I'm having multiple, daily hot flashes that almost always seem to come mid-afternoon, after I eat. They start with burning ears, then progress to a prickly, intense heat across my face. My cheeks get a blotchy flush that lasts for at minimum an hour, sometimes two or even longer. Then, my neck and chest, or maybe my arms, get warm until I'm back to normal. During my heat explosions, I'll be freezing across the rest of my body. So, does this happen to others?
I'm still very new to this menopause thing; in fact, I'm still not even certain that this is perimenopause/menopause starting up, though I suspect it is. I was perfectly normal until three months ago when out of nowhere, my always regular cycle shortened by eight days with a drastically minimized flow, I began having nausea and what I can only call 'metal mouth' for the week post-ovulation, and then, of course, these bizarre hot flashes. At first, I though “Maybe pregnancy?” since all my troubles started following sex around ovulation time. However, once my period arrived I knew something else was amiss. Making it worse, I'm over a decade early for all this and so my doctor doesn't fully believe me, even though he is considering sending me for tests if it doesn't stop. I admit that I'm more than a bit nervous, so forgive me if I sound scatterbrained. I'm so not ready for menopause - my mother hadn't even had me yet when she was my age!
Full Version: Is this how it sometimes starts?
Welcome to PS
I went through early meno at 40 so get all the tests you can have done. Mine was due to thyroid issues. So now I see an endo doctor on a regular basis. My mom was 42 when she had me. So I really can't ask her how her menopause went. She doesn't remember! Definitly check into it and keep us posted. You will love it here.... Char
I went through early meno at 40 so get all the tests you can have done. Mine was due to thyroid issues. So now I see an endo doctor on a regular basis. My mom was 42 when she had me. So I really can't ask her how her menopause went. She doesn't remember! Definitly check into it and keep us posted. You will love it here.... Char
BC....You have just described my hotflashes when they staretd and when they started my periods also started coming earlier and earlier to where I was getting them 2x a mo. for 2+ years....I guess be thankful they are light because mine weren't and at 2x times a mo. heavy anemia became a problem.
The chill is a precurser for me to a flash and I will feel both hot (ears,head,neck and chest) and chilled (hands, feet and core).
Severe/frequent flashes can cause nausea, headaches, palpitations, dizziness, tinly/numbness and for me detachment/anxiety
When you say your too early for all this ( don't know how old you are) remember the time before actually stopping your periods can last, for some, a really long time, many years. my flashes started when I was 38 and at first Dr's said I was too young to experience such severe hormonal symptoms....I just turned 42 had testing done 3x over 2+ years and watched my hormones gradually decline untill most recently Jan. 2009 my results show post menopause #'s and over the past few mo. my periods have become farther and farther apart, now it has been 2 mo. since the last so as you see the process is long and slow....so too early probably isn't and the hotflashes could be your first sign something is changing. HUGS Mikki
The chill is a precurser for me to a flash and I will feel both hot (ears,head,neck and chest) and chilled (hands, feet and core).
Severe/frequent flashes can cause nausea, headaches, palpitations, dizziness, tinly/numbness and for me detachment/anxiety
When you say your too early for all this ( don't know how old you are) remember the time before actually stopping your periods can last, for some, a really long time, many years. my flashes started when I was 38 and at first Dr's said I was too young to experience such severe hormonal symptoms....I just turned 42 had testing done 3x over 2+ years and watched my hormones gradually decline untill most recently Jan. 2009 my results show post menopause #'s and over the past few mo. my periods have become farther and farther apart, now it has been 2 mo. since the last so as you see the process is long and slow....so too early probably isn't and the hotflashes could be your first sign something is changing. HUGS Mikki
Thanks to both of you for responding. The more I've been reading, the more I think it's possible that I might be one of the many women I'm finding online who entered menopause early, even those just turning 30. It's seemingly not as uncommon as folks are telling me!
