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[primrose77]

Hi everyone - I have a quick question - I am conviced I am going through peri-menopause. I have had night sweats, have irregular periods - really heavy, spotting, sometimes missing them all together, I've got mood swings - crying one minute and then laughing, my hair is coming out, dry skin, exhaustion - I think this could be one of the worse ones, anxiety, also dry eyes and mouth and just 'feeling' a change.

My challenge is my doctor - he has tested my hormone levels as I am 42 and he says there are fine and my ovaries are working therefore I'm not going through the menopause. He hasn't mentioned peri-menopause. I nearly ended up having a back and forth argument with him last week which just left me feeling really frustrated and quite upset.

When I mentioned about the periods he said - periods are controlled by hormones, hormones are controlled by your brain, so...anxiety. In the end he did agree to let me have a scan but I am getting nowhere in terms of getting any movement from him that I could be menopausal.

I could just trust my instincts that it is the menopause I guess but some days I feel so rough I end up back at the doctors - to be sent away again with 'anxiety' ringing in my ears (!)

Has anyone had a similar experience or have any advice? I think my hormone levels are around 9 and he said they have to get to 30 before I'm in range of menopause which could take another 10 years.

If I go back i won't see him again but I want to know how to handle the doctors really as otherwise I feel on my own and when the anxiety hits - quite low.

Thanks in advance.

[CLKD]

Yep.  May well be peri..   When will Doctors realise that girls can have very early menopause: some don't ever get a period, some of 1 and then nowt.  Stands to reason that women can go into peri at any time!

Maybe have a look at the Daisy web-site too.  HRT will protect heart and bones, brisk exercise regularly will also stop osteoporosis.


Blood tests are reliably un-reliable.  Maybe keep a mood/food/symptom diary anyway and book an appt with the Practice Nurse.  Ask for a well woman test which will open conversation for how the Practice handles menopause.

Do read the threads relating to vaginal atrophy.  Browse round, make notes.

[yellowflower]

I am 54 and still don't actually know if I am menopausal as I had a hysterectomy last year and kept my ovaries. Prior to my hysterectomy, I had erratic periods for about 3 years. I was a 28 day cycle woman and never missed a beat until then. Other than my periods changing, I did not have any other symptoms. From what I know, testing for menopause is really hit and miss, so testing for peri would be even worse.

There are other things your doctor could have tested you for though. Did he run any blood tests? At 42, I would be looking at other reasons for your symptoms other than perimenopause. Have you had your thyroid tested for example?

[Sgtvhilts]

Oh-sure sounds like it. I don't think there is a ‘definative' Test for meno- it is treated on symptoms.
My FSH was 5 !!!!! , but my symptoms were horrendous. My oestrogen was 1197. So well within normal, but if they were all normal what were the symptoms -scotch mist!!
Anyway, went on HRT , no improvement to start, I upped the Oestrogen and bingo all gone. Looking back it had been going on for about 4 yrs, since about 46.:
It was the drenching night sweats and anxiety that did for me. Meno anxiety is a real treat along with head fog!
Interestingly, if my bloods were ‘normal' then how come symptoms went completely on Oestrogen?
Read up, decide where you want to go- do you want HRT /natural stuff/ no treatment, then armed with your knowledge see your GP again.

[CLKD]

I often say 'Scotch mist' but don't actually know what it might mean 

Tnx Lola50

[Sgtvhilts]

Me neither,
But I take it to mean- something that comes out of nowhere. Like when the mist comes down in Highlands from nowhere.

[CrispyChick]

This is totally me, albeit with different symptoms. I have heavy head, ear pressure, dizziness, nausea, fatigue. See post below.

I am 43. Same response from gp as you in terms of blood test. She spoke to the menopause clinic who told her my symptoms are not menopausal. But.... 2 years in and I have been through every other test going. The combined pill elevated my symptoms. I'm pretty certain it is hormonal.

I am currently considering going for a whole hormone blood assessment at a private clinic. Will cist a fortune, but I feel I am getting nowhere with the NHS. Very upsetting. I can't go on like this......

I have spent 2 years feeling like this because they told me it couldn't be my hormones..... Don't let that happen to you. Go with your gut!!

[Sgtvhilts]

Don't worry , I did and got there......in the end.
Tell your GP to read the NICE guidelines on meno.

[Emerald2017]

My peri started at 41 with almost regular but very light periods. I had the same reaction from my my gyn, that I am too young etc. I took almost immediately hrt and my symptoms disappeared. It is hormonal for sure!

[CrispyChick]

Emerald 2017 - that's reassuring. I'm 43 and have suffered for 2 years with severe dizziness, nausea, brain fog etc.

My periods were regular but extremely light - does that sound like your situation?
I say were because I have been trying many contraceptive pills to help..... To no avail. In fact the doctors put me on mini pill (cerazette) to rule out hormonal issues - but when I have read more, you wouldn't normally assist peri with a mini pill. So I havd been down all sorts of paths to no avail!

[Foxylady]

It is a shambolic disgrace the way us ladies are treated by some health professionals, it seems to be a reoccuring theme, especially for those of us who are deemed young! Do as much reading up about your symptoms, possible treatment options, if there re lifestyle changes you can make..I'm almost at the 3 stone mark (started fast 5:2 diet in Jan), if there are supplements you could take that might benefit you, exercise etc. This website and forum has been invaluable to me, wish I'd come across it 3+ years ago and I would have stood my ground a bit more with GP's, endo & immunology.
Just remember there is light at the end of the tunnel. x

[primrose77]

Hi everyone - I just wanted to say thanks for all your replies I posted this and then - the irony - forgot about it! I've just logged back in for the first time and seen everyone's replies and am really grateful.


