Hi ladies,I have a complicated question and i feel a little silly about asking it.My peri symptoms have been so prevelant and so strong in the past two yrs.One thing that puzzles me is that i still am fairly regular (used to be every 28 days,now every 25-26 days) not a big deal there.What is different is that it is VERY scant and lasts only 1day&1/2.If i were to use a tampon it wouldnt fill it in that time.I know i ovulate sometimes because i have the stretchy stuff(lovely) around day 9 or 10.My breast yrs ago used to kill me but i no longer have that.My question is this .I am regular,although scant and i seem to be ovulating somewhat,so dont these crazy symptoms mean "lack of" some hormones.I guess what im trying to say is can you still ovulate have a period and still be lacking,estrogen or other hormones.why am i having so many symptoms so strongly.Have i done a good job of totaly confusing all of you If i have please forgive me.I love you all and respect all of your comments and suggestions

H, Lynda! I'm going through the very same things you are and I would sure like to know more too. For the past two years periods have been regular--well, except for a four month period of getting a soaking period every two weeks--but otherwise growing scant. Last year my periods grew faint like yours--1 to 1 1/2 days of very light bleeding. Here's a funny story about how naive I can be. I was in Wal-Mart and my favorite pads were on sale so I stocked up, buying six jumbo bags. I get home and I think 'Why did you buy all these? Your periods are so scant you'll never use these! You're probably on the threshhold of menopause. What a waste of money this was!' Well two months later I had used every single pad!

O.k., digression over. I'd like to know what exactly is going on hormonally too. My gyn said something about "unopposed estrogen" for those months when I was soaking every two weeks. I think that means that the ovaries weren't producing the needed progesterone to carry me through a complete cycle. I've read on here a few times that at the start of peri it's the progesterone that starts to go first.

I think this all means we're at the beginning of peri my friend, when the anovulatory periods start and the ovaries get not-so-good at producing progesterone in the second half of the menstrual cycle. That's just my assumption. Maybe someone can provide more insight. Maybe some one can cheer us up.

At the moment my periods are perfectly regular again but I feel like a ticking time bomb. (Don't tell my husband that or he'll be more frightened than he is already!)

hi.. old post but i am going to ask a question here.... what other symptoms did you all have other than the 1-2 day bleeding? i am doing that now but i have other things that started with this... any answer would be great... denise

HI everyone:

I too have the one or two day bleeding. My period isn't like clock work all the time though. It can be for a few months and then wham, I get one two weeks after I just had one or I skip a month. Gee, if it is just the beginning, it is frightening. shiver.

