Hello Everyone!

I'm new to this board but not new to feeling poorly! Like many of you I'm sure, my story is lengthy (many doctors, some traditional-some alternative, many tests, many supplements, etc.) so I'll hit the highlights...I'm curious if the consensus will be if this sounds like I could be perimenopausal. I have a strong feeling I might be.

*My Mom went through menopause at 39, my symptoms began around 30

*Main symptom has been nausea. So extreme at one point I couldn't work at all. Still hits me out of the blue, no warning. I call it a "sick flash." Eating makes it better almost 100% of the time. I have never been pregnant but seems similar to how some women describe their morning sickness. Can occur any time of the day. Worsened by having to sit still, better if I can get up and move around.

*Second most debilitating symptom is fatigue and utter lack of stamina--the ladies in their 70's at the gym can out-exercise me 10-fold. Sometimes so bad taking a shower is challenging. I wake up very tired, although I seem to sleep 8 hours a night most nights and do have dreams that I can remember maybe 1/2 the time.

*Also debilitating at times: Out-of-it/Surreal feeling. I don't always feel this way but when I do, it's very unnerving.

*There are other symptoms (chronic vaginal infections, muscle aches in shoulders.) In general symptoms are much much worse for heat and worse during the day, better at night.

*My estradiol level was measured below 0.5. My progesterone and testoterone levels are normal, but these are also supplemented.

*No practitioner I have seen seems concerned about my low estradiol level because I "still have periods" even though they are irregular...sometimes somewhat normal, sometime almost non-existent (1-2 days light), always with 7-10 days of spotting before.

This has all gone on for 7 years. Sometimes if I take ungodly good care of myself, I can be fairly functional. But mostly I struggle a lot every day.

Any thoughts???

Thanks in advance!!!

Hi confetti....Welcome to Power Surge...greatest place in the world...ask anyone on here!

Everytime I see a post from a woman who started this crap in her early 30's my heart sure goes out to them. Actually any woman at any age but I started this crap at age 32 and I'm nearly 50 years old and I still have symptoms. I know that doesn't sound very encouraging but please remember everyone is different. You may follow in your mother's footsteps and be done at age 39. I'm following right in my mom's....took her 20 years to get thru and I finally believe her now.

You definitely sound perimenopausal to me. I have felt most of what you've written about. There will come a day when you will start to feel better......you'll notice "hey, this is a good day"......and they'll come more and more often. For me, all the mental anxiety and that unreal/dreamlike state is a thing of the past. My symptoms are mostly just physical now....hot and cold flashes, shakiness and feeling like I've been hit by a truck. I have found that for me the thing that has helped the most is the passage of time.

Please stick around here.....there are so many articles on this site that will help. These message boards and insta chat are wonderful for relieving anxiety or taking your mind off your symptoms.

Hang in there kid....

welcome confetti,
this place IS wonderful, everyone is so supportive of eachother. We need eachother. I am 39, 40 in FeB. and can safely say now that I probably felt signs of this in my early 30's, very early. I also have been through the whole battery of tests oever the last couple of yr's as things for me have escalated drastically in the past 6 mo. My periods are no longer regular, I guess they come when they feel like it. Now getting 2 per mo. Anyway until this started to happen I was made to feel like I was just an anxious person who needed nothing more than ativan and a antidepressant. It almost makes me mad now seeing as had I litened to what I really knew a few yr's ago I could have started to support myself instead of being told I was just too young to feel such pronounced peri symtoms. My mother was 42 when she was finally in "menopause" and I have finally found a Dr. who says yes I'm in peri and I am more than likely following my mothers pattern. While this did not make me any more comfortable physically mentally I thought you mean I don't need to be put away and I'm not a hypochondriac. He tested my FSh which is rather high he said which is a good indicater how far you are. So yes It probably is...did your mother go through it naturally at this age? Look around here there re loads of ways to support your body through this and friends here to support you on just really bad days. HUGS Mikki

Gosh, you sound EXACTLY lke me especially the fatigue...I also sleep ok, but wake up often with what I call brain fatigue...hard to describe, but my head is so tired...and also have the body fatigue on occassions....I actually have about 3-4 different "types" of fatigue I can describe.

I also really suffer from lightheaded, and brain fuzzy, drunk feeling....I have either this to extreme or the fatigue...usually one or the other every day.

I will also mention here that I have had a thyroid problem and the symptoms are the same .....as a though you may want to get that thoroughly cjecked out with blood work for TSH, FT3 and FT4 and the antibodies for Hashimotos....sometimes hard to get docs to check all the but a thorough check is not JUST TSH and despite what some docs may say, you really, relaly need them all....I speak from experience.

