hi all,

im a newbie and forgive me if these questions has been asked before.........but

i started my periods when i was 11 and had what i thought was very normal regular monthly cycles and the only time my periods stopped was when i had both my two children and a M/C, i am 40 years old now and still regular (or at least i was!!) my last period was may this year and havent seen anything since, though ive had all the symptoms.i:e sore breasts since middle of may! lower backache, a few light cramps and some light spotting a few days after june and this months supposed periods, i have been to the dr as was worried i might be pregnant.........2 HPT were neg and the blood test dr did was neg (though im not sure what one she ordered.qualitive or quantitive) these were all done 2 weeks after i missed my 1st period in june.so i thought ok.....im NOT pregnant and waited til this month..NADA!! ive had no hot flashes, no sleeping probs etc and my mother went through the menopause at around 47/48 years old.


someone got me worried the other day by saying when you go through the perimenopause your hormones are all over the place and that a HPT doesnt always pick up the HCG levels till alot later and that she was almost 20weeks pregnant when she found out at 45 years old!!!

so my questions are.could i be going through the perimenopause? menopause? or suffering one of these weird pregnancies???!!!

i thank you all in advance for taking the time to read this rather long topic x

You are not too young to start perimenopause and the symptoms you describe are symptoms many suffer. The symptoms you are describing could be phantom periods. This is where a woman will get all or some of the physical signs suggesting a period is coming on but the bleeding. I was in peri menopause several years before reaching menopause and suffered a myriad of symptoms including the phantom periods.

I am not a doctor nor in the medical field. I may be missing it in your post but I can't find where you say when you went to the doctor. If it was within the last few weeks, according to what I have read, it would be highly unlikely you are pregnant, being this far from your last period.

Many hormones do fluctuate as a woman get's closer to menopause however it is my understanding hCG is not one of them. I would suggest calling your doctor and asking if the blood test she ran was a quantitative blood test also known as a beta hCG test which will actually show your hCG level or units, unlike the qualitative which is basically a yes or no test.

Oh...and welcome to Power Surge.

hi

thank you so much for your reply, in answer to your query regarding when i went to the dr, it was 2 weeks after my missed period in june, my period for this month (july) was due 8 days ago..................if i am indeed peri is this normal?? and will i get another period or have i gone straight into menopause? does that happen?

Peri-menopause and menopause is different for every woman. Although some studies suggest hereditary plays a role (ie mom, grandmother, sisters, etc) there is no proven study. Let me give you my personal example.

My mother had a hysterectomy at around the age of 45 so I can't use her as an example. My grandmother (maternal) started menopause (complete cessation of periods for 12 consecutive months at 55. She has passed so I can't ask her but even if she were still alive she wouldn't have talked about it.

My older sister's periods stopped at the age of 45 and she never had another one nor did she suffer any peri symptoms before stopping. She sailed right through on the wings of victory.

My younger sister, is 44 and her periods are as regular as sun up.

I, on the other hand, started peri at about 40-42 (only realized this after finding this board and realizing I wasn't dying) and now at 50 have been without a period for near 16 months so I am, by definition, in menopause.

Here is a link to a list of 34 symptoms of menopause. It doesn't, in my opinion, touch on many of the mental aspects of the hormonal changes but Dearest really helped me understand what was going on with my body. Suffice it to say, this list sums up fairly accurately the physical changes I went through. REMEMBER, WE ARE ALL DIFFERENT!

http://www.power-surge.com/educate/34symptoms.htm

There is a vast amount of information on the site regarding peri and menopause. Take your time in reading it.

degrey,

I want to encourage you to follow up with your doctor so she can decide if other tests need to be run. A thyroid test and complete blood panel would be two test I would want run.

Are you noticing NO other changes?

Hi Degrey=girl,
Welcome to Power-Surge.

Menopause and Preiminapause is different for most Women. One Women might have 1 symton and another says I dont get that. Everyone is different.

I used to have a regular period every month then one month last year it didnt come and I thought oh no Im pregnant. After 2 blood tests and a pregnancy test which all turned out negative im pleased to say.
It can be so scary when you think at 41 yuo may be pregnant but Im so pleased that I wasnt as I have 2 children. A Son aged 12 and a Daughter aged 10 and dont want anymore.