I've been suspecting a thyroid issue; my mother had to have hers removed a week after I was born. It turns out she had zero thyroid function throughout her pregnancy. Her grandmother and mother also suffered from serious thyroid disorders but none of them saw menopause before 50. Anyhow, my thyroid is consistently monitored but perhaps something has gone very wrong since my last tests. I'll see if focusing on a possible thyroid dysfunction brings me better luck with my doctor.
If I seem abnormally distressed about early peri/menopause well, I have worries about the long-term consequences. I have a congenital bone weakness for which I've had surgery (and, incidentally, large doses of radiation right through my lower abdomen since I was a small girl), plus almost all the women over 50 on both sides of my family have had osteoporosis, so I'm very concerned about any links with lowered estrogen and bone density issues. I'd want to go on hormone replacement therapy asap (I know, not a popular choice but in my case the benefits outweigh the risks). Complicating it all, I'm childless and had still hoped to start a family, which is making me an emotional wreck worrying if this is really the arrival of menopause.
I did ask my mom about her menopause; it was smooth, trouble free and right on schedule around age 51. Of course, she was also one of those ladies who had symptom-less pregnancy so her experiences don't exactly reflect the norm. Like my doctor, she thinks anything before 45 is way too young without a family history of early menopause. Still, I'm concerned. I'm athletic, slim and not prone to unexplained medical complaints. I know my own body and something is definitely very abnormal. It seems like my insides have just gone haywire overnight.
I've been suspecting a thyroid issue; my mother had to have hers removed a week after I was born. It turns out she had zero thyroid function throughout her pregnancy. Her grandmother and mother also suffered from serious thyroid disorders but none of them saw menopause before 50. Anyhow, my thyroid is consistently monitored but perhaps something has gone very wrong since my last tests. I'll see if focusing on a possible thyroid dysfunction brings me better luck with my doctor.
If I seem abnormally distressed about early peri/menopause well, I have worries about the long-term consequences. I have a congenital bone weakness for which I've had surgery (and, incidentally, large doses of radiation right through my lower abdomen since I was a small girl), plus almost all the women over 50 on both sides of my family have had osteoporosis, so I'm very concerned about any links with lowered estrogen and bone density issues. I'd want to go on hormone replacement therapy asap (I know, not a popular choice but in my case the benefits outweigh the risks). Complicating it all, I'm childless and had still hoped to start a family, which is making me an emotional wreck worrying if this is really the arrival of menopause.
I did ask my mom about her menopause; it was smooth, trouble free and right on schedule around age 51. Of course, she was also one of those ladies who had symptom-less pregnancy so her experiences don't exactly reflect the norm. Like my doctor, she thinks anything before 45 is way too young without a family history of early menopause. Still, I'm concerned. I'm athletic, slim and not prone to unexplained medical complaints. I know my own body and something is definitely very abnormal. It seems like my insides have just gone haywire overnight.
I would suggest you have a complete hormone panel done, not just the TSH test. Many ladies on here will tell you that their TSH levels were normal, but they still had thyroid problems!!
I also know of a few women who became completely menopausal before age 40, it is not out of the realm of possibility. I would agree that you should take hormone replacement, if your hormones are declining at such a young age (I am assuming you are around 30ish). Those hormones do offer a lot of protection, that I believe we should have.
Good luck, and I hope you get to the bottom this soon.
I also know of a few women who became completely menopausal before age 40, it is not out of the realm of possibility. I would agree that you should take hormone replacement, if your hormones are declining at such a young age (I am assuming you are around 30ish). Those hormones do offer a lot of protection, that I believe we should have.
Good luck, and I hope you get to the bottom this soon.
QUOTE (Curiously Bouncy @ Feb 28 2009, 06:38 PM) 
Thanks to both of you for responding. The more I've been reading, the more I think it's possible that I might be one of the many women I'm finding online who entered menopause early, even those just turning 30. It's seemingly not as uncommon as folks are telling me!
