Could it be perimenopause?! Desperate for answers

[SecretSloth99]

I’m two years post partum, just about to turn 35, and for the last two months have had a constant feeling of panic and anxiety, from the moment I wake in the morning until I go to sleep, with very little relief. I’ve also been really struggling to focus at work for months, and sometimes struggle to remember what I walked into a room for. I can cope with the foggy brain but the panic and anxiety is ruining my life. I have a beautiful child and it’s stealing all enjoyment I have in life. Sounds dramatic but that’s where I’m at.

Blood tests all came back fine. Now on 50mg of sertraline which has helped but only 2.5 weeks in so still waiting for the ‘full therapeutic effects’ as everyone keeps telling me.

But for two months, my periods have been different. First late, then early, lasting not as long and then spotting for longer. I have ALWAYS been like clockwork with my periods.

I don’t feel like myself anymore, and I’m wondering if it’s possible peri?!

Any advice on similar experiences or on how to speak to the doctor without getting completely shot down because of my age?!

Ah im so sorry to hear your going through this. It definitely sounds like it’s pretty bad anxiety. I have this too and it can be hell. I’m not sure if it’s hormonally driven, but I did lose weight and my cycle went everywhere because of the stress in my body. When medication kicked in and the anxiety went away my cycles returned to normal

Your cycle being all over the place and the brain fog could be a sign of it, yes. Are you able to ask your older female relatives when they started 'the change' as an early menopause can be passed down the female line.

Did they do blood tests for oestrogen, testosterone and FSH?

I'm really sorry you're going through this, the foggy brain and the panic sounds exhausting. It might be worth jotting down just a couple of lines each day on your sleep and how stressed you're feeling for a couple of weeks — it's not about diagnosing anything, just that a few weeks of notes often helps the GP spot patterns and is well worth mentioning at an appointment. Take things one step at a time.

It could also be a thyroid problem. Did you have this checked as part of your blood tests?

The cycle changes alongside the panic do sound worth putting in front of the GP together rather than separately, OP. If you can, try jotting down each time the anxiety spikes and where you are in your cycle when it happens, before your period, during spotting, or seemingly random. A pattern that lines up with your cycle points more towards hormonal involvement, while anxiety that turns up regardless of timing might be more about the sertraline still bedding in. Either way it gives your GP something concrete to look at rather than just "I feel awful," and makes it harder to be waved away on account of your age.

Thankyou! I just feel so lost with it. When you say medication, was it a SSRI? How long did it take for you to feel more consistent again? I thought it was helping but now into my third week of it and feeling pretty awful again.

Thankyou. Yeah it’s a good point, I’m tracking as much as possible but it doesn’t really seem very cyclical at the moment. The doctor said to go back if my cycle is still all over the place in a couple of months

I went into perimenopause post partum. Periods were different which I put down to breastfeeding but for some reason I asked gp to test Fsh and it was sky high.

Me too, I was a little bit older - 38. I think it was particularly brutal off the back of having a baby.

Looking back, I think there were some early signs before pregnancy at around age 36.