I'm 45, married with 2 children (11 and nearly 9).
In a nutshell - my cycles started to become irregular last year, ranging from 21 to 28 days. At the same time, I started to get unpleasant ovulation symptoms and worsening PMT, so I saw my GP in October and she ran blood tests - standard, plus thyroid, ovarian cancer and FSH. All came back normal.
At the same time, I started to notice I was getting palpitations - mostly in the day when I was lying down, but also in the middle of the night when they would wake me up. I also started having occasional night sweats at the same time.
I saw a different GP, who referred me to cardiology for further tests, which I had last week. Then, in December, I ended up in a&e for 7 hours, with a heart rate of 130bpm and badly dehydrated (I have Crohn's and had been feeling so anxious that I had been struggling to eat or drink enough and hadn't slept properly for weeks). Again, blood tests were fine, apart from dehydration.
I've since been back to 2 different GPs because my symptoms have been increasing. At times, my anxiety is high and I can't find any motivation to do anything. The fatigue can be overwhelming, and I either feel too sick to eat, or (as last week) I need to eat every couple of hours throughout the day, and sometimes in the middle of the night.
I haven't slept through a night for maybe a couple of months. I get to sleep ok, but then wake up repeatedly and generally wake up with a start at around 5am, sweating, heart racing, adrenaline pumping, thoughts racing and then I'm pretty much awake until the alarm goes off.
My skin has got very dry, as has my hair - which has gone white at the temples since August.
There have been times over the last few months the that I have felt like I am losing the plot - I just don't feel like myself at times. My moods swing dramatically, sometimes even minute to minute. My libido has gone AWOL.
What I don't understand is why all the health professionals I've mentioned all this to dismiss any thought that it's perimenopause - it's as if they don't recognise anything except actual menopause. I keep being told I'm too young!
My regular GP keeps trying to insist it's simply anxiety. She prescribed Cerazette initially, when I complained of ovulation pains, but it made me depressed in the first month so I stopped. She won't re-test my FSH because she says there's no point after it was checked in October and she seems happy to ignore my symptoms, saying that as long as I'm not missing periods, there's nothing to act on.
I'm thinking of finding a specialist (probably Annie Evans), because I don't feel supported in my doctors practise.