Please help - Perimenopause, periods and extreme health anxiety

[CRJ77]

I really could use some wisdom and advice on this topic from those who know a lot about perimenopause, as I have extreme health anxiety around certain things (not all things!) and this has really set me off...

I am 47. No menopause symptoms yet apart from one month last year where I randomly skipped a period. Aside from that, my periods have been like absolute clockwork my entire life, approx every 25 days or so.

Last month, my period was a bit lighter/shorter than normal and less pain than normal, but basically otherwise a normal period. Then it finished and I had around a week of of nothing. Then my breasts suddenly became really sore and I was baffled by this as it normally only happens just before my period is due, not a week after, and there were no signs (in terms of discharge or anything) that I was ovulating. Anyway, my breasts hurt a lot for about three days and then suddenly I got another period (14 days after my last period started) and my breasts stopped hurting and went back to normal.

So, basically I'm now having another period. It's definitely a light period rather than random bleeding/spotting. Blood exactly the same as my normal period - dark red/light brown. Not much of it but more than spotting, nothing unusual about it.

I know this is almost certainly just normal perimenopause starting, but having been so clockwork my whole life and having the particular anxieties I do, it's freaking me out. But I'm right in thinking aren't I that the sore boobs just preceding the bleeding and then stopping as soon as the bleeding started means this is highly likely to be hormonal rather than anything sinister?

No other symptoms of anything sinister - never had any bleeding between periods, or after sex, or anything like that. No other health complaints.

My question really is when/if I need to go to the doctor about this? Everything I read suggests it's normal, but the odd thing says 'periods less than 3 weekly need investigation'. The reason I'm asking is that my health anxiety largely stems from a traumatic episode when I was much younger when I had something massively over-investigated and it would have been far better to have left it - it was nothing and would have gone away on its own if I'd just monitored it and seen what happened for a few months. Instead I had lengthy and unnecessary investigations that ended up causing me a lot of trauma.

Please let me know all thoughts/advice.

Bump. Anyone?

Final desperate bump.

Let it go for another 2 months to see what happens. Make notes. After that, see the Doc, unless everything is exactly as you'd expect it to be.

My GP recommended the Balance website and there is a useful free app to track cycles and symptoms, maybe that could be useful for you?

Thanks for your response @Bestyearever2024. Because I get so anxious about things like this, I find it hard to judge what is worrying too much versus not worrying enough.

I can understand. I think you need a pattern to form, a little, before you tell the Doc that menopause might be starting

Give it a couple more months xxx

If any help my perimenopause symptoms were in full swing at 43, and IME you'll get more information by doing some research yourself than from your GP, unless you're going for a HRT prescription, in which case it pays to be clued up before the appointment so you don't get fobbed off.

Thanks everyone. I guess what I’m really asking is whether my symptoms sound more likely to be perimenopause than something scary. I’m assuming that because the bleeding was immediately preceded by sore boobs, it is likely hormonal. But I can’t quite stop panicking about scarier options.

Anxiety came out of nowhere in peri and knocked me for six, so if you can tackle the anxiety with the GP (HRT did it for me via a private clinic) that might be a shout.

Yes I am already having therapy for anxiety generally so am on it - it just doesn’t help enough when something like this happens and I start panicking.

I would just go to the doctor. It's much less scary dealing with things head on. They can give you a considered view and make a plan.

I’ve had exactly this - my periods varied wildly and would go from a 8/9 weeks in between them to a fortnight apart. I also had sore boobs. spoke to my drs (I’m 44) and they got me in for an ultrasound scan which showed a cyst which may or may not be contributing, they’re confident it’s just peri meno! But your drs are there to put your mind at rest so just call them 😊

Thanks everyone. I will go to the doctor if it continues and I continue feeling like this. It’s just a hard balance to strike because for me the potential follow up tests cause so much anxiety that I’m sometimes better waiting it out.

I had lots of minor peri symptoms, including general anxiety and lack of sleep which I'd never suffered from previously, I went to the doctors and spoke to the menopause nurse, she was MASSIVELY helpful and reassuring. She suggested HRT patches, they were the best thing for me, the difference was unbelievable. I strongly advise you speak to the menopause specialist at your surgery, even if they just offer advice and support it will help. Also read Davinas book, I found it really helpful

Not a doctor but sounds very peri menopause to me. From the web (this was also my experience) :

As ovulation becomes more unpredictable, the length of time between periods may be longer or shorter, your flow may be light to heavy, and you may skip some periods. If you have a persistent change of seven days or more in the length of your menstrual cycle, you may be in early perimenopause.

47 is average age for going into peri, I believe. It happened to me then, my anxiety also went through the roof. My guess is sore boobs will also be hormones.

Obviously as I said, not a dr, so best to get yourself checked out if you're concerned and will also put your mind at rest. If they want to scan your womb, the scan they did is very straightforward and painless, so even if it came to that, which I doubt, it won't be any horribly invasive tests. They can do a blood test to confirm if you've gone into peri.

Thanks. I have private health insurance through work so at least the wait times should be shorter if I do need anything checked out.

I've recently had very similar op! Except my period was very bright red so panic button hit, gp certain it's peri but needs to rule out fibroid etc.

My u/s was clear, cervix looks healthy, just waiting on blood results now.

At your age its VERY likely to be peri x

Thanks @Periperipissoff - glad all looks okay for you and that is reassuring.

And the sore breasts....mine are really tender at the min to the point I wince when I take my bra off and they just flop down 😩

Thanks @Periperipissoff - as annoying as the sore breasts are, the fact that they came just before the bleeding and stopped when it started reassures me (in my saner moments) that this is very likely hormonal.

I agree with those who have said having three months data will aid any conversation you have with the GP.

It doesn't sound like anything requiring an urgent intervention, probably perimenopause.

The symptom that pushed me over the edge to the GP was panic attacks, every twenty minutes like most people had hot flushes. At age 48 she was happy to offer me HRT on the basis of reported symptoms.

So, no need to panic, keep track of things a bit longer and then have a conversation with your doctor.

Thanks. If the bleeding stops soon, I will probably track for a couple of months before doing anything. But presumably if I just keep bleeding, I need to go to the docs? How long counts as worryingly long for perimenopausal bleeding?

I think it’s just the fact that I have never once bled outside of my usual period cycle in my whole 47 years. Though I guess you could argue that both ways and say that if something was seriously wrong, I’d have some other indication of it!

Fellow health anxiety navigator here! I would be doing the exact same, Googling, checking, doubting, worrying that I’m worrying too much or not enough…
I’m 42 and on HRT as I have had dizziness (vestibular migraine due to hormones) for three years. I think 47 sounds like a perfect age for periods to lose their pattern. I also think based on the fact that you feel this is copying a ‘normal’ period for you, rationally, it probably is just an out of sync period due to peri-menopause. Have you noticed any other peri-menopause symptoms? I had three bleeds in one month last year… was very weird and scary. I personally would try and wait for another cycle, you may find that you come on again 25 days (or any other amount of days) after this ‘second’ period, rather than being in sync with the first (expected) period. Try not to search for other signs and symptoms, try not to body scan. Practice some of the tools you have learned in therapy. Breathe. Trust that you will make an appropriate decision next month if you need to… xx

Thanks @SallyTee that is really helpful. I’ve had health anxiety since my early 20s, and I always knew that menopause would be a particular challenge and I’d been terrified at every symptom. So I do need to focus on finding a way to navigate it that doesn’t involve rushing to the doctor at every point.