Perimenopause

[sammilou03]

Hi everyone, I’ve joined here because I need help. I’m 37 and for the last 6 months my periods have become irregular, I used to be like clockwork to the day and hour. I haven’t had any birth control for 9 years as my husbands had a vasectomy. I’m now finding that my PMS is like I’m a teenager again, I'm
unreasonable, quick to anger, cry for nothing, don’t drip with sweat but get hot and flustered and clammy, I get headaches. My skin is dry and I’m getting dry skin patches, my hair is going greasy and I’m having to wash it every other day instead of twice a week, it’s falling out easily and feels thin and lank. I’m forgetting things and find it hard to sometimes remember what I was talking about or need to talk about! I’m irritated more than I’m not and my periods now last 5-6 days rather than 3-4 and are really painful and heavy, I have no pattern to them and I’ve been tracking them for months and it literally has gone to random cycles. Please can someone else out there tell me they have experience of this or what it could be I’m so fed up of it all.

I'd go to your Gp who will rule out any other issues - for example thyroid issues can have similar symptoms.

It would be useful to have information re tracking symptoms and cycles to show them or tell them. Balance app is good though I used fertility friend and added extra symptom boxes. I am having periods and found it helpful to match symptoms to points of my cycle.

I have no other symptoms related to thyroid etc and I had a uterine scan so no cancer. My cycle is all over, one month it’s 26 days between periods then it’s 22 days between periods then 28 days and then 23 days and then 21 days there’s no rhyme or reason and symptoms are the same very time, heavy period, ridiculously bad PMS, feeling depressed and anxious and irritated by everything, headache and exhaustion, dry skin, bad hair.

I’d just love to speak with another woman of a similar age to me who is suffering with any of this too. I have brain fog and can’t remember what I’m doing

I'm so sorry, that sounds really hard.

Yes that sounds familiar. I did feel like I was getting dementia. Hair loss too.

You can make dietary changes and do gentle exercises (iirc a particular kind of yoga has been proven to be helpful). I did seed cycling and found it did regulate my cycles (to the moon!) but not hugely help other symptoms enough. I was then too overwhelmed by life and cravings to find much time for much self care. I did have to alter my diet as very loose guts was one symptom, particularly for some types of meat, which later hrt improved.

I would say though that those symptoms warrant some checking as can be early indications of underactive thyroid. I never put any weight on when under. A gp would rule that out though as a matter of course.

Hi @sammilou03 Just wondering how you are getting on now? I’m 37 and have been experiencing similar symptoms for the past few months.

Hi, I’m ok but it’s still the same as it was, my cycle is all over and the emotional turmoil is not good, I feel completely overwhelmed and tearful and irritated and then happy and ok another day, notice this more so as my period is due but it’s heightened to what it was years ago. My twenties were brilliant, best periods ever 3 days like clockwork and completely manageable now they’re just so painful and heavy and completely out of pattern. I also become really hot and clammy toward my period date and find it hard to sleep even though I’m exhausted. I’ve had ultrasounds and everything looks normal so I can’t see what else it can be but perimenopause. Hope you’re ok.

It sounds just like my perimenopause symptoms! Definitely have a chat with your doctor. I prepared and did some research and worked out I needed more estrogen - it's often called the cuddly hormone and it definitely makes you a nicer person! way back when my cycles started getting very random I went on the progesterone only pill, had no periods and it helped a lot. After about 5 years the sweats, sleepless nights and irritability & rages amplified so I switched to HRT patches. They are brilliant! No symptoms at all now and I didn't realise I was suffering from anxiety before which has also vanished. Hope you get somewhere

That sounds horrible and all very familiar, I have random periods that start/stop. Come on like a flood then taper off to nothing but still take a week/10 days to stop. My anxiety is constant and I have a horrible ‘electric/buzzing’ feeling in my head that comes and goes. My skin is driving me mad with itch and it gets worse at night. I am very dry and intensely itchy ‘down there’ (sorry if tmi) I get palpitations l have stopped drinking coffee and alcohol and that has helped but I still get them frequently. I wake up sweating and run hot/cold a lot. My nails haven’t grown in months and my hair is continually greasy no matter how many shampoos I try. I just don’t feel like me anymore! I have two kids, 6 and 4 and my patience is getting worse. I’m always snapping and sometimes this rage comes over me over the silliest things. I find it hard to get motivated to complete anything and I’m forgetting words in the middle of talking, it gets very embarrassing! It’s like i have a complete disconnect between my brain and mouth and can’t even finish the sentence! I have random pains that come and go in my joints, some nights they get so bad I can’t sleep. I’ve put on about about a stone in the past year, even when I started running the weight still same on. I’m only 37 but I feel about 20 years older it’s all so alien to me! 🤯

Yes I have exactly the same as you! I have headaches, forget what I’m going to say and feel completely exhausted and could fall asleep within seconds despite having lots of sleep.
my mood is awful! I’m hot and cold constantly, never the right temperature! I’m nearly 38 and feel like people think the perimenopause is too early but I can’t explain any other reason this would be happening, my kids are 12 and 9 so O have no preg hormones left to be causing it! I suffer with anxiety and depression and then super highs kept thinking I was bipolar! I don’t feel like me any more either just like a confused mess! My hair has become thinner and is now dry and brittle!

its awful isn’t it! And awful not having any answers. I’ve wondered for ages was there something seriously wrong as there was always some symptom or other affecting me. I don’t know if you’re interested in audiobooks but my sister suggested I listed to two books-Everything you need to know about the Menopause -Kate Muir and Menopausing-Davina McCall. I’m not sure where you are but my local library had them. It all rang so true to me and they said that 1 in a 100 women start menopause before they’re 40 so it’s not as uncommon as people think. I’ve ordered some peri-menopause supplements to see if they help. Hope you get some answers/relief soon.

The marina coil or mini pill might help a lot. Go to your GP, see what they suggest.

Thanks @IwasToldThereWouldBeCake I tried to get an appointment today but there I was told there would be no one available until the end of the week so I will try again then. I tried the pill years ago but it didn’t suit me and threw my hormones all off, that was nearly about 20 years ago though so I suppose a lot has changed since then! Thanks for the reply