What's the difference between Premature and Perimenopause ?

[esther39]

I'm 39 and i think, in perimenopause. Believe i started around age 34/35. I'm on HRT, have been for 4 months now. Before the HRT i was still having periods, every 4 to 6 weeks.
Do women with Premature meno just stop having periods ?
Can you still get pregnant in perimenopause ?
Iv'e been trying to get pregnant for 2 years but no success as yet. Would HRT help me to conceive ?
I did an ovulation test today just for the hell of it and it came up positive. Could this mean i'm ovulating ?
Thanks

You might just stop having periods or they might peter out- just the same as a woman in her 50s.

Yes you might still get PG.
No HRT will not act as a fertility drug.

Peri meno means you are approaching the meno. You will reach menopause when you have no eggs left. As your go through the transition you might ovulate some months and not others- and have long gaps between periods or shorter gaps.

Have you not been referred to a gynae to ask all of this as you are very young for meno? Sounds as if you need some professional support and advice.

No i have not been reffered for any professional support or advice. In fact, my doctor didn't seem fazed by the idea of me being in menopause. She just said that although uncommon at my age it can happen. She just gave me HRT and sent me on my way.
Another doctor i saw didn't believe i was perimenopausal because of my age. He thought it was more than likely stress that had made my periods go haywire. Why then did my test results point to menopause ?

So why did they put you on HRT if I might ask? Did you want to go on it. Thing is do you actually need it?

When i was diagnosed as being perimenopausal, (borderline perimenopausal), the doctor said, she said i should go on HRT. I was talking about being reffered to infertility clinic at the time and she laughed and told me not to bother.
Anyway i left it a year. My periods got more irregular and then i began having vaginal dryness, palpitations and night sweats. I do wonder if the latter were caused by extreme stress rather than menopause though. The last 2 years i have got myself into such a state about not being able to get pregnant. As each month passed i have got more and more stressed. So 4 months ago i could take it no longer and went back to the doctor and asked for HRT. I thought, oh well, sod it, i can't get pregnant so i may as well go on HRT and feel better.
The HRT has got rid of the vaginal dryness but i feel so ill. I have panic attacks every day and awful night sweats and feel exhausted. All i want is a baby and this longing for one is making me ill.
I don't want to be menopausal. I want it to be stress.
I have been given antidepressants but haven't taken any as yet. But now i'm thinking that maybe i should. Perhaps if i'm less anxious, my body might relax and then i fall pregnant. Not ideal i know. Thinking of stopping the HRT and seeing how i go with the anti-d's.

By the way i have 4 children and had no trouble conceiving them, fell pregnant in the first month with them all. The reason i wanted another was for my husband, who has no children of his own. I do find it odd that i was once so fertile and then my fertility seemingly disappeared almost overnight. How can a woman whose so fertile go into menopause so early i wonder.

I think you have posted all of this under another name?

You sound really wound up over this.

My advice is that you insist on a referral to a gynae to have your fertility and hormone levels assessed properly. Your GP doesn't sound sympathetic.

You also need to calm down about getting PG- you know this is counter-productive.

If you don't feel good on HRT then stop taking it. It's not something to take lightly. It is quite contentious. It's not for everyone as a matter of course. I have known many women who have been told they are menopausal by their GPS and then went on to have more periods. You only know your menopausal when you havnt had periods for two years. If your still having periods I would have thought you can still get pregnant. If you want to come off HRT then do. Then you can properly assess for yourself where your body is at. What about learning relaxation techniques.

Menopause is defined as 12 months without a period, not 2 years.

HRT is essential for women with an early menopause ( before ages 45-47) to protect bones. It would not be classed as a 'drug' only replacing what the body should naturally have at that age- the same as replacing insulin or thyroxine.

Iv'e got 4 more pills to take of this pack. My period came on Saturday evening and iv'e felt terrible. Only had a bleed 18 days ago. Though the bleed is light as usual and almost pain free, i feel depressed, exhausted, having hot and cold flushes and generally run down.
I thought HRT was meant to make you feel great, that's what i'd been told anyway. Four months into it, and apart from curing the vaginal dryness, i feel no better.
I was still having periods before i started it but they were irregular and very light, lasting just 1-2 days.
Been trying to get pregnant for 2 years and so far nothing, despite being very fertile in the past.
Thinking of switching to the Mini-pill for a couple of months as this contains just progesterone. Thinking maybe thats what i'm lacking in and not so much oestrogen. I had read that ladies in early perimenopause often produce too much oestrogen.
Maybe the Pill will sort my hormones out.

