Hi,

I feel like I was a totally different person two months ago. Now I feel like I am going nuts.
My last period was the middle of July. I have been clockwork regular for 32 years (I am 43). Except for my three pregnancies, I have never been late. I have now skipped two periods, I am bloated, dizzy, feel like I have constant motion sickness, which makes me nauseated. I havent really had hot flashes, just feel uncomfortably warm once in a while (mild). My heart does race off and on. I feel nervous when it does that.

Went to the OB/GYN. He ran prolactin test, thyroid test and pregnancy test (husband has had vasectomy for 10 years). All were normal. Pregnancy test was negative. My FSH was 41. He said this was normal too. (From what I have read, this seems high). He told me it was too early for menopause and that he is betting I will get my period. I just want to feel better at this point. My mother and grandmother were both 46 and according to my mother, her period just stopped and that was it. No symptoms. My Dr. said this was unusual.

So, is this menopause, perimenopause? Will I feel like this forever? Oh, and the worst thing is I have started a diet and havent lost any weight. This week I actually GAINED a pound. But, like I said, I feel very bloated, all my rings are tight. I am hoping that is the reason for the gain. I really feel like I did when I was pregnant, but I know it isnt that. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I am due for yearly pap next month, so I will be going back to the Dr.

Hi Aymeee and welcome to Power Surge. I am also 43, but still have regular periods. They have been at times early, 2 in a month, scattered when they do come, etc., but never missed one. I, however, have some of your other symptoms, like the heart racing and the nervousness. I do have hot flashes at times, especially when I am in a store that is air conditioned. I don't really get doctors that tell women we are too young. Just because the average age to stop altogether periods is 51, so for some reason they are fixated on that age. They don't seem to want to talk about the fact that a women has at least 10 (some longer/some shorter) years of PERImenopause. I guess they don't think that exists. They figure what, one day it will just stop and that is it. Do they not think that it is a process of slowly winding down and of course we are going to feel that change. I mean come on, we are sensitive to our bodies and we do feel even the slightest change taking place.

Anyhow, you are not too young, but YES, the possibility exists that your period will come back, which is normal in perimenopause and be warned it might be extremely heavy due to not having it for 2 months. And, you just might be repeating it, one month period, next month none. Please know that we all know what you are feeling and it is not pleasant, but who said the "change" was right? LOL. By the way, I have friends, 2 actually, who have stopped having their periods at ages 40 and 43 and it has never returned. It is actually more common than we realize. Take Care and again Welcome .

Dear Aymeee,

Hello and welcome to Power Surge.

I have taken a very different peri/meno path, so I cannot relate personally to what you are describing. But lots of women here can. Hang in, and by day's end, you will have an enormous amount of collective wisdom to draw on.

I wish you speedy relief from your symptoms.

Very best,
Marcy

Hello Aymeee. Welcome to PS . It's good that you saw a doctor, and I'm not surprised at his response. For some reason it seems as if not many doctors have heard of perimenopause. I know that I hadn't until I began researching my symptoms on the internet in an attempt to find what was going on with me.

Doctors are fixated with that supposingly magical number, 51, for menopause. Because of this many of us have not received the care and treatment that is needed to make this transition smoother.

I began having symptoms at 38, but hit what I call full blown perimenopause at the age of 41. That is when the anxiety, depression, panic attack, and more irregular periods began, just to list a few symptoms. Yet, I was still told that I was too young. Even when my estradiol blood levels came back low, my doctor said it was still with in the "normal" range . I don't understand how your can say it is normal to go from levels that are 200+ to now 40 and not think that I would not experience some "withdrawal" symptoms . Okay, let me refocus .

You are at the right place to receive a wealth of support and priceless information. Please check out this site, keep posting, and rest assured in knowing that you are not alone.

Hi there. Like you I had regular periods all my life until at the age of 49 I had a four month gap. Pretty soon after my last regular period I started experiencing mild hot flushes and high levels of anxiety such as I'd never known before. My FSH level during this period was 45 which my GP said indicated I was "well into menopause" (I guess she meant peri as I discovered later that menopause is when you've been without a period for 12 months).

