Menopause at 30??

[ButImNotOldEnough]

Had my youngest DS almost 6 years ago at 25, I’ve never felt right since. For the first 3-4 years after, especially as he has ASD and ADHD, I put a lot of how I was feeling down to exhaustion and stress.

About 18 months ago I started seeing my doctor though, I felt crap all of the time. She said I was depressed and put me on antidepressants. Said my hot flashes, my irregular and bizarre periods were stress related, brain fog and heightened depression and anxiety were from burnout. My memory lapses were symptoms of depression too and the sheer debilitating exhaustion I felt all the time was normal.

Took the antidepressants for a year with no change despite adjustments to dosages etc. I pushed for answers, I was getting periods 2 weeks apart for a couple of months then no period at all for a couple of months with the intensity of them all over the place when usually I was a moderate/light standard cycle, started gaining weight despite there being no change in my diet and exercise habits and I started getting really bad night sweats. (Not sure if it’s related, I’d appreciate if anyone could tell me though, does menopause also cause changes in body odour? My usual deodorant has seeming stopped working and I’m suddenly sweating loads even if I’m not having a hot flash).

I’ve felt like I’m slowly going crazy for the last year so my doctor finally sent me for blood tests. Then more blood tests, she’s referred me for a scan on my ovaries but that won’t be for a while depending on hospital waiting times.

I had my appointment for the results of the blood tests yesterday though. She’s told me the most likely explanation is that I am going through menopause. The scan is to make sure there’s nothing else going on but based off my FSH levels, symptoms, length of time it’s being going on etc she’s pretty confident in her diagnosis. I’ll still need the scan just to ensure there’s nothing else going on but she doesn’t think there is.

But that’s pretty much been all she has said. I’m also fairly ignorant on what menopause actually is (aside from the stopping of my periods eventually). I don’t know what’s going on in my body, this has crippled me in the last couple of years though. I lost my job, couldn’t continue with my qualifications, I feel terrified and scared and anxious and angry all the time and antidepressants haven’t helped that. I feel worthless and stupid and really not good enough for anything anymore.

I don’t understand what part of it I am at and Google isn’t helping. Some sites say it’s perimenopause and some say it’s menopause and some say it could last for 15 years and some say 5 start to finish and I don’t understand. I’m only 30 years old, I might not want more kids but surely I need hormones? People go on HRT when they’re much older than I am and experiencing it but I’ve not even been offered that. I asked her if that meant I’d have this depression and anxiety and general black hole in my head feeling for the rest of my life and she couldn’t answer.

I’m sorry for the long ramble, I know every woman eventually goes through this and I should just get on with it but I feel so shocked and tearful. If anyone could point me in the direction of info that is factually correct I’d really appreciate it.

I can't be of any use with the main thrust of your post but I'm sorry you're going through a hard time - regardless of whether it's menopause or not.

On the sweating front - I have night sweats and generally just a lot of daytime sweating too but for me, it's hyperhydrosis caused by my POTS (which also makes me feel knackered and depressed) and perspirex deodorant (I use the comfort one) is the best thing I've found for underarms. Unfortunately, I sweat from my back, my scalp, my groin, my boobs...so it only helps part of the problem!

I'm sure someone will be along soon with advice on the bigger issue. Hang in there!

@Barold thanks so much for that recommendation, I’ll give it a try. Bit of solidarity too, DD has POTS and has assured me it’s every bit as crappy as what I’m feeling, she gets fainting spells instead of hot flushes though so I’d say I’ve got it pretty easy on that front!

In my experience, doctors are absolutely shit at helping people struggling with premature peri/meno symptoms. It is always put down to depression and they chuck pills at you to make you go away.

I'm so sorry you are going through this.

Have a look at the Menopausing book by Davina McCall. Your library might have a copy. That covers perimenopause symptoms (menopause is the end bit, when your periods have stopped for 12 months). Yours sound bang on. You may want to ask to be referred to a menopause specialist at the hospital to try and work out why it's happened so early for you. GPs, from my experience, do tend to be disappointing when asked to consider anything perimenopause related

You need to push your GP to refer you to a specialist menopause service. You will need HRT if it is indeed an early menopause and they will look into the whole picture, if nothing else, you need HRT to protect your bones...
Keep pushing and firm.
Good luck.

Thanks so much for your replies, I’ll push my doctor for an referral and definitely take a look at that book. It just felt so abrupt, like the diagnosis was the end of it but I’ve still got all these symptoms that were the reason I was seeing her in the first place and it’s like they are suddenly not an issue because there is a reason for them.

Did you have only gynae-related blood tests or also other?

The doctor you first saw, was it a GP or a gynecologist? Already the irregular periods would have to have been checked out by a gyno, before any antidepressants.
If you are researching for other possibilities by yourself, apart from the gynecological symptoms, many other things can cause brain fog and feeling depressed, such as thyroid problems (underactive thyroid makes you slower, foggier, etc, overactive can cause the sweating, but in general, thyroid malfunction can oscillate in the initial phases, so low thyroid hormone levels - underactivity - can cause it to go in overdrive for compensation, and also cause the sweating - it's not all black and white).

Low iron or Vitamin D can also cause brain fog. Both of these can be checked by blood tests.

And another idea: ADHD and ASD can run in families; if your child has it, maybe you are neurodiverse, too - it could explain some mind-related symptoms. The depression is then not a root cause but a sign of something else not being right.

In general it's possible that not all symptoms have one cause only; perhaps it is a combination of reasons.

Funnily enough my GP said the opposite. I too was 30 and GP said he thought I was too young to go on HRT as it is not meant to be taken for 50 years.
To be fair though I had very little symptoms

Have a look at the daisy network

instagram.com/thedaisynetwork?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

@ConstructionTime several things were checked via blood tests, I also have ADHD and ASD but neither are relevant really. I’ve lived with ADHD and ASD my entire life and never experienced symptoms like this. I’ve also not self diagnosed, the doctor has done tests and made a diagnosis based on those. You’re every bit as dismissive as my doctor though so thanks!

Not sure if a gynaecologist is an American thing but in my 30 years of being female I’ve never seen a gynaecologist.

I didn't say anything about self-diagnosis at all.

I wasn't intending to be dismissive, either; your post rung a bell for me because of the complex symtoms and I was trying to list as many ideas as possible to help you find out what the cause could be - I thought that's why you posted.

I've known people who displayed some of the things you mentioned and was contributing suggestions.