What happened to your periods in the run up to your menopause?

[BercowsFlamingoFlownSouth]

I'll see if I can attach a photo of my cycle history but I'm wondering what happens to periods in the run up to stopping.

I'm 43 and over the past year or so my periods have stopped being as regular as they were and have varied in length too. This month is the weirdest with light bleeding but I'm on day 10 It's annoying and the period pain is pretty bad (I do have endometriosis though). I'm not on any hormones, cervical smear was a couple of months back and normal.

GP did bloods which were normal.

Does this look/sound like peri-menopause? My mum had a hysterectomy and didn't experience any gradual changes. Same for my grandmother.

If you have always had a short cycle- longest one showing there is 25 days- then they say that anything roughly 3-4 days either side (late or early) can be very normal.

If your cycles went down to under 21 days that might be an issue and start of peri.

Blood tests are unreliable anyway. And they need doing on days 2-5 of a cycle and over 2 cycles. Did GP do this?

Sorry I didn't scroll through all your shots- looks a bit as if your cycles are all over the place so yes it could be peri but this can carry on for years and years.

Just one lot of bloods done randomly. GP said I was too young but I know things have changed. I was always about 27 days.

Pretty disgusting a GP doesn't know the basics of how to test your FSH levels.

Can you see someone else?

Are you feeling unwell or is it just odd periods that concern you?

Read up on early menopause to see what you need to do re medical advice.

I feel constantly tired. I was looking forward to the Christmas holidays so much but feel just as tired if not more so. I'm a single mum of 3 and I guess it's no wonder I'm tired but I'm in bed by 8 most nights, walk lots, plenty of fresh air etc. I do need to improve my diet and take multivitamins regularly and perhaps take time to properly relax. I'm in constant pain with various things and have been for years so take strong painkillers which add to the tiredness but the last year I've been feeling it more. I stopped breastfeeding 5 months ago after 4.5 years of feeding ds and I guess my body has been depleted by that and is perhaps needing to restore itself? I'll look into that.

I will book in to see another GP to discuss again. I'd swear my thyroid is off kilter but the bloods are fine and they won't do the more detailed ones as the standard ones are smack bang in the middle of normal. I wish I could do a trial of levothyroxine to see if it makes any difference.