I keep waiting for my period to skip a month so that I can be sure that all of the crap I'm going through is because of perimenopause. But I confess to secretly worrying that this is not the case, at all, and that something else is going on with me.

I'm 44 years old and had a pretty bad year of depression when I turned 40. Then came out of that to some degree for a year or two. Then noticed the anxiety settling in. I dealt with weird bouts of that (and stuttering/stammering) for about a year and well, now I'm on drugs to manage it!

But my periods are normal. The past several months they were a few days earlier than usual but that's it. Also, I don't cramp anywhere near as bad as I used to but I wonder if that's due to the antidepressants.

Anyone have any thoughts?

I find myself googling "Alzheimer's smell test" a lot these days. Trying to see if I'm a goner. (I actually intentionally bought strawberries today to see if I could smell them.)

Please share your thoughts.

Tired of freaking out ...

Sukie

Hi Sukie:

I started having symptoms at 35 but my periods remained the same until I was almost 40. I noticed then that I was getting them frequently for a while then I would 6-7 weeks without one. I am still having periods but not sure when they will come. I still have two a month alot of the time but this last was 5 weeks coming.

I hope this helps some.

Hugs to you,
Jeaninne

My periods are still fairly regular. I usually go 24-28 days between. I have never been late and never skipped. I have lots of peri symptoms. I was a person who had no pms symptoms at all "back in the day" but more and more since I've turned 40. Some months I feel like a totally insane crazy person around the time of my period. So, yes, I believe in the peri thing even though my periods are "regular" and "normal".

Sukie,

The fact that your cycle is a little shorter now is a sure indicator that you are in peri. That was my initial sign as well, then they started to get disgustingly heavy! I went thru that for YEARS, probably as yearly as age 35. Then around 44 my periods miraculously changed and only came every 3 months!! Now that was a change I could appreciate!!!

Unfortunately for me, I had so many other symptoms and I had NO CLUE they were peri related!! When I think of all the time I worried, thinking I was going to drop dead, it is really sad. Since finding PS, and looking backwards, know it was all peri. Who knew??? I sure didn't! So keep reading the information on this site, and the boards....you will see that you are just another one of the meno victims. It is so much easier to deal with this stuff once you can accept that this is what it is. Even if you feel awful, know it is "normal" can give you a lot of comfort, and can take away a lot of the fear.

Thanks, sisters, for your feedback.

Is it any wonder we all think we're nuts? Especially when things appear to be normal--in terms of our cycles? If you don't what this is (I didn't, either), you start trying to deduce what is causing it. No great wonder we gravitate towards awful diseases. What other explanation is there--if there's no previous context for all the craziness?

I sure am glad that this board is here. I come out here every day.

Big love,

Sukie

On the days that I feel normal, I think I'm normal. On the days that I feel crappy and crazy I think I'm crazy, going to pass out and fall down in a big pile (that will be embarrassing), then I'll end up in the emergency room only to be sent home being told there is nothing wrong with me. Gee, go figure, why I have anxiety. I hang out here every day too. Nice to be with a whole bunch of kooky girls!

I've been having peri symptoms (hot/cold flashes, internal shaking, palpitations, anxiety, mood swings) since 2004, and the only thing my periods have done is gotten quite a bit heavier and cycled around a little more often -- generally 25 days instead of the normal (when I was on the pill) 28 days and 30 days before I was on the pill. I did have a REALLY short cycle last month -- 19 days. I'm hoping that's a sign of wrapping all this up, but you never know. If I hadn't had Power Surge (found it while researching the internal shaking), I would probably have been committed by now. I can't IMAGINE how women survived this way back in the "good old days!"

I was going to say that my periods began getting shorter at 45. Wasn't until I was 52 when I finally skipped a month.

I should probably give up on the pipe dream that feeling nutty means the end of my periods is near, shouldn't I?!

Thanks for your feedback, everyone. This really helps put it in perspective. Every month rolls around and I keep thinking that I'll miss one and then I just make myself feel worse when I don't. Convince myself it's not really perimenopause. Thanks for the reassurance the peri can start well before the periods stop!

xo

Sukie

Sukie, I am glad you are feeling reassured. This is such a difficult time!! As you may remember, I will be 57 in a few weeks, and I had my last period on February 1. Argh. I am constantly amazed by how different this journey is for each of us. Hang in. We all get there.

Warmest regards,
Marcy

Angel 904 -- I too started getting shorter at 45-ish. Last thing I want to hear is that I still have beaucoup years to go before this fun ends. Every cycle for me starts and ends with "PLEASE let this be the last one!"

Malkachava -- Still having a period at 57??!!! Ohmilord...please don't tell me I'll have to wait THAT long!