Mopsy

thanks mopsy.... and all else out there to post.. my symptoms of whatever this is started with severe pressure in my head followed by the shakey weak feeling like i was going to fall over and pass out. the odd feeling is like when you start to drift off to sleep and suddenly you jar awake... do you know that feeling? thats how i felt... my heart was beating wildly... it came on all at once like that for me... i have had all sorts of tests but all only showed low iron and some mild palps. the dr. wanted to put me on lopressor a blood pressure med. but i refused since the highest my blood pressure ever had been was 122/80. i i had an echocardiogragm... i guess this is the best test for yur heart.. all was normal there. the papls were found when i wore a heart holter for 24 hours... but i think that they were there only because i was stressing over wearing the holter.... the dr. said that i am too young for meno or peri. they told me that i was suffering from panic attacks... why though? they said that they didnt know. then the other symptoms came on... one being the sunburnt face feeling... i call theses a flush... my hubby says that i feel like i am running a fever but i am not. sometimes they last from a few minutes to an hour at times... i dont get theses as much any more. i have since all this stared went on a huge low fat almost no dairy diet... i lost 52 pounds. i have given up all caffiene and stopped smoking. i also gave up white bread.... my symptoms have gotten better... but i still right at the end of my period get the pressure headache... feels like when you bend over to get something and raise up... weird too. i get little tweaks of chest pain right before my period. i wake up alot during the night... usually to pee... that is an urgency now. i do get the internal shakey feeling... i can hold my hand out and it be as still as can be but inside i feel shakey all over... i constantly check my heart beat to make sure its not that... the highest ever saw my heart beat get too was 125 and back down to 80 in no time flat.. i watched it on a herat moniter in the er one night... i felt so sick with it.... the dr. that nigt only wante to give me tranquillizers.. i refused that as well wanting to know what is actully wrong... he said i was having an panic attack... oh how depressing this has become. i know i have been to the er at least 7 times in the last 6 1/2 months. i also had a ct scan with dye run on my head... they wanted to check for strokes... all normal there too. do any of you get to bed and feel yourself start to drift off and fight it? i do that... ia m not sure if its commplete exhaustion that causes that... but a few times i have in my mind wanted so bad to wake up and i cant move feeling... then i will jar awake and be hot all over. its like a paralyzed stae and you cant move and then when yu think that you cant move you jar awake only to feel hot and exhausted... is this a night sweat? see i have alot to learn i alos had a vaginal ultra sound and blood work at the gyno... i am not ovulating but he said all else was good and that i needed birthcontrol pills to help me with my mood swings... he said that i was too young for peri.... i am 32 years old.. also i didnt start my cycle until i was almost 18... then i had my one and obly child at 21... immediatley following her birth i went on the depo provera shot and had no cycle for 9 years.... i quit the shot a little over 2 years ago..... my period comes 3-4 days late or 3-4 days early. sometimes i go 2 days heavy... other times i go 2-7 days light. sometimes i go 3 days hevay and think that i am done for a day and then bam the next day or during the night it starts again.... so am i in peri? also i never obvulated much i dont think.. because what i have read that ovulation is... i hardley ever remember seeing white clear mucusey stuff ever... now i did this month for almost 7 days.... i guess i ovulated..... alos my symptoms havent been as bad this month..... who knows... sorry for rambling but.... i have no one to talk to much about all this... thanks for listening and any advice on all this will be appreciated... thanks so much and love to all... denise

Wow Denise, you are describing what I felt like last year in May. I was just like that with the fast heart rate,( I wore the heart monitor for a day-all normal), boy, I have or had almost all of your symptoms. I too get the shakey feeling inside. It is odd. I usually get it after I ovulate and then a week before my period. I call it my shake, rattle and roll stage of the month. I am getting used to the symptoms now so at this point, they don't upset me. I am also taking lots of different vitamines (calcium with magnesium really helps heart palps) and vit. e, a good vit. B complex, fish oil, multi vit. folic acid and the thing that has helped me most is an over the counter progesterone cream. That really has helped with the anxiety. Oh, and I exercise every day no matter what. I walk about 1 1/2 miles and it is rather fast walking too. It really helps you feel better. I also found some great relaxation music by PC David (google him on amazon) The Koi cd is wonderful. I listen to that everynight with ear buds and go to sleep. It puts me out like a light. My doctors thought I was having anxiety attacks too but I knew it wasn't as my Mother and Grandmother both had the same symptoms and I knew it was the beginning of meno. My doctors didn't believe me though and that made me really mad but I have learned that I have the power over me and that I control my body. I feel really good (Mentally-not scared) compared to last year so you will start feeling better. Just learn all you can on this site and start taking some vitamines and exercising. Spoil yourself. You are worth it and special.

Mopsy

Hi Ladies my name is cardlady and I am new to this site and I am a little confused about a few things. First of all when are you considered peri and when are you considered to be post? I haven't had a period in about 11 months but my menopause symptoms are still strong. Then this last week a weird thing happened, I started ovulating again at least I think I was ovulating. I had that mucousy(sp) discharge that i vaguely remember. I haven't had any pain or anything so I don't think it is an infection and i just had my pap test which came back fine. The other thing is i had a enlarged uterus a year ago and my Dr said if I would go throught menopauses it would cure itself and this year when I went in for my checkup he said it was back to normal.

Hi Cardlady and welcome*S*

Peri is the time leading up to menopause, when we start getting the symptoms associated with the transition to menopause. Menopause is official when you haven't had a period for a year. Symptoms such as hot flashes can last for a few years after reaching menopause and a small percentage continue to have hot flashes.

I hope this helps*S*