I did go back to the doctors and saw a female gp and just said 'I AM going through peri-menpause' not asking just stating it as fact. It wasn't a comfortable appoinment as I was very firm but got there in the end and she took me seriously. She's asked me to do another blood test and smear and then go back and see her.

I have been tested for everything else - thyroid etc so to be fair to them they have looked at other things that could have been going on.

Has anyone else had dry eyes and mouth? For a while they thought I may have an auto-immune disease and I have been tested but am ok. I know dry eyes/mouth is an unusual sympton but I have researched it and apparently it can happen.

My anxiety has been quite bad the last few days but I've been taking high strength magnesium and inulin powder (prebiotic) - it has helped - I now sleep without waking up with my heart beating in my chest - such a relief!

[KarineT]

Hello Everyone,

I'm 49 and will be 50 in October this year.

Back in the spring of 2016 I remember having heavy periods that sometimes lasted more than 7 days but I wasn't worried and I did not associate it to the perimenopause.  In 2017 I started missing periods and I would have them every other month.  At this stage I thought that I was approaching the menopause but I still wasn't worried.  Then in the spring of 2018 I started having dizzy  spells, nausea and anxiety.  At this stage I was worried because I began to think there was something seriously wrong with me.  I had all the tests under the sun to try and find out why I was feeling the way I did and to rule out medical conditions.  All tests came back negative. From April 2019 I started having periods every 3 months.  It has been like this since and my last period was in Jan 2020.  It's now April and still no periods.  This is definitely a symptom of the menopause but  I am  surprised that the menopause can cause a host of symptoms that are not knowingly associated with it and when this happens we are at a loss as we don't know what to expect. Hot flushes may be common but they aren't the only things. I hardly get any and my main symptoms are dizziness, nausea, dry mouth and eyes, anxiety and low mood.  If you want to know if you"re approaching the menopause there is a good test out there called Menocheck and it's not very expensive.  This test gives you an idea of your ovarian reserve, its AMH (Anti Mullerian Hormone) level.  If the level of this is low then you're approaching the menopause.  The test gives you an accurate estimate of when you will reach the menopause.  It doesn't give you a date but it will tell you that, for example, you will enter the menopause in less than 5 years or much sooner.  This entirely depends on your AMH level.  The lower it is, the closer you are to the menopause.

[JoAnnevickery83]

Hi everyone - I have a quick question - I am conviced I am going through peri-menopause. I have had night sweats, have irregular periods - really heavy, spotting, sometimes missing them all together, I've got mood swings - crying one minute and then laughing, my hair is coming out, dry skin, exhaustion - I think this could be one of the worse ones, anxiety, also dry eyes and mouth and just 'feeling' a change.

My challenge is my doctor - he has tested my hormone levels as I am 42 and he says there are fine and my ovaries are working therefore I'm not going through the menopause. He hasn't mentioned peri-menopause. I nearly ended up having a back and forth argument with him last week which just left me feeling really frustrated and quite upset.

When I mentioned about the periods he said - periods are controlled by hormones, hormones are controlled by your brain, so...anxiety. In the end he did agree to let me have a scan but I am getting nowhere in terms of getting any movement from him that I could be menopausal.

I could just trust my instincts that it is the menopause I guess but some days I feel so rough I end up back at the doctors - to be sent away again with 'anxiety' ringing in my ears (!)

Has anyone had a similar experience or have any advice? I think my hormone levels are around 9 and he said they have to get to 30 before I'm in range of menopause which could take another 10 years.

If I go back i won't see him again but I want to know how to handle the doctors really as otherwise I feel on my own and when the anxiety hits - quite low.

Thanks in advance.

Hi there I am.new to the Forum and would just like to say I am 36 nearly 37 in September. Since January 2019 6mths postpartum having giving birth to my baby Boy I have had the same symptoms as above...I have been here and there hospital my GPS, Gynaecologists and endocrinologist. All tests are normal. I have no normal 5day or 7day periods as previous its all spotting for 2days...and mostly its twice a month it happens sometimes  that i skip periods and can go 2 months without nothing...I have had all symptoms dry eyes dry skin bruising bowel problems aching joints anxiety out of this world rashes hot flashes acid reflux...the list cud go on...It took till january 2020 toll i saw a endocrinologist and all ovaries and hormone levels were normal. To be honest now I am that bad I dont feel like getting up in morning...Drs have said because i suffer anyways with PTSD that its all to do with it...basically all in my head...but I know its not its a real change going on ive taken so much antidepressants anti anxiety drugs and they no longer work...I have now come to realise that with a 21month Old I must accept it as it is...I now go through the hot furnace feeling at night shivering alot now and again in day insomnia is really bad, moid swings are all over the place, i dunno how i feel anymore its not me. I get low Libido now and again the Libido is much better it comes Back when it wants....I have a fat Pad on Back of my neck and ahoulders was never there before hair not as it was only not so thick and full.  I seem to have unwanted hair now on Back of my neck and chin hair falls out etc etc...ah weil all a fact of life eh...I do feel really Down like i never have in my life but onwards and upwards....I hope your all well and always here if you need a chat