Is this perimenopause or something else?

[TheYouYouAre]

I’m age 40, and all these symptoms appeared roughly around the same time, about 6 months ago:

Piles or rectocele (I think?) Fresh blood when wiping after poo. Feels grazed just inside entrance. GP couldn’t see anything. Poo samples came back normal.

Thrush-like itchiness and sometimes discharge a day or two after sex. Happens almost every time. Lube makes no difference. Same partner for 20 years. Never had any issues like this before. Vaginal dryness?

Increased spotting in days before period. Period a bit more watery than it used to be.

Absolutely zero sez drive. Until 6 months ago was a healthy medium drive.

Estrogen levels are the same as they were 3 years ago.

So far GPs approach has been ‘tests are fine. Come back if it persists’. Should I ask for a referral, and who to? Feels like there’s several issues going on and I’m not sure which route is best to pursue.

Very similar to me I'm 42. I have soreness and itching on my bottom after going to the loo.It does feel like a cut or pile there. Never had this before. Just to help I buy those water wipes for babies to wipe with after I've gone to the loo and a bit of vaseline for a week or so.

Definitely vaginal dryness I use the lubricant sylk bought online it's all natural ingredients has been recommended by a dermatologist.

Sex drive rubbish.

I don't have periods due to the pill so no idea what that's like.

On top of this I'm very hot at night can only sleep with windows open and fan on my face. Even though the nights are cold. I excessively sweat at night and my sleep quality is awful. Very broken sleep.

Blood tests all normal so no idea where to go now. Obviously NHS have always been a bit crap about taking women seriously on this subject. If you can afford it I know people have gone private to see a specialist. Unfortunately this isn't an option open to me due to cost. I think I'll just have to carry on as is. It's the sleep quality that's the worst for me as I have fibromyalgia and lack of sleep sets it off.

Sorry I can't give you more help other than empathy.

I’m considering private but not sure who to go to. Feels like there’s a few things going on and I don’t know if it’s perimenopause-related, although that feels a good place to start.

I haven’t noticed any changes in sleep. Sorry you are struggling, that sounds difficult!

Blood tests to check hormone levels are useless as our hormones fluctuate. The NICE guidelines don't recommend this to test for peri menopause. As you are under 45, with symptoms, you should be checked to make rule out other causes of the symptoms you are experiencing then you can discuss HRT with your GP. I started HRT at 43 and it was brilliant. Looking back, I definitely started having symptoms at 41 minimum.

I was 36 with a raft of different symptoms. I wrote them all down including when they started and how often I experience them. I took that piece of paper to my GP and said "this can't be "normal, please find out what causes all these things"? Seeing it on paper seemed to have a better effect on my GP. It wasn't traditional menopause symptoms (still don't get hot flushes and I'm 43 now) but tests revealed that my Estrogen was really low during parts of the month, ok the rest. It was a long journey before I finally got a consultant who said they definitely thought this is early menopause. 1 in 100 women go early!

I had thumping headaches each period, really light periods, almost no sex drive, vaginal dryness, weird tummy issues outside my normal IBS, sleep issues, forgetting stuff, irritability, I'm cold almost all the time (thyroid levels fine) and my head will not stop itching!

I have a patch now....not dealt with everything, but has definitely helped. My symptoms have been constant for about 4 years, I don't appear to be progressing onto full blown menopause yet, which is better for me.

Try the Balance app too.

Most annoying symptom for me, is that my head itches constantly. It's not an allergy, had they checked. It's over production of some chemical due to menopause.

I think too much is blamed on perimenopause.

I have a range of these symptoms and I’m early 30s but I just got brushed off.

I have actually written everything down and planning to whack it all into the e-consult form I have to fill out to get a GP appointment.

Interesting that you mentioned headaches and itchiness. I’ve started to get a mild but days-long headache in the days leading up to my period starting. And I get cyclical itching all over my body, but that has been a longstanding thing.

Yes 43 - have all those symptoms - welcome to menopause!