At 47 with regular periods, could these be perimenopause symptoms?

[Summerhut2025]

So although my periods are now shorter they are still regular.

Last October my hair shredded and thinned at the front, I can see it growing back but then still snapping.

Few weeks later started getting a pain in my right hip, I run to exercise and although it’s ok during day it obvs gets worse after I run.

Pretty much got constipation every few days.

Then December I suddenly bloated around my hips and upper thighs, no amount of running since then has gotten rid of this, I’m really struggling with it. I’m 47.

Im assuming perimenopause and went to docs, all blood tests came back ok no further action. Doc suggests physio and supplements!!

I mean after doing some reading I’m pretty much sure that supplements are not gonna fix this.

Do I need to call back and specifically ask for HRT, are these clear symptoms that others experience when it all starts?

thanks in advance.

I'm not a doctor but it sounds to me like you're going through perimenopause. I started hrt at 48. I'm now 52. From what I'd read and from my doctor, I knew blood tests wouldn't tell me whether this was the case or not. Diagnosis is not done this way anymore as they now know that hormones fluctuation so it's not reliable. They use symptoms as the way to determine if you're in perimenopause. They should also do blood tests anyway to check levels of other things.
One thing I would suggest is ask to be referred for a dexa scan which looks at bone density. Also perhaps an MRI for your hips. I had pain in my hips which I put down to joint pain due to perimenopause. However, it turns out I have osteoarthritis!
Symptoms vary for everyone. I had really awful headaches, night sweats, heart palpitations, brain fog, insomnia (wide awake at about 3.30am every night), restless legs, irritability, hard to shift weight around my middle. Hrt made a massive difference. The headaches stopped, as did the heart palpitations and restless legs. I very rarely get night sweats, and if I do, they're not bad. Brain fog is still there a bit and the insomnia goes through phases of stopping and then coming back, but even that isn't as bad. It's definitely harder to shift stubborn weight compared to before, but I also know i'm not doing as much as I should be in terms of exercising and eating better.
If I was you, I would go back and ask for hrt. It has so many benefits that effect your heart, your brain and your bones. Do some research yourself too. But ask for body identical hrt.

And just to add, it's only in the last 8 months or so that my periods are finally stopping. Up until then, I was still getting regular, but shorter, periods.

Thing about peri - is that there is no test for it. The hormones go up and down - and you'd need to test repeatedly to get a picture of what is going on.

Mostly - I'd say - if you are feeling OFF in more than one way - tiredness, hair loss, pains, weight gain - and NOTHING is wrong with you otherwise, than peri is a likely suspect in the late 40s.
Shorter periods is how it often announces it's arrival. Did it for me certainly.

I was lucky in a way. Had a friend a bit older than me who went through a few years wondering if something was really wrong with her - as her multiple random symptoms did not add up to anything conclusive. None of the specialists originally thought of peri.

So she told me not to wait till my "feeling off" got to much worse and start on low dose HRT. Which I did, and very happy I did.

Following as I feel the same at 48 OP, but my latest bad headache with brain fog was on day 1 of my cycle with lack of sleep a week before this. I have had these on and off since my early forties and still have regular cycles (admittedly with one or two missed last year). I don’t consistently feel awful but I sometimes do. Confusing!

Thanks everyone appointment with docs booked today

Yes, I haven’t been getting headaches and brain fog but it seems everyone gets different symptoms which makes it all the more harder to diagnose.

" From what I'd read and from my doctor, I knew blood tests wouldn't tell me whether this was the case or not."

This seems to be what British doctors say, but I'm in another country and my gynaecologist assured me I'm not yet in menopause because of my blood test results. It's clear to me that I'm in some stage of peri though.

I also have the hip thing, but it started years ago and tight hips are very common.

I had the hip thing. An osteopath sorted it out so it might be worth trying that. HRT didn't fix that, not did it stop me getting frozen shoulder but it's stopped all my other symptoms.

Do the symptom checker as there are probably symptoms you have that you won't associate with perimenopause. My first symptoms were gum disease and itchy ears for example