Peri-Menopause or something else?

[HealthHell]

Hi, I went to the GP wondering about Peri when I I'd just turned 39. GP did order some bloods which were normal but told me I was too young to worry about it & 'It won't be that'.

Symptoms then were
Periods 'missing' or all over the place.
Memory fog. Bad. I left the hob on once when the kids were home & only realised once we'd finished our lunch & I saw it still burning away in the kitchen.

I now have aches all over. Gets worse through the day. Come tea time-ish I'm hurting all over & just want my bed.
Fairly sure I've started snoring.
Spots all over my back that are now creepy up my neck & behind my ears.

Does anybody have any ideas? Does this sound like Peri or something else? I know I should go back to the GP but they are absolutely useless & have badly let me down lately.

I've had urine & anal incontinence on & off since I had my youngest, that's still the same.

I've just kind of accepted that this is how it is. I feel like half the person I used to be. I can't remember anything. My kids get frustrated with me. I have no energy & just want it all to be over really. The thought of living like this for another 40+ years fills me with dread & sometimes I think 'I need to sort this out!' but 99% of the time I think 'I wish it would just hurry up & be over' (meaning my life)

Bump

Would be fairly early to be peri but not unheard of. What blood tests did your GP ask for? I'd be looking to see if you need iron or B12 for the tiredness (even vit D) as they all affect me really badly, to the point I'll happily lie in bed all day to save energy. Deficiencies in those can seem like peri symptoms.

Do you eat fairly healthily? You mentioned snoring, I stopped that when I lost some weight so that's something to think about, and I definitely didn't sleep well as I constantly woke myself up!

Thanks for answering TitsInAbsentia. I honestly don't know what blood tests they did. It was basically 'I'll do some bloods to shut you up but they won't show anything' (obviously she didn't say those words!)

I don't eat as well as I should. Food is my comfort unfortunately. I have a problem with my feet as well right now so I'm not even sure what I could do to lose weight.

I'm glad you sorted your snoring!

When I started feeling creaky I went on cod liver oil and It’s made a difference.

Creaky is a good term for it!

Were you a similar age KangarooKenny?

No, I got to about 42 before it all went tits up. Well actually, you’re tits go down 🤣

Can you get a copy of your blood tests and post here so we can see what might be up? It could well be peri, but could also be thyroid/iron levels/vitamin b levels etc..

KangarooKenny Haha, I have cleavage for the first time in my life now I've put weight on so not looking forward to that!

Thanks minutte1 They were taken a year & a half ago now, do you think that's long enough to ask for some more to be done?
I honestly hadn't really thought of any of those other things. With my periods being how they are I instantly went to peri.

Thyroid issues?

Sounds rather familiar TBH. Have you got a Women's health session at your surgery?

SpeedofaSloth Not as far as I know. I've been recieving those NHS letters saying I'm due a health check or something but I've ignored them as, well, I imagine it's just going to be a weight, BP check etc & they won't actually care what my problems are.

My DSis had gone through menopause by your age. A chat with someone sympathetic about HRT would do no harm, if you could find someone.

Thanks SpeedofaSloth. I will have a Google.

I actually went to the GP maybe 6/8 months before all of this as I was passing huge clots with my periods all of a sudden (but they were regular) & again they kind of dismissed it as nothing, so things havn't been 'right' for a while.

Sounds like either b12 or thyroid or even both. I have had b12 for 10+ years now and the brain fog before I got diagnosed was horrendous. It affects people differently but joint pain is a symptom. Thyroid symptoms can also be quite similar and b12 and thyroid can be related. I'm monitored for thyroid and weight gain you can't shift can be a symptom of that. I would keep a diary of symptoms and take them to the Dr's and not be fobbed off until you get it sorted.

Get some of these. Totally brilliant for brain fog.

Thanks so much Theupsidedownexists Your post has given me hope, I was sure people were just going to tell me that nothing could be done, but it seems there could/should be light at the end of the tunnel?
I'm glad you are feeling better

Thanks Wallywobbles.

By 'brain fog' what do people mean? For me it's, as I said, forgetting that the oven was on, also forgetting where I've put things, but I actually can't remember at all. It doesn't 'come to me' later, I just don't remember until I come across it. And my kids tell me things then later it comes up & I'll say 'I didn't know that' & they will say 'I told you at this time on this day' (& I have no memory of it)
Also forgetting school trips & things like that... (I feel like that's probably a 'normal' one for some people but before all this my memory was excellent) also lying awake at night trying to remember things that I've woken up thinking about but I can't remember what they were

Is that what other people mean by brain fog?

My short term memory is shocking. When I'm due treatment for my b12, I quite often forget conversations after about 5 mins and just forget to do little things, or where I put things, but the most frustrating thing is forgetting words. It's like they float around my head I can see them I can't get them out. It does get better with medication which I have every 3 months.

OP the way you describe it is exactly what my brain fog is like, but also forgetting words which is particularly bad and a bit upsetting because other people have noticed it. I'm older than you and definitely in peri.

Thanks AnElegantChaos. I'm so sorry you are suffering too. Do you take anything? Have you been to the GP? I hope it gets better soon for you

Theupsidedownexists Thank you. I'm glad you get some relief with the meds.

It's reassuring to know I'm not alone I suppose but I wish others weren't suffering too!

It's just me & my kids 90% of the time but yes, I'm often saying 'Oh, er, what was the word I wanted? Um, What do I mean?'
Or there was once when I was with my mum & siblings & said something & used the wrong family members name. They all sat there staring at me, not saying anything for what felt like 10 minutes, before I realised that I'd used the wrong name... Then they all found it hysterical while I wanted to die inside

@Wallywobbles I've ordered some, thank you

For anyone getting blood tests etc done I recommend signing up for to patientsknowbest.com as it shows your results, as they come in. so for example my ferritin is really low, one point off being out of range. But that won't flag up to your GP, because to the NHS your are in range. But it could explain why you are tired and you'd think about upping your iron/B12 etc (the website gives you a link to what the test means etc). It's been really useful for me recently.

If you can afford it, I’d be seriously tempted to have a private blood test. I felt awful for years and my GP kept telling me my bloods were all ‘satisfactory’. Had a private test done and my B12 was barely in range, my ferritin was under range and I was deficient in vitamin D. Oh and I also found out I had central hypothyroidism. My GP has been worse than useless.