Full Version: Apparently Not In Perimenopause
I went to see a gynocologist in regards to all of the symptoms and how I have been feeling for the past two years. Since I am only going through aches and pains, PMS, fatique and tiredness lately he says that I am not perimenopausal. I quess you have to have a slew of symptoms 24/7\365! He did say that blood results taken in May 2006 showed that my FSH levels were slightly high. He ordered more blood work to see if the levels have changed. I cannot say that I am upset at hearing that I am not going through this but what fustrated and fustrates me is that I went through so much for the past two years and especially during 6 months last year that no one can give me an answer to what is going on and what has been going on with me. He said that with all the symptoms that I had during the 6 month period that the symptoms were alot of the perimenopausal symptoms but since I have not missed a period I am not menopausal. I had always thought that perimenopause meant that you did not miss a period but you had the symptoms and your periods either got heavier or lighter, longer or shorter. With him saying that my FSH was a little high made me wonder if it is a hormone level being higher then something has got to be going on. I am not in the same condition that I was last year, Thank God, but I am not the same person that I once was. He said that getting older causes us to gain weight around our stomach areas (which I have gained 12 pounds in the last 6-8 months), aches and pains and other symptoms. But what he could not explain to me was why it all began with palpatations, then one day turning into anxiety, hot flashes, hot flushes, night sweats, forgetfulness, headaches, aches and pains, insomnia, low sex drive, burning feet at times, dizzy/off balance feeling like I was going to pass out, nausea, indigestion, and the feeling of dread with the above symptoms. He could not tell me what I was going through, only that it was not perimenopause. So I am back to square one trying to figure out what is wrong with me and what I was going through. Maybe it isn't too late to go back to school and try to become a doctor to diagnose myself!
That makes me angry!!YOU KNOW YOUR BODY.If you are having these symptoms don't you let that dr tell you you are imagining it or it is just anxiety.My doctor was nicer,she said I have PCOS,which is possible,but I know I am in perimenopause.I have the symptoms you describe and I am just 30,will be 31 in April.She prescribed BCP,which I wanted to try-they seem to be helping,but I know that I am going to have to watch what I eat,drink,plus I need to walk everyday as well.I pray soo much more,GOD gets me through when I feel like giving up-which happens a lot.I have only been on the BCP for about 16 days,dr said it can take several cycles to get the full effect.I really hope you read this-please don't give up-we believe you.
Hello,
I feel for you cause this is exactly what I have been through. I am 39 will be 40 in 2 weeks. For a few yr's now and it was gradual I have had numerous symptoms pop up here and there. In my lets 20's I started to get palp's before my period. This continued as I got older pms was becoming more pronounced and started to last longer, but i still funtioned ok. Then my periods became heavy and long with horrible pms symptoms, but I still had days where I was fine. Then breast became sore 24/7 all mo. long, I had most symptoms of estrogen domonance. I had palp's regularly now of and on through the mo. I put 15 lb's on in 2 or 3 mo., couldn't sleep through the night for nothing it didn't matter how tired I was and started to have bouts of dizziness. My period still was comomg like clockwork though. still bleeding heavy, but now it was stopping and starting through my cycle...bleed for 3 days stop for 2 bleed for an hr. stop stop for a day, this would go on for about 11 days. Still funtioning ok, but increasingly difficult. I started to go to the Dr. more and more trying to find out what was wrong with me, knowing I just felt increasingly bad and it was not normal for me. I was told like you I was too young to have hormonal problems and if they were going by textbook senario's yes I was on the young side, but I knew something was not right. I even have a family history of somewhat early meno. 43ish.
I am now not funtioning, I am dizzy daily, palp's daily, I am sooo tired I can barely move sometimes, I ache, I am having horrible hotflashes, I cry daily...sob is more like it, I have headaches and everyother symptom on the list of 35, some more bothersome than the others...did I mention tired and dizzy and palp's if so it bares repeating. I can't work, I don't do much. I am trying to start a home business because I'm not sure how long this will last now. My periods started coming earlier and earlier until they were on top of eachother one mo. and then started to go the other way and now I am late...not much but the only time I have ever been late is when I was pregnant and I know that is not possible seeings how I haven't let my husband near me in a few mo.
