How old were you when you entered peri menopause?

[Chefpig]

I'm having all the symptoms and anxiety and depression is immense. Hard to cope with really. Im 42. Everyone is telling me it's too early in my life to enter peri menopause. Is it though? My body is telling me otherwise.

My periods just stopped at 47 and no meno symptoms until a few years after they'd stopped. Everyone is different I guess. Blood tests are definitely a good idea to rule other things out.

44 start of peri. Thought it was the second Covid vaccination that messed it all up (and still suspect it might have had something to do with episodes of extremely heavy bleeding). Since then I've had periods but they have been all over the place, not regular as before. Had gaps of 6 months at times. Nearing 50 and hoping that each one is my last. Most noticeable other symptom is struggling to pull out the right word from the word bank! Haven't started on HRT or anything yet.

In retrospect around 42 (incredibly debilitating anxiety).I did at the time query with a doctor whether this could be menopause related but was told that as I had a mirena coil anyway and that was the first thing that they’d do that there was no point anyway.

Then at 45 the night sweats started and then I was taken seriously. Have been on HRT since then (am 50 now).

Maybe you had something else going on- peri at 28 and lasting for almost 20 years isn't 'normal'.
There are other conditions that can have the same symptoms- ie irregular cycles.

Went on HRT at 43. The symptoms may have started a year or two before that but I was going through busy/anxious/difficult times so could have been sunce I was 40.

So have definitely been in the thick of it for three or four years.

I'm 47 and no symptoms as yet. Periods, body temp, sleep and mood all regular. I started my periods aged 10, no idea when my mother went through menopause.

I had similar symptoms to Op at that age and it turned out I was iron & B12 deficient & had an underactive thyroid. Once I had those under control I felt much more like my old self.

No idea. I’m post menopause apparently and have had zero symptoms so I was surprised. I thought I hadn’t even started. I’m 49

I'm 35 and starting to wonder myself with the hot flushes I'm getting!

35, but periods reduced to 6 s year by 40 and stopped before I was 42. Early menopause tends to run in families. Do you know when your mum had her menopause? My mum, gran, sister and aunt all had it by age 42.

I was 43 or 44.
44 by the time I really noticed that I was losing my mind, failing to sleep, and that I was being gaslit by the local GP.
Apparently it’s quite young. I finally got HRT about 10 years later.

37

Im wondering if I'm in perimenopause age 39 and for last 4/5 months have been suffering with terrible anxiety and worry, awful dreams, taking longer to go to sleep and also an on/off itchy oatch on the vulva. The anxiety is awful and I just want to feel myself again. Does it sound like perimenopause, haven't yet booked a gp appointment.

My symptoms began when I was 46. I was about 48 when I started HRT.

Started at 47, periods became patchy.
Then the rest of it… It’s a rollercoaster!

I was about 39, so I think it's not too young.

53 and no sign of it yet. Ffs

Around 40. I had an early menopause. Over by 44.

DP was 43, started HRT at 44

I have no idea, because it's only in recent years that it has become A Thing. My periods stopped when I was 56.
The point is, OP, everyone is different. If you have troubling symptoms, see your GP and let the GP use their professional knowledge to reach a diagnosis - whatever it might be.

Gosh I hope this isn’t true! I’m 50 and no signs of perimenopause. Seriously hope I’m not having periods until 60 😟

It's not a 'thing'.

I think what people mean is that fertility declines from 40 and periods stop around 50.

Like you I had no sign of peri till I was over 50, and my periods stopped just before 53. The only symptoms were slightly shorter cycles and hot flushes which started when I missed a few cycles.
I did start HRT almost as soon as my periods stopped as insomnia was the worst symptom.

@JinglingSpringbells I would say that 28 was when I noticed the first changes. I had a hysterectomy (still have ovaries) at 36 so might have even crossed over earlier, but had no way of knowing. I started HRT in my early 40’s.

I never had any peri. I think I went to menop at age 56.

I was just entering it at age 51. I then had breast cancer and was put into chemically induced menopause. They recently did a break in the ovarian suppression to see if I was post menopause as was over 52 (average age to be post menopause) and nope, the series of blood tests and other symptoms of estrogen returning meant I am still only slightly peri.

The issue I have is the assumption that our reproductive organs malfunctioning is behind women feeling burnt out due to the stress of living in a man’s world where we are doing double the work of men and by the time we are approaching 20+ years of this ultra marathon in stress they blame our organs as #1 reason. Yes menopause can be debilitating, I know from my own experience of being pushed off a high dive right into the deep end with no access to HRT due to my estrogen receptive cancer. I just don’t like the assumption it is always that and only that and no one is thinking of the cumulative health impacts on women in today’s modern world where we are full time workers on top of the majority of women still pulling most of the weight in our homes and families.

Is it any wonder the symptoms of menopause overlap greatly with burnout? I am not fond of the new NICE guidelines promoting oh her hormones are doing it as the most probable cause and making HRT the first thing to be prescribed. I don’t like the hit or miss approach. I think they aren’t practicing wholistic medicine, but going down a checklist, of treat for A, then if that doesn’t work, treat for B. So much suffering and wastage for those who actually have letter W on the checklist and have to go through treatments A through V.