Is this peri?

[User12358]

I recently turned 41. For the past 5 years or so my cycles have been shorter 21 days on average. However I have now completely missed my last 2 periods. This has never happened to me before. At the time my period was due I've had mild cramping (like my period is about to come) and heavy feeling in breasts. However I have not had any bleeding. I have not had hot flashes but have been very tired and have noticed my anxiety has increased considerably in the past year. My mum has passed away so not sure when she went through this.

@Evanna13

I recently turned 41. For the past 5 years or so my cycles have been shorter 21 days on average. However I have now completely missed my last 2 periods. This has never happened to me before. At the time my period was due I've had mild cramping (like my period is about to come) and heavy feeling in breasts. However I have not had any bleeding. I have not had hot flashes but have been very tired and have noticed my anxiety has increased considerably in the past year. My mum has passed away so not sure when she went through this.

Have a look at this https://assets.jeanhailes.org.au/Health-professionals/MenopausesymptommscaleGreeneeClimacteric.pdf

Not everyone gets hot flushes during peri but anxiety etc is a key symptom. Newson health is amazing too as is the balance app

I'm 35, and my cycle seems to be shorter out of the blue. Averaging 3 weeks. My boobs are so heavy and sore and I'm permanently pissed off. I'm worried I'm peri, too.

Thanks for the replies, my period has unexpectedly arrived today, 6 weeks since my last one. Definitely the longest I have ever gone between periods, apart from my pregnancies.

I'd track cycle and symptoms religiously and then see Gp. It's sounding like it might be but it may be difficult to prove it. Tracking will provide supportive evidence.

I’m a similar age - 41 in a few months. I’ve been having what I now think are Peri symptoms for a few years but have only recently put 2 and 2 together.

I had a period from Hell in summer 2019 - flooded through everything (was wearing tampon, heavy duty pad plus another pair of knickers and pad over the top and still managed to leak ) and ended up in OOH as I thought I was haemorrhaging. The Dr recommended I go back on the Pill (had been off it since having my son in 2017 and was used to the odd period every now and then as I have PCOS and am very irregular) which I did, so no idea what my cycles are doing now.

Anyway, I’ve been having night sweats, horrible anxiety (which I put down to the pandemic and had CBT through my workplace health insurance), feelings of rage and itchy ears - yup that’s right, itchy ears! Apparently it’s common as your mucous membranes start to dry out due to the drop in oestrogen, but the inside of my ears itch like crazy and I have to go to town with an ear bud 2/3 times a day! Also in the last couple of weeks my skin has become itchy in places and it’s driving me nuts!

I’ve been to the GP - got the useless blood tests, which showed up nothing of course, and a recommendation to get a coil fitted. I’m on the waiting list for that so goodness only knows when it will happen.

I’ve signed up to Balance and bought Dr Newson’s book so will read that before probably making another appointment and asking about HRT and other options.

Yes this could well be the start of it. List of things I noticed were less energy, hair and nails not as healthy, more anxious and low mood, lost my mojo, periods longer and heavier first few days and then missed a few on and off, just generally feeling under the weather and not my usual self at all. Keep a track in your diary or phone of your periods and worth your time talking to a good doctor or medical person who specializes in it as my doctor fobbed me off in my mid 40's and went through very tough years struggling. Just started hrt and still have regular periods, missing an odd one here and there but the difference I feel after just into my 2nd month of hrt is unreal. Sorry to hear about your loss and grieving also soo difficult, lost my mum also so can understand what you are going though. Please don't wait as long as me to get hrt or to try to get it but great if you can manage symptoms but the lack of sleep nearly drove me quite mad and that is low progesterone.

I think I was in denial for a few years but, at 43, have finally accepted that I'm peri menopausal. Anxiety has slowly escalated over 3 years or so alongside a raft of other symptoms including:
Urine leaks, dry skin and now break out of spots, thinning hair, the start of vaginal atrophy, weak nails, anxiety, low mood.

I'm on HRT and had the mirena coil fitted, my periods used to be so regular and I noticed there were longer gaps between them. The coil has completed stopped them. Thankfully my doctor has been fantastic and prescribed HRT gel (which I cannot get at the moment so using patches).

I think I may be joining you all I've had other health issues which have muddied the waters somewhat but now at 45 I think this is it. It's almost like second puberty with skin breakouts, bad hair, mood swings, occasionally feeling hot and bothered, anxiety (not helped by my other health woes) and the latest addition to the collection - sore boobs that even pregnancy couldn't beat. My GP says my hormones are "normal".

@DrCoconut get yourself on the Balance app, it’s really useful as you can log symptoms and then print them off for your GP.

Dr Louise Newson said the NICE guidelines are that women over 45 do not require blood tests and that they are pretty pointless unless you do them regularly as of course your hormones might be “normal” one day but the next they could be on the floor.

Don’t give up. Ask if your surgery has a menopause lead and if not go back armed with as much info as you can find - you shouldn’t have to justify yourself but it seems so few Drs are adequately trained in menopause.

Thanks cavemum. I suppose to be fair I was 44 when I had the blood tests. I had a huge load done to find out what is wrong with me. I will keep at them now, I'm nearly on first name terms with the GP at this point

@lolo2020 are you on localised oestrogen too?

@DrCoconut not everybody gets hot flushes. There are so many different symtoms you probably have more and are unaware they are peri menopause related. Anxiety is a very common one. Difficulty sleeping, palpitations, erratic periods (timing, heaviness, duration), dry skin, night sweats, aches and pains in joints or muscles,
tinnitus, vertigo, migraines, static electricity shock (I can adjust my cooker hob without touching it now, it's bizarre), fatigue, anxiety, poor word retrieval, brain fog, poor concentration, poor memory, vaginal atrophy and incontinence.

Vaginal atrophy has many symptoms of its own and it's not confined to your vagina. Incontinence, urge or leaking or frequency, getting up to go at night, sore or itchy or dry vulva, frequent UTIs, thrush, sore or dry vagina, prolapse.

Unfortunately a lot of GPs can be unaware of all symptoms too!

The balance app is great. Make sure you are aware of benefits of body identical HRT if you start HRT. You need oestrogen and progesterone. Transdermal oestrogen is best and Utrogestan is the only body identical progesterone. It's a tablet and can be taken orally or vaginally but provides other benefits when taken orally. GPs often offer the Mirena coil to cover which is a contraceptive and might get rid of periods altogether. That covers your progesterone to protect your womb but doesn't provide the other benefits to your body, but the Utrogestan doesn't provide contraception or stop or lighten your periods.