Take care. From Deb

hi sara714,

i havent had any other changes and thats why its TOTALLY thrown me that ive just STOPPED, my periods have been regular 28/29 day cycles that last 5/6 days day 1 light, day 2,3,4, heavier and days 5/6 tailing off, i often have the sore breasts 1 to 2weeks before AF along with the bloating, heavy feeling and a few cramps when i actually start my period, the only thing different that i noticed was my may cycle which was bang on 28 days lasted for 5 days (as usual) mid cycle had sore breasts for a few days and that stopped (unusual for me) so i assumed i was having a good cycle with no PMS symptoms lol.... then never got my june period, but two days after that was supposed to turn up i had what looked like pink colour CM (something ive NEVER had happen before) when i wiped twice that day and nothing but since junes missed period and this months missed period ive had non stop SORE breasts, lower back ache and felt uncomfortably bloated?? weird or what??

hi deb,

thanks for your reply hun, im in exactly the same boat! lol i have two sons the youngest is 12 going on 13 and i would be in SHOCK if the dr said i was pregnant at my age!....i know it wouldnt be the end of the world and i know my hubby and i would cope and love and cherish another child but mine are off my hands nearly and i LOVE the FREEDOM!! .my question for you is..did your periods return or just stop completely? and are they the same as before or heavier etc?

Bless your heart, it's maddening isn't it?

Degrey, you may end up getting your period and you may not. You may use the toilet and go to wipe and BAM! there it is. As I posted earlier my sister sailed through the whole process without a noticeable symptom. We are all so different. If you are indeed in peri, other symptoms may start and then again they may not.

When I had my phantom periods I spent an embarrassing amount on the toilet wiping and praying I'd see blood..my breast, lower back hurt so bad and I was sooooo bloated I thought for sure I was getting ready to blow up! Alas, nothing. Just when I'd finally give up and surrender to the "fact" I was just nuts...I'd get my darn period for like a day . There was literally no rhyme or reason to it. I believe it was government plot to drive me insane.. and it nearly worked..until I found Power Surge .

A definitive ruling out of pregnancy is important and if that remains negative then tests to determine where your hormone levels are at could be run. As I posted earlier a thyroid and blood panel would be a good idea, imo.

Did your doctor give you a complete pelvic exam?

sara714,


no dr is utterly useless!! im in the uk and they like to sweep it under the carpet here!! i did ask when i went if i might be peri and all i got was "OH NO YOURE FAR TOO YOUNG" why do they have to be SO patronizing, i hate going to the drs at the best of times without being made to feel like im going totally cuckoo! and all this is from a WOMAN doctor! admittedly shes probably only about 30 years old but its something shes gotta go through herself yet! all i got offered was a blood test to check if i was pregnant, like i said earlier im not sure if it was a qualitive or quantitive, but i will go back this week and ask for some more tests, 1 i think is it the FSH? would that tell me much? as for the thyriod, i had that checked last year because it was enlarged and it came back ok (needle biopsy) at the local hospital, so i know thats probably ok.

sarah

Sarah,

I would STILL have a TSH done to check your thyroid..if it were me.

Below is from Power Surge (PS). To read more, click on this link:

http://www.power-surge.com/educate/menopausetests.htm

"Follicle-Stimulating Hormone (FSH) test -- a blood test that checks the level of the FSH. When it is above ovulation range, menopause is complete. This test usually just verifies what you already know -- that you have gone through a hormonal change. It isn't helpful in the peri-menopausal stage. It doesn't give you the information you need to manage this change. Insist that you have a blood test that also checks levels of estrogen, progesterone, testosterone and other hormones at mid-cycle. Contrary to popular belief, estrogen is not the only hormone that changes during this transition."

sara

sara


thank you so much for all your info hun, i will ask about the tsh test and anything else dr suggests, which will hopefully put my mind at rest i will let you know how i get on at the drs this week (assuming i can get an appointment!!) lol

sarah

You're more then welcome. Please don't hesitate to come here, at any time, all the time if you need to. Getting these fears and thoughts out of our head as well as encouragement, experience and suggestions can make ALL the difference in the world.

I'm quite curious to see how you get on, so please keep us all informed.

sara