57. Fifty-seven. 50 + 7. Ten fives, or five tens, plus seven. No matter how I write it, it turns out the same. And if you think that's bad, can you imagine going to the GYN for a diaphragm at my age? I wanted to crawl under the table...

Isn't this fun?

Sweet Lord, Malkachava,

You deserve some sort of award. Medal. Cash prize. SOMETHING.

You're blazing the trail like a champ.

Sukie

Oh I'm sure. I would (will?) feel the same way. Hopefully I'll have sex again one day and be able to find out what that would be like...sigh

Oh dear, Bev,

Another one who has been suffering for nearly a decade. I have such newfound respect for women who are 50 and older--they made it through this!

You are strong. I wish for you the end of menses soon!

xo

Sukie

My periods have always been regular, always and I've had every symptom in the book... My mother had her period until right before her 60th birthday! So, yes it is "normal" for many of us to have regular periods and still go through horrific changes, unfortunately! I must say, however, that even though my mother does not have a period she still suffers mood swings, lately her libido is through the roof and at 68 she's unsure what to do about it since my stepfather has erectile dysfunction. It seems thats all she wants to talk about these days lol...


Peace and Blessings,

TJ

Good grief! I had no idea this was even possible. I guess I'm gonna give up on skipping periods any time soon!

Dear Sukie,

Please don't give up, we've got to keep the faith! Everyone's different so who knows... My mother is quite funny when she talks about it, but I know it is quite confusing for her especially since she had no libido for years!


TJ

I am doing MUCH better, Sukie, since I finally broke down and went for the meds. That was only about 8 months ago, so yes, I suffered terribly for a very long time. The meds are what saved me, literally and PS for sure.

I am new to PS and just looking around..but I saw your post and just wanted to say that I had VERY similar experience at 39. I am now 49 and over the past ten years my primary care doc kept telling me I was "too young" to be in perimeno. I have had 32 of the '34 symptoms' listed, and it has been a rough ride having a young doc who didn't know what she was talking about. I was also treated with antidepressants. unfortunately they really did nothing to address the symptoms I was having. Only recently when I had my annual check up did this doctor finally say to me "oh, oops...I guess you HAVE been perimenopausal after all...you have vaginal atrophying! She said this with a big grin on her face as if it were something amusing.Then she offered NO ANSWERS as to how I could be helped with this or any other symptoms! After ten years of thinking I was losing my mind because of an uninformed M.D...I am in the process of finding a NEW DOC! I can't tell you the relief of finding this site and the list which so exactly describes the symtoms I had complained of as they gradually became worse and more intolerable as time has gone by. I am seeing an Obgyn. in Denver (close to where I live) that works with bioidentical hormones. It's weird after all this time that I found him AND this website within a few days of each other..and that this website speaks positively about bioidenticals. I had never heard of them until last week. I guess the best advice I can give is to listen to your body and believe yourself when you are having symptoms. I am amazed at how little my ex doctor knew about perimeno. I feel rather angry that I wasn't told until I met this new doc that MANY women begin having peri symptoms as early as age 35! Searching around on this PowerSurge site has given me more answers in one afternoon than I received from my 'family' doc in TEN YEARS!! Unbelievable!! With the lack of education of many MD's regarding menopausal women, it is no small wonder that so many women think they are LOSING IT! I hope you find the help and answers you need...and know you are in a great place for finding them. I feel sooo fortunate to have stumbled onto Power Surge! Best of luck to you!!

irish1,

What a great post! Yes! My doctor (younger, female) did the same thing to me.

I suggested that I might be peri. She asked me two questions and then declared that I wasn't. (I think the two questions were: "When did your mother hit menopause?" and "Have you skipped a period?")

Thanks for sharing your story. Maybe I will look into the biodentical stuff. I haven't yet but I'm intrigued.

sukie

Dear Irish
Thank you so much for your Post.I really believe these Doctors have to wake up and be more aware.All this needless suffering and some ladies thinking they are completely losing it,is not acceptable

I was completely Menopausal at 39 and it was like having a nervous breakdown.My real break through came when a young Egyptian Doctor Gyno. examined me at my annual checkup and said that my vagina was atrophying.He put me on HRT and honestly it saved my life.After about three months I was more or less my old self again.Bear in mind that I am now 57 so this is almost thirty years ago.

It really depends on the integrity of the Gyno.His interest in his patient and having the knowledge to help.

Stay Well
All the best
Elizabeth

My dear Friend
I know it must be Hell having a diaphragm put in place at a certain age!I am 57 and would crawl out from under that table if it meant enjoying sex again.
Warm Wishes
Elizabeth

Well said Elizabeth, I'd do the same....


TJ