Hi everyone,
SOOOOO glad to have found this forum. I'll be 35 next month and have been having some weirdness with periods and I'm wondering if I might be starting peri-menopause. I haven't been on bc for about 2 years because the higher dose give me headaches and the low dose left me feeling like I was starting a period any second. The weirdness started in December. My periods usually come about every 26-28 days with the exception of three months here and there when it was 22 days. I used to have a pretty steady, heavier flow, but now it kind of comes and goes for a few days with two heavier days at the end lasting about 7 days total. I went to the dr in February and her answer was to put me on Yaz. That left me wanting to jump out a window!!! I had shakes, anxiety, intense hunger. Yuck. I stopped the Yaz.

After that episode in March I found that the night before the heavier flow I now have what I call "crazy night" -- I usually startle awake, have palps, hands and feet sweat, racing thoughts, upset stomach, anxiety. It's so miserable. It stopped for about 3 months but is happening again. I've also started have symptoms at ovulation -- back pain, feet sweating, some anxiety, headache, insomnia. I never knew you could have that stuff mid-cycle! I was in a highly air-conditioned Borders on Saturday and thought if I didn't get my socks and shoes off I would have a heat stroke!!

Anyway, I have another dr appt for next week to see what we might be able to do. Thyroid problems also crossed my mind (haven't had them before), but would all that happen just during ovulation and my period if it were thyroid? The upside is that aside from the 5 or 6 days a month that I feel like I can barely function, I actually feel pretty good. I just dread having to do all this each month.

Any advice, wisdom, etc. would be so very welcome!
Jen

Hi Jen,

Welcome to PS.

Firstly before jumping to the conclusion that you are in Peri as yet, although it sure sounds like it, I would get a blood work done. Full thyroid, and if possible, on day three of your cycle, an FSH test.

You don't mention how long you have been off the BC pills, so it could be your body readjusting, but it all sounds very familiar to me, and at 35, I was in Peri, and I had NO clue. I put all my symptoms, and they were much like yours, down to anxiety. Not so, as now I can look back and see they were weaker symptoms of the full blown Peri I am now in at 49. Yes, Peri can last a looooooong time, so if you are in Peri, buckle up for the ride, and read as much as you can here, and post any ?'s you want to. Many ladies will also be able to advise things to help your symptoms. I am happy you found this forum, as it has been a godsend to me.

Beware your doc may say "you are too young for Peri" ask for the bloodwork, and ask for a copy of the results.

Take Care!
Viktoria

Wooooooops my Peri mind you did say no BC pills for 2 years. OK, you sound in Peri to me. But still the thyroid needs checking. Sorry about this hun, it's called brain fog in the elderly.

Hi Jen,

Definitely get that thyroid checked. I had terrible muscle cramps (mostly legs) that I was attributing to peri. Turned out I had an underactive thyroid - very common for women of our age. Insomnia, anxiety, heavy flow, fatigue, weight gain are all symptoms of hypothyroidism.

Might be PMDD also. If you do not know what that is, it is a REALLY bad case of PMS.