I don't know what your FSH was mine was 17.5 a few mo. ago up from 3.7 a few mo. before that, and a DR. did tell me that I was peri. with that level. I don't know what it is now. I felt the same way for so long figuring I was just a hypochondriac or I was really sick. Even when My breast were sore for 2 yr's straight (had mammo then) and a sign of hormonal imbalance I wondered is it really peri. Only until my periods went haywire was I convinced and even now that I feel so bad I can't believe sometimes hormones or lack of can make you feel so bad. I really pushed for tests like an MRI, echocardiogram, ultrasounds, and blood work...some my Dr. encouraged just to rule things out cause that is really all you can do right now is go through the process of elimination
I just don't get how he can say your FSH is high or on the high side , but your not peri. why is it high? Yes my Dr. did say you are not menopausal until being without a period for a yr. I think alot of people interchange the 2 being peri and menopause. Peri is a good possibility so don't get discouraged...HUGS Mikki
I feel for you cause this is exactly what I have been through. I am 39 will be 40 in 2 weeks. For a few yr's now and it was gradual I have had numerous symptoms pop up here and there. In my lets 20's I started to get palp's before my period. This continued as I got older pms was becoming more pronounced and started to last longer, but i still funtioned ok. Then my periods became heavy and long with horrible pms symptoms, but I still had days where I was fine. Then breast became sore 24/7 all mo. long, I had most symptoms of estrogen domonance. I had palp's regularly now of and on through the mo. I put 15 lb's on in 2 or 3 mo., couldn't sleep through the night for nothing it didn't matter how tired I was and started to have bouts of dizziness. My period still was comomg like clockwork though. still bleeding heavy, but now it was stopping and starting through my cycle...bleed for 3 days stop for 2 bleed for an hr. stop stop for a day, this would go on for about 11 days. Still funtioning ok, but increasingly difficult. I started to go to the Dr. more and more trying to find out what was wrong with me, knowing I just felt increasingly bad and it was not normal for me. I was told like you I was too young to have hormonal problems and if they were going by textbook senario's yes I was on the young side, but I knew something was not right. I even have a family history of somewhat early meno. 43ish.
I am now not funtioning, I am dizzy daily, palp's daily, I am sooo tired I can barely move sometimes, I ache, I am having horrible hotflashes, I cry daily...sob is more like it, I have headaches and everyother symptom on the list of 35, some more bothersome than the others...did I mention tired and dizzy and palp's if so it bares repeating. I can't work, I don't do much. I am trying to start a home business because I'm not sure how long this will last now. My periods started coming earlier and earlier until they were on top of eachother one mo. and then started to go the other way and now I am late...not much but the only time I have ever been late is when I was pregnant and I know that is not possible seeings how I haven't let my husband near me in a few mo.
I don't know what your FSH was mine was 17.5 a few mo. ago up from 3.7 a few mo. before that, and a DR. did tell me that I was peri. with that level. I don't know what it is now. I felt the same way for so long figuring I was just a hypochondriac or I was really sick. Even when My breast were sore for 2 yr's straight (had mammo then) and a sign of hormonal imbalance I wondered is it really peri. Only until my periods went haywire was I convinced and even now that I feel so bad I can't believe sometimes hormones or lack of can make you feel so bad. I really pushed for tests like an MRI, echocardiogram, ultrasounds, and blood work...some my Dr. encouraged just to rule things out cause that is really all you can do right now is go through the process of elimination
I just don't get how he can say your FSH is high or on the high side , but your not peri. why is it high? Yes my Dr. did say you are not menopausal until being without a period for a yr. I think alot of people interchange the 2 being peri and menopause. Peri is a good possibility so don't get discouraged...HUGS Mikki
lucsmom.....your doctor is right. You're NOT menopausal. Menopausal means being WITHOUT a period for 12 consecutive months. BUT you ARE perimenopausal. Perimenopause can last for years and years......it's the time leading up to actual menopause. Unfortunately most doctors are not taught anything about perimenopause in medical school....hot flashes, vaginal dryness and a little anxiety....that's about all they're taught.
In some women perimenopause can last just a short time.....others, it may take years and years. We are all so very different but yet the same when it comes to symptoms. Me personally, I started at age 32 and I'm nearly 50....still getting a period. Some years symptoms were BAD...some tolerable but in that 18 years there seemed to always be some kind of symptom. The last few years have gotten so much better though. I actually do have 'normal feel good' days. My mom said she was 29 when she started "through the change"......she ended around age 50. I watched her suffer for years with peri symptoms but had NO IDEA what it was or what she was really going through.
lucsmom...please don't let your doctor discourage you. Most of them really don't know much about perimenopause.
And some day...it really does get better...
In some women perimenopause can last just a short time.....others, it may take years and years. We are all so very different but yet the same when it comes to symptoms. Me personally, I started at age 32 and I'm nearly 50....still getting a period. Some years symptoms were BAD...some tolerable but in that 18 years there seemed to always be some kind of symptom. The last few years have gotten so much better though. I actually do have 'normal feel good' days. My mom said she was 29 when she started "through the change"......she ended around age 50. I watched her suffer for years with peri symptoms but had NO IDEA what it was or what she was really going through.
lucsmom...please don't let your doctor discourage you. Most of them really don't know much about perimenopause.
And some day...it really does get better...