I am also 7 years at this starting with the thyroid probelm at age 40 and now 47 so now I think I also have peri.....really want some relief....like you...Joan

HI agian..I have to add that I also feel better in the EVENING.....!!!! Why is this? Would love to switch evening and day...at least that way I may be able to sleep though the symptoms.....just as a note, some folks find if they feel better toward evening it is becasue of adrenal problem...too low during the day and by taking isocort or something they find relief....or even herbals....for me, this was not the case and a trial of herbals for this (ginseng) made me much MORE fatigued....really bad trial...so much for the naturals! Joan

oh, one more thing...I have decided to do a phone consult with Women to Women in Maine....My appointment is in MAY!!!! Long way away but I guess they must be doing something right to be this popular.....I too am low in estrogen but ok in progesterone so when I did trial of progesterone I felt more fatigued....doc just went with the standard...that I was estrogen dominant...but I am not...don't know if just estrogen would benefit me but I have regular periods so I don't think they would give it to me without progesterone...but if my progesterone is ok, then why not?! I will wask in May....Joan

Hello Slowbear,
I am not sure if I have asked you this before, but my TSH is 1.5 My dr. said it is not necessary to check the FT3 or FT4 or hashimotos since TSH is normal. Is that right? I also have a small lump in my thyroid but ultrasound show it is ok. I will like some advice from you.



Confetti11,
Welcome to Power Surge. I also began all this stuff a couple of years ago. I just turned 40. Good luck and keep reading

Montana

Thanks for all of your responses so far!

I definitely do have better days than others...and moments of time where I feel "like myself." I used to be a fun-loving gregarious person. I still am but my body rarely feels well enough to allow me to manifest that.

I feel I'm looked at by nearly everyone I encounter (except for a few practitioners and friends) that I am borderline nuts and that if I weren't, I'd feel much better. I won't discount the fact that I was traumatized by a lot of loss the year or so before I began feeling sick but I don't believe that these events are solely the source of my physical pain. I believe my body was a perfect storm of sorts, and all the right elements came together for my body to freak out.

My mom did go through a natural menopause at 39. She also had a terrible time carrying children and had to take hormones to carry me and by brother to term...so who knows if she had a longterm problem. Her mom, on the other hand, had a child into her 40s. Not sure what happened with my mom to have premature menopause. It appears I may be following her. I'm wondering if not having any children myself affects when menopause hits? Anyone researched this?

Thanks for the thyroid info. I will run that past one of my drs. They usually test for what I want. At this point, I think they are accepting that I probably know more than they do sometimes. Why wouldn't I? I'm the one researching this for hours on end because I feel like crap all the time!! In light of that, I just think it that it's odd that I have almost no registerable estrogen and no one so far has had an issue with that, even though I feel like complete crap a lot of the time. Gees, how could that NOT be a problem? Anyone know a genius doctor who knows this stuff in the Chicago area? I'm a 2 hour drive from there.

I don't know what's up with the evening thing...I've always noticed that in some way, the brightness of the daytime exacerbates my symptoms. Although I love a nice walk in the sunshine at times too. And on it goes...nothing makes sense!

Hi, well in terrms of just TSH that doesn't sound too bad and your doctor is probably right, but you do have a nodule on your thyroid and that can, I believe, cause, ups and downs in thyroid function....probably they could only see this if you were tested quite frequently....even daily our thryoid can fluctuate. For best advice try Mary Shomon's web site and message boards...those ladies are great. Some on the boards do talk about having nodules removed.....you can also tell the ladies on the board your symptoms and such...they are quite knowledgable....hope this helps. Joan

You know I have read that women who have never been pregnant have a higher risks of going through it early...in Anne Louise Gettleman's book. So could be effecting the time frame?

fatigue also has been awful for me lately and I sleep through the night too. I wake up tired after sleeping 7-8 hr's. I go to bed and am asleep fairly quickly...I just can't seem to get enough.
A few yr's ago when I think this all started for me I had insomnia, I couldn't fall asleep and when I did I would be up 2-3 times a night and still fuctioned better in the day than I do now. Now it is the other extreme I am just tired all the time. Mikki

Welcome to Power Surge! It's a great place to connect, share and learn! I can relate to well to your post, even though I am older than you (now 50). I too had no children and have been very interested in hearing from other women who have not been pregnant who are going through perim. I can't help but think it has to have some effect on "the journey" since our bodies never got a "full homronal" experience with pregnancy. I truly think it's a study waiting to happen.

That said, I can completely relate to your nausea - it was my first predominant "sign" of perim (although I didn't realize I was perim at the time). Mine lasted over 6 months intensely - almost every day and yes, eating did help it -which most people found puzzling! I continued to be quasi-nauseaous for the next 6 months. Now, I am only nauesous from time to time - I am so grateful the intensity of that has passed - it was very rough as you know.

