Suspect menopause at 42...help!

[Theromanempire]

I am reasonably sure that I am going through the menopause...I went through a symptom checker and could tick about 50% of them but really random issues I have been having which appear to be unconnected to each other were listed on there so it now makes more sense.

I think I have been going through peri-menopause for a couple of years now but have not had a period for 3 months now. Have done a pg test a couple of weeks ago which was negative - plus DH had a vasectomy years ago so not sure pregnancy would be possible and would certainly be unwanted

Have got doctors appointment next week - what do I need to ask? What are the issues with going through it this early?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

Biggest issue health-wise is that your risk of osteoporosis goes up. HRT will reduce that.

IIRC NICE guidelines are that you should be offered HRT. GP may be a bit old-school and say that you don't need it if you are coping with the symptoms. That does not help with the osteoporosis issue!

There are herbal menopause treatments that can help with many of the symptoms, but I don't think that any of them have been proven to prevent osteoporosis.

goody thanks for your response. Would they do a blood test to check?

I am managing well - none of the symptoms are particularly bad or impacting on me functioning normally (apart from poor memory and word confusion which is affecting me at work )

Bumping

As you are well under the average age for the menopause you should seriously consider taking HRT - it would be hormone *replacement^ therapy in the proper sense of the word as you would normally expect to still have these hormones until you are in your 50s or so.

See your GP.
I would want to do some blood tests, including your thyroid function tests as there are other reasons for why periods can become few and far between. You need a general MOT.
MenopauseMatters is a good website for further info - there is also a chat forum.
Symptoms of menopause can be quite non-specific so on that alone and at your young age, who knows?

Good luck with your appointment.

Oh, the blood test most commonly used is FSH (follicle stimulating hormone): it rises in the latter half of your fertile life and levels over 25-30 in combination with no/few periods is indicative of perimenopause.
Technically speaking the menopause is your last ever period, so you will only ever know with hindsight.

Thanks pacific. I am going to take a list of my symptoms with me.

A general MOT sounds ideal - I feel like I am slowly falling apart at the moment

The blood test may need to be repeated. When I began peri at same age as you, my periods were all over the place and my FSH levels varied widely from blood test to blood test. One GP was convinced I was not menopausal, but depressed. Fortunately another GP was willing to look at the picture over several months, rather than as a snapshot of one moment in time.

I also had US scans to check my ovaries and uterus before GP would prescribe HRT.

Because of the tendency to forgetfulness definitely a good idea to have a written list with you.

There is no ONE blood test that will diagnose perimenopause with certainty: it is usually a combination of age/periods/symptoms/bloods etc.

Yes to taking a list - aide memoire is a good idea.

FSH does not rise consistently with age, it can chaotically go up and down. Which is why we tend to go symptoms in the first place!

Theromanempire, Can I ask how you got on at your GP appointment?

I am 41 and I have also now gone three months without a period. Prior to this my periods were irregular in that my cycle was 21 to 42 days. I have taken umpteen pg tests, all of which are negative.

I keep getting what feels like period symptoms, but nothing is happening.
My clothes feel tighter around my chest and abdomen, I get hot (but no sweats) and DH says I am a moody cow .

While I don't want to waste the GP's time, I thought it might be wise to pop along and get a check over.

How did you get on? I have recently started on HRT aged 40 and it feels as though a fog is lifting. As my FSH levels were up a bit but not high enough to be diagnostic my GP took a while to be happy to put me on HRT. But I couldn't tell him what my periods were doing as I had been on the pill for years. patient.info/search.asp?searchterm=Menopause&searchcoll=All
Patient.info is a good place to look and the above should be a link the the menopause search items. I also recommend menopause matters but because you are realier than average I recommend looking at the Daisy Network, you will find the link from patient.info. I found a lot of other websites could be annoying at times as they focused on the age that the majority of people become peri menopausal for obvious reasons and the daisy network is aimed at people doing it early