Are we too young to be experiencing this??

[TheNaturalBronde]

Me & some of my friends around the 36/37 years mark have noticed our cycles changing, sometimes only 2/3 weeks between periods…feeling more moody than normal, when it was just me I was aware of I thought it may be stress but as we shared this between us it made me wonder if it’s more likely the beginnings of our cycle changing.

AIBU are we too young to be experiencing these changes?

any experience welcome TIA x

Yep, it can do 😩

Same age and I’ve been experiencing same. Sometimes a week late but mostly shorter cycles. Now I know it’s not just me.

I turn 40 next month, but experienced similar for last year and wondered if 38-39 was peri or too early.

But reading around it does suggest so! And can last 5 or more years.

My cycles have iffy, and mental health wobbly

Good to know not alone but not keen on the idea of this lasting up to a decade!

There's a particular photo of me, side on, when I'm 38. It was the first time I noticed hair loss at my temples. I had night sweats and got a referral to a gyne. I had a random blood test that revealed nothing.

Roll on 4 years, still having pretty regular periods, although I missed a cycle about a year ago and the cycle length fluctuates a little. I'd had a few panic attacks on public transport in the summer, which I realised were probably hot flushes. I also became a lot more socially withdrawn and short tempered.

I'm now on HRT. I'd gone to the GP for something else, but was covered in sweat when I walked in. GP suggested it (women in her 50s). I needed a blood test as I was under 45. No negative side effects for me. Better sleep, no night sweats, no hot flushes, calmer. It's not a miracle cure, but it's helped me a lot.

Peri can definitely start around the mid-late 30s.

I do wonder if using the pill for long periods of time messes up the natural scheme of things. Or any other hormone contraceptive. There is also the effect of hormone mimicked in plastics that were used in the food industry. Or UPF.

Hormones were used extensively in the food chain in the 80s and 90s when the current generation of 30-40yr olds were children.

I suppose the other factor is that women are far more comfortable talking about their bodies than previous generations so we are now more aware of what is normal and what isn’t. My cycle didn’t change in my 30s then I had a Mirena coil fitted at 40 so had no periods from then on. It was confirmed via a blood test at 57 that I was post meno. I used oestrogen patches from 54 when I noticed some symptoms, moodiness and very mild hot flushes. I had to go cold turkey at 57 and was warned it may be a bit of a tough time but apart from a few hot flushes I was fine.

Same thing has happened to me, my period has been like clockwork all my life. I have noticed over the last 6 months they have been irregular, different lengths and heaviness, sometimes really heavy, sometimes barely nothing, I also seem to be be waiting longer between cycles, it was 8 weeks between the last two. Regularly feel tired and drained even though I sleep well. Haven't yet spoken to the GP, but it this carries on I will do.

@99pwithaflake I disagree. Hormonal changes can occur at any time, but it’s not peri menopause if it’s 10 years before menopause.

Honestly, this generation of women who think they’re peri menopausal as soon as they hit 30 are going to have a hell of a shock when they actually experience the real thing!

You can disagree all you like, the science would back me up.

Perimenopause can begin eight to 10 years before menopause when your ovaries gradually produce less and less estrogen. It usually starts when you’re in your 40s. You can be in perimenopause for several months or several years. Many people begin feeling symptoms like irregular periods, hot flashes and mood swings in perimenopause.

my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/21841-menopause

I don't know if this is entirely true ( that all girls start earlier now). My daughter had 1 girl who started in Y6 in her year but most of her friends were 13/14/15 ( or 16 in 1 friend's case). It's probably genetics in part plus weight plus maybe exposure to artificial hormones ( in food etc) in some cases.

Not sure about "peri" a lot of my friends talk about it and I definitely have shorter cycles in my 40s now going from 22-35 days when they used to be exactly 29 days! But no other symptoms apart from length of cycle!

So some mixed responses, some indicating they have experienced this …,
PM is common at this age,…
and that it’s likely not that but another hormonal change,…

there will be no HRT for me as I’m progesterone intolerant sadly , no hormonal medication at all.

