my doc won't say menopause (or perimenopause) but I would really like her to so I could just process this all a bit better.

[tyaca]

sorry, that's really vague.

i've had 5 periods in the last 18months. during that time I've been increasingly irritable, had very bad mood swings and just felt out of control and really quite depressed.

lots of other smaller symptoms that come and go - vaginal dryness, cystisis, flatulance, breast tenderness. quite bad insomnia is the only constant other than my mood.

the penny dropped after i'd taken my millionth pregnancy test. it was another neg and so i googled "flatulance and hormones" and the word menopause came on loads of the searches. my my had hers in her early 40s, i am 34. it started to make so much sense.

dr did some tests. first fsh came back at 46, but she said it might just be because I was mid cycle (hadn't had a period for 4 months then). she gave me prostegeon to induce a period so that we could test during my bleed for a more accurate FSH result. anyway, i had a natural period just after that, but didn't get my bloods done at the right time. that period lasted 4 weeks, and i ended up having my bloods redone on day 27 of bleed. my FSH was 17, so dr said hey no worries, not menopause and now I'm on the pill.

which is helping lots, but I'm still having these awful awful days. so black. i am not depressed (have been so before and just know i am not at moment) but some days are just like a light has been switched off and i am so short tempered and crazy and then just spend the evening crying so much cause feeling ashamed and guilty at having shouted at the kids.

i don't know. feel like it's perimenopuase to me. don't necc. want hrt but would like to try to think out how to cope. i do yoga 3-4 times a week, drink a couple of times as months, go to bed early (with hypnosis cd to get me to sleep). feel like i'm living like a saint just to not go crazy.

i don't know what i am posting about really. just wondered if anyone else thinks this is perimenopause or not, and whether i should go back to dr. though not sure what i would be saying.

Would you consider seeing a counsellor or someone? Sometimes these things are psychosomatic... You'd never know what's triggering it.

I wouldn't just let it go... You are stressing and that's just going to make it worse.

Definitely go back to GP and re-assess symptoms. Could be other sort of hormone problem, thyroid or something. Or something else entirely.

But you can't keep stressing - you'll make yourself ill!!

Well if your blood test was taken at the wrong time, how does that show you are not menopausal

I get so cross at GPs messing abaout like this. I have a great gynae (privately) and he just does things the way they ought to be done eg. my friend was unsure of her hormones ( she goes to him too) so he booked her in for bloods Day 3 them after mid cycle. Just sorted! If your blood test was at the wrong time then you need to go back and ask for more to be done.

The other point is with so few periods at your age you are at risk of osteoporosis once you are over 50. It is well known that any women who miss periods for a good while- because they are athletes, anorexic or have hormone probs- are at risk and your GP is negligent not to follow through.

You need to be assertive and ask for a referral to a gynae- having so few periods at your age is not normal but you are being fobbed off.

thanks so much for your replies, it's really nice of you to take time to read and post.

londonkitty, i am considering counselling of some type. was thinking of CBT to manage the flashpoints where i lose it with kids . have had thyroid done quite few times over the years, but never come up as a problem. yes, need to go back. i guess the only bit of it that concerns me is my mental out of control moments with kids. i'm basically an okay mum, but i am really erratic and i hate this. i hate how they see my mood swings and craziness.

amelia, it was my fault second set of bloods weren't done at right time. the nurse was off the week i needed them done (days 2-5 of period) and i couldn't face hauling kids over to hospital to get them done. can't get relevant blood test now without coming off pill which i really can't face doing. but AM tempted to see a private dr once just to talk about this. my dr really doesn't want to consider poss i may be peri-m, but from what i can tell, my fsh readings are high even mid cycle.

thanks again

I'm not sure how much help my input is going to be, I hope it at least gives you peace of mind that you aren't going crazy. With the benefit of hindsight, my menopause symptoms started two years before I was "diagnosed". I skipped the occasional period, but had very bad "flushes" to the point of dripping with sweat. My flushes happened only in the morning so I didn't even consider menopause. I eventually went to the gynae as we had decided to ttc our second and my blood results were normal (we had tried at that point for 6 months). When we still had no luck only four months later - and no period either - I went back and my results were off the charts, and have remained so for the last 2 years. Today's quite a big day for me as I finally got round to going to the doctor for HRT following some unbearable symptoms that are probably menopause related. I also have to schedule my first mammogram and bone density test. Feeling very weird and very old. Hope this isn't a thread hi-jack, just wanted to share my experience as it sounds like it it could be similar to yours.