I've been suspecting a thyroid issue; my mother had to have hers removed a week after I was born. It turns out she had zero thyroid function throughout her pregnancy. Her grandmother and mother also suffered from serious thyroid disorders but none of them saw menopause before 50. Anyhow, my thyroid is consistently monitored but perhaps something has gone very wrong since my last tests. I'll see if focusing on a possible thyroid dysfunction brings me better luck with my doctor.
If I seem abnormally distressed about early peri/menopause well, I have worries about the long-term consequences. I have a congenital bone weakness for which I've had surgery (and, incidentally, large doses of radiation right through my lower abdomen since I was a small girl), plus almost all the women over 50 on both sides of my family have had osteoporosis, so I'm very concerned about any links with lowered estrogen and bone density issues. I'd want to go on hormone replacement therapy asap (I know, not a popular choice but in my case the benefits outweigh the risks). Complicating it all, I'm childless and had still hoped to start a family, which is making me an emotional wreck worrying if this is really the arrival of menopause.
I did ask my mom about her menopause; it was smooth, trouble free and right on schedule around age 51. Of course, she was also one of those ladies who had symptom-less pregnancy so her experiences don't exactly reflect the norm. Like my doctor, she thinks anything before 45 is way too young without a family history of early menopause. Still, I'm concerned. I'm athletic, slim and not prone to unexplained medical complaints. I know my own body and something is definitely very abnormal. It seems like my insides have just gone haywire overnight.
I've been suspecting a thyroid issue; my mother had to have hers removed a week after I was born. It turns out she had zero thyroid function throughout her pregnancy. Her grandmother and mother also suffered from serious thyroid disorders but none of them saw menopause before 50. Anyhow, my thyroid is consistently monitored but perhaps something has gone very wrong since my last tests. I'll see if focusing on a possible thyroid dysfunction brings me better luck with my doctor.
If I seem abnormally distressed about early peri/menopause well, I have worries about the long-term consequences. I have a congenital bone weakness for which I've had surgery (and, incidentally, large doses of radiation right through my lower abdomen since I was a small girl), plus almost all the women over 50 on both sides of my family have had osteoporosis, so I'm very concerned about any links with lowered estrogen and bone density issues. I'd want to go on hormone replacement therapy asap (I know, not a popular choice but in my case the benefits outweigh the risks). Complicating it all, I'm childless and had still hoped to start a family, which is making me an emotional wreck worrying if this is really the arrival of menopause.
I did ask my mom about her menopause; it was smooth, trouble free and right on schedule around age 51. Of course, she was also one of those ladies who had symptom-less pregnancy so her experiences don't exactly reflect the norm. Like my doctor, she thinks anything before 45 is way too young without a family history of early menopause. Still, I'm concerned. I'm athletic, slim and not prone to unexplained medical complaints. I know my own body and something is definitely very abnormal. It seems like my insides have just gone haywire overnight.
Dear'Curiously Bouncy'
You are right in saying that you know your body best and with that in mind really recommend a full Hormonal plus thyroid work up.
I was fully Menopausal at 39-not just Peri-but the real deal.I too chose to go on HRT and have been happy with it.Once you know where you stand medically you will be better able to make proactive decisions about your plan of action with your Gyno
Anyway you have come to the right place for support and genuine concern from all the lovely ladies on this Forum.Please keep us posted
Warm Wishes
Elizabeth
Just want to add a hearty welcome to Power Surge. 
My issues are very different from yours, but I will leave you in the excellent hands of the others... Please come around often. I look forward to getting to know you.
Warmest wishes,
Marcy
My issues are very different from yours, but I will leave you in the excellent hands of the others... Please come around often. I look forward to getting to know you.Warmest wishes,
Marcy
It really sounds like a hot flash to me! I have had a hot flash just in my ear lobe. Welcome to peri and PS!
QUOTE (Curiously Bouncy @ Feb 27 2009, 03:20 PM)
I'm having multiple, daily hot flashes that almost always seem to come mid-afternoon, after I eat. They start with burning ears, then progress to a prickly, intense heat across my face. My cheeks get a blotchy flush that lasts for at minimum an hour, sometimes two or even longer. Then, my neck and chest, or maybe my arms, get warm until I'm back to normal. During my heat explosions, I'll be freezing across the rest of my body. So, does this happen to others?