@Pissedupknobber I'm very aware it's a real thing. I'm almost out then other side. 2 months to go untill I hit menopause.
I've Just noticed that Peri seems to be the go to for anyone 30+ with anything out of the ordinary going on.

I take the pill so my cycle is regular, but I'm the same age and have been having drenching night sweats for months 😖 can only assume its related to peri

You're really not lucky. Early menopause can cause truly awful things later on in life, such as increased risk of osteoporosis, heart disease and dementia.

My peri symptoms started like clockwork at 40, like it was on my body's to do list 🤣 Peri can last up to ten years before periods stop, so not out of the realm of possibility at all

I'm 39 and, as I have PCOS, my cycles have always been all over the place, but this year I started experiencing hot flashes during PMS and I can't always find the words with the same ease I used to - always worse during PMS, too. It's infuriating.

I know what you mean. Definitely not saying OP is trying to be trendy at all, but I feel absolutely bombarded with references to peri and for me it's not helpful at all - it's giving me massive anxiety than I'm too late to have kids (very unhelpfully, as it's not something I can do much about). I know that the greater awareness of it is supposed to help women, but I wish it weren't mentioned on social media every five minutes.

Probably doesn't help that I have a lot of health symptoms from other stuff that also look vaguely like peri, so I have no idea how to tell whether I should be worried too. Last month I was 5 days early (just one day this month) and I had a right freak out. I'm scared to go onto BC as I then wouldn't be able to tell.

If you're genuinely worried about it, absolutely, ask about it (I'm really not digging at OP). I just wish all the influencers would just be a bit more sensitive to the fact that they might be causing some upset by constantly screaming to single women my age - who've already lost years of their lives to COVID - that we might be about to lose the chance of ever having children...

I had all the menopause symptoms in my late 30s, when I was diagnosed with endometriosis and PCOS. I've had no menopause symptoms now my periods have actually stopped for a year at 50, and I haven't felt this good since I was 32.

48 is not early menopause. It's normal menopause.

I started my periods at 9. Diagnosed with stage 4 endo at 39 and noticed my periods changing cycle wise but thought it was the endo TBH. Excision surgery at 41 (didn’t remove any organs except my appendix) and started with massive anxiety 8 months later and now on HRT

Suggest getting your iron levels checked. Low ferritin has a huge impact on hormones and your cycle.

I had my first hot flush at 50, last period at 61.
Same as my mother.

... That's a 12-year actual menopause.
God knows how many of the gynecologically fucked-up years before that were perimenopause, the term hadn't been invented yet. I have PCOS, which wasn't diagnosed until 45.

I definitely see improved awareness of women's hormonal trajectory as a good thing!

My peri menopause symptoms didn’t start until around 45, terrible sleep. Awake 3-4am daily. GP said only symptom so not really interested in doing anything. I work full time and it’s exhausting. Thankfully my 3 kids are all young adults now as not sure how i’d have coped when they were younger. Seeing the GP on Friday so might ask.

What a stupid thing to say

About a week after having the Covid vaccine, I had the worst period (lasted 2 months) followed by erratic bleeding. Went to see a gynae consultant, who told me he'd seen so many younger women starting peri since Covid.

Not wanting to make this a vaccine issue, but wanted to explain what happened in my case.

I had my first symptoms in March 2017 when I came off the pill at 42. I noticed my cycles were a few days shorter than normal. I'm still in peri now. I just had six months without a period and thought I was done, but nooooo....I just had a big period. Nine years and counting for me! Although the really bad symptoms didn't start until maybe a couple of years later, I can't quite remember. (For me, a chest that felt like it was on fire for 2-3 weeks and PMS lasting 2-3 weeks, with much worse moods than before.) My symptoms haven't been as bad the last year or two...but basically there was about 4-5 years that were really hellish, pain and mood-wise.

In my experience it's been far, far worse and more long-lasting than puberty. I would advise any woman to talk to her GP about HRT. I can't take it myself because I'm high-risk for breast cancer, but if I could have taken it, no way would I have raw-dogged it like I did.