To ask: at what age did your peri/menopause symptoms peak?

I am 45 in two weeks my symptoms have worsened despite being in hrt for a year. Absolutely knackered vaginal atrophy uti symptoms crippling anxiety. Crap sleep. Hirmonal headaches. Irritating bleeds. Trembling and shaking. I also just have a healthy tsh level for thyroid which I am sure isn't helping but gp says in normal range. Low folate ferritin.

Its utter crap and I can't wait for to it bloody end.

No one talks about GSM or vsginal atrophy and how debilitating and mental destroying it is. Its sheer gell.

I am jealous of women that sail through I really am.

I’m 52. Started HRT at 49, and I don’t know if it’s really helped, but I am too scared to stop it now.

I feel like I am falling apart a lot of the time. I have the coil and gel so don’t have a period often. I have gone up a dress size - from a 10 to a 12 - and my shape has shifted so I now have a tummy which I never did before. My anxiety is wild, I have very low tolerance for everything, but the HRT did definitely stop the night sweats and thank god I never got to daytime flushes.

Thats like mine and fobbed off more so because i’m “young” but it’s meant to be based on symptoms. I have looked and will privately if i get no where because i’m not doing 5 more years of this, potentially getting worse just to be “considered” for hrt - not everyone has that option though & i think it’s shocking in this day and age that there is such a bad attitude towards women and peri menopause symptoms.

I'm 53, and have mild versions of most of the symptoms listed by pp.

I've been on HRT since 48, and imagine it's capped me out?

My periods have started to flood which is a pain.

But I wouldn't describe menopause as anything apart from a mild irritant.

perimenopause can start mid to late 30s so you could be. Consultant at hospital said it’s more common than you think and we’re led to believe it’s always older. I have twins so potentially release 2 eggs as well so with that and starting my periods young she said that could be why and they are meant to go on symptoms not age.

most people i know started symptoms being 43 and 48 but some of them didn’t start their periods until 15.

the first I was aware if being menopausal was at 46 (8 years ago) when my periods stopped. They hadn’t changed at all I just had one in the April and never had another. The symptoms largely hot flushes, night sweats and anxiety were manageable until last summer when they ramped up massively and I started HRT. The hot flushes and night sweats are 90% better but the anxiety is still very high!

yes long wait for appointments at my GP surgery too. ive been twice and been fobbed off and offered no help other than antidepressants for the anxiety. They no longer do bloody tests at my GP for peri as its not reliable as hormone levels are up & down anyway. ive felt really fobbed off and like the attitude is to just get on with it.
I really wish each GP surgery had a menopause specialist who was understanding, sympathetic and would take us seriously.

I understand that, it's not a long-term sustainable option. But when it came down to keeping my job (and not having a breakdown) and getting the medication I needed, it was a bloody relief to find there was a way to get hrt quickly. It good to be aware of our options.

My GPs wait for an appointment is currently 4 weeks or more. There's also women out there being told they don't need hrt when they clearly do. I paid £50 to get 3 months worth, it was worth every penny of my beer money (which I can't drink rn anyway) to get it.

I'm 39 and you've just described me!

All just in the past year and the bloating & weight gain, bloody hell.
I said to my sisters (both late 40s) I must be peri menopausal... they laughed and said maybe peri peri 😅

I have a friend, also 39, who feels the same.
I think it's just the start of things to come.

Well yes but many of our symptoms peaked in our 50's because they also started and finished in our 50's.
I never had a symptom until that missed period at 54 then 3 months later 6 months worth of hot flushes and it was all over.

Between the ages of 47 and 50.
Hot flushes, but they weren't too bad, and really bad hormonal headaches.

My periods stopped at 50 and the headaches went away.

No HRT

At 66 my hair has thinned a lot and arthritis is beginning to make an appearance and I am a size larger than I have been for most of my adult life.

I think I got off very lightly.

