Is this Peri?

[SansaryaAgain]

My periods were irregular for a long time after they came back 9 months after the birth of DS, now 4. They then settled into a 25-28 day cycle, with the occasional outlier of 35-36 days. I was happy with this because prior to getting pregnant I had a 21 day cycle.

Until the past few months. I had a period towards the end of November and didn't have one again til early Feb! Today I started the fourth period I've had since then and it's not even April yet.

I'm 41 and my mum went through menopause in her early 40s. Not sure if it's hereditary. I'll book a GP appointment next week but I'm not sure what the options are at this point. I don't have hot flushes although I seem to get tired more easily these days and libido has been MIA all year.

Has anyone else gone through the same?

I started my meno at 41 but I had too severe symptoms. It is possible you to have an early meno and It’s a good idea to check your hormones.

How do they check hormones? Blood tests?

I've been taking high dose biotin tablets for the past month and am wondering if that could be something to do with it?

Yes. They do a blood test.

I had one done last mid last year. Results come back quickly.

I've no idea about the menopause, it kinda snuck up on me. From about aged 40 they were a little off .. but nothing major. Now I haven't had a period for 1.5 years.

Wouldn't hurt to see GP if only to get yourself checked out.I missed first period about 7 years ago...went 11 months then they started again..every month up to this January and stopped again. Hopefully this is a good sign...it would explain a lot 😂
I had awful periods from teenager onwards..if I'm lucky the menopause will be a breeze....yeah right!

You should definitely have a blood tests. In fact as you are 41 and just around the age where menopause would be deemed premature, ideally the doc should carry out 2 blood tests 4-6 weeks apart. They will be looking at FSH levels amongst other hormones. If your FSH is raised then you are definitely peri-menopause, and your lack of periods is unlikely to be due to anything else. There is more information on Menopause Matters website www.menopausematters.co.uk/diagnose.php and on early menopause here: www.menopausematters.co.uk/pm-definition.php

Mother's age at menopause is a good predictor of menopausal age.

If you are heading for an early menopause then despite lack of symotoms it is important to start taking HRT to help protect your bones and heart in the longer term.

I Need to Eat if you are under the average age of menopause of 51/52 then the medical recommendation is that you should take hRT for the same reason, unless medically contra-indicated.

Not sure why you are taking biotin - unless you have a demonstrated deficiency and this has been recommended by doc. You should be a ble to get most of what you need from a widely varied balanced diet with lots of fresh ingredients.

I'm taking biotin purely for vanity reasons - I heard its good for making your hair grow and mine has been a bit lacklustre of late!

I was on the pill for years with no side effects so I'm not at all averse to hrt. Will ring the GP on Tuesday and hope I don't get fobbed off.

@bellaciao

I'm still only 45 (just). My GP gave me some information about HRT but said as I wasn't having any symptoms that I shouldn't bother taking them.

6 months ago I was diagnosed with progressive MS .. which also caused epilepsy. I've previously also had a DVT so never been able to take the combined pill, so don't know if that has anything to do with it. I took the Gp's advice as face value. Perhaps I should look into it more myself.

Epilepsy is a cause for premature meno and you should take hrt regardless from symptoms! Maybe you ask for a second opinion!

Ineedtoeat, since you went through menopause at 43, you didn't have premature menopause which is menopause before 40. There's a distinction and I doubt if any gp would say you have to have hrt until 51/52 regardless of symptoms.This is something I've only ever seen on this forum. Definitely worth talking to your gp about your options but please don't be panicked by what is said on here when you are told you must use get.

academic.oup.com/jcem/article/100/11/3975/2836060

jeanhailes.org.au/health-a-z/menopause/premature-early-menopause

From your link
"Benefits may exceed risks for the majority of symptomatic postmenopausal women who are under age 60 or under 10 years since the onset of menopause."

'may' and 'symptomatic' seem the key words here. For many women with symptoms, the benefits outweigh the risks but there's no need for all menopausal women under 51/52 to take HRT.

Please note, I'm not saying that HRT wouldn't be the best path for INeedtoeat, but I don't think she needs to be panicked into it when she has other health issues.

www.earlymenopause.com/information/topics/finding-the-right-doctor/

www.walterobgyn.com/?p=330

Make your decisions Sansa and get informed! :)

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5137796/

@parisusm
Thank you. From what I've read and what the GP told me it doesn't yet seem plausible to take HRT.

I will speak to the GP about it again when I next visit.

Thanks again.

Thanks for the links @Emerald13, will have a read of them before I see the GP and I'll also check the NICE guidelines.

I'm not one who shuns prescribed medicine in favour of natural methods so am keeping an open mind.

I Need to Eat - do you mean not plausible because of your DVT History? Your GP was quite wrong to deny you HRT purely on the basis of lack of symptoms, when as you will have read, evidence and medical recommendations are to take HRT at least until the natural average age of menopause.

Your DVT history is another issue - and I expect your risk here will depend on a large number of factors - including lifestyle, diet, body weight, alcohol consumption, whether you smoke, exercise, and I presume the state of your cardio-vascular system? I would ask to be referred to a specialist in order to asses you properly. Menopause Matters has a brief paragraph on this here As you can see if you are able to take HRT then the transdermal route is preferred.

None of us are able to give you outright reassurance but can only guide you as to what current thinking is. Whilst a certain amount of scepticism is healthy (after all science progresses through being sceptical and questioning results, established theories etc), it is also important not to dismiss current recommendations because they appear imprecise and not cut and dried. We are after all a vastly varied population of women affected by our genetics as well as environmental and lifestyle factors and it is a question of balancing risks and benefits based on the best information we have.