I was also plagued by a fatigue like nothing I had ever experienced! I was alway so vibrant and "get up and go" and when the fatigue hit .. it was unreal. I could sleep 15 hours and still be weak/tired. I could barely drag myself out of bed and often came home from work and just feel asleep sitting up - as soon as I got home. It was something else! Then, eventually, it tapered as well and now, I rearly feel fatigued.

I also had all kinds of muscle aches and pains - things I never had in my whole life. From migraines to thigh and hamstring pain to achy hands and fingers ... it was crazy! I still get some of these from time to time, but they too are much less intense or frequent that they had been. :-)

Lots of other strange things have come along and still do - but I guess what I'm wanting to convey is that for me, overall, things have improved with time, so hold onto that. All I can say is to take good care of yourself, get as much rest as possible, eat well, drink lots of water and do what you can to make yourself happy and comfortable.

Someone told me "be gentle with yourself" and I pass that along too. For so long I was SOOO frustrated (and scared) with everything that was happening ... I felt like I had lost myself along the way ... and in some ways, I did. But remembering to be "gentle to myself" allowed me to begin to just accept and do what I could (even if that meant "nothing" at times) and things eventually did improve. I still have some moments and times now that I'd like to not have ... but I realize it's a journey of unpredictability ... and that's what I need to accept.

Take care. Hang in there. kathleent.

Thanks too for your response kathleent! I'm sorry to hear you had the nausea as well. It is perhaps the most debilitating symptom.

Our symptoms do sound very similar. I've never witnessed personally anyone go through what I have. But I'm starting this very young, if that is indeed what's going on. How long did your peri last? I'm just wondering if it's possible for my symptoms to be this intense for this long...7 years.

Hi Girls,

I'm new to all of this and just starting to come to the realization that I am most likely in peri-menopause. I am 35, soon to be 36, and I have been having weird symptoms for a year or more. My mom reached menopause relatively early, She started in her late 30's early forties but she was on HRT for a long time, so I don't know when her periods actually stopped. She had horrible PMS/ menopausal mood swings when I was growing up, and so did I! It was quite a scene sometimes!
I have had the thyroid tests and blood sugar tests...all normal, and have been given one anti-depressant after another. I don't tolerate them well because I have a condition since birth which affects my nervous system, called cerebral palsy(happens as a result of low birth weight/ birth trauma, not hereditary or progressive)...it is mild in my case and causes me to walk awkwardly/ stiffly...and my periods and PMS have always been difficult to deal with, i.e. fatigue, cramps, muscle aches on top of my existing disability.
I started the puberty process quite early...8-9 yrs. old, but didn't get my period until I was 14.
I have always had monthly acne, some excess facial hair...but noone ever took my hormonal complaints seriously...maybe due to my disability...as I said earlier...I was just given anti-depressants throughout my twenties.
In recent years, doctors have made me feel like a hypochondriac, because nothing "serious" ever shows up on tests...I have never had my hormone levels tested...was told in my early twenties that my menstrual-related problems are no big deal unless I want to get pregnant someday (but nobody ever expected that I would want to I guess). I am four months out of a long relationship that went sour (admittedly,partly due to my mood swings in the past year)...and now I don't know if pregnancy is ever going to be a possibility for me. I am having irregular periods...late/early, short/long...PMS lasts considerably longer...horrible moodswings. I feel like I'm losing my mind when I cry one minute and laugh the next or lose my temper. I have aches in my thumb/finger joints which are kind of 'phantom' aches...they seem to move around and are sometimes in my elbows. I get little electric shock sensations from time to time...but they are not consistent and hard to describe where they are. I have had palpitations and chest pain and thought it was a heart attack...went to emergency and tests were fine...docs said it was just anxiety. My breasts and nipples get really sore, and the soreness lasts almost all month. I do have a break from most of my symptoms, but only for about a week, then PMS starts all over again. Because of that relatively"free" week, I am starting to think that maybe it's perimenopause...which is better than MS or Lupus...but still disconcerting to me at 35.
I feel like doctors don't take women with disabilities seriously. Can anyone relate?

Hi Kim,

And welcome.

You asked if anyone could relate to your story, and while I'm not disabled, I do know what its like to be dismissed or patronized, and so do others here. I asked to see a specialist when I'd had enough, and I wish now I'd done it sooner. Much sooner. I don't know whether it will do any good, but at least I feel like I'm not the guyesse who's left out of the decision making group.

There are a few things that help with the symptoms, the most effective of which, statistically, is HRT or BHRT. I just read Tay say she treats bursts of paradoxical cold with warming baths. I have severe flushing. Cooling showers (washing hair) works best for me. Yesterday I took 4 and was still uncomfortable.

We all agree this place is a blessing. We can celebrate or complain amongst peers, and you rarely see a cross word - considering how peri menopausal women are notoriously ratty, I find that heartening.