Hi Everyone! I am new to this board, it was recommended to me by my OLDER friends

Over the past several weeks, I have been experiencing what I think are hot flashes. I'll be in the kitchen doing dishes (AC on) and all of the sudden I start sweating for no reason. I walk into another room, I begin to sweat, etc. etc. Sometimes, it's accompanied by weird heart palpitations. My heart starts racing for no reason at all. It has been suggested that I might be going through menopause, could that be true!? Being the paranoid and overly sensitive person that I am, I'm thinking it could be a far worse illness or disease then PM. Are there tests they can do to see what might be going on?

I would appreciate any feedback, thanks so much!
Karen

Hello Karen.I will be 42 very soon and i am going through peri.Sounds like you may be too.When i first started having hot flashes a couple of years ago I wasn't sure what they were and they threw me into panic attacks because they freaked me out so bad.
You could get your hormone levels checked but chances are they will be normal.Your hormones are fluctuating so much that it is hard to get an accurate diagnosis.And it's hard to get most doctors to even utter the word perimenopause(most would rather say anxiety,depression,etc.)....but if you lurk around this site i bet you will find you have alot in common with most other women here and make your own diagnosis.

Hi Karen - welcome to peri-land!

Me too - I am also 42!! Symptoms (anxiety, stomach problems, health anxiety) mostly started when I was 40 but I developed migraines and lightheadedness at 37 which I believe are also linked as they now coincide with my cycle. 3 months ago I developed everyday allday heart palpitations (skipped beats/ PVCs) which I have had checked out and they are benign. I was still scared stiff, but then discovered this site & found I was not alone.

I also get hot often when I shouldn't do - not exactly a flash as it lasts about half an hour - but my thermostat is definitely up the creek!

As moonlight so rightly says, my doctors don't recognise perimenopause under age 48 - but this site is living proof it exists in my eyes. My doctor also said there was no point testing my hormones due to the fluctuations throughout the day.

Well, the docs can call it what they like - but lots of us have got it and it seems to be happening around our mid 30's to 40's.

Thank you so much for your feedback. My last two periods have lasted no more than 3 hours, as apposed to 5-7 days. The doctor said it could be anxiety, stress, etc. I said, "but I'm not stressed, I'm not anxious!". Then he sent me to a Cardiologist. They diagnosed my heart palpitations as what "appears" to be SVT, supraventriculartachycardia. He said many women "chalk-it-up to menopause".
Okay, then I started getting hot flashes which I had never experienced before, and waking-up in the mornings feeling very anxious, which again, never before.
I am going to see my OB/GYN in two weeks. I don't believe my Internist or the Cardiologist.
It's the uncertainty and the doctors which almost pasify a patient with non-sense, that does contribute to anxiety.
Anyway, it makes all the difference to know that you're just not alone or being paranoid!
Thanks again!

I think I started peri with insomnia, then after a year progressed to hot flashes. I never even questioned it, I just knew from reading that it probably was peri. I have very obvious peri symptoms at this point but my FSH level was normal the last time I checked. Tests don't always tell the whole story. I find the heart palps to be a real pain in the butt.

Karen,

My first symptom was hot flashes, too. I am two weeks into being 46. My periods are many weeks in between, another symptom. At first I thought I was pregnant. I actually bought a preg test!

I have been using the revival soy products and have had no more hot flashes. They were awful. I couldn't sleep.

I used to think (way back when) that only old women, like my 70-year old granny, went through perimenopause. Boy, have I learned alot!

Hang in there,

Sharon

It's so funny you say that.....I also thought you had to be a very old woman to be going through menopause.
My mother was here this evening. In front of her I am having a hot flash, my heart is palpitating, I told her not to worry, it's just the beginning phases of menopause. WOW, what a reaction from her! "There's NO WAY you are going through menopause!". "I didn't start until I was in my fifties". "It's something else, go to the doctor!". It was like she aged twenty years just because I told her it was the start of it.
Here I am, the best shape I have been in since having my son ten years ago. My life couldn't be better, everything going as we had hoped. Out of the blue, this hits! Who would have thought?!
How can doctors deny this, especially female physicians!
Thanks for all the feedback, we'll all hang-in-there together......
K~

Hi Karen

My weirdness started at 43 - so welcome on board - I had vertigo and palps as my first symtpom and DR didnt have a CLUE - they told me I was too young - dopes!

I dont think they understand peri atall - the symptoms can be so diverse and weird I guess they have to check you over

I get PSVT and also PVCs - I knew cos I was a cardiac nurse - made me more nervous actually!!! LOL!!!

I was not prepared atall - I thought I was way too young at 43 - how wrong could i have been - this site has taught me so much

Read and learn and surf the wave

M

Mele, you say you have SVT - my doctor said there was a small risk of my palps turning to SVT or AF and thet I would need to seek prompt medical help if this happened. Do you often go into SVT and then come out of it again? How long does it go on for? (He said something about sticking my hand in the freezer if it happens or getting someone to throw cold water over me).

thanks squiggle

Hi Karen03-

Welcome to the world of perimenopause, where people will constantly tell you, "You're to YOUNG to be starting menopause, you must have something ELSE wrong with you!!!" Even doctors have told me that. Needless to say, I'm finding new doctors.

Looking at the list of symptoms, I realize now that I probably started perimenopause at around 38, maybe even earlier! I'm 41 now. Thank God I started getting mini hot flashes, or I never would have thought about this being the beginning of menopause. I'd be checking myself into a mental institution and asking for treatment for a bunch of other things.... brain tumor.... you name it....

Here's what I told myself to do to deal with this situation:

Find a doctor you trust, who'll listen to you rather then just give you a pill and shove you out the door. Listen to your body and your intuition, read up on menopause, and find some way to laugh every day.

Hope that helps-
Solla Luna

hi karen,

i started with hot flushes at 37, then the palputations came and anxiety!! yukkk

i am now 42 and my symtoms are definetely peri, so no you are not too young!!

ou have already had good advice, find a good doctor , who knows about peri, it can make all the difference!!

good luck

dorry

Thank you everyone for the great advice and reassurance. It's really unfortunate that this kind of comfort can get from ones doctor!
I have an appointment with another OB/GYN next Thursday (she's supposed to be the best in Northern California). I will be sure to let you all know how that goes....

Completely off the subject, I noticed that the majority of members are from the UK. My husband is from England, so I just love that. I was wondering, was this webiste established in the UK? Is there more of an interest in Perimenopause in the UK as opposed to the States? I was just wondering.........

K~

Nah,there's lots of us here from the U.S.! Dearest is from the US too.

Keep reading. Not everyone has on their profile where they are from but I've seen girls from all over the world!

Karen- Don't be surprised if you get your FSH level tested and it comes back normal. Mine is STILL in the normal range after many years of peri symptoms. It was even normal during the time I had no periods at all (which I was hoping would be the great big menopause arrival, but alas, a period arrived eventually). I think more and more doctors are starting to disregard the "normal" results if they see a patient with peri symptoms.

For me, the heart palpitations freak me out the most. I had them in the evening when I went to bed. Since HRT (temporary) they have subsided. So has wakeing up with a soaked t-shirt in the night. I'll be 44 in Oct. and it came on really fast as well. Apparantly the palps are normal although. I feel (like you probebly do as well) that I should be ready to rush off to the ER LOL!
It's not fun. I guess it does get better, someday...question is how soon!