Does this sound like peri-meno?

[PeriManilow]

Just shy of 42.
Exhausted. Regularly unable to sleep until 5am. Anxiety through the roof the week before period.
Not hot flushes but definitely running warmer.
Periods still every month but running a little off kilter (3 days late etc) and a lot more unpredictable in length and flow.

Preperiod hormonal migraine has gone from a clockwork 2 days before CD1 to happening 2 or 3 times throughout period to not happening at all some months.

Regular headaches throughout cycle.

And I have turned into a literal monster some days with absolutely NO patience. The slightest sounds or even my kids touching me makes me want to rage quit life. Spending a lot of time hiding away in bed with Netflix and snacks.

And the other day I was absolutely vile to DH even commenting on his physical appearance negatively (something I have never done in 20 years) Its like I am someone else.

Yes! Go to have your bloods checked.
it’s the personality change that is really unsettling.
Sorry you have these feelings. Hopefully the doctor can confirm and you can proceed with whatever you decide is better - HRT or non medication based. Good luck to you!!

It sounds like depression/ dysphoria coupled with severe pms but could very well be hormonal in nature. Sounds really tough tbh. Could be helped by hrt and even more by lifestyle changes which I know too well what they are but lack the discipline to follow. That is essentially more movement less simple carbs and less cheap dopamine fixes. So I do the hrt part the lifestyle not as much. Best of luck.to both of us!

I felt really similar at 41/42 apart from headaches which sound horrible so my sympathies on those especially.

I guessed it would be a battle to get any hrt type support and did a fair bit of lifestyle stuff which made a difference, including online therapy to help me manage my anxiety and so on.

A few years down the line now and I'm getting other symptoms but after one visit to GP I think it will be a battle to get any help from them. Definitely I would say go talk to the GP and get some bloods done but also maybe think about any other triggers or factors that are making it worse and how you might change those while you are in discussions about hormone stuff. For example I found wine weirdly made me especially anxious so I cut back on that especially in the weeks of doom before period.

Huh? I said makes me want to rage quit life. I didn't say I actually reacted around my family
Its all internal and i feel like I just have to step away alot (hence retring to my room earlier with netflix, like 8pm instead of 10)

I never react to my kids (and they are all teens btw)

And I pointed out ONCE incident with my DH. One in 20 years where I was abusive in my words, which lead me to make this post questioning it because it is COMPLETELY out of character for me!

Yes. Get HRT now. I left it until 44 and had several miserable years.

My GP basically insisted on it (I did also have awful vaginal atrophy).

It sounds like classic perimenopause to me. HRT should help enormously.

Definitely sounds very much like peri. Doctors should be able to prescribe treatment based on your symptoms alone. Blood tests for hormones aren’t always an accurate picture as it’s a snapshot and in peri levels vary so much depending on the day. If you’re on instagram, Dr Louise Newson @menopause_doctor is very informative.

Good luck with it all.

Doctors should be able to prescribe treatment based on your symptoms alone. Blood tests for hormones aren’t always an accurate

They aren't accurate for diagnosing perimenopause, but for women under 45 blood tests should be done - mainly to rule out other causes.

It could be peri. I had similar symptoms in my 40s. Hopefully, you’ll be able to see someone who specialises in menopause. Luckily, one of the GPs at my surgery is a partner and specialises in women’s health and menopause. I used to see different GPs, and some of them weren’t very clued up about it.

Your GP might consider blood tests in line with NICE guidelines, as you're under 45.