Although I was older than you, I just wanted to say that I was normal one minute, with regular periods and no peri symptoms just as I'd been all my life, then experienced peri symptoms within a month or two of what turned out to be my last regular period. What you describe doesn't seem to be at all unusual for this board.

My GP dealt with this by prescribing cyclical HRT which restored my periods to once every 28 days. I'm not necessarily recommending this to you however - supplementing with hormones is an individual choice. It took away the hot flushes but didn't deal at all with the mood symptoms I was experiencing.

After about a year or so on HRT my periods became more scant and infrequent and eventually seemed to have stopped, at which point I came off HRT.

Like your mother, my mother also said her periods just stopped and she experienced no symptoms. She was 55 when her periods stopped. From my experience I don't think there's always a connection between our mother's menopause and what we experience!

If you feel bloated, I suspect you will get your period but as someone said above, it may be heavy. Intermittent periods in peri are quite normal. After stopping HRT I had a gap of ten months at one point without a period, followed by three perfectly normal periods at two monthly intervals. Since then I've had nothing and suspect I'm now post menopausal.

Hi Aymee,

I am 44. I, too, was told I was "too young" when all this started when I was 40. I had several tests done, all were normal. Both my mother and sister had their last period at age 46. They did not breeze through it either ( well my Mom claims it wasn't "that bad" but I remember her 30 years ago sitting in a chair drenched with sweat all day long!)...LOL...I have been skipping periods for 3 years now. I have gone up to 3 months without one but.....I have all the symptoms like you describe, bloating especially. Cramping and headaches every day too. Don't be surprised if your period shows up.

This is a hard time. I just tell myself that EVERYTHING is perimenopause related! Makes things easier. If not, I would be in a doctors office every week. Things seem to come and disappear. One doctor told me to give something atleast 2 weeks, and if it doesn't go away or atleast get better, then I should come in. It has worked out great cause everything does seem to go away on its own.

I have had the heart palps and anxiety too. My doctor gave me a script for Klonopin but there are many other things you can try. They also help you sleep better too.

Good luck to you and come back and read often. Anything you can possibly think of is on the this site. It will make you feel better to know you're not alone.

Hello Aymee...it sure sounds like peri to me. Dr. apparently are fixated on the age of 51 when mine started at around 44 and I am now 48 and 18 months post and still having a lot of symptoms. Hang in there....there are many things to try and you have to find out what works best for you. There is a wealth of information here to draw upon and some extremely compassionate and intellegent women who will walk with you through your journey and give you wonderful advice.

Hugs,
Karen

I am only 32 and have been dealing with peri for 2 or more years.Age really is not a factor.All women are different.It sounds like you are having hormonal problems to me,probably peri.Make sure they check your thyroid just to be safe.Welcome to power surge.GOD-bless

Aymeee, welcome and mega hugs coming your way. My doctor told me I was 'too young for menopause' too. I totally agree with the others when they say that some doctors just don't appreciate the perimenopausal stage in our lives.

You know your body. Trust yourself and don't be afraid to get second opinions if you feel you need to.

Thanks to everyone who responded. You all made me feel much better. It is nice to know you are not alone with all of this. You actually gave me much more information than my OB/GYN so maybe I should send his payment here?!

I am hesitant to do HRT because I have a mild clotting factor issue. I have never had a blood clot, but I am predisposed to it so I would be scared to do that unless I really couldnt bear the symptoms. I am going to try to eat more soy and just generally try to take care of myself right now, kind of how I did when I was pregnant. Hopefully I wont have to go for years with this but I am sure I could.

