Perimenopause

[lovechocolate123]

Hi all

Is 42 too young to be starting perimenopause?

Think I might be starting perimenopause ? What symptoms have others experienced?

My symptoms :
Lighter periods 3 days
Bloating
Nausea
Really, really bad anxiety (developed into health anxiety)feel like I am really ill but no one is listening
Wind
Sweaty at night ( not sure if just hot weather tho)
Itchy breast for a few days
Etc...

I have been to the doc. Had lots of blood tests , abdo ultrasound, endopscopy , colonoscopy all clear.

Really look forward to hearing other people's experiences

I'm 36 and have had it confirmed by the doc that i'm in the perimenopause. Symptoms i've got.....
hot flushes (day and night)
Insomnia (never had a problem sleeping before)
Mood swings - huge ones
Irregular bleeding

Blood tests confirmed it, got to go back for another test in 6 weeks to see how much my levels have changed.

Thanks for taking time to reply. Did the doctor say that was young? Do you know if your mother started young ?
Did the doctor give you anything to help ?

I haven't been tested. Because of my health anxiety I am scared of going to the doctor. 😔 (Crazy I know !!)
My anxiety has increased so much I hardly recognise myself anymore these days and I am horrible to leave with.
Do you find that the symptoms get better when your period actually starts?

Perimenopause can last 10 years. I started at about that age with changes in periods, i had a scan which showed endemetrial cysts, but gp said it was perimenopause and wanted me to have the marina coil. But i had already been prescribed duphaston which made things worse so i didnt want an implant of progesterone in it. I am 54 next month and my last period was february (hoping this doesnt jinx it as have two friends who just had periods after 7 months) and im off on holiday on saturday for 3 weeks.
All my friends in early 50s started perimenoupause about 10 years ago.

Bruffin- thanks for taking time to reply. What were your initial symptoms. If this is the start of perimenopause the worst for me is digestive problems but most of all my anxiety levels have gone through the roof! I have always been a worrier but for the past 11 months have developed severe health anxiety. I just want to cry all the time. I even wake up during the night feeling anxious. Also, my periods only really last 3 days with the first day being heavy but the other 2 quite light.

Not sure I can go on like this. 😢

My mum and grandmothers had late menopauses so I was a bit surprised that suddenly my menstrual cycle has changed and got shorter. I am 42. Always been anxious so don't know how much it is connected - am quite anxious atm. Also have aching joints. Am going to GP soon (a month to get an appointment with the one I want to see!)

I'm 43 and started having almost identical symptoms to yours a year ago. I now take meds for health anxiety as it was taking over my life, as well as going on the mini pill to control my periods which had suddenly become very heavy. I have put on more than a stone in weight, all around my middle area (somewhere it had never gone on before) and despite eating well with no snacking it's very hard to shift. Also sweat far more easily and wake several times per night. If this is perimopause, roll on real menopause- I want it over!

I was 42/43 when I started having symptoms- confirmed by blood tests. Long list of similar symptoms. Was really surprised by the effect. Worse thing of all was the anxiety. I had experienced nothing like it in my life previously. It was almost crippling. I am now 46 and it is sooo much better, but it has come and gone a lot over the past couple of years and i realise I'm still not out of the woods yet! If it is the start of the menopause you're experiencing, I just wanted to reassure you that for me things have got so much better and it feels so distant now to remember that awful time. But do go back to the doctor. A confirmation of perimenopause may be reassurring and also for me they did a bone scan to check bone strength. Recommended hrt for bones and heart due to early menopause which I haven't started yet but probably will if next bone scan doesn't show improved bone strength. I have found natural menopace helpful and also increased exercising which helped lift mood- lots more walking particularly. At its worst I also tried a couple of counselling sessions to help manage my thinking and try to alter my thought patterns, which helped a bit I think. But it was so linked to hormones as one day I would be almost paralysed by some worry or other, and the next day the same thing wouldn't trouble me. Really hope you start to feel better soon.

My mum and both nans started around the same age. Docs offered the mini pill or combined pill, neither of which I can take. She suggested the hormonal coil but after researching it there's no way I'm having it!

Symptoms stay the same whether I have my period or not. It would be worth getting checked out even if it's just for peace of mind, not knowing what's wrong is probably making you feel worse about the whole thing

Just to say that periods stopping before age 45 is considered early menopause.

Advice from NICE is to use HRT up to the age of 50-52 (average age of menopause.) You can find all of this on the NICE meno guidelines - google. This is to prevent osteoporosis and heart disease, 10 years down the line. Take this seriously! 1:3 women has osteoporosis in later life and that's without having an early menopause!

If you think you are approaching the end of peri- periods all over the place- and are under 45, the NICE guidelines suggest 2 blood tests - usually a month apart, on days 2-5 of your cycle.

Pollyperky my doctor did say that if my periods finished before the age of 40 I would need HRT. I'm already at risk from osteoporosis from having coeliac disease so have bone scans every couple of years.

Thank you for all your responses. I realise now that I am not the only one going through this which is of some comfort .

I think the thing I have found so hard is the anxiety. I have always been a bit of a worrier but some days my anxiety level is off the scale.

I have had so many blood tests, scans, endoscopy , colonoscopy and seen so many doctors in the past 10 months but still I think they missed something serious because of health anxiety. All these appointments and procedures have just made me more anxious this is why I now try to avoid the GP. That sounds ridiculous doesn't it?

DT it also applies between 40-45, not just 40.
45 is considered early because it's 6-7 years before the average age.

Tbh pollyperky I'm still learning about all of this, was a bit of a shock as only found out this week!
It's only by chance that I mentioned it to mum that she told me about her and both nans going through it early

Have a look at the Daisy Network - charity/info for women with prem and early meno, run by drs.

Lots of info on diagnosis and treatments on the site.

www.daisynetwork.org.uk