Is the perimenopause beginning?

[fflelp]

Hi I'm 43 and wondering if perimenopause is starting. My Mum was 60 (!) when her periods stopped so I thought I might have gone on a bit longer... but...I have...

1. worsening pmt - very very weepy and unable to do anything for a couple of days due to feeling so incredibly down
2. heavier periods but still on my regular cycle
3. and the worst of all - I am so randy. It's ridiculous. Pre-lockdown (and now when things are starting to get back to normal, I'm not in the UK) whenever I sit next to certain men in a couple of different musical groups I get all hot and bothered and turned on (this is really embarrassing). It's like I'm a teenager or something. I don't know if they can tell - I bloody hope not - but it's really bad sometimes. I just want to jump on them FFS. Also I have crazy random sexual dreams about the same men. Is this my hormones going crazy before plunging me into menopause?

Yep. Certainly sounds like your hormones are starting to lurch about a bit!

Feeling you have a lengthening PMS phase is certainly typical.

This, along with the heavier periods, may be oestrogen dominance. Progesterone levels seem to fall first - is this because we produce poorer quality ova in our forties, hence less quality progesterone (it comes from the egg)?

I don't know whether the mad libido is oestrogen or testosterone related but many perimenopusal women will relate to it!

Great....
I suspected as much.

The mad libido is the worst at the moment - I worry the men will be able to tell and think I'm crazy.
If I know that the PMS problem is that then I'll be able to deal with it better. It's just been bad the last few months and I hadn't realized it was PMS just thought I was struggling with some other issues I have been having (not health related).

@jackdawdawn There is no such thing as estrogen dominance. (It was term invented to sell a dubious cream with some progesterone in it.)

What happens in peri is you get anovular cycles- so cycles with no ovulation,and no bleeding, so the womb lining builds up. Ovulation kicks off progesterone which changes the womb lining to help implantation. If implantation doesn't occur, the lining sheds.

So in peri you can get a bleed maybe 2-3 months late so you have all that lining to come away.

60 is VERY late for periods to stop. (And word of warning- some older women think they are having a period when it's cancer of the uterus, especially after along gap with no periods.)

The average age in the UK is 51 with the range from 47- 56. Earlier than 45 is called early menopause and HRT is required to stop bone loss.

Is that why periods can be heavier and yuckier, like with small dark clots? Mine were a bit like that last year. They've got lighter and shorter since. Progesterone seems to have a refining affect.

Im 45, regular heavy periods, clotting, weepy, moody, cramping. Unable to get to the doctor due to covid. Awaiting a blood test for hormone and thyroid.

Nurse over the phone said its not the menopause, but I’m not happy. I want to SEE a doctor face to face and talk. There are other factors. Im not interested in sleeping with my husband anymore. Infact I could happily go without sex for the rest of my life.

According to my app i have 6 days to go, but started spotting today. Im moody and pissed off so ive called in sick which is so out of character for me.

My mum and gran went through the menopause at 40. Surely what I’m experiencing is on that track? Hence why i need to see my gp (a woman of my age who has known me and my family since she qualified as a gp)

60 is VERY late for periods to stop. (And word of warning- some older women think they are having a period when it's cancer of the uterus, especially after along gap with no periods.)
Well in my mother's case she did stop very late and it wasn't cancer of the uterus but I appreciate you pointing this out as in the vast majority of cases, bleeding at 60 could very well be an indication of something serious.

Seems strange that the nurse said that when your mum and gran had such early menopauses. Was she aware of your family history?

I am becoming to learn never to be surprised by anything a nhs practitioner says to women about menopause though. Hope you get on ok with the blood tests.

I literally take no notice of anything my gp, practice nurse says about the menopause!
They are clueless and generally not interested, I've learnt so much more on here and have navigated my way through it thanks to Mumsnet!

@jackdawdawn she didn’t ask. Felt i was being put off, it was the nurse practitioner. Also told me to take evening primrose oil and a multi vitamin with iron. I wont until the blood test as that will only bring levels up. I want a test to read the correct level my body has.

That’s why i need the gp. Its like talking to a friend not a doctor!

@allfalldown47 Me too, Mumsnet is invaIuable to me.

I started to have my doubts when a GP tried to tell me that black cohosh was 'a great alternative' to HRT! The damn stuff can cause liver damage! I'm sure it's rare, but the doctor should not be demonising HRT while promoting something else that hasn't been properly researched or regulated. Totally irresponsible.

Sounds familiar, kicked in about 43 for me, 3 years later still having symptoms and periods still regular. Practice nurse says it can last from a few weeks (then periods stop) to 10 years.

So if im not given anything, the family (and myself!) will be living with a bitch,