Perimenopause - anyone else?

[Covidbegone]

So I’m 40. My Mum started her menopause at 38, and I’ve been led to believe it’s a familial trait. My periods have become irregular and don’t get me started on the excess hair. The main thing I’ve noticed is that my mood swings are up and down beyond. Is this normal? I’m really struggling with them as one minute I’m on a complete high and being silly with my kids, the next I’m a blubbering mess, and realistically I know it’s over not much and probably annoying my friends with my whiney texts. Is this normal? Anyone else? Any advice? Not been to the dr yet, just feels like I’m ticking every perimenopausal box

Menopause is when your periods stop. Perimenopause is the time before menopause when your cycle and hormones may become more erratic. That doesn't mean your periods stop or even become less frequent, in fact in perimenopause the cycle often becomes shorter and the periods heavier and longer lasting. GPs don't seem to be great at recognising peri

I am 44 and had insomnia, erratic periods, flooding, night sweats, rages, irritability, dry skin and hair, complete loss of libido and excruciating anxiety and panic attacks from about the age of 40.

I went to the GP who suggested anti-ds which I considered but felt like it was so obviously a hormonal problem and should surely be treated as such. In the end I went here: www.londonpmsandmenopause.co.uk/ and was put on HRT and testosterone. The change has been incredible - all my symptoms have either improved or lessened and it feels like I am no longer on a crazy emotional rollercoaster. It's not perfect and I still have days before my period when I feel down and irritable but my god it's such an improvement on how I was.

Please don't let the GPs fob you off. It's shocking how little is known about perimenopause and women are left to suffer.

menopause is when you have had no period for a 12 months.

I'm in peri...I have found the menopause supplements by vogel really helpful with my terrible mood swings mood swings.

Thank you @NancySpero and @theresagiantonthebeach

NancySpero I’m so glad you got it sorted. I’m interested in testosterone, does normal hrt contain it? Would you recommend it?

Peri-menopause is hitting me hard here, too. 19 day periods, leaking through layers of pads because I can't go to the toilet during a lesson. Tranexamic acid helps, but I still feel literally drained. The worst thing is definitely the moods - sometimes they are so low and sometimes I get so angry. I'm dropping down a level of responsibility at work because I'm just running on empty for two weeks out of four.

Me too- 41, got a mirena coil. Absolutely life changing, if it works for you it’s utterly fantastic. Got my life back!

@NinetyNineRedBalloonsGoBy my mum discovered a lump in her breast in January of this year. She was on HRT and they told her that it was an oestrogen induced breast cancer thanks to the HRT. Her female cousins have both had breast cancer and her paternal grandmother died of it. I'm thinking of asking if I can get tested. But in the meantime I am avoiding HRT just in case there is an epigenetic link

@Nellodee

Peri-menopause is hitting me hard here, too. 19 day periods, leaking through layers of pads because I can't go to the toilet during a lesson. Tranexamic acid helps, but I still feel literally drained. The worst thing is definitely the moods - sometimes they are so low and sometimes I get so angry. I'm dropping down a level of responsibility at work because I'm just running on empty for two weeks out of four.

And there was me moaning about 7 days! That sounds absolutely dreadful. Are you anaemic as well? That's really no way to live though, have you tried anything beyond the tranexamic?

I'm 43, for the last four years I've had mood swings, anxiety, insomnia, rage, memory loss, night sweats, weight gain, bloating, feel generally awful a lot of the time. Only just in the last few months have I twigged it could be peri menopause! Feel I should see a doctor and get something for it but at the same time I'm a bit in denial and don't want to face up to it.

I'm awake now because I'm boiling hot and feel sick ,I'm 45 . I've had this for about a year , sore boobs as well. It really feels like being pregnant....but even then my symptoms werent this bad !
( I'm definitely not haha)

I'm awake reading this, ticking a lot of boxes. Sounds shite. I think I need to see the gp too

I started with peri symptoms at 37, took me til I was 41 for a doctor to actually take me seriously (sent me for scans etc to rule out anything else). Had a coil fitted in August this year which has sorted out my periods and hot flushes but the insomnia and anxiety seems to be getting worse.

@Icanseewhyichangednyusername

I was diagnosed as premature ovarian failure aged 18, 20 years ago. Got put on the pill to balance my hormones but didn’t get on with it so stopped. I’m now keen to find a natural replacement? If one exists! Something to top up my oestrogen . Any suggestions welcome x

Yes......sage complex from Victoria health. I'm always recommending It! The guy who owns VH, Shabir, is a pharmacist and fantastically knowledgeable about the menopause. This video is really interesting and useful.

I’ve posted on a few of these kinds of threads to say I’ve been taking black cohosh for the last few years and it has changed my life. I was so anxious beforehand and on the recommendation of my GP (not in the UK) I gave it a try for 3 months and have not stopped taking it since. It has a small risk of liver damage but my liver is absolutely fine (I’m writing this since I googled it before I took it but for me the benefits outweigh any possible side effects).

