A bit panicked- am I perimenopausal at 41?!

[patchworkbear]

I have an under active thyroid so have always suffered from memory fog, weight gain, /depression/anxiety, etc. despite being on the correct level of medication for it. I had my babies late at 36 and since then, instead of always being cold as I previously had been, I started feeling hot and sweaty. I'm currently going through a horrendous period in life and had out the weight gain, tender breasts and spots on my face down to that but just now, two weeks after my last period, I've got my period- not fresh, red blood but a very dark maroon/brown discharge type thing (sorry). Does this mean i was peri all that time without realising? Can extreme stress (marital breakdown, STBX who is currently jobless so I'm having to work two jobs) bring on the menopause? I'm having a blood test in a fortnight and seeing the doctor the week after that so will mention all this but right now, I'm massively panicked. I don't have a mum I can ask as she died when I was a child. If I am perimenopausal, I've been unaware of it and just thought my body was broken.

I think based on your post you are suffering from stress. The onset of perimenopause is very gradual over 10yrs or so. But if you are taking medication for underactive thyroid the most likely cause of your symptoms is probably related to your thyroid.

Have a chat with your GP to see if your thyroxine levels are ok. Pregnancy can play havoc with your endocrine system.

Thank angrymum. I've been under chronic stress for a while now but it hasn't effected my periods. This tender breast business and weight has been sudden and today the 'period'. Is it bad to start perimenopause early- other than its symptoms, I have no other knowledge of the menopause :(

"I have an under active thyroid so have always suffered from memory fog, weight gain, /depression/anxiety, etc. despite being on the correct level of medication for it."

If you have been having all those symptoms then that suggests that your thyroid is not being adequately medicated at all. Many people on thyroxine kept under medicated by GPs that don't know where they are doing. It should be a bloody national scandal.

And your other symptoms could be peri. My symptoms certainly came on more quickly than over 10 years. I think I had increasing symptoms for 6-8 months before I was put on HRT.

But you do need to get your thyroid checked first. And get those levels settled before adding in anything else. I would strongly recommend going onto the Thyroid U.K. Forum on Health Unlocked for advice, with your latest thyroid blood test results. You'll get detailed and excellent advice on there.

Thanks @AbraAbraCadabra- I'm under the care of the endocrinologist because although my bloods and T3/T4/TSH are all 'normal', I've remained symptomatic for years. They've kept my dose normal and have put my symptoms down to stress but I'm wondering if they've missed the possibility of me being peri.

I wouldn’t necessarily trust the NHS endocrinology team either. Mine told me all sorts of crap and wanted to keep me unwell as “it wasn’t my thyroid”. It was blatantly my thyroid and I now see a private endo who knows what he is doing, listens and has me on a good level of thyroid medication. You need to make sure that your thyroid medication is right first before going down the peri route.

Have the endo team been testing your FT3?

What are your latest blood test results with ranges?

Are the team ensuring that your FT4 and FT3 are proportionally balanced and also toward the top end of their ranges?

People who are underactive also typically have issues with vitamin deficiencies which can give similar symptoms to being underactive. When were your last tests for d, b12, folate and ferritin? And what were the results with ranges?

I’m 42 and have had perimenopause symptoms for well over a year. As have many of my friends the same age.
It certainly doesn’t seem unusual to start perimenopause at 41.
Whether your symptoms are due to that or something else I couldn’t say but mine are 100% peri

@patchworkbear it could be peri menopause. If the blood test is for your hormones it's not always accurate as the level's tend to fluctuate. Good luck

The endocrine system is complex and works by vast system of feedback mechanisms. Sometimes although one endocrine gland appears to be under active it may only be so because another part of the system is not working properly.
I have a defective pituitary gland which used to produce too much prolactin this in turn lowered my oestrogen and progesterone, caused secondary PCOs and tinkered with my thyroid function. Basically everything was a bit off kilter.
Pregnancy can trigger endocrine problems. Make sure you update them with your current symptoms.
And ask if it could be anything else.
My sister was diagnosed with a pituitary problem the symptoms included excessive sweating and flushes, headache and other symptoms she had put it all down to menopause. She was going through menopause and it was masking the endocrine problem.

41 isn't early to start peri. The normal range for menopause itself to start is 45-55 and peri can start up to 10 years before menopause, so peri starting from 35 would be considered normal. I've found doctors are frustratingly unaware of this though and in my early 40s I've been told more than once that I'm too young for all my very classic peri symptoms to be peri!
There's lots of reading about menopause at the moment - thankfully you, and I, have hit the start of it just as there's been a big push on the media to stop it being a weird secret. There are dozens of books and loads of info online. If thinking you're entering peri has got you this stressed then a bit of reading homework could probably help with that. You might not be there yet but it's a good thing to be informed about.

As someone who went through the menopause at 30 (so premature menopause), I’d say it sounds like it could be some early symptoms (and menopause at 45 is normal) exacerbated by stress. However if you have a history of thyroid issues, advise your doctor that you are also experiencing extreme stress and that it’s an issue not likely to be resolved as the impact of stress on your hormones may affect your medication.

Unfortunately, the blood test for menopause is very inaccurate so it may show nothing.

It could be peri, my menopause was done and dusted by early 40s. But I don't think you need to be massively worried about as you say you are, everyone goes through it, and there's a lot more information out there now to help. Try to wait and see, visit your GP, read a bit about it. Generally it's s slow process so no need to panic.