I hope people can help me for a while now i have suffered from a dryness below and an itch which i always tried to treat with thrush cream, also recently i have been having two periods a month which is tottaly draining me. Despite this i can not get to sleep, i have found it easier if the bedroom window is open but still it takes me ages, as i';m so tired you would think i could sleep. I do suffer from ostopenia already and just wondered if this could be the beginning of the menapause(i am only 35).[b]

Hey Jerry, since no one has answered you yet, I'll see if I can help. First, I'll begin by saying it's possible you are indeed entering perimenopause. My aunt began at about your age, but back then they told her it was impossible (this was probably 30 years ago). Now, thankfully, doctors are starting to wake up to the fact that peri is unpredictable. They can follow the norm anymore because we are a new generation of women and are re-writing the book.

What you describe does sound hormonal in nature. A few years ago I had vulvitis myself, the burning etc. What causes it, or in my case, anyway, was vaginal atrophy...I was in peri and ahhh...let's just say the fountian of youth was drying up. That happens in every woman going through peri, and things like bath soaps, laundry detergent etc. can cause irritation. The sleeplessness etc., the missed periods...all signs. Let me ask a blunt question Jerry...are you losing hair...below the bellybutton? (if you get my drift?) That's an excellent indicator of peri...we end up with a bald spot.

Why not go to the top of the page and click on 34 signs of menopause, you might be surprised at what you read. I know 35 seems young, but like I said...we aren't from the old school where women first got periods at an older age. I got mine when I was 15 and I'm now almost 52. From the signs I'm seeing, this will probably be my year to 'officially achieve' menopause (let's hope so). But in todays world, girls are now getting their periods at 8 - 9- 10. Unheard of when I was in puberty...but it makes sense that women would then begin peri at a much younger age...so...

See what I mean?

Anyway, I hope I've helped a little...