To think perimenopause is an overused buzzword?

I think this covers it:
https://www.instagram.com/p/DUG1NLACKbJ/?img_index=1&igsh=ODV2Zzg2aGhyOWgy

According to the actual data, most women experience the actual menopause (not perimenopause that you stated) between 45-55, with the average age being 51. Early menopause is 40-45 and between 5-10% of women have their menopause in that age range; premature menopause is anything before 40 and it's about 1% of women.

Perimenopause goes on for anything up to 10 years before menopause (periods stopping). So it is very feasible for symptoms to start mildly from late 30s, with worsening symptoms from early 40s.

@MILLYmo0se yes that story of the consultant endo is either bullshit, the poster has misunderstood what they were saying or the consultant needs to retire as that is not the current understanding. I don’t know any of my colleagues who would say that.

I don’t see how thinking you might be perimenopausal is going to stop a woman seeking out other possible causes for a symptom that is troubling them. How can a public conversation about a particular area of health stop people from considering other health concerns? A troubling symptom is a troubling symptom and if it’s troubling enough a woman would still go to the GP.

That's an interesting take on what I said. I'm just surprised that an expert in hormones thinks all peri or post menopausal women experience hot flushes, that mid 40s is too young for symptoms or that the loss of hormones will only effect our periods or gives us hot flushes

It is weird that Covid has such an impact on cycles. I also have Long Covid - the most common group is women in their mid 40s it definitely muddies the waters with symptoms overlapping.

What I will say is that HRT has really helped not only menopause symptoms but also long Covid symptoms. It reduces inflammation and gives me more energy. And helps me sleep. So if I had Long Covid and was going through the menopause without HRT I’d be barely functioning!

It’s not at all unusual or uncommon for women in their mid to late thirties to be experiencing symptoms of the start of peri.
I thought it was and so I went to the GP, got a second opinion, referred to gynaecologist- not one medical professional including the experts batted one eyelash that I had peri symptoms. All said it was perfectly normal for 37.

I wonder if COVID has had an influence on this?

I got COVID almost immediately in March 2020, and had very irregular periods ever since. I had pronounced Long Covid for 14m, with fatigue and brain fog being the primary symptoms.

The effects were especially pronounced around menstruation and ovulation - and when I've had episodes since, they have been at the same times.

Women are still having to fight for HRT at all ages and there’s so much misinformation out there that numbers on HRT dropped hugely after the flawed Women’s Health Initiative study and haven’t recovered.

Many doctors don’t have a clue. They do about an hour of training on the menopause- shocking!

i personally should have gone on HRT many years before i finally got it.

Education and knowledge here is key. And I don’t think it’s a bad thing that women in their late 30s are aware that perimenopause is something that can happen from that age onwards.

Women are given antidepressants, sleeping pills, they are having to give up their jobs, they are getting divorced… we need more awareness of the impact of dwindling hormones not less.

This isn’t about spending money on supplements but seeking medical help when symptoms start to have an impact on your life.

I don't think that assumption is backed up by anyone's experiences with doctors though. No-one is rushing to diagnose perimenopause. GPs barely get any menopause training for it to be high on their list of obvious answers. In many cases the opposite is true and women with a long list of classic symptoms are being told that they aren't in peri yet.
No-one wants to see people misdiagnosed because depression, PCOS etc was assumed to be peri but the opposite is just as true and peri being dismissed as something else is just as problematic.

Because now women in their 30s will just be written off as mad except now there’s a scientific reason why they’re crazy and mad and weak and unreliable called ‘perimenopause’! Hurrah!

Your information is outdated

thats fair, I just don’t think as many 30s women are affected as keep blaming everything on it.

I agree with you, I know many women are severely affected. It has become a buzzword though with younger women. I don’t believe they are ALL in peri!

30s is a huge range. Early 30s - probably not. Late 30s- perfectly reasonable that some women are entering the first stage (and there are three) of perimenopause. That first stage doesn’t include the hot flushes- they tend to be the last stage and many women don’t get them but they do get other symptoms.

But 80% of women ARE 'genuinely' effected by symptoms of perimenopause. I'm very firmly at the severe end of the symptoms range, but i can still empathise with women juggling work, kids and mild to moderate symptoms, they are allowed to talk/ whinge about it too.

I agree op, it’s the latest must have 😂. But look around, it’s a money maker for business so I’m not surprised more businesses and influencers are jumping on the bandwagon. It’s become trendy now but I cringe witnessing the way the word is thrown around these days, takes away from those that are genuinely affected. With the majority of women having children in their 30s, I feel it’s not helping them to be made feel time is running out because they might be perimenopausal. Most aren’t!! There’s only a very small percentage of women affected by peri in their 30s.

The facts are: average age of menopause is 51. That means some women will be younger than that and some women will be older. Perimenopause can kick in for the 7-10 years before that. So it’s not unreasonable for someone who is destined to go through the menopause at 47 having symptoms in her late 30s.

Isn’t it a good thing that we finally have this knowledge and we are talking about it?

Hot flushes are apparently the final stage of perimenopause. I had a private consultation with a very knowledgeable menopause doctor and she talked me through the 3 stages of perimenopause. Unfortunately I only got help right at the end at the age of 48 after suffering for years. I didn’t sleep for 5 years!!! A bit of progesterone would have (and did) sort that out immediately.

Just educate yourself and be supportive of your friends. They may be perimenopausal they may not be. But let’s not go back 10 years..

But the OP says her friends use peri for virtually every symptom. When in reality it might be appropriate in 10% of times

But not everyone experiences it the same way! That’s obvious, surely!

I had an Oestrogen level of 54pmol/l with regular periods, i did have hot flushes and night sweats though. My Oestrogen was so low that endocrinologist had to rule out other causes. But in the end it was JUST perimenopause.

You can definitely have regular periods and very low oestrogen!

I dont think anyone at all has said otherwise! I dont think one person on this thread has said every time at all so I dont understand your point.

Your response was literally to my post using the word sometimes, so its bizarre you even responded saying that.

I think sometimes people just wont listen no matter how many people tell them. Its genuinely a waste of energy talking to people like that so I usually dont bother and shouldn't have wasted energy this time. I will know better for future.