Hi. I have had a lot of the symptoms mentioned here, the worst being the sweating, and esp. during the night (if I did one of those "meno checklist" things, I can check off about 20+ symptoms). I wouldn't say my degree of symptoms are as bad as some, but I have been assuming early menopause starting. My mother went through it early also (I am 47, she was a couple years younger).

So lately I have had a bout with major dizziness, went to urgent care, they sent me to a neuro. My MRI is perfect and neuro doc assumes that a viral thing I had early this summer messed up my inner ear, thus the dizziness.

Okay - so in the process, they did a blood test, and all is normal, including my FSH at 3.8 and estrodiol at 40. My gyno's office just called with the "good news" that while my estrogen is on the low side, I am definitely no way at all in menopause/perimenopause etc. I didn't think this was good news - if I am not peri, then am why on earth the sweating? And the other symptoms I attributed to peri? I do have a friend who had a similar experience - but they just gave her hrt despite her test results, and she is back to normal. However, I don't want to take HRT. I just want to make sure I am not kissing off some serious illness by assuming I am peri, you see?

Sorry to be long winded - here is the question. I am going to see my internist next week so he can check out my heart. Are there any other tests/areas I should check out, so I can rule out problems OTHER than peri? Because I have read a ton here, this is the best site on the planet earth honestly, and it seems that the FSH test is not all that predictive of meno/peri. I want to check out whatever else I can, and if I am otherwise healthy, I will assume I am peri even though my gyno doc has not a clue (and I really really really like her! And she is a woman! How can she not get peri????).

Thanks for any help. And thanks for this site just being here - I read some of it every chance I get, it is an invaluable resource.

Hi TippyToo,

I was also told that I was not at all in peri because my FSH test came back at 2. But also like you I checked off at least 20+ symptoms listed on this site as indicators of peri/menopause. My family doctor (a male), who I really really like doesn't even believe there is a perimenopause stage. So I ended up going to a women's health clinic that specializes in hormone testing. I was having a fairly good month the month they did my hormone tests and the progesterone and estrogen were within normal ranges but on the low side. However, my testosterone and DHEA levels were extremely low.

I then asked the doctor how that could be since I was having such horrible symptoms. She said that while hormone testing is good to do, it is not 100% accurate as to what is really going on because they can fluctuate from month to month, even day to day and hour to hour. I did a saliva test then on a bad month and that test came back saying that I was too low in both estrogen and progesterone.

She put me on natural progesterone cream which has helped me a lot with the irregular periods, the anxiety, headaches, etc. I also have had thyroid problems since I was just 17 years old. So I continually have to keep up on that. So I also had another thyroid panel done and found that I needed to up my daily dose of thyroid medication. So, you may want to have your thyroid tested as well.

If you have thoroughly had everything checked out and it all comes back saying things are normal, you probably would be safe to assume that what you are experiencing is peri. So little is known about this stage in a women's life. You will hear conflicting opinions from just about every medical professional you go to. After spending a lot of money on ER visits, doctor visits, CAT scans, being hooked up to EKG machines, etc and everything coming back as normal I have attributed my symptoms to peri. I have followed a lot of the recommendations found here on this website and they have helped a lot.

I think finding peace of mind that I am indeed in peri has been the biggest thing that has helped me in dealing with my symptoms. Hopefully, you will be able to experience that as well. Sorry this is so long but I hope it helps.

Hang in there,
Maeflower

thank you for sharing mae, it did help, as I woke up discouraged enough about this to finally de-lurk and register. I just read about the salvia test last night and wondered....in fact, after I read your post now, I just looked up a nurse practitioner I knew from EONS ago, and she is still practicing in my old town, at a women's clinic - bet she has even gone thru this meno thing herself by now. I think now I will set up an appt with her next week also. I am glad I am not the only one doing a boatload of tests to make "sure".

That is the nail on the head right now, ie the peace of mind - that is what I'd ideally like to get out of all this testing. You know, I haven't ever had a sick day in my life until this, so it is hard to imagine this is "normal" if you are peri, you know? If/when my symptoms get as bad as some here, I will need to learn to calm down about it. One good thing - I have an understanding even at this level of how hard a road it is to have an illness and still have a life. That sounds bad, as I am a fairly empathetic person anyway. But wow, I know people with many illnesses, and I am now more than ever humbled by how much they struggle with and how much they mentally overcome to enjoy their lives, given their illnesses. In that sense, should mine turn out to be the natural but sucky process of meno, I am fortunate. Yeah, I know, it is still hard to say "fortunate" and "sweat like a pig" in the same breath.