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[Mrs C]

 Morning!  Thank goodness I stumbled across this forum 

I'm hoping you lovely ladies can advise/offer reassurance?

Not sure where to start really.....I'll try and be succinct!     I'm 45, usually very regular periods, about year ago noticed this began to change and for the last 2 months, nothing!  Had a private hormone level check (gp won't do them if over 40 ) and illustrates fsh 96.4 and oestradial <18  LH 42.6. Showed this to gp and he said yes defo looks as if I'm perimeno but would like to do a couple more bloods before heading down HRT route. 

I already take Sertraline for depression/anxiety, but have definitely felt a dip in mood and complete loss of energy over the last month or so - prior to this life was pretty good!  Not sure if its worth mentioning but I have been unable to have children and was diagnosed with unexplained infertility.

I'm just really confused as to where/what I should do for the best....gp not being very helpful and I feel a bit lost 

Any info greatly received...and thanks for reading my not so 'succinct' post 

[weathergirl]

I was in a similar spot at your age - now 51. My numbers at age 48 were very indicative of peri going into meno. High FSH, low estradiol <10, and high LH. However I tested another two times (over a 6-8 month period) and numbers varied each time! The FSH stayed high, but estradiol was kind of all over the place.

I started HRT shortly after my last bloods but wish I'd waited a bit longer as symptoms were not too bad.  I ended up still having cycles, but with using estradiol, plus my own hormones fluctuating I had a lot of side effects.  I was cycling irregularly at this time (having been super regular all my life), but I was still getting periods at various times.  The erratic cycling is very normal in peri.

It can be kind of hard to get the HRT dose ‘right' if you're still cycling on your own.  Some do well this way, but others have a lot of trial and error because you're adding exogenous hormones into your body when your body's own hormones are already erratic, and swinging back and forth.

Maybe it's worth testing again in 3 months?  One set of blood test results are only a single snapshot in time.  I think HRT prescribing is based more on symptoms than the numbers anyway.  A month's drop in energy could be caused by any number of things. Not just hormones.  Might be good to keep a mood/food/symptom diary as many have suggested on here. Good luck!

[CLKD]

 

Browse round.  Make notes.  Hormone blood tests are reliably un-reliable 

Some ladies find that keeping a mood/symptom/food diary useful.

[Dancinggirl]

Hi and welcome to MM Nrs. C

What a shame your GP is not helpful.  I am outraged that they wouldn't do blood tests or even listen to you about your issues regarding your periods and other symptoms.  The Sertraline may well be masking the peri meno symptoms as flushes and night sweats can be reduced with this antidepressant.  At 45, you are young to be oestrogen deficient and if your GP had your best interests at heart then HRT should have been discusses as an option straight away. The blood tests you had done clearly show you are peri menopause but possibly heading towards post menopause, however having you hormone levels monitored over the next few weeks will give a better picture of what is going on - although the GP should diagnose based on symptoms not blood tests. HRT would be a good idea to protect your heart and bones for the long term, so I would seriously consider trying it.  Has your GP booked you to have more blood tests?
Do read up all the info on this site to get really clued up.  Print stuff off, particularly from the TREATMENTS section, so you can be quite assertive about what you want to try. GPs are rarely clued up on HRT so you may have to lead the way.  Many find Femoston 1/10 is a good one to start with as it has a kinder progesterone - unfortunately most GPs offer Elleste (because it is the cheapest) and if you suffer with anxiety then the progesterone in this one might be problematic.

Here is an article that may help you understand what is going on:
https://www.menopausematters.co.uk/magazine/pdf/Article%20-%20Perils%20of%20the%20Perimenopause.pdf

We are here to support you, so keep us posted.  DG x

[Mrs C]

Thanks ladies for info