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[GetStuffedPeri]

No period for 7 months....... and before that it had been 10 months....

Frequent (ish) bouts of period pain and mucus...... mucus always ties in with tummy cramps and flushes.

Yet ALL the symptoms of low estrogen - flushes, itchy skin, tinnitus, thinning hair, joint pain, night sweats, mood swings, you name it - estrogen is low, without a doubt.

Been in peri for 7 years (current age 49 - 50 in a couple months).  Have only had 2 periods in 18 months.

So WHAT ON EARTH is with the mucus?!  I know it may indicate an ovulation "attempt", but this happens every week or so - can't be ovulation attempts that regularly, surely?

Not on HRT....

Help. 

[GetStuffedPeri]

bump 

[KarineT]

Hi,

I'm in a similar situation.  I will be 50 in October and since January this year, I haven't had a period.  No mucus or cramping though but some kind of watery discharge in the mornings.  Along with this I get dizziness, mild hot flushes/night sweats(unfrequently), mild anxiety, slight digestive issues, burning skin sensations, chills, low mood tiredness & lethargy.  I don't know how long this is going to last for but I hope not too long. With all these symptoms I know I'm definitely perimenopausal, heading towards the menopause.  I'm not on HRT btw.  So you had no periods for 7 months then you had one, then another one 10 months later?  It  definitely sounds like perimenopause.  Were your periods irregular prior to having only 2 periods in 18 months?

[GetStuffedPeri]

Hi Karine

Thanks so much for replying!  I feel like most posts only ever get a response if they're about HRT doses 

Posting on behalf of my wife (I'm also female - in peri - she's way ahead of me though)...

She skipped 9 months of periods in 2015, then they became regular again until late 2018 - since then, she's had a total of 2 periods in 18 months.  She got to almost 10 months in Dec last year then had a period (that was a fun time, let me tell you!) for 3 days and nothing since. 

She has every symptom you've described, except the flushes and sweats are pretty severe when they happen. 

Have you been to a GP or not bothering?  When we went to the doctor she literally wrote down the name of this website and that was it!

Things seem to calm down a bit the longer she goes without a period (in terms of moods/anxiety etc), but the low level flushes and sweats and pure exhaustion remain.  We're currently at almost 7.5 months and have everything crossed that this is it.  She's been suffering since 2013 pretty much (never put it down to peri at the time - hindsight's a wonderful thing).  She's keen to avoid HRT.  Can I ask why you've not chosen the HRT route?  It seems like most people on this forum have!

Is this the first time you've been a long few months without a period?

 

[KarineT]

Hi,

This is the first time I've gone without a period for that long but I'm definitely peri because I and I haven't gone a year without a period.  This is how it started for me.  During 2014, 2015 and 2016 my periods were regular but quite heavy.  In the spring of 2016 I noticed that they were lasting more than 7 days and in October 2016 I first missed one.  Then from 2017 to the end of 2018 I would have a period every other month.  In the spring of 2018 I became increasingly dizzy, almost on a daily basis and in various degrees.  It was so bad that I had some tests done to see what was wrong with me. I thought somrthing was very wrong and I had a health scare but, thankfully, they never found anything. At the time I didn't associate this with the menopause because I still had periods. Then from January to March 2019 I had a normal period every month.  It then starting waning in April 2019 (a very light one) and from May 2019 to January 2020 it was every 3 months.  Now since January I had nothing.  I'm just hoping that it"s the beginning of the end and that my periods won't come back otherwise it could take forever to reach the menopause.  But from what you're saying, it seems that, even for me, it may be a long journey as my periods could come back, and, in which case, it still makes me perimenopausal.

As for HRT, I'm not taking it because I'm worried that I might not be able to wean myself off of it and that the symptoms may come back.  Also there's no guarantee that HRT can alleviate all the symptoms and it might cause more issues. You can see on this forum how many women have issues with it.
Because you can't tell with HRT, it won't be possible to know when the menopause has naturally occurred.  Also, I'm not keen on the bleeding part of it.

[GetStuffedPeri]

Hi Karine

It sounds as though you're nearing the end.  You seem to have had a semi-similar experience thus far to my wife (apart from the heavy periods).  I have read every single piece of information out there, literally.  Once you start going 6-7 months without a period you are "almost definitely" nearing the end stages of peri.  This is what we cling on to, as the thought of periods becoming regular again and with all the fluctuations that brings, well it doesn't bear thinking about (one negative about HRT is defo the regular bleeding again - how on earth would you know when menopause had naturally occurred?).  You are young to be menopausal, as is my wife, and this is something that's mentioned regularly on here - "you must take HRT as you're so young".  I read horror stories about VA, although not everyone gets it.  I read about HRT journeys and women suffering either trying to find the right regime (and failing) or suffering with various other symptoms caused by HRT.  My wife is worried that it will only "delay the inevitable" and that if she ever came off it she would be suffering again until natural menopause anyway. 

Out of interest - looking back to 2014, when your periods became heavier, how long did it take you to notice any mood changes (if indeed you ever had them?).

I've read as many accounts of women feeling better post menopause as I have women saying they will need HRT for decades to come and they literally can't cope without it (each to their own, of course). It's a minefield and having been studying this for years, and finally finding some sort of natural regime that has at the very least stopped my wife's hair falling out, I'm terrified for her to start messing around with HRT - but it of course has to be her decision.  I think if the flushes were all day every day she may consider it.  For the minute, her fear of it is greater than her desire to stop the flushes.  The temperature control thing is a real issue and the GP tested thyroid etc as well (also during a health scare - terrifying). 

The lighter and further apart the periods get, the closer to the end of peri.  At least as you're not taking any hormones then you know that your body is following nature as it wants to.  I'm not sure if you take supplements but if you'd like any tips (if you need them) then give me the heads up - I feel like a herbalist since all this peri cr*p.   

[KarineT]

Hello again,

Yes.  This is terrible we women have to go through.  I'm currently taking Bach flower drops and I will start on the A Vogel supplements soon.  I've also got some vit D which I will start taking once my multi-vitamins are finished.  If the symptoms were to get worse I would try homeopathy.
HRT would really be a last resort.
About the mood change, I would feel low and anxious around my menstrual cycle (PMT) but thiese feelings would only last a day or two and I would feel better for the rest of the month.  But with the perimenopause or menopause they tend to linger and at times I can feel bad on an almost daily basis. I would say it's a bit like PMT but worse as it takes longer to get so kind of normality back.  Also, more recently I've noticed that I've become more sensitive to noise and smell.  This didn't bother me before.

We just have to hope that when this nightmare is over we feel better.  Some ladies on this forum may not agree with me but the body should adjust itself to a lower level of oestrogen and therefore the symptoms, the ones that you get in perimenopause,  should not linger once the menopause has occurred.  Menopause is irreversible but  its symptoms should not be for life.  Of course there is VA but I don't call this a symptom. To me it's more like a secondary condition caused by the menopause but not everyone gets it.