I'm still very new to this menopause thing; in fact, I'm still not even certain that this is perimenopause/menopause starting up, though I suspect it is. I was perfectly normal until three months ago when out of nowhere, my always regular cycle shortened by eight days with a drastically minimized flow, I began having nausea and what I can only call 'metal mouth' for the week post-ovulation, and then, of course, these bizarre hot flashes. At first, I though "Maybe pregnancy?" since all my troubles started following sex around ovulation time. However, once my period arrived I knew something else was amiss. Making it worse, I'm over a decade early for all this and so my doctor doesn't fully believe me, even though he is considering sending me for tests if it doesn't stop. I admit that I'm more than a bit nervous, so forgive me if I sound scatterbrained. I'm so not ready for menopause - my mother hadn't even had me yet when she was my age!
I'm still very new to this menopause thing; in fact, I'm still not even certain that this is perimenopause/menopause starting up, though I suspect it is. I was perfectly normal until three months ago when out of nowhere, my always regular cycle shortened by eight days with a drastically minimized flow, I began having nausea and what I can only call 'metal mouth' for the week post-ovulation, and then, of course, these bizarre hot flashes. At first, I though "Maybe pregnancy?" since all my troubles started following sex around ovulation time. However, once my period arrived I knew something else was amiss. Making it worse, I'm over a decade early for all this and so my doctor doesn't fully believe me, even though he is considering sending me for tests if it doesn't stop. I admit that I'm more than a bit nervous, so forgive me if I sound scatterbrained. I'm so not ready for menopause - my mother hadn't even had me yet when she was my age!
Curious...I hope you get your hormones tested because it sounds to me that, even at such a young age, you are experiencing estrogen decline... I would try to get them to test your female hormones in the follicular phase (day 1-3 of your cycle) and the luteal phase (day 19-21)... It also sounds like that from your symptoms, your estrogen levels are dipping more than they should in the luteal phase therefore creating the hot flashes, nausea, etc...
I would like to add that you are very young, and that because you are so young most doctors are not going to want to supplement (other than BCP's and that may work for you) or believe you for that matter. Listen to your body, however, and if this doctor doesn't get to the bottom of the issue, please find another one who is more receptive.
Best Wishes...
TJ
Sounds like a hot flash to me.
I have been dealing with them for the last 3 yrs and the last month up til now has been awful !!
good luck
I have been dealing with them for the last 3 yrs and the last month up til now has been awful !!
good luck
Sorry to have taken so long to check in; it's quite rude of me to post a question and then leave without following up on the responses!
Thanks so much everyone for the warm welcomes. Honestly, I'd rather not be here – I'm in no way psychologically ready for menopause – but it looks like that's what life has planned for me. My cycles have shortened even further, with my latest starting today on only day 19. I feel so sick all the time and that's put me in a mood where even thinking about my changing body makes me want to cry. It's all happening so crazily fast. I went from clockwork regular with never so much as a hint of PMS before the holiday season to this....constantly bloated, losing my hair in clumps, dry but acne-covered skin, and horrible back pains for days leading up to my spotty period, literally overnight. I haven't had a chance to adjust. All I keep thinking is “no children” and “prematurely aged”. People are telling me how awful I look. I'm just so sad about the whole thing, and still haven't been able to get any medical tests to try and understand how and why menopause has arrived so soon and so violently.
All in all, I'm an emotional wreck, which is somewhat out of character for me. I never expected entering menopause to be this scary.
