WHAT is wrong with me? Is this perimenopause?

[SpiderWebbing]

OK, I know you’re not doctors and can’t diagnose me (and I have yet another appointment with my doctor tomorrow to beg for some more ideas on what’s wrong with me)…but wondering if this rings any bells with anyone in terms of symptoms?

For a few months I have been feeling increasingly dreadful.

Exhausted (bone tired) and the only way I can describe it is like being CONSTANTLY anxious.

My chest and stomach have that funny, flippy, anxious feeling, I’m slightly short of breath, slight headache and slight nausea. But ALL the time. Even in my sleep. I wake a couple of times a night (which is a new thing for me) and feel like this. I wake in the morning and it’s awful, like a strong physical anxiety. I feel constantly knackered and on edge and it’s such a physical feeling. I’ve experienced anxiety and depression before, but this feels really different.

Blood tests for thyroid, vitamin deficiencies, hormones have come back normal. I’m slightly low on iron, but always am and take supplements. My BP is slightly raised. But no other reason for how I’m feeling.

I don’t drink or smoke. Moderate exercise, fairly healthy eater. I do have a stressful job but it’s never affected me like this before.

I am at the point of seriously considering leaving my job as I just cannot cope with feeling like this every single day and trying to be a professional person.

I should say, I’m 45!

When you say slightly low on iron, do you know what your ferritin levels are?

It sounds like it certainly could be.

As far as I understand it, GPS should no longer diagnose peri meni via hormone tests because by definition you go up and down in peri, so they are supposed to use age and symptoms - and you are the right age and you have symptoms, so unless there is something else they want to test for first, they ought to try you on HRT

so go back and demand action

there are private clinics like Louise Newson, but you shouldn’t need to resort to that.

Poor you. It could be.

“Experienced middle-aged women are leaving the workforce in droves. These women are likely to be at the top of their game, but without the right support, at the right time, they are unable to reach their full potential for businesses to reap the benefits from,” Bupa said in the report.
www.aon.com/unitedkingdom/employee-benefits/resources/articles/menopause-forcing-women-out-of-the-workplace.jsp

@Luredbyapomegranate is right - over 45 + symptoms = eligible for HRT with no need for blood tests etc.

Yes, I think it is perimenopause. Are your periods still regular? Push your GP for HRT but I also really recommend taking a supplement of magnesium and b6 every day. An SSRI anti depressant could also work well for you.

Thanks so much for your replies so far. I truly appreciate it.

@Devo1818 Yes, periods regular but my cycle is shorter over the past few years and periods are horrible. I flood for 3-5 days and I mean FLOOD.

I’m on a low dose SSRI anyway (fluoxetine 20mg a day - have been for years for my PMT). At my last appointment with the GP she said next steps would be to increase the dose, but no mention of HRT and I’ve only very recently (last few weeks) found out about the hormone tests being useless for perimenopause diagnosis.

I take a vitamin B complex daily (as well as vitamin D) but haven’t tried magnesium, so thanks for the tip!

I would start with HRT and see how you get on. Whether it is or not you with probably notice some benefits. Then in a few months time you can decide whether you need any additional help.

Just looked back at my last blood test results. Serum ferritin is 27 uGL.

I was explaining to a younger friend “imagine you and your family have reached the front of the check in queue at the airport and you realise you haven’t got the passports” that horrendous physical sensation of stress panic fight or flight however you wish to describe it peri menopause buts my body and mind in that exact state but with no actual cause to trigger it it just happens and it’s just awful especially in bed at night when you just want to sleep

Your ferritin is definitely sub optimal. The normal range used by the NHS is not fit for purpose.

You could consider an iron infusion? If you are within striking distance of Cambridge, Dr Klein at the Iron Clinic is excellent. He's really responsive and would be happy to have a chat on the phone about your symptoms I'm sure.

Yes it absolutely could be. I became extremely anxious about a year ago and then my life became unmanageable when a friend took his own life. I was of course grieving, but it was more than that. I wouldn't describe it as depression, but as you do -- complete and utter dread. I talked to my doctor and she put me on an extremely low dose SSRI (10 mg/day). She said the latest research shows SSRIs help more with anxiety than depression it seems. In about a month I felt so much better. I just turned 50 by the way and am still not in menopause it seems, hormone levels still showing as normal but apparently the tests aren't very reliable. HRT might help but my doctor was reluctant to prescribe it. I have not found a good remedy for tiredness beyond yoga and pilates and just trying to get consistent sleep.

OP, it might be worth asking the GP to refer you for a pelvic ultrasound. My periods were so bad and flooding that my iron and ferritin were low and it turned out it was fibroids. I had very little pain, and the flooding got worse so gradually, I just kind of accepted it for ages. I finally demanded action when I gave up on normal sanitary wear and started using adult incontinence nappies because I was fed up of flooding through my clothes/bedding.

I had had generalised, vague symptoms for a long time that I assumed was perimenopause (I remember thinking a lot, "I used to cope with stuff and now I don't, what is wrong with me?") and I wonder now if it was the effects of long-term low grade anaemia. So many tiny symptoms like weak flaky fingernails - they're perfectly normal now I'm on the way to being sorted. If they could fix that, the rest might fall into place. Just another idea to try.

Did they check for thyroid antibodies in your blood tests?
When I have a flare up I feel so utterly exhausted like you've described.
They don't always test for them.