Is this really peri menopause?

[Icantstopeatinglol]

I’ve not had a period for 8 months and I’m 41yrs old. My periods started being quite random about 1.5-2yrs ago. They never really properly got back to normal after I had my dd by emergency csection. It was quite a dramatic birth, knocked out and 7 inch wonky scar as they had her out within a minute of me being put to sleep due to low heart rate.
Anyway, I’m just not sure it is menopause as I haven’t had many other symptoms? I’m having problems with my bladder such as leaking etc but when I’ve spoken to other friends a lot seem to have similar so not out of the ordinary. I saw a gp last June as I’d been missing quite a lot of periods at that point but they don’t seem too bothered. I had blood tests and an internal scan but not really an answer other than it could be peri menopause. Is there anything else it could be? I’m definitely not pregnant as husband has had the snip and this has been going on a couple of years now?

If you haven't had a period for 8 months then you are quite near menopause if indeed you are in perimenopause. It is not sure that you are because you are still quite young to have menopause. It is still possible if genetically you have early menopause age. You need to ask your mum, your mum's sister and your mum about the age your grandmother reached menopause. If all three reached menopause around 40 then you are genetically predisposed to have menopause around 38-43 years of age.
Now if all 3 had late menopausal age say around 50 then it is quite unusual for you to have menopause early in which case your missed periods could also be a sign of gynaecological problems.
Most likely cause is PCOS but since you already had blood test and a scan and nothing was shown then may be you don't have it. But still look at the symptoms on the internet, if you have a lot of symptoms then contact your GP .
Next is thyroid, did you gp do a thyroid scan because that can cause issues too.
Another reason is Asherman' Syndrome- it is rare but I only say that because you said your problems started after having a c section. C section can cause adhesion/scar tissue (it is quite common) and if the scar tissue forms inside uterus or on cervix then you start getting light / missed periods. Unfortunately you can't see scar tissue on ultrasound. The only way to confirm is by hysteroscopy. Even if you have scar tissue doctor is not going to remove it unless you want to be pregnant again.
If you are not at genetic age of menopause and your GP is not helping you finding the cause then ask for a Gynaecologist referral.

Thanks you for that info. That’s so helpful, I wasn’t aware you can’t see scar tissue on the ultrasound which is why I was leaning towards ruling that out. I just think it’s been quite a long time since my last period and if it is menopause then I already have inflammatory autoimmune arthritis so I’m concerned about osteoporosis?

If you have autoimmune arthritis then you have increased risk of osteoporosis. You can ask your GP for hrt. Hrt will protect your bones for longer. There are 2 types of HRT - continuous and cyclical. You can take continuous hrt after 1 year of stopping period. Read about them - hrt has more pros than cons. If you are happy to go ahead then have a discussion with your GP.

Yea that’s what I’m worried about. I’m not going to be having more children but I’ve had years of problems with my joints that now I have under control. I don’t want to have issues with osteoporosis too. I’ve got a drs appt for Thursday so hoping they refer me to a gynaecologist.

I saw the nurse practitioner this morning and she’s agreed to refer me to a gynaecologist. Hopefully I’ll get some answers.

I hope that too. Good luck!!!

It's great that you've got a referral to a gyneacologist, you might find a women's health physio could be good to see too - especially if you're experiencing leaking - it sounds like there's still a lot of healing from the c-section, and they can often help with scar tissue. I've been referred via my GP practice in the past and found it so helpful.

Yea I’m glad they’ve referred me so I can try and work our what’s going on. I nearly bought some tests from amazon today which show positive if you’re FSH is high. Decided against it for now as I don’t know how accurate they are and could totally confuse the situation.
wildlywell I’ll look into a woman’s health physio, that sounds good! Thank you.