Tots.....18 years 
that is a very frightening thought for me. I just keep saying to my husband I will feel this way forever. I know we are all different and I know I have been dealing with this for at least 5...I can't even imagine it not letting up soon. I have lost so much freedom I can't drive because I'm so spacey driving just makes it worse. 18 yr's It is good you said it does get better, this is my hope. Mikki
that is a very frightening thought for me. I just keep saying to my husband I will feel this way forever. I know we are all different and I know I have been dealing with this for at least 5...I can't even imagine it not letting up soon. I have lost so much freedom I can't drive because I'm so spacey driving just makes it worse. 18 yr's It is good you said it does get better, this is my hope. Mikki
QUOTE (lucsmom @ Feb 15 2007, 04:07 AM) 
I went to see a gynocologist in regards to all of the symptoms and how I have been feeling for the past two years. Since I am only going through aches and pains, PMS, fatique and tiredness lately he says that I am not perimenopausal. I quess you have to have a slew of symptoms 24/7\365! He did say that blood results taken in May 2006 showed that my FSH levels were slightly high. He ordered more blood work to see if the levels have changed. I cannot say that I am upset at hearing that I am not going through this but what fustrated and fustrates me is that I went through so much for the past two years and especially during 6 months last year that no one can give me an answer to what is going on and what has been going on with me. He said that with all the symptoms that I had during the 6 month period that the symptoms were alot of the perimenopausal symptoms but since I have not missed a period I am not menopausal. I had always thought that perimenopause meant that you did not miss a period but you had the symptoms and your periods either got heavier or lighter, longer or shorter. With him saying that my FSH was a little high made me wonder if it is a hormone level being higher then something has got to be going on. I am not in the same condition that I was last year, Thank God, but I am not the same person that I once was. He said that getting older causes us to gain weight around our stomach areas (which I have gained 12 pounds in the last 6-8 months), aches and pains and other symptoms. But what he could not explain to me was why it all began with palpatations, then one day turning into anxiety, hot flashes, hot flushes, night sweats, forgetfulness, headaches, aches and pains, insomnia, low sex drive, burning feet at times, dizzy/off balance feeling like I was going to pass out, nausea, indigestion, and the feeling of dread with the above symptoms. He could not tell me what I was going through, only that it was not perimenopause. So I am back to square one trying to figure out what is wrong with me and what I was going through. Maybe it isn't too late to go back to school and try to become a doctor to diagnose myself!
Hi word for word I relate to this, I dont know if you are in uk or not anyway. i shall explain mine here since last october i have felt awful started when i had alot of stress i started getting lightheaded dizzy i was even afraid getting in the bath incase i passed out, i couldnt seem to get rid of it, as the months went on i started with other symptoms, xmas i had two periods that month felt miserable didnt look forwrad to xmas and i love christmas usually. i was glad when it was over to be honest, i was up at 4am unable to sleep i got stomach cramps that were so bad i couldnt sleep, my periods then went where i had just two weeks of i was so tired the final straw for me was sitting around crying, for nothing didnt matter what i was doing or who i was with, i could be sat watching tv with my husband and start crying. my husband was great and still is but i new i couldnt cope with another month like that, anyway last summer i had a thyroid test that was fine i also had hormone tests they were border line for my age of now being 39 january, any way i asked my doctor as i was convinced i was peri, he said the same had i had no periods he would have said i was but as i am having periods he said no, he has diagnosed me with a hormone imbalance, why i dont know what has caused it havent got a clue, i forgot to mention i also have terrible dry skin on my face which he gave me some cream for which irritated my face and went 3 times worse, anyway he has put me on tablets utovlan norethisterone i have a few palpatations that scared me at first as before starting tablets i only got occasionally at night, i am also getting sore boobs, but its a small price to pay as this month this is all that has been wrong with me so far, i hope it lasts but i dont know, its early days really. but i can cope with life again, i believe most Drs know meno but dodnt believe there is a peri. i know i have the same stymptoms as everyone else, and my hormones are imbalanced so what else can it be, i dont care what my doctor calls it. but i know i wasnt feeling for 4 months me something was wrong,
Do not give up i knw what you are feeling i have been there, he also thinks i am to young. after being on here i realise i am not that young compared to others i think Doctors need re training or being introduced to power surge, we cant all be feeling this bad for nothing.
take care let me know how you get on.
Dear lucsmom, sunflower, Tots and LadyE
I started noticing that my cycle had changed from 3 or 4 periods a year to 12 periods in a year at 38-40. I was diagnosed with PCOS in 89 and treated for infertility. So I KNEW something was different. My GP said I was too young for anything menopause related (where have I heard that before?). Then I started feeling dizzy, headaches, waking in the night, vaginal dryness, dry skin and then pms symptoms, and feeling panicky and anxious and a racing heart. My GP wanted to treat me for the anxiety so I certainly can understand your frustration LadyE.
robin
I started noticing that my cycle had changed from 3 or 4 periods a year to 12 periods in a year at 38-40. I was diagnosed with PCOS in 89 and treated for infertility. So I KNEW something was different. My GP said I was too young for anything menopause related (where have I heard that before?). Then I started feeling dizzy, headaches, waking in the night, vaginal dryness, dry skin and then pms symptoms, and feeling panicky and anxious and a racing heart. My GP wanted to treat me for the anxiety so I certainly can understand your frustration LadyE.
robin
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