Does anyone know anything that helps with water retention? I guess maybe I will try cutting out salt.
thanks again.

cutting salt,exercise,drinking water,and I think evening primrose is also good for bloating-but I am not sure.GOD-bless

AYMEEE - Welcome aboard - you've come to a great place for help and support! I feel pretty much like you do - especially the motion sickness/nausea. I call it morning sickness because mine is often worse in the morning, but often lasts all day. Sure squashes your appetite. I also have a variety of other peri symptoms - night sweats (about 3/night) , insomnia (Tylenol PM helps sometimes, some anxiety, the occasional dizzies and lots of fatigue! I have felt pretty awful for most of the past year. I am 51(the magic number!) and have had 3 light periods in the past 12 months. I MUST be getting close! I finally went to my OB/GYN yesterday. She drew blood to check my FSH level and said that I might actually be menopausal - we'll see, I guess. She gave me 3 options - start on an SSRI, HRT or birth control (which she didn't really want to do because my periods are so spread out and irregular). She really wanted me to try Celexa first before the HRT. Well, I took my first Celexa last night - BAD night! I got 2 hours sleep, then tossed and turned went to the bathroom for the rest of the time. I had the worst nausea all night, diarrhea today and haven't been able to eat much at all. I'm not going to take any more. I'll call her in a couple of days and ask to go the HRT route. This is such a long road. On the rare occasion that I actually get a good day, it's only a tease because then I feel rotten again the next. I really want to be done with this. Good luck Aymee - everyone is here to help you.

It is too bad you had such a bad time with the Celexa. I had to take it for migraine control and I LOVED it. I felt wonderful on it. The only bad thing was that it had some sexual side effects that werent great. I went off of it after a year or so when the migraines were under control.I would go on it again though, if it controlled these symptoms I am having. They say sometimes it takes a few weeks to adjust to it, maybe you would want to give it more time? I know I slept absolutely great on it, almost too great. I would oversleep my alarm.

It is too bad you had such a bad time with the Celexa. I had to take it for migraine control and I LOVED it. I felt wonderful on it. The only bad thing was that it had some sexual side effects that werent great. I went off of it after a year or so when the migraines were under control.I would go on it again though, if it controlled these symptoms I am having. They say sometimes it takes a few weeks to adjust to it, maybe you would want to give it more time? I know I slept absolutely great on it, almost too great. I would oversleep my alarm.

Sorry for the double post!

Hi Aymee, glad to see you and hugs to you.

I am 45 and started peri at 38. My periods are very weird and I have been told that I was too young as well. My gyno now tells that is peri and that the end of my periods is nearing quickly.

Hang in there, it is tough sometimes but come here and talk, it makes it a lot easier to handle when you know that you are not alone.

Hi Aymee,
43 here too.
I missed two periods a year ago and then they started back up again.
My periods this last few months have been whacko 16, 28 and then 37 days and I have had lots of symptoms this last month (hot wake ups and palpitations). I'm hoping it will smooth out again!!
I don't think anyone can predict what will happen for you, which is one of the hard things about this time. It does mean though that things can change, sometimes for the better and give you time to regroup!
Good luck :-)

Hi Aymee

I just joined yesterday and it seems as if I am in Peri. To think we would complain when we were having regular periods... Gosh! I wish I could turn the clock back! LOL

I felt Lousy yesterday and have done for the last 10 days but I woke up today and feel Fab, I hope it lasts..lol

Good Luck with any help these Ladies gve you, I am so glad I can turn to these lovely People!

Best Wishes hun!

Hi Aymee: Your doctor is just wrong, IMO. You aren't too young at all to be starting menopause. I started having symptoms in my late thirties, and my periods stopped cold 20 months ago at the age of 45. I agree with you that your FSH is a bit on the high side. The lab values depend on who is doing the testing, but usual FSH for menstruating women is between 7-20.

I wouldn't necessarily go on HRT unless your quality of life is seriously affected. I'm currently on 1 month of Prempro, after which I plan to start bio-identical hormones. I kicked and screamed against taking hormones but my symptoms..particularly the insomnia and hot flashes, got so severe I literally could not function. In fact, I'm pretty much still immobilized. I just started the Prempro (combination of estrogen and progestin) 3 days ago and it hasn't kicked in yet.

