What were your first signs of peri?

[Cloud44]

I’ve not long turned 40 and I’m wondering if I’m in the early stages of peri or if I’m too young / over thinking it.
The symptoms seem to come and go: not as much energy as my mid 30s, lacking a bit of motivation, occasional aches, lower libido than five years ago, occasionally forgetting things then I remember.
What were your first signs? Any recommendations of little tweaks I could make / vitamins to research before the symptoms become more regular?

Cycle got shorter. 29 days, then 27 then 25. Heavy first day period then lighter.
Anxiety and self- doubt co-incided with COVID and home schooling so didn't spot that for what it was for quite some time.

Thank you everyone! I do think I’ve got the start of a couple of symptoms , just don’t know how best to manage it! Did anyone else also find that their immune system seem to weaken a bit? I know this is hard to be sure of after the covid / lockdown years.

I am late thirties but my periods have become so light.
I hope it's not peri. I was hoping it wouldn't hit me until at least my mid forties. 😞

I find it really hard to pinpoint which symptoms could be peri as there are plausible explanations for them but since Christmas I have had terrible joint pains particularly hips.

I also start sentences and then just space out midway, drives DH mad!

I did broach the subject of it being possibly peri menopause with a GP but he basically put it down to me being a stressed mum of 2 who just needs a bit more "self care" 🙄

I'm not sure about supplements really. I take Vit D and B12 but nothing specifically aimed at menopause. Giving up meat and dairy made a huge difference to me as I lost a lot of the weight that had added to my discomfort, and added in far more fruit and veg so got extra nutrients there. I think the best approach is to be holistic, and rather than look for the magic bullet in pill form, concentrate on looking after your body (and mind) the best you can. Nourishing food, rest and excercise.

YES @Cloud44 those of us who were in our late 40s during the lockdown years may not have been sure whether it was lockdowns or menopause but it was highly likely to be both.

I can highly recommend this supplement - worth every penny
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In my late thirties - really heavy 7 day periods, needed tablets from dr
early forties, accompanied by javelin arse and really bad cystic acne on my chin, the type that would burst and drip pus if i was eating. Lovely. Needed a private derm prescription to sort that. Dr not interested.
early fifties, periods gradually tailed off but after 11 months of none, came back for a few random surprising last hurrahs
im in full meno now, not on hrt, apart from occasional vaginal topical cream
i know everyone is different, but peri was worse for me, but hey who knows what's coming next

Early 40s, main symptom at the moment is fatigue. Never seem to get enough sleep, like I could just nap at any point of the day. This is very new for me.

no real effect on periods yet, I would say weight gain and difficulty losing weight but I think that’s a byproduct of the fatigue rather than a direct symptom.

Really bad PMS, shorter cycle and lighter periods (the only good bit), rage, heart palpitations (quite scary), low libido, so hard to lose weight. Actually good diet and exercise really help although sometimes it’s hard to get motivated when I’m in a low mood.

Same

Mainly slightly shorter cycles and really terrible pms at first, followed by very long cycles with flooding. My hair also thinned considerably all of a sudden.

I lost a lot of hair about 4 years ago - now 45. I had always had great hair, so this has been tough. It's not noticeable to others, just looks like vaguely thin, vaguely limp hair. But I notice, goddammit!

IUS (Mirena coil) so not sure whether I would still be bleeding or not.

I'm taking vitamin D, calcium and HRT and have also upped my weight-bearing exercise recently.

@5128gap open spaces like stadia? What is that please.

Op make sure its not low iron. I thought I was peri and still had periods it was low iron. The NHS bar for iron is scandalous, something like 28

We need far more than that to be healthy and strong.

I was forgetting, hair falling out etc anxiety and it was all low iron.

Just to be clear, I thought I was peri and it was all low iron. I feel totally different now. You need to be 70 plus.

Stadium in the plural. When I went to very large venues, I'd look around and be over whelmed by the size of them for some reason.

Yes this.

The first sign was my nice regular 28 day cycle changing to having a week long period every 2-3 weeks, and they were much heavier than before. That came with night sweats (honestly thought I’d wet the bed it was that bad!), palpitations, and more than my usual aches and pains. I’d also have the most horrendous rage before each period. I remember the gp asking if I felt depressed and I bluntly told him no, most days I could cheerfully just run people over in my car the rage was that bad! I was actually frightening myself, and he finally took me seriously at that point - I’d been back and forth a few times and kept getting told that all my symptoms were normal 🙄

@IfYouSawwhatISee if you don’t mind me asking, what iron level were you? Mine got signed off by the GP as no issues at 20 six months back…. I decided to take the supplements nonetheless but they’re just OTC ones and I’m still largely knackered!

28

Ah the wonderful NHS…..! 😭

Think NHS is 32? My daughter was 34 doc said"amazing mid results ".

I think I've been in peri for about a year. I feel angry more than usual, I have joint pain, and my periods are longer and sometimes erratic (late by a week or more) I also wake up quite a lot between 2-4am, and if I don't have that wake up I have very vivid and often unpleasant dreams.

My first symptom was that my very regular 28 day cycle started becoming erratic when I was about 44, and my periods got heavier. A Mirena coil fixed that by stopping my periods completely.

Erratic and very heavy periods, I refused medical intervention and have no regrets. Started HRT recently after a year of no periods.