For what it’s worth, here’s my advice when talking to a GP:

If you are offered a blood test, make sure you know at which point in the cycle you are having it done. On the day I had mine, I told the phlebotomist, who told me to tell the receptionist (who was a bit ).

When I called for the results, the receptionist said everything was “normal”. I asked if she would send me the results so I could have a look. Never done that before but I had done a bit more research into peri since my last blood test 2 years ago.

I could see that my FSH levels were 25 but, on the results, it states what they should be for each phase of your cycle. For the phase I was in at time of blood test, it should have been around 10 max.

So I called GP to discuss and he said yes it’s high, let’s do another test in Feb at the same stage of cycle as before to compare.

Now I feel I’m getting somewhere! Thought it would be useful to share that as I would have just been told all was normal otherwise.

I feel your pain, everyone. It’s awful and makes me feel like a madwoman 😖 x

I'm 38, just had a baby and am kind of dreading the possible onset of peri in my 40s with 2 small kids.

Can I ask, those of you suffering through peri, did you suffer with PMT when younger?

I became incontinent during my perimenopause. Continence returned with the menopause.

I'm 50 and no idea where I am in the menopause process but periods are super regular but gradually decreasing in length and are lighter but before every one, I feel like I'm losing my mind! Anxiety and my mind is on overdrive. I have to be careful not to deal with anything stressful as I feel like I'm not thinking straight. Never had an issue before.
Also, horrible itchy skin and just lately waking up sweating and my whole night seems to involve taking the duvet off and then waking up because I'm cold again and so on.
Also having a few pee issues. Sometimes I just have to go right away.
I suppose I would normally speak to my GP but I'm not sure if they really want to deal with this sort of thing in the current situation.

@Nellodee

Peri-menopause is hitting me hard here, too. 19 day periods, leaking through layers of pads because I can't go to the toilet during a lesson. Tranexamic acid helps, but I still feel literally drained. The worst thing is definitely the moods - sometimes they are so low and sometimes I get so angry. I'm dropping down a level of responsibility at work because I'm just running on empty for two weeks out of four.

Ugh, that is like my periods at the moment, slightly improved Toby tranexamic acid. It's so draining, especially at night when I have to get up several times and change the 3 types of tampon/towel/pad. I'm supposed to take iron, but that then plays havoc with my bowels...fucking delightful.

I spoke to GP yesterday, she is going to do bloods to rule out anything else going on, but she said when they come back she will talk about HRT.

Very glad to find this thread - it's truly crap feeling like this and even crappier if we put up with it in silence.

The peri stage was the worse period of my life health-wise. It lasted 3 years and was hell. Probably aggravated by the fact that I was under very stressful conditions at work.

I got hit by neurological symptoms and horrible panic attacks, having no idea that's what these were. It was a very scary time and I was convinced I was dying of a horrible disease.

I tried a number of hrt regimes but they all made me feel worse so gave up.

It all got much better once I reached the 12 months without a period. 2 years on and I'm feeling better every months and starting to feel that there's an end to it all coming up.

I personally believe that in my case, it was the surges of oestrogen rather then the depletion of it that made me very poorly. Having read a number of stories, I found out that almost not most common, it wasn't totally unusual to suffer more during the peri stage.

@abstractzebra pee urgency is part of atrophy. You need vaginal Hrt and fast. It gets worse if left untreated. Vagifem helped with this.

When I stated to Gp that I had to go to the loo urgently he hadn't a clue. It was the women on menopause matters that told me what was wrong.

chachachanges I always got pmt of the sad/hopeless variety (as opposed to angry) for a few days a month. My worst symptom now is that feeling times ten, and for longer.

Have other people found their perimenopause mood swings are like an exaggerated version of the pmt they’ve always had?

Bloomin heck my phone doesn’t even recognise the word, it’s like some deliberate secret being held from us!

Thank you soo much for all the responses on here. I feel soo relieved I’m not alone in this or going stir crazy.

I guess that the current climate isn’t helping with anxiety, but it has put me in a really paranoid place, especially with work. I’m always worrying I’m not doing a good enough job and that the younger members of the team are nipping at my heels. It’s even making me not want to join in their Christmas virtual party feel like such a moody old cow right now, but maybe better if I just avoid all that sort of stuff this year.

@Tootsey11 thank you for that advice.
I'm a terrible 'leave it until I get seriously unwell' sort of person and I know it's wrong. I will get seen as soon as possible.
One minute you're a healthy young woman, then the next, bits are collapsing and driving you to distraction.
I've got an unusual issue with my car which a well known chain garage have messed about with and botched. Right on period time and I've felt like weeping and wailing over it. Hopefully getting fixed as we speak.
Normally I am the most efficient person ever!