Boots and superdrug online doctor prescriptions will be unaffordable for many.

Anyone who's having trouble getting an appointment with their GP, go to Boots or Superdrug online doctor.

@PeriPeriQ Can I ask what your symptoms currently are op? are you having the hot flushes yet?
Many symptoms have come as a huge, unexpected shock to me. whenever I remember menopause being spoken about years ago only hot flushes and heavier periods were mentioned. No one ever spoken about the many other symptoms such as clitoral and vaginal atrophy, which can be really distressing. Even achey joints, anxiety brain fog, bleeding gums were never spoken about until recent years.

I've started early. Began around 35/36 - now late 30s and feel like my 12yr old hormonal new to menarche self 🫩. Sooo hormonal and irrational 😬 + night sweats, abdominal weight gain (I'm pear shaped) zero sex drive. Dryness. Periods that are either flooding or barely there. Awful PMT (not had it this bad since teenage years ) you're telling me I've got 15 years of this ? 😱

Mortified too. It's a long road ahead.

Symptoms started when I was 46, with the odd hot flush, trouble sleeping, low mood. Nothing too bad for about 2 years when things went crazy. I got hit with just about every symptom going - regular hot flushes, insomnia, uncontrollable anger, crying at the drop of a hat, weight gain, aching joints, itchy skin, hair started getting thinner, tiredness, low libido, brain fog. After trying every supplement going, I finally went to the gp and he recommended HRT. What a game changer! Within 3 months of starting on it, I was just about back to myself. I took it for 3 years and then there was a shortage in supply so I stopped and apart from difficulty sleeping, all other symptoms have stayed gone!
Im 56 now and feel fantastic.

I'm on HRT at 41, and it was no trouble at all to get it prescribed. I want it mainly for aesthetic reasons at this point (skin, hair, breasts), as there are only one or two signs currently that peri is creeping up on me (sleeping issues, very high sex drive).
I'm adding this not to gloat but in frustration that it really is down to the luck of the draw with which GP you get.

Had regular periods until 54 and then skipped a month.
Next month period was from hell - had to go and collect DD1 from Uni 5 hours away and wore a tampon, a pad and a pair of incontinence pants in case i got caught in traffic! 🙄
That was my last period and 3 months later had my first hot flush, 55 was my worst 6 months, hot flushes, night sweats and put on 9lbs out of nowhere and then it was all over before I turned 56.

'was told by the nurse at my GP surgery last week that I will not be prescribed any HRT because im not yet suffering from hot flushes.'

For the love of sanity! I'm so sick of these health professionals who know jack shit about women's health and are not following the guidelines. I've been peri for about a year and a half and have had a long list of symptoms, but not one hot flush!

Its definitely an investment, and I know it's just not possible for everyone, but Newson Health really know their stuff and follow the NICE guidelines. I had an excellent experience with them and would highly recommend

@PeriPeriQ im 47 too op and glad you've asked this as was wondering this myself.
im having an awful time with anxiety at the moment. I have an event to attend tomorrow and my anxiety about going is through the roof, so much so that I have lost my appetite. It wouldn't have bothered me a few years ago and I'd have been really looking forward to it, not now as I dread and have anxiety and overthink everything.
Brain fog, achey joints, clitoral atrophy, I have the lot. was told by the nurse at my GP surgery last week that I will not be prescribed any HRT because im not yet suffering from hot flushes.
so suffer on it is for me. I hope things do not get worse than this. I miss my old self.

probably about 51 was the worst. HRT just made me worse - I was an absolute emotional wreck. Getting a less stressful job and doing all the things that are meant to help with stress is what worked best- good diet, exercise, prioritising sleep. I love the gym! Still in perimenopause and tend to get exhausted more than I’d like - but I surely must be coming to the end of it soon!

You can buy a test at the pharmacy for a couple of quids to prove your doctor wrong.

BBC what's up docs did a good episode on hrt https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002d0cs