Is it Peri?

[MamaLew15]

I'm struggling to be heard by my GP. I'm 34, have now had night sweats for over a year pretty much every single night, brain fog, loss of libido, fatigue, body aches, I'm much snappier than before.
My GP have put it down to all sorts this past year. Anxiety disorder 😔 (I was diagnosed with PTSD about 4 years ago after a traumatic ordeal when my baby daughter was very poorly) I've changed my life since then. Quite my job, reduced stress l. Totally changed my lifestyle. I've always been an anxious person so I know how to recognise it and I am 100% sure my symptoms are not anxiety.
GP then decided it was gallstones 🤷🏻‍♀️ as I was suffering with awful stomach pain. An US said I had a stone. Saw a consultant, he wasn't convinced. Repeated US and no stone was found just a little polyp 🙄
Consultant was very thorough and also ordered gastroscopy and colonoscopy 😬 all of which, unsurprisingly came back clear.
I'm trying to get a GP appt to discuss peri but can't even get past the receptionists who say it's not an emergency, they sent me to an overflow GP who although he was lovely, could do nothing to help me.
I'm on the combined pill. I do still have regular periods.
Could it be peri? More and more of my symptoms match the list but I feel like my GP are making me feel crazy 😩
My mum doesn't remember / didn't realise it was peri... But her periods stopped at 50 🤷🏻‍♀️

I had some subtle symptoms that I'd put down to peri - I'm 41 however coincidentally I had a scan for something else on my neck and they noticed my thyroid was inflamed so I had blood tested for those hormones and my thyroid function is impaired. Have you been tested for that? There's definitely an overlap of some of the symptoms -34 would be very young for peri.

At 34 I can see why they wouldn’t want to prescribe HRT, but a trial to see if it helps would be good.Id ask for a blood test for iron, thyroid and B12 though.
So if they aren’t going to prescribe you need to look at your individual symptoms and see what you can do for them. So for brain fog I’d look at magnesium L-threonate or lions mane.
For night sweats I’d try stopping alcohol, and cotton clothes/bedding.
Fatigue - vitamin B complex.
Aches - a good quality omega 3

@ringmybe11 it's another thing Im trying to get them to retest me for. Had my thyroid checked in March, TSH was borderline at the lower end. But they never rechecked. I feel like I should just move GP and try again. I just don't want any more unnecessary tests, why won't they just order the bloods?! 😩

A good supplement helps, even if it's got a placebo effect. I take one called Health & Her Perimenopause from Holland & Barrett. Heard good things about the Vitabiotics one too. I take Omega 3 fish oils too for brain fog.

Ooo thank you for this @BlackChunkyBoots I'll take a look 🙂

I had a lot of the same symptoms, thought it was peri (older than you), doctor agreed. Then found it was actually an autoimmune conditions lurking underneath that was pretty mild, so not so easy to find. I'd be careful about writing things off as peri too easily, though I know you've had investigations. I have changed a couple of lifestyle things to help the autoimmune condition and no more night sweats since.

I'm older but have similar issues and a borderline low TSH which nobody is interested in as it's "in range".

I'd echo getting iron, ferritin, vitamin D, B12, folate tested, make sure you see the results and supplement anything at the lower range. Again mine are "in range" but both my folate and B12 are at the absolute bottom of the range and Dr Google and the Health Unlocked thyroid forum are clear that many of my fatigue, elevated heartrate symptoms could be related to these low levels. You need good core vitamin levels to support thyroid function.

I've been fatigued for years but can now see that my folate was very low in 2019 when tested but I didn't then understand the importance of it. You might want to consider liquid supplements, if you do have a brewing thyroid issue, absorption can be an issue.

Health unlocked is really helpful. Good luck

I don’t have much in the way of advice I’m afraid, but just wanted to reply as I am 39 and also have all the symptoms you describe (night sweats, brain fog, fatigue, body aches) etc as well as the stomach issues. So you’re not alone in feeling this way. The stomach issues were what made me go to the doctors due to pain and gas, I’ve never had stomach issues (or any of the other issues) previously, am fit and healthy and have a good diet and used to be full of energy but this has floored me! After numerous tests and scans no problems have been found. I was put on PPIs (Lansoprazole) which did nothing to help. I am now suffering from crippling anxiety and continuation of my stomach issues, plus night sweats, brain fog etc. I have also had numerous panic attacks in the past 12 months which I’ve never experienced before. After reading symptoms online I am now also wondering if this might be peri-menopause? It’s so confusing isn’t it? I have a feeling the doctors will say I’m too young. And I like you have been unable to get past the receptionist at the doctors though 😩 I wonder if anyone has experienced these kind of symptoms at this age and it be peri-menopause?

I am desperate so I have booked an appointment for acupuncture at the weekend as I feel my anxiety/possible hormone issues is causing my stomach issues and this might help relax me? I’m clutching at straws a bit but acupuncture previously helped me with another issue so it’s worth a shot! I’m going to keep trying at the doctors though as I feel like a blood test for hormone levels, vitamin levels and thyroid is worth checking? I’m not exactly sure how they diagnose peri. I’ve also looked into going private for a peri-menopause/menopause consultation but not sure if I’m too young and it would be a waste of money? Would appreciate advice if anyone has gone down this route?

