Feeling of doom, low mood- perimenopause?

[Campingcarryon]

I don’t feel myself at all (I am 48) and was looking back through pics of my kids when they were smaller and thinking how much lighter I felt- I have this sense of doom & low mood and I don’t feel myself at all. Is it perimenopause? It’s not all the time either, some months more than others. I also suddenly have big sore boobs all the time too. I really don’t feel myself - Aibu to think it’s perimenopause causing this?

I have seen a doc, my bloods all normal too & have had them fully tested etc. It’s so horrible feeling low all the time, like a flat empty feeling.

The sense of doom/despair is a classic peri menopause symptom. It's caused by the lowering (and fluctuating) levels of estrogen in your system. HRT can help enormously.

Certainly sounds hormonal. How are your periods? I'm 49 - 50 in a few months - and can sort of identify. I don't particularly have a low mood but I do feel more anxious about certain things - things which I wouldn't have given a second thought to a few years back.

As to what you do about it ... I don't know. I swim every day more or less, just to try and keep active. All my blood tests are normal to my knowledge too.

I'm considering seeing a menopause specialist next year - a private one. At least that way I know I won't be fobbed off by the GP and I'll hopefully be able to make decisions about what might be the best course of action going forward

Are you thinking about HRT at all?

Standard gp blood tests are notoriously useless for peri meno. Basically at your age you are Peri as that is totally normal! No one skips it whatever tests say.

You could try hrt for 2-3 months and see if any improvements?

I have actually got HRT to try but been holding off as trying to work out how much it’s fluctuating but maybe I should just try it now as I feel very low and that’s between periods (day 8 of cycle) when I normally feel ok- periods are fairly normal still

It’s worth reading some of the books about peri as it is so tied to cycle. You will feel ok in some phases and not in others. If your weight and health is ok (don’t drink or smoke etc) then it is so low risk why would you not try it?

Blood tests are irrelevant and useless because your hormone levels are fluctuating constantly, and it's actually the fluctuations that cause all the problems, not the actual levels per se.

I spent 3 years being woefully misdiagnosed by many NHS practitioners, even a couple of menopause specialist. All of them hopelessly misinformed and next to pointless.

Eventually I had to see a private consultant who cured all my symptoms within 8 weeks.

Exactly

ALL women will go through peri and meno so what is the point of the blood tests? All they seem to do is delay treatment. If the NICE guidelines say after 45 expect it to be peri what are the GPs looking for?