Is it possible to be 43 and NOT be perimenopausal

[Improbablywrong]

I don’t have any symptoms except that I feel more agitation around my period. Always been like that actually but just a little worse, although we do have other stresses.

Not a single other symptom. My periods are regular as clockwork and have not changed in anyway. I had a blood test done recently and all came back normal.

And yet every single friend I have (same age as me) is talking about perimenopause as if it’s 100% definitely that we are all in it and it is to blame for everything. Bad day at work? Perimenopause. Did a big fart? Perimenopause. Itchy armpit? Perimenopause.

I can’t relate and I find it kind of catastrophising very normal things. When the real symptoms come, how will they feel then? When I say oh no, I don’t think it’s perimenopause as I don’t have symptoms, they’ll list all these things that I don’t think are symptoms.

so, is it possible to actually NOT be perimenopausal as soon as you hit 40?

Same here.

I am 58 now and my symptoms have been mild so far.

I've just turned 44 and haven't really noticed anything major yet.
I'm always grouchy in the lead up to my period and always have been. I'm always tired as I don't eat well and stay up too late just because I enjoy the peace and quiet in the house!
The only thing that has changed is my cycle is shorter. I used to be regular as clockwork, every 28 days but now I'm finding period is taking me by surprise and coming a good few days early. I assume that's a symptom??
My mum had a hysterectomy in her early 40s so hard to say.
My eldest sister is 50 and now having major symptoms but then they've both always had lots of gynae problems with heavy periods and endometriosis and I never have.
Talking of HRT, have people found their doctors open to offering this? My sister has had a real battle getting it prescribed

I'm 46 and nothing I can pinpoint as perimenopuasal yet.

Simple answer OP - yes

Yes, my mum gave birth to my sister when she was 48.

I wasn't in perimenopause at 43, but by 44 I definitely was. The classic sign was that my very regular 28-day cycle, became irregular.

I'm 48 and showing zero signs of perimenopause. My mum didn't have any symptoms at my age either, and neither did my older sister. None of my close friends who are my age have any significant issues yet either - one thought she was having symptoms but it turned out, in fact, to be something completely different (so many women are fobbed off with 'it's menopause, have some HRT' when they're not menopausal at all).

is it possible to actually NOT be perimenopausal as soon as you hit 40?

Of course it's possible. I'd say 40 was actually very early for perimenopause.

Yes. I had no menopause symptoms at all.

That is simply untrue and it's disappointing to see it used by women to dismiss the experiences of others. You can be experiencing other peri symptoms but still have regular periods. It's really important we educate women on this properly.

I am very active and suddenly had really sore joints - it was so bad I could open water bottles. I needed a nap in the afternoons which was absolutely bizarre for me. Doctor suspected arthritis (!) and sent me for MRIs and tried to put me on anti-depressants for the sleepiness suggesting I was depressed (I did not feel depressed at all).

I investigated, requested HRT at 44. Within a month, all joint pain was gone, as was the sleepiness.

Every body is different so throwing around nonsense about regular periods is incredibly unhelpful.

It's really the new hot topic for women our age. The swing has gone too far from being completely overlooked to being blamed for absolutely everything.

My friend is a GP and pretty much all the 40 something women she sees are blaming peri for their symptoms: "brain fog, cough and tested positive for covid last week - think it's peri..." "twisted my ankle a few weeks ago and it feels stiff in the morning, which I think it peri..." she's even had a couple of pregnancies blamed on it.

Less funny are the breast lumps and intermittent bleeding that could be signs of things more serious.

Of course you might not have it yet, I'm 45 with no symptoms, little bits of getting older (like changing eyesight) but nothing female hormone specific.

You can be peri-menopausal and still be fertile.

I'm 44 and seem OK so far

I’m 45. I thought I was perimenopausal. Turns out I am pregnant.

The symptoms are surprisingly similar.

Absolutely you can OP. I know several women who are 50 and haven't noticed anything symptom-wise.

That said, everyone being so, so different, it's really important you don't judge others who may have been experiencing symptoms since they were 35.

I do think it would blow a lot of peoples' minds how varied the symptoms are though. And - as evidenced on just this thread alone - many people still don't know a lot about those symptoms.

This isn’t factual. You can have symptoms of perimenopause and have regular periods.

Not everyone will have major symptoms anyway - DM barely noticed it.

I’m 46. I’ve noticed I am getting hotter before my period, but I always had that to a certain extent. Beyond that, nothing. And I know I have poor ovarian reserve (needed fertility treatment in my 30s) and my FSH is high. I just seem to have been in this pre-perimenopause state for about 10 years now!

But on this thread - many people have not a single symptom - and are still told “you could still be perimenopausal”.

its such a catch 22, as I myself am being judged when every slightly stressful event - which any normal person would be irritated by - is thrown away by “it’s your hormones”.

This is total and utter bollocks and actually harmful

I do completely believe that you can be 43 and not be perimenopausal

However a lot of symptoms relate to anxiety and depression and other mental health issues.

The peak for suicide in women is around perimenopause, so it's important to highlight this point.

I do know women who have had issues and gone onto HRT and it's been like night and day for them. No symptoms otherwise. Other treatments clearly would have been the wrong thing to do.

You can be both pregnant and perimenopausal.

Congratulations

43 is young in my book to be perimenopausal. I was late fifties before my periods stopped. Everyone is different.

It’s a yeast infection - you could still be menopausal
I literally have a child in my womb - you could still be menopausal
i have periods I could set my clock by - you could still be menopausal
I’m not yet 40 - you could still be menopausal

Id really like to experience an emotion without being told it’s not real, it’s actually just my womb

To answer your question OP, I didn’t have any proper symptoms till I was 51 and my periods were still regular then.

what I did have leading up to that point from late 40s was increasingly worse PMT. So it went from feeling a bit shit for a day or 2 before my period was due to feeling bloody awful for the full 2 weeks before period due.

Worsening PMT is a classic sign of peri which I did t know at the time.

I think perhaps I unfairly view the "I have no symptoms" people through the "do you really know what the symptoms are" lense. Immediately on here people were talking here about not being peri because they have regular periods, which has been hugely debunked as the first indicator. People just don't know what the symptoms are - myself included (pre-HRT). I had no idea joint pain was such an early indicator. I thought I had zero symptoms, and then HRT was an absolute game changer for me. I have never had anything but regular-as-clockwork periods.

But anyone being dismissed with 'it's just your hormones' has every right to be annoyed.

None of those things are emotions, but one person could have all of them and be peri/menopausal. Sorry it annoys you but for many women it's important to know the facts.