49 - blood test says it's not the peri menopause but it's got to be wrong?

[HappySonHappyMum]

Last three periods over 100 days apart, experiencing hot flashes, really emotional, feel really anxious a lot of the time, skin seems to feel thinner, got brain fog and feel achy. Bloods tests done and it says I am not peri menopausal. My thyroid function blood tests are clear but I do have PCOS. I am being sent for another blood test. Is there anything that can be done if the blood tests say no!

I don’t think a single blood test can tell you? Because by definition your hormones will be up and down.

That happened to my sister. For so long she knew it was the menopause bit her results kept coming back clear. She was so frustrated and upset. DW, I know Ur own body.x

Please don’t rely on blood tests to confirm whether or not you are in peri. The hormone levels fluctuate throughout the month, so they are unreliable. I believe they are meant to be repeated 6 weeks later, for this reason (but they still might not indicate you are in peri, even if you are).

A number of doctors just go by symptoms instead of blood results.

If you're over the age of 45 I think the guidelines are that you should be offered treatment based on your symptoms alone and blood tests aren't normally done.

I defo agree with notsonifty.

The doctor is sending me for another blood test but said my FSH level was only 9.8 and needs to be over 30 to be considered peri. I've been keeping the dates of my periods logged for the last four years and they are getting more and more spread out so it's not some weird anomaly. I didn't know they could offer me treatment based on symptoms - my dr seems to want the blood tests to confirm it before they'll do anything.

Here are the NICE guidelines @HappySonHappyMum It confirms that your doctor should be diagnosing you based on your symptoms. www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng23/chapter/Recommendations#diagnosis-of-perimenopause-and-menopause

Blood tests for peri over the age of 45 are notoriously unreliable, as the hormones can fluctuate wildly from day to day

NHS guidelines now are to diagnose from symptoms, if over the age of 44/45

Have you read the NICE guidelines on diagnosing menopause? Blood tests are not usually recommended in many circumstances.
www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng23/chapter/Recommendations#diagnosis-of-perimenopause-and-menopause
(hopefully these are the most up to date... but you can google to check)

Why are they doing blood tests? It is unnecessary at 49, and is not recommended or reliable. They should just treat you as perimenopausal.

At 49 it would be more surprising if you weren't in peri menopause!

Your GP needs to go on some urgent training!

I'm fifty bloody two and in the same boat! I mean come on 😂I'm still having bastard periods every four weeks- they last for two weeks- proper full on way worse than when I was 35 and painful as well.
I have had the odd glimmer of hope - went 6 weeks without once this year for it to return even worse. All the other symptoms too hot flushes, terrible anxiety (which I have never had at any other time in my life) really dry skin etc. My own mum stopped at 42 so I expected similar - no such luck it seems.

I am going for my second blood test today so when I get the results I'll talk to the doctor about the guidelines. I feel like I'm going mad - bursting into tears (which I NEVER do), feeling so anxious about stupid things, my sleep is poor (and I always used to sleep like a log). I know these symptoms point towards the menopause, you have all really put my mind at ease that it's not all in my head. Thank you so much.

The blood tests should be used to rule out thyroid problems etc.
They can't be used to rule in perimenopause because what is normal hormone levels vary between people, despite there being a guide to what is average for normal. So unless you have a baseline comparison for what your levels were like before your symptoms it won't inform you of anything, and hormone levels highly fluctuate in peri so unless you take a series of tests across the month, you won't see that, so it's a stab in the dark whether the test represents what's actually going on or lands on a day when things could appear normal, and then it's misleadingly reassuring!

Add to that your Dr is not going by nice guidelines which say age and symptoms are strong enough reasons to prescribe hrt...

Your Dr needs some cpd and needs to get out of the way of you trying hrt.

You've literally nothing to lose by giving it a go. All it does is supplement your own hormone levels and if it doesn't work you can stop. It protects you from all kinds of things including vaginal atrophy and osteoporosis amongst others.

Don't stand for it op.

Just be aware different methods work better for different people. I got on patches and was instantly improved back to my old self, it was like a magic wand! My friend tried patches, tablets then gel at which point she found the right one and was sorted.

It's terrible that doctors still aren't following the guidelines for this, especially as it's been in the media spotlight so much recently.

My GP was (thankfully!) amazing when I saw her last week and offered HRT on the spot - just by symptoms alone. She said unless hormones are wildly high or low, she doesn't even understand the results and will bare zero significance on whether she'd recommend HRT.

She also sent me these links, which are very good.

www.balance-menopause.com/

rockmymenopause.com/

I suggest you send them to your doctor 😂

@rebelrebbel Thanks for the links - I will have a good read. I obviously mistakenly assumed that the doc would know best. It's taken me a long time to pluck up the courage to go to the GP in the first place as I've felt so anxious about everything just recently. You've all made me feel so much better😘