For bloating, do you like grapefruit? It's a great diuretic. Buy the pink ones, they're juicier and sweeter. Peel it like an orange and eat the whole thing with a big glass of water. And stay near a bathroom, 'cause you'll pee about 20 times afterwards! I have had a life long problem with water retention, and believe it or not, the best thing for it is to drink a lot of water. I know it sounds counter-intuitive...if you are retaining water, why would you want to drink more of it? But it really works. Try always having a glass of H2O in front of you. You'll know you're getting enough if you're peeing a lot and your urine is practically colorless.

This website is great; there is so much information crammed in here you could spend a month reading and still not get all of it. Click on the topics and you'll find all sorts of great tips and advice.

Welcome to our little (well, not so little) community---I look forward to getting to know you better!

Robin

Thanks Robin. I will try the grapefruit thing.

I am still feeling awful, lots of nausea and dizziness. One odd thing though, I DID ovulate this month, around the 19th. I can always feel when I ovulate and this time I felt it on both sides for several hours. I hadnt felt that for the last few months. I am now waiting to see if I get my period, I should have one around the 3rd of Oct. I think it may be my ovary's swan song, you know like on the fourth of july when they release tons of fireworks at the end. I think my ovaries released a bunch of eggs in the hope that maybe I could squeeze out one more baby! (not gonna happen, I am 43, oldest is in college, other two are 16 and 10, plus husband has been snipped) It wouldnt surprise me if this is it and I dont ever get another period!

Dear 'Aymeee'

A very big welcome to the Forum and so glad you joined us.Was reading all the girls Posts and sounds like you have got some great advice to be going on with

What is wrong with these Doctors.I was fully Menopausal at 39 so must have been peri. in late to early thirties without realising it.I was completely unprepared for the myriad of symptoms.I went the HRT route and it has worked well for me but a lot of ladies use various herbs,vitamins and supplements to get them back on track

It does all get better and each lady is different,some journeys are longer and harder than others.I am now 57,slim,active and fairly content with life

So stay strong
Lots of Luck
Elizabeth

Hi Aymee,

Hope you are feeling well. I think you were the one that mentioned Celexa. Did it work well for depression/anxiety? Did you experience any weight gain? I suffer from very bad anxiety and panic disorder. My dr prescribed Wellbutrin but the pharmacist said no if I was experiencing panic attacks - wellbutrin will only increase them. Was thinking about suggesting Celexa. A few years ago when this anxiety first reared its ugly head, I was placed on zoloft and xanax but the zoloft made me gain weight...don't want that to happen again.

Thanks for your input!
Tracey

Hi Aymeee,
Welcome to Power-Surge. Like you Im 42 and soon to be 43. My periods had been normal up untill last year when I missed my first one.

My first symptoms I noticed were swollen gums and last year I missed a period and thought oh no Im too old to get pregnant.
I went and had a pregnancy test which was negative and the following week had a blood test to make sure I wasnt pregnant and it was negative too. My Hubby wasnt too worried if I was pregnant or not but my youngest was 9 years and I thought to go through that again after 40 wasnt a good idea.

The Nurse said to me your too young to be going through Menopause. My Mother was 39 years old when she started to go through it so I think that has alot to do with what age you are when you start too.

You are in Preimenopause I think.

Hang in there Aymeee and I sure things will get better for you or you will get to know thw wonderful women here who can offer you lots of answers and support.

Take care from Deb.

Welcome Val,
to Power-Surge. I hope you feel able to pop in and say Hi whenever you want help with questions answered or anything?

Take care from Deb

Hi,
I had no issues with Celexa. I went on it when going through a very stressful period (lost both parents a year apart) and had terrible migraines. It stopped the migraines cold in 5 days and got me through that awful time. I was on it about a year and a half. I actually lost weight on Celexa. I have a tendency to stress eat, and the Celexa stopped that. I recently started it again to deal with all this peri anxiety. The only bad thing about Celexa is that it puts a damper on your sex life. We still had sex but it took an effort. Right now I dont care, I just want the anxiety to go away!

I hate those smiley faces! Mine was supposed to be at the end of my reply, believe me there was nothing "smily" about when I first went on the Celexa!