Hi OP and all. Just to say my perimenopause symptoms started after my 3rd baby was born in 2020 when I was 39, so I think for some of us, it can begin slightly earlier unfortunately 😕

My symptoms are gradually getting a bit worse, but I'm coping without HRT so far. My current annoying symptom is really sore feet most days 😒

I actually think that a lot of my post natal hormones were lower than they are now, as i had all the symptoms I have now but much worse - brain fog, terrible gingivitis, dry eyes, sore mouth (burning mouth syndrome), really thinning hair anx lots ot hair loss, severe depression... but i also had extremely low ferritin iron levels that exacerbated all of these unfortunately, and also made my neurological movement disorder symptoms worse too (oestrogen is important in the function and production of dopamine, and this will affect your brain in perimenopause too).

They don't really diagnose perimenopause before age 45 as far as I know, as I think mostly after 45 they use blood tests to have an idea of how hormone levels are (and even then, I think it's mostly done by symptoms rather than blood test results).

A lot of perimenopause symptoms can overlap and are similar to thyroid conditions and vitamin and minerals deficiencies, so it's worth checking blood test levels for those too.

Thank you so much for your reply everyone 💖
@Daisiesingreenpastures I am so sorry to read that you're going through it too. You sound exactly like me! The panic attacks and anxiety I have are through the roof and I've really learnt to manage my anxiety through the years. But waking up soaking wet fills me with so much anxiety before I've even really started the day 😬

I've also been tried on a PPI but it increases my stomach issues and tiredness. During my gastroscopy it only found very low level GERD so I'm trying to do without it 😬

I have seen peri pee sticks on Amazon and have considered giving them a go but they have realllllyyy mixed reviews so I'm not sure they will be all that helpful or reliable.

Keep me updated on your journey lovely
Hope you are able to enjoy tomorrow x

Your bloods need to be done OP to check a range of things inc your thyroid, iron and vitamin B and you need to get a copy of the results as often we can be told the results are 'fine' though they are v close to the high or low end of the normal age and some of us don't function well on the outer limits of the 'normal' range.
The average age of progesterone dropping is 35 so you are young if it is peri but obviously some of us go through it earlier or later than the average age. Bloods aren't typically used to diagnose peri (though they can be used post meno to check levels on HRT but usually symptoms are used for the guide for dosage) but they can have a role in forming a diagnose of early menopause if other causes have been ruled out. You would need to have the levels checked over a series of months though to build a regular picture as oestrogen levels swing wildly in peri

@Daisiesingreenpastures how did the acupuncture go? My night sweats are worse than ever, my anxiety is through the roof but all I have named to get is a phone consultation for tomorrow!? (Which I've had booked in since before Christmas 🫠)
I'm feeling very scared today x

Don't be scared, write down bullet points of all your symptoms and tell them you want bloods to rule out issues with thyroid, vit b, iron etc and if all comes back clear you want to try hrt

@MILLYmo0se thank you for the reply 😭 stupidly I turned to google to look up my awful night sweats and now I'm convinced I've got lymphoma 🫣 (did I mention I have health anxiety too?! Haha) just waiting to go in for my appt now. But really I just want to cry and not leave until they give me an idea of what's wrong with me :( I can only imagine it will be another three weeks or more until I get an appt for bloods to be done 😫

It's awful to be feeling so not yourself or 100% well, v frustrating. Hope your appointment has you making some headway

Sorry for delayed reply, I’ve had an up and down few weeks. Had a bit of a panic as I developed a swollen gland in my neck that was swollen for 5 weeks and became very painful. Managed to get a GP phone appointment and they asked to see me in person due to the fact I was having night sweats as well. Saw GP and was referred for an ultrasound to rule out lymphoma. Has been a very worrying couple of weeks but scan was clear and is just a normal swollen lymph node due to some kind of underlying infection (what infection I don’t know!). Asked the GP about whether all my issues could be hormone related ie night sweats, gastro issues, shorter cycles, brain fog, anxiety. He said no, I’m too young! I questioned this and he said rather sarcastically “oh, you want me to prescribe you HRT! Well we don’t want to prescribe a 39 year old HRT as you would have to be on it until you’re 50 and then you’ll have an increased risk of breast cancer and blood clots”. He said he would run a hormone and thyroid blood test. I asked if the hormone test should be done on a certain day of the month. He said no it doesn’t matter. I called reception at the surgery to get the results, they said they are “normal”. So that’s the end of that! Kicking myself now for not asking what the levels were though!

I'm sorry to hear your night sweats are worse @MamaLew15 . I’ve noticed mine are the worst around my period, I’ve had them 4 nights in a row which coincided with my period and looking back was the same last month. Both months my period has arrived a week early as well and I’m pretty sure I haven’t ovulated either. My anxiety is also through the roof, and I keep bursting into tears which is really really unlike me! I’m also still getting terrible gas and heartburn which I’ve never had before other than when I was pregnant. So I guess I’m going to have to try and see another GP who isn’t going to laugh at me!
How are you feeling now @MamaLew15 ? Hope you got on better than I did at your appointment!