Is the menopause? Peri? Help!

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I’m embarrassed / in denial and generally a bit upset about what I think is happening to me. I’m 41 and haven’t had a period since November. Prior to that I had about 6 months of very close together periods (maybe 16-22 days apart) and a few missed periods then nothing since Nov. I had my first hot flush in Dec and now have them with ridiculous regularity. Mood is fine - nothing to report there.
No anxiety or anything else either.
What is this? What do I do about it? Help!

@PollyPerky

Premature ovarian failure is meno before 40 - between 40 and 45 it is referred to as early menopause. Also worth noting that the OP has not yet gone a year without a period and may well have a way to go yet, I went 3 months without a period 2 years ago and I'm still not there.

www.daisynetwork.org.uk/about-poi/what-is-poi/

Paris not according to the dr who wrote this on Menopause Matters- I linked to it above. POI and POF are interchangeable.

Premature menopause, or Premature ovarian insufficiency, is frequently defined as being menopause that occurs before the age of 40 years, but in the developed world, it is thought that it should be defined as menopause before the age of 45 years, the loss of estrogen having particular long term health risks in this age group.

According to NICE and the Daisy Network it is though and I think I'd be more likely to go with their definition. IMany people start to have symptoms in their early 40s,myself included. I ill however hit menopause at the average age.

Let's not argue the toss over a measly 12 months! The OP needs advice and the treatment is the same whether she is 40 or 41.
Dr Currie who wrote that piece was a former chair of the British Menopause Society so she's hardly a non-expert.

Sorry if it seems I'm being petty. The OP could be in perimenopause for years yet and no doctor will tell her she has POI as she is not under 40 and not through menopause. I don't think it is helpful for non medics to assign women with conditions on a forum such as this.

You are absolutely right- none of us are doctors. Not me, not you.

The average age of menopause in the UK is 51. Some stats put it at 52. The normal range is 45 -55. What the quote from Dr Currie (consultant gynae) says is that it's becoming more accepted that under 47, rather than 45) is early in the affluent, western world .

Although peri can last for 10 years, this tends to cover the very small changes that are often overlooked as being peri, except with hindsight.

It's not very common for irregular periods, months apart, to carry on for 10 years. So someone experiencing these are 40 or 41 is much more likely to be post meno by 45 than someone who is peri at 46.

At young ages as under 45 or even younger the gyn MUST offer hrt and not to wait a year with no period! The lack of estrogen will cause a lot of serious problems later in life. That’s because the younger body has a lot of estrogen receptors at brain, at bones, at skin and the lack of estrogen will have more dramatic consequences than in the normal menopause. I started to have severe symptoms of menopause with almost regular periods at 41!

I was early 30s and my doctor just called it early menopause. I started periods early too though.

The doctor said that I was too young for HRT and being on it long term could cause me problems. Obviously to go on it young means you may be on it 50yrs. When it was brought out you would only expect a woman to be on it 15-20yrs.

I’m clearly going to be offered HRT and I’m going to accept. Would be foolish in terms of my health not to given everything I’ve read (thanks all for the links to info). Next hurdle is just getting a doc appointment! It’s nearly impossible! Poor crumbling nhs

Starzig, hrt is vital especially for young ladies! Patients with Turner syndrome or POI or POF or early menopause have to be on hrt until at least the normal age of menopause and there is no data that the long term use of hrt at these patients can cause problems. The small risks start after 50. You can google and confirm that. Patients with Turner syndrome for example stay on for many years, maybe for life.