Thanks so much everyone for the warm welcomes. Honestly, I'd rather not be here – I'm in no way psychologically ready for menopause – but it looks like that's what life has planned for me. My cycles have shortened even further, with my latest starting today on only day 19. I feel so sick all the time and that's put me in a mood where even thinking about my changing body makes me want to cry. It's all happening so crazily fast. I went from clockwork regular with never so much as a hint of PMS before the holiday season to this....constantly bloated, losing my hair in clumps, dry but acne-covered skin, and horrible back pains for days leading up to my spotty period, literally overnight. I haven't had a chance to adjust. All I keep thinking is “no children” and “prematurely aged”. People are telling me how awful I look. I'm just so sad about the whole thing, and still haven't been able to get any medical tests to try and understand how and why menopause has arrived so soon and so violently.
All in all, I'm an emotional wreck, which is somewhat out of character for me. I never expected entering menopause to be this scary.
Hormones are a huge factor here, you might want to get them tested.
Also, a full thyroid panel, since it seems many women start having thyroid problems in peri:
anti-TPO antibodies
anti-thyroglobulin antibodies
TSH
free T4
free T3 (both must be the *free* fraction)
And check you serum ferritin (storage iron) and B12 (the urinary MMA test) to check for anemia
Also, a full thyroid panel, since it seems many women start having thyroid problems in peri:
anti-TPO antibodies
anti-thyroglobulin antibodies
TSH
free T4
free T3 (both must be the *free* fraction)
And check you serum ferritin (storage iron) and B12 (the urinary MMA test) to check for anemia
I'd like to get some, if not all, of the tests being recommended but the decision isn't mine. It really comes down to what my doctor considers appropriate as he's the one who orders the tests. I can ask, but he doesn't have to agree, and so far he hasn't. I'm going to try again next month.
I'm doing my very best to regain any calm but I'm finding that so difficult. Perpetual, every-day-of-the-month PMS is definately affecting me but the emotional aspects are getting out of hand. I've never gone this route but I'm starting to think I may need to consider psychological help. All I do is cry constantly – it's ruining my ability to cope with everything else! I just can't shake the feeling my life is over; my youth, my dreams of a family – poof, gone overnight. I find I just don't care about anything anymore.
There is one thing I can laugh about though; for the first time ever, I'm getting fat! My waistline has gone all bloated without any change of diet. I've read (yes, I've been doing a ton of reading this past week) that weight gain around the midsection is common in peri/menopause so I assume that's what I'm seeing. In my case, where I've never really had a female shape (I'm not even an A cup and can't wear most womens pants as they bag out at the hips – I shop in the mens and kids sections) a few extra fat layers could be a bonus!
Anyway, thanks everyone for the advice and support. I suppose I should drop this thread now and poke around in other parts of the site to see what else I can learn. I know this is going to be a difficult transition for me so I don't plan to talk too much – I'm afraid I'd just drone on whining all the time – but I also think that reading what others have learned about this stage of life will, if not put my mind at ease, at least educate me as to what I should expect over the coming months.
Thanks again.
I'm doing my very best to regain any calm but I'm finding that so difficult. Perpetual, every-day-of-the-month PMS is definately affecting me but the emotional aspects are getting out of hand. I've never gone this route but I'm starting to think I may need to consider psychological help. All I do is cry constantly – it's ruining my ability to cope with everything else! I just can't shake the feeling my life is over; my youth, my dreams of a family – poof, gone overnight. I find I just don't care about anything anymore.
There is one thing I can laugh about though; for the first time ever, I'm getting fat! My waistline has gone all bloated without any change of diet. I've read (yes, I've been doing a ton of reading this past week) that weight gain around the midsection is common in peri/menopause so I assume that's what I'm seeing. In my case, where I've never really had a female shape (I'm not even an A cup and can't wear most womens pants as they bag out at the hips – I shop in the mens and kids sections) a few extra fat layers could be a bonus!
Anyway, thanks everyone for the advice and support. I suppose I should drop this thread now and poke around in other parts of the site to see what else I can learn. I know this is going to be a difficult transition for me so I don't plan to talk too much – I'm afraid I'd just drone on whining all the time – but I also think that reading what others have learned about this stage of life will, if not put my mind at ease, at least educate me as to what I should expect over the coming months.
Thanks again.
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