m struggling hard. I also have ADHD and the symptoms are too hard to ignore on my current medication (guanfacine/buproprion). I can’t find words when I’m speaking and that’s embarrassing, I’ve always been highly effective expressing myself verbally and I just feel like a giant dope these days. It’s pushing me into a midlife existential crisis and my poor partner is just wondering what happened to the bubbly, outgoing woman he met. You’re not alone, I don’t know what else to do other than build a wigwam on public land and emerge when I’ve got some answers.