Is it possible to be 43 and NOT be perimenopausal

No OP, it's not possible. In our 40s, every single ache, itch, frustration, hangover, getting irritated in a Teams meeting, is due to perimenopause. Or ADHD.

Almost 47 here. Periods still regular. My hairs falling out a bit and i have put on weight (probably my diet) but no brain fog or hot flushes. I've been knackered since 30 (first baby).

I got it from about 37
I'm not peri, I have stage 4 endo so glad they checked out my symptoms

I didn’t get any perimenopause symptoms. I woke up one day with the first UTI I had ever had when I was 54. I kept getting them and also hot flushes and my periods were very irregular. I was in actual menopause before I noticed anything.

Of course it is possible! I have just turned 50 and I would only say I have been feeling a bit peri in the last 6-9 months.

My mother and grandmother were the same - last periods not until 56/57 respectively!

OP, I get what you are saying as a woman who is not peri-menopausal. However, you may find as the time goes on that when you are peri, medical professionals will dismiss most of your symptoms as something else entirely and you will have a right fight on your hands to get anyone as much as do a blood test for you.
So no, I don't think everything can be dismissed as peri but I also welcome some publicity around the subject and women willing to advocate for themselves.

I didn’t know that ND or post natal depression showed a link with menopause symptoms. Is there any link with heavy periods and more severe menopause?

That's actually really offensive to women who have had real issues.

I think it worthwhile pointing out not everyone will have issues but for some, those issues can be very significant.

Women most likely to have issues are interesting. If you had post natal depression or are neuro-diverse apparently it's more likely that you will have issues.

As I said upthread suicide rates peak during the perimenopause period too.

You would not be making similar utterly dismissive comments to this about regarding depression without being rightly taken to task over it.

The same applies here.

Oh Mumsnet has diagnosed everyone over the age of 38 as peri over the last few years.

Nah, you just don't like what you're hearing.

Also I do find it very interesting the number of women who start HRT and then realise with the benefit of hindsight how much of a boiled frog they've been.

I don't think we should dismiss this lightly either.

I agree.

Whilst I think it is important that we don't attribute everything to perimenopause, I also find the lack of good knowledge about it on this thread somewhat alarming too.

A lot of women are being phobed off by doctors for it not being perimenopause when they shouldn't be as much as those are being told it is when it's not.

Neither is ok. Both extremes demonstrate significant ignorance about the subject still.

Who exactly is telling you that you're in peri, though? Nice guidelines for Drs state HRT from 45 and even then it can be hard to get. So it doesn't ring true that your Dr is blaming peri for your ailments.

Is it more your friends? Fair enough if you're bored I guess, but it's such a short time women have actually been 'allowed' to talk about menopause at all. I'd hate a backlash to start already.

As others have said, it is perfectly possible not to experience perimenopausal symptoms at 43 - some people never do!
What I would say is that perimenopause creeps up on you, and often you don't realise it's happening. It's not like one day you're fine and the next day you have irregular periods, migraines, panic attacks, low mood, poor sleep etc. I've found that I might have one symptom for a few weeks, then that disappears, and then I have a different symptom. In isolation, none of these symptoms would make me think I was perimenopausal, but when I look at the pattern of symptoms over several years, then I can how it all relates to hormonal fluctuations.
For example, I might feel a bit flat for a few weeks, and I think, "Am I getting depressed, oh no, it's just because works been so busy, I'm tired, etc." Then I feel normal again. Then I might have a week or so of bad sleep and I can always explain it away andvfind reasons why. A few months later I might find myself feeling quite panicky in certain situations but then it stops, and I feel normal again. It's all quite odd. It comes and goes and sometimes you think you're just imagining it, and others times you feel like a mess.

The fact that you think it's all emotional is a good indication that you actually don't know,

It can be difficult to know. Many symptoms are relevant to other things, too. Insomnia - yes, it might be down to peri, but it's also been my body's go-to stress response since I was at school, and my stress levels are high lately. My ankles (or my right one in particular) have been prone to aching since a series of injuries in my early 20s. And feeling anger is probably a perfectly reasonable response to the world these days.

My periods started going irregular when I was 49. Now 52. The last one (about 2 months ago) could have been the last one ever, or it might just be spacing things out. But I've friends who've had really debilitating symptoms and HRT has been a great help to them. I don't know that I might yet have those symptoms and need HRT - I just haven't yet.

Puberty didn't start with your first period. Peri is the same in the other direction. And we're all different. So you might not be there yet, or you might be in early days. You may sail through symptom-free, or you might find it difficult. None of us knows till we get there.

I am 48 and I have not seen any signs of it. I still have regular periods every 28 days with a light flow for 3-4 days same as I have always had. No hot flushes or the brain fog that is commonly reported.

I have friends younger who have symptoms but it’s an age range not by an age -if you get what mean.

Research PMDD OP. Similar age, not sure if peri, periods have gone slightly irregular. But OMG my symptoms before and after my period are worse than ever and I think it’s PMDD poss brought on by hormone changes.