I'm thinking of trying acupuncture to try and help me relax and i might try Evening Primrose and see if that regulates things.

It's not unusual to bleed before the end of the pack but can't understand why it's only 18 days since the last bleed?

HRT is not a miracle cure. It won't make you feel 'great' if you have other physical or emotional problems that are not linked to low oestrogen.

I think you're being a bit silly TBH thinking about switching to the mini pill because a couple of months on it it not going to solve anything.

Why won't you go back to your GP and ask for a referral to a gynae who can advise re. infertility? You seem to be avoiding this for some reason. what is needed are full blood tests and info on what your hormones are doing.

Menopause is individual and many many women can go two years without a period and then have one or more. All women do not need to take HRT even if menopause starts earlier. Menopause is natural and the bones wont start to crumble just because you start peri menopause. There is not one size fits all with anything.

OP you may be peri menopausal but until you have stopped having periods then you are not menopausal. You can still get pregnant if you are having periods. I think you need to deal with the stress issue first. I think you can only take HRT for a limited number of years so I would have thought it best to not take it until you really need it. Maybe you could do some of your own research on the net. The information regarding health matters changes all the time and its your body and you must do what you feel is correct for you.

Doit

I don't like to contradict you but you are mistaken.

There are more deaths each year from osteoporosis than breast cancer.
1:3 or even 1:2 women over 50 have osteoporosis.

Early menopause is big risk-increaser for this because our bodies are supposed to have oestrogen to around 50.

Bones lose 5% of their density each year for up to 5 years after the menopause. If this happens when someone is aged 35-40, they are going to live for many more years depleted of oestrogen.

Have a read here- written by a gynae

www.menopausematters.co.uk/pm-management.php

Also the medical guidelines are that ANY bleeding after cessation of periods for 12 months needs medical investigation in a woman who is over 50, or under 50 if she thinks she has gone through the menopause.

Women who have an early menopause- classed as under 45- though some drs say 47- are strongly advised to use HRT to protect not only bones but also their heart.

Fair enough pink. I think I have read the post wrongly. I got that she was still having periods every 5 to 6 weeks which doesn't sound like menopause and therefor I didn't understand why she would be given HRT when she is still having regular periods.

But it states that if under 50 you have to have not had a period of 2 years to be said to be menopausal.

You need specialist advice - insist on a gyn referral.

For hormone replacement at your age and bone protection it is more likely that a combined pill would be recommended which would of course stop you from becoming pregnant.

Perimenopause = the period of time around the menopause which technically speaking is your last ever period.
Premature ovarian failure = menopause in younger women

The doctor offered me the Combined Pill before the HRT, but of course i didn't want that as iv'e been trying to conceive!
The last couple of years my FSH levels (hormones) have bounced around quite a bit. Last year i was under an NHS infertility clinic and they told me i had a few ovarian cysts caused by a hormone imbalance, they didn't think it was menopause though. Anyway, back in December i was all set to try fertility drug Clomid to kick-start ovulation and they tested my hormone levels just before. The nurse said my results were very poor for someone of my age and they suggested menopause. Nurse then said the drugs were unlikely to work so i didn't bother trying them.
Since then iv'e been hoping i might get pregnant naturally but it's not and i'm getting more and more stressed to the point of a breakdown.
I really do wonder if it's stress that's stopping me falling pregnant and not the menopause at all.
So what to do now ? Do i carry on with HRT, even when it doesn't appear to be working properly or do i come off it , take anti anxiety pills and hope my stress levels decline. Going to try acupuncture too.
So confused!

HRT is not a fertility medication.
Stress alone will not stop you from falling pregnant but it can certainly make you ill and is not good for you . Do see your GP and be honest about how you are feeling - hopefully they can offer some support and refer you for ongoing care.

Go back to the clinic. Get them to explain everything to you until you feel you understand the issues. Clomid may give you a better chance of conceiving than HRT.

Most women don't ovulate with every cycle and in perimenopause the anovulatory cycles become more frequent until there is no ovulation and no period. So it's not impossible to conceive in perimenopause, but equally I think you need to be realistic and listen to what your RL specialists are telling you.

I am sorry you are going through all of this.
The DaisyNetwork offers support for women who go through the change early - might be worth a look on their website?

Iv'e decided to give the HRT a break for a couple of months and get my hormone levels tested again. Hoping and praying that they are better than 6 months ago and i get to give the Clomid a shot.
I doubt very much i will conceive but if i don't try it will always haunt me.