Doctor says I'm not perimenopausal.

[movedonfromsmithy]

I am 48.
Currently I'm on day 68 without a period. My cycle is completely screwed up going between 2 cycles in a month to being months without one.

I have horrific hot flushes.
Bloated.
Brain fog, can't find words etc
Exhaustion.
Anxiety/depression x 1,000,000

I was told by a gynecologist 2 years ago that it was likely that I was in perimenopause but as of last week my bloods are 'normal' but yet I'm having all these symptoms ... Because my bloods are normal apparently what I am experiencing cannot be peri...

I have an appointment next week to 'see how my symptoms are' (quoted the doctor). My symptoms aren't going to change... I may get a period but I'm still going to be sweating and exhausted!!!!

Any ideas how I can have this convo with my GP and hopefully get HRT to relieve some of these horrible symptoms?

That must be devastating. Before I got my blood test results I started taking A.Vogel menopause tablets. My work friends suggested menopace you can buy from the shop but I did a quiz on a.vogel and I got a free sample. They helped with the hot flushes straight away and even though I am still tired I am starting to get more energy after a week. See what works for you. Either that or take a list of menopause symptoms to your GP. There were so many symptoms I didn't know were actually to do with menopause so have a Google on the symptoms first. Hope that helps

Blood tests for menopause don't really work because peri is when hormones fluctuate widely and so sometimes will be high and in balance and only sometimes be really low

That's probably why you have hot flushes for example rather than being hot all time

Ask to speak to a doctor who has done some study on menopause !

Hi there. With all due respect to GP’s, they aren’t always well educated about menopausal issues through no fault of their own. I would absolutely request to see a different GP. Be polite but direct and forthright in explaining that you have reached the point where you require HRT, it is a perfectly reasonable request.

Ps I was given HRT based on my symptoms and not my blood test results. Good luck!

According to the NICE guidelines, GPs should go off symptoms and not blood tests, especially after 45. Ask for a trial of HRT. I have no idea why, but GPs are happier doing a "trial" rather than agreeing to start you on Hrt. Good luck!

How dense do you have to be to be presented with these symptoms from a 48 year old woman and state that its not perimenopause??

Get a second opinion if he persists. Ridiculous.

It's your right to have hrt if you want.

Take the NICE guidelines with you. You should be assessed on symptoms not blood tests over 45. Don't let the GP fob you off with antidepressants either. If you are refused HRT without valid medical reason you should complain to the Practice Manager.

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng23

MY GP said no need for blood tests after 45 just symptoms. Your GP is out of date and wrong. So ask him if its not menopause what is it and what's he going to do about it? Why he is going against NICE guidelines? Be assertive. And agree with the above poster if he refuses complain to the practice manager. he must be the only human being who doesn't know the symptoms of menopausal women these days.

Another voice adding to the why are they looking at your bloods gang?

I happened to accidently find myself talking to the menopause specialist at my local GP's - how lucky are we to have one! But she was very clear that taking bloods would be no use because without regular cycles they have no clear baselines. It's pointless, they rely on symptoms.

I would print out as much of the above as you can and take it with you.

Thank you everyone for your replies!
I am really struggling with everything as well as hair loss which I forgot to mention! That has been going on for years. I would reckon I've been perimenopausal for at least 5 years with symptoms ramping up in the last year.

I've looked at the NICE guidelines and I will definitely go in armed with that.

Thank you :-)

OP do also just check your bloods to see where your ferritin levels are - anything less than 75 and I highly recommend taking some ferrous sulphate every 48hrs with a vitamin c tablet.

I was having flooding periods and my ferritin was just above baseline and I felt awful and my hair was falling out in clumps.
. I started the iron just before the HRT and I have lots of fluffy hair growth now.

My ferritin level is generally low, I have to have infusions every year or so.

This!

You cannot tell if someone is peri from a random blood test.

Can you see a different GP at the practice?

Your GP needs to be updated (blood tests tell you nothing helpful if a one-off, at your age) and read the NICE guidelines!

My old (in other words, EX) GP was similarly rubbish. She lectured me that I wasn't in perimenopause because none of three things were happening: I hadn't missed a period, I wasn't getting hot flushes during the day, and I didn't have a dried up vagina. It took this forum and then reading the NICE guidelines to realise she was spouting utter rubbish and had probably grabbed those three checklist items out of the air.

It took YEARS of going back with increasingly troublesome symptoms, seeing other GPs until I found a couple who were far more sympathetic and better informed, before I was prescribed HRT, and by then I was on the point of going private.

I very recently had a phone consult with a menopause clinic consultant (air punch!) as my symptoms are not controlled by my regime and I think my GP (not the EX one) felt it was easier to let an expert take over. She was absolutely dumbfounded by some of the things I've been told over the years.

Get your thyroid checked too - it's more than likely your symptoms are all due to perimenopause but some of them (hair thinning/loss and exhaustion) can apply to underactive thyroid.

And what everyone else said re the NICE guidelines.

Is there a possibility for you OP to see a different dr? What yours is saying is utter BS. Mine did blood tests more as a tick box exercise but recognised that they will not be reliable as so many factors to account for. My bloods came back ok but I know the way they were done would not be so reliable. The symptoms however text book and a lot like yours. Especially the sudden cognitive issues, I felt I was developing early dementia. It sounds like the dr you are seeing is one of those who needs to educate themselves on peri and menopause. So sorry you are not getting the right support but please keep trying and see uf you can access a different dr.