Am I peri menopausal?

[79andnotout]

Hi everyone, my GP isn't really very interested in any menopausal chat until I stop having periods, but I'd like to know if I'm perimenopausal so I can mitigate the symptoms as much as possible through lifestyle. Does this sound like I might be?

Day 3 FSH 12.
Periods very light and varying between 21-28 days apart since I started tracking a couple of years ago.
Very emotional watching adverts or stupid things when I'm usually a cold unemotional fish.
Feeling like what is the point in life (not in a particularly depressive way, but just disengaged from my usually content self.
Night sweats - although I think I've always had those but I seem to notice them more these days.

Is this the start of it? Does anyone know what fsh indicates peri?

I'm only 39 but I think my mother and her mother had menopause around that age, although it can be difficult getting these details from my family who refuse to talk about such things!

Thanks in advance...

The perimenopause can last for 10 years apparently. I recently heard this doctor on a radio show talking about the menopause and it was super helpful. I think this is the right podcast.

healthunlocked.com/thyroiduk/posts/136002838/dr.-renée-hoenderkamp-on-menopause-diagnosis-treatment-options

Mariella Frostrup did a v good and v balanced (IMO) prog on menopause recently - worth a watch

talked about various things people do to try and mitigate symptoms from medical to diet and so on

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p06rw5bs

Great, thanks both!

this book is well worth reading

www.amazon.co.uk/Making-Friends-Menopause-comforting-reflecting-ebook/dp/B00T9XUNXI/ref=sr_1_5?s=digital-text&keywords=menopause&tag=mumsnetforum-21&ie=UTF8&qid=1546197124&sr=1-5

I think I'm peri menopausal as well

Periods more frequent and lasting forever
Hands and feet freezing when I was always one of those overheated types of people
Waking up at night worrying (used to sleep like a log and not prone to that sort of night worries thing)
My memory has got worse & I feel vague > eg forgetting where put keys, forgetting what I'm talking about and while I understand this is normal for lots of people it's really a change for me and I'm finding it really unsettling. Especially as have just started a new job ata new company which was a big promotion and so I can't afford to be vague / not remember stuff etc.
There's other stuff as well.

I looked on NHS and it said if you suspect symptoms prior to age 45 you can get a blood test so I went and doc was a bit about it and wanted to know why I wanted to know & it was a normal part of life. And I said well if these symptoms are peri menospause then I can know that and learnt to live > if they are not then there is something else going on > I need to know which it is to know how to approach it.

Anyway he sent me for hormone and thyroid tests not got the results yet.

You can have a blood test

@brizzledrizzle - thanks for that! I've downloaded it and will have a read. Didn't even have to pay as its on kindle unlimited.

@NothingOnTellyAgain - how old are you? I've had thyroid problems in the past so have regular blood tests to monitor. From what I've read the symptoms of both can be similar. If you have thyroid issues they can be treated fairly easily so fingers crossed it's that.

@BellMcEnd - yeah I had my FSH measured and it was 12, for normal ovarian function it needs to be below 10 I believe. I don't think it's the most reliable test on its own though, and I had no oestrogen levels checked. I was hoping some other peri women might be able to comment on their FSH readings and whether they tied in with noticeable symptoms or not.

Oops wrong tags in there, sorry, I meant @Confusedbeetle on that last comment.

It sounds like peri to me and it can last a few years. My peri started at 40 but I had no idea and it was a shock for me. My diagnosis was based mainly on my symptoms and less on blood tests.

I'm 44

I suspect is perimenopause,

My mum told me the other day her periods stopped at 47 which is quite young I think so sounds like I'm on that road

To add my FSH was about 12, after 6 months about 23 and when I started to have symptoms about 35 but my estrogen extremely low, under 26 I think.

You start hrt when perimenopausal not menopausal don't you?

Yeah, I started HRT during peri when my symptoms were too severe and my quality of life was affected too much.

@Emerald13 - that's interesting. I think I'll push for an oestrodiol test. That FSH test is already six months old so it might be higher by now. We've had a couple of years of trying to conceive unsuccessfully which inspired these tests. I'm not fancying our chances much the more I find out!

My AMH was too low and my possibilities for pregnancy not too good. I guess that it is genetic and it sounds like primary ovarian failure. I am single and childless too.

@Emerald13 - yes unfortunately bad luck in the gene pool I think. My younger sister is having similar problems. I'm hoping IVF works for her, I think it's too late for me. Life deals you a shit hand, sometimes. At least if I know what's going on I can prepare for it a little. Sorry you've been dealt a shit hand too.

Thank you 79! Sometimes our life goes on with a different way than the way we have imagined! Maybe for good, who knows? Having children wasn’t the major priority for me, so I am out of time now I guess! :)

@Emerald13 - yes same here, plenty I can be getting on with if children are not on the cards. Part of me is sad, but I can make the best of it, it just requires a period of readjustment.

I am with you! Just don’t let symptoms affect your life, I wasted some time suffering cause I had no idea. I was convinced that I had a terminal disease, now I am at a better place psychologically and physically. Take care! :)

Thanks @Emerald13 - good advice!

:) 💐

I’m 39, my periods were fine but I started feeling very anxious, waking up at night, loss of libido and suspected it may have been my hormones causing it. I started taking magnesium, evening primrose oil and agnus castus and I’m feeling like myself again.

Fsh of 12 would indicate you still have a number of eggs to release. The usual limit for ivf is usuay 10, so not much less. Mine was 90 three years ago when I still had light periods.

Saying that fsh is not a reliable rest on its own and can indeed fluctuate month on month when getting closer to the menopause.

Is Frostrop really fair & balanced on Menop? She writes things about menop using words like:

"terror", "lethal", "feared", "tragic", "shameful", "guilty", "suffering" ... comparing menop to a virulent disease. It's imbalanced to use so much dramatic language. She describs menop as a 'complete surprise' which is weird coz I knew about it before I started my periods, how did a well-educated person roughly my age not know anything? Maybe because she's Norwegian. Then she goes onto say a huge amount about how wonderful HRT was for her.

Fine she loves HRT, but not like every woman feels that so cowed & overwhelmed and mystified about getting older. I sure don't.

I'm 43 and off for blood tests on Thursday. My cycle has been all over the place since the summer and I ended up at the doctor 2 weeks ago when my last period showed no sign of stopping, was flooding and the clots were huge.

I was put on progesterone (northisterone) for 10 days to stop the bleeding and I've to take them for a week in the middle of my cycle to try and regulate things.

However, my ten days finished on Friday and it looks like the bleeding is starting up again.

Peri is no fun at all!