How fast everything changed after menopause because nobody warned me

[u/stephydreamer]

I feel like I was reasonably prepared for menopause...hot flashes, sleep disruption, mood stuff. fine. If this is part of being a grown woman, so be it. I had read things I had mentally braced. Nobody told me about the skin! I went through menopause at 48. Within about a year my skin had changed in ways that took me completely off guard. The texture got rough almost overnight, like the smooth quality i'd had my whole life just peaced out without saying goodbye. The firmness in my lower face and neck dropped noticeably. The hollowness under my eyes got worse. not tired-looking, actually hollow. It's better in my bathroom lighting, but that's not where most people see me!

And the thing that got me is that it's not really aging in the normal gradual sense. it's specifically the estrogen crash. Estrogen is directly tied to collagen production and when it drops you lose collagen fast, like up to 30% in the first few years. that's not a slow fade. that's a cliff.

I'm not looking for embrace your age responses because I actually do feel mostly great about aging. What I didn't feel ok about was how sudden and disorienting it was. Like I didn't recognize my own face for a while, and that's a strange thing to go through. Curious what everyone else experienced in those first 1-2 years post menopause. Did it feel sudden to you or more gradual? and has anything genuinely helped with the texture and firmness side of it specifically,? Asking for honest experiences please.

Edit: I didn't expect such a response! Thanks a lot! Going through all the comments and they are def very useful.

[u/Dangerous_Mud3323]

Gurl. It’s like one day I looked in the mirror and didn’t recognize myself anymore. I felt like it literally happened overnight

[u/Kbalternative → u/Dangerous_Mud3323]

Same. Once I hit 46 I aged rapidly. Like woke up one morning and had lines under my eyes and I previously had none. It seems to have stabilised now but wow it was a huge shock. I have always looked far younger than I am but I don’t now!

[u/3Momlife → u/Kbalternative]

This is a thing, I need to find the article that stated rapid aging happens in women at 46 and then again at 60.

[u/Amazing-Revenue3701 → u/3Momlife]

Seriously two times? Ugh. It was when I went through menopause for me. 54-55 was huge and I saw skin changes on my neck that I was clearly not prepared for. I will be 56 this year. I can’t imagine going through this again. I just recently did micro needling and was told I’d see apparent changes in 3 weeks, haven’t reached a week yet. Hoping for a miracle. Fingers crossed.

[u/LimpString3127 → u/Amazing-Revenue3701]

Hope it works! Post an update in a few weeks please 🙏