Skipped period/early menopause right before FET

[Becky348]

I was wondering if anyone has been in a similar situation or has any advice please?

I was expecting to prepare for a first FET this month, however, I’m now on day 45 of my cycle with no sign of a period coming. I had hot flushes during my usual expected week of ovulation for the first time ever.

My cycle is usually 22 - 28 days, and symptom-wise, I felt like my period would arrive around those days, and had bloating and intermittent headaches but no sign of my actual period and now those symptoms have come and gone (plus 3 negative tests).

I’m nearly 41, have been TTC for 2 and a half years now. We had a MMC after month 3 of TTC and nothing at all since then. We had 2 cycles of IVF last summer. I have very low AMH (0.6) and AFC (1-4), have had intermittent cyclical pain ever since the MMC and subsequent surgery. I’ve assumed I’ve been in peri for a while but I’m wondering if I’m now at the start of the actual menopause. I’ve been a bit anxious about the FET, and had started some exercise this month (some light running and very light weight 2kg training), but nothing out of the ordinary, and I’ve never skipped a period before.

I’m concerned that I’ve now had my final period, or even if it returns, that a FET cycle will now be more likely to be unsuccessful. Has anyone had a completely medicated cycle while not having periods? Were you put on HRT for a few cycles ahead of the transfer? Thank you for any advice.

I can’t advise on your question of menopausal FET but, in the hope to reassure, AFAIK menopause doesn’t usually start suddenly like that (from a regular cycle to zero periods). There’s usually a few years of irregular/skipped and ‘normal’ periods before they stop entirely.

When symptoms starts and cycles become irregular (6–7 weeks) is usually classed as early perimenopause; when symptoms worsen and periods start skipping a few months at a time is late perimenopause, then when they’ve stopped completely (longer than a year since last period) is the menopause.

Sometimes doctors will also test thyroid to check for early perimenopause – you might be just over the cusp of when they’ll check, but it could be worth asking.

Did you track ovulation this cycle to confirm if/when you ovulated?

(Sorry if this sounds a bit patronising – I’ve recently been investigated for POI due to a sudden cycle change, so I’ve done a lot of research!)

Appreciate the reply, thanks @FluentTealGuide, and not patronising at all!

I guess I don’t fit the threshold of the 6-7 week difference in cycle length (more like 7-8 days). But this year I’d had a series of 21-22 day cycles and my period was shorter than it always had been (lasting more like 4-5 days than the 7ish I’d previously always had). The past 2 cycles had been 28 days and on my last period I was surprised to still be bleeding on day 8. So with this super long/skipped cycle I’m on now, I was wondering if that hit the definition of periods becoming more erratic.

I do think I’m in peri, due to lots of fun symptoms - eg, weight gain around the middle, low progesterone, new eczema and joint aches. Also occasional internal tremors (which I’ve wondered about being caused by sudden drops in oestrogen) and some numbness and tingling in my fingers. I’ve previously had b12, Vitamin D and thyroid checked and the doctor didn’t think any of the results would cause these, but I could ask to be tested again.

I haven’t tested for ovulation in a few months but I assume the hot flushes were my body trying and failing to ovulate this cycle.

Anyway, thanks again for the info, it’s definitely useful!

Could possibly be perimenopausal symptoms and your period will eventually show up even if it seems to skip a full cycle. I am also in perimenopaus, I can randomly skip a period and then go a couple of months with early periods and then they start to become extremely late and then il miss a cycle again. They have also become shorter in length and less painful, I am also having issue with extreme sudden weight gain that refuses to budge and I have given up on that for now while I also undergoing ivf. I also get hot flushes, I ache in my joints and all my old injures even from childhood have been aching which I find weird. I had a fall last year and heavily landed on one of my knees to save dropping my daughter and injuring her and that knee never fully healed. I have major hormonal crashes, im tired and I thought my sleep was bad before. I have no idea how I manage to have the energy I have from one day to another and keep up with everything. Anywho, with all that said, id say you will get your period you might just miss a full cycle, also ask your clinic to check progesterone. With my last ivf cycle I was just not getting period and it was just dragging on so my clinic had my hormone levels tested to see where I was at and they were going to intervene , turns out I had high progesterone which was prolonging a bleed.

Hi @Miraclemuma03 thanks so much for your reply, your experience sounds quite similar.

Sorry to hear about your symptoms and old injury flair ups, sounds like you were an absolute hero saving your daughter from falling! That’s so rubbish that you’re still paying for it now.

That’s a good shout to ask for hormone testing. My progesterone is historically quite low rather than high but worth looking into. Can I ask if your period in that IVF cycle arrived naturally eventually, or did you need medication to induce a bleed? Best of luck with the IVF.

My period ended up coming on its own thankfully.

That’s good to hear, thanks @Miraclemuma03.

I just read on another thread that oestrogen is an anti-inflammatory, so any issues in your body that were previously sub-acute and were never a bother, suddenly become acute with the drop in oestrogen and associated loss of elasticity - that it’s like the oestrogen kept the injury quiet.

If anybody else has any experience of FET treatment during/close to menopause, with no periods, I’d be really grateful to hear about it.

@Becky348 currently at prep stage of a FET. I am POI so technically post menopausal. I had a medicated cycle with hrt to bring on a bleed to begin my FET process! Currently just at the start of the cycle. Just curious how many blasts you had with your Amh and your FC at 1-4?
best of luck

That’s helpful to know, thanks @Peonies94. Sorry about your POI diagnosis and good luck with your round!

We don’t actually have any blasts just yet. I sadly wasn’t able to make many mature eggs on my own, and the quality was terrible so we’re trying donor eggs. We have 12 frozen eggs, so just hoping we have some luck with one of those, if my body decides to behave itself 🤞 How many do you have?

I don't know whether I am close to menopause or not, but I am nearly 41 and my understanding of IVF was that it's really normal to have a long gap in your cycle after overian stimulation? My clinic certainly said so, and I've read threads on here where much younger people also found their cycle was badly delayed/disrupted after the hormones. Since you've recently been doing IVF, perhaps it is that?

A friend of mine had her daughter (using donor eggs) at age 50; she was very definitely perimenopausal though still experiencing irregular periods. It wasn't a picnic (when is it ever?) but she did get there.

Thanks so much for sharing on both counts @SarahAndQuack, my last IVF cycle was in November, and you’re right, my next cycle straight after was a little bit longer but it did go back to normal after that.

That’s reassuring to hear about your friend, glad to hear she was eventually successful. It gives me some hope, so I appreciate it.

@Becky348 donor eggs too! Have 8 blasts and preparing for a FET now! Wishing you the best of luck! We decided to do creation seperstely to transfer! So this will be our first transfer!

Are you creating embryos seperately to doing a transfer as you speak about doing a FET? If so, why is it they want you to have a period before creating the embryos?
for me I was put on medication to thicken lining and bring on a period, and my cycle started then!
best of luck!

@Peonies94 8 blasts, that’s amazing! Hope the FET goes smoothly and that you have every success! Can I ask, were you having regular periods but just not ovulating with the POI, or no periods at all?

Our original plan was to do a natural modified transfer as I was having regular periods, and then the clinic were planning to try to create embryos from the frozen eggs to align with my trigger shot. Now, with no period, we’re kind of in limbo and the clinic has suggested that we wait until I’ve had an NHS gynaecology appointment at the end of the month and go from there. So I imagine I’ll have to reorder medication to change to a fully medicated cycle. It’s quite hard not even knowing if we’ll have any embryos to transfer. We’re thinking about asking if we can at least go ahead with that part soon.