I am 31 will be 32 next month. Last July my period was late by 2 weeks but my mother in law had passed away 2 days before my period was due. So I just assumed that was why. Well the next month I didnt get my period (august) and not again in sept or oct. Well went to the docs in oct and he suggested placing me on the pill to regulate my cycle again. I had my tubes tied back in 98 so I wasnt on the pill before that. Well the pill never agreed with me, any birth control pill I was on made me bleed constant and heavy til my gyno decided that I was one of the few that just couldnt take it. Well when it put me on the pill I bled very heavy for 2 months til I said I just cant take it anymore and he said it was ok to come off of it. Well my periods went back to normal around Jan of this year. Well as normal as I there were there again but not like they were before all this. I was normally every 21-23 days and would last 5 days. The new normal turned into 25-30 days and were very light and would last 3-10 days.

Well I didnt get my period in May and the this being beginning of June it hasnt come now either. My Last period in April was sooooooooo light that I could of gone with nothing at all and no one would of noticed. And it only lasted 2 days so I dont even consider having it in April.

My mom's advice was welcome to your 30's. Well thats all fine and dandy but I dont understand this. Is this normal? I mean I have been used to since I was 12 years old getting a period every month when I was suppose to and the only time it was not there was when I was pregnant twice.

I have been reading posts and such and reading about night sweats and hot/cold flashes but I dont have any of those. The only things I have noticed is extreme headaches lately and very often (stabbing want to bang my hand in a door just to make something else hurt instead pain). Bloating is unreal, like I woke up today with swollen eyes and fingers that are taking forever to go down. I have been active, as we are getting ready to move and I have been packing and cleaning and all this other stuff and not really eating a ton but still gaining weight! Tired all the time that seems extreme for me, I am used to getting a few hours of sleep but now I find I am falling asleep in the mid afternoon sitting at the pc, or watching tv and so on. Moody really bad, the poor kids stand back anymore cause the littlest things will set me off on a yelling/crying rampage. Really bad cramping, like my period is starting but it doesnt.

I was searching for info on skipped periods and this is how I found this site and as I was reading I was like well this is me, that is me, and I got to wondering if I am not in the beginning of pre-menopause. I like I said am only almost 32 and this was never something that crossed my mind before. Is what I said above normal? I dont have insurance so anytime I go to the doc its out of pocket and right now with moving and that I dont have the money to go back to him. But I can hear him now tell me thats not the prob. And I know I am not preggers. I dont feel it. With my two kids I knew the moment I concieved them I was pregnant (honest no exaggerations as the morning sickness started with them the day after conception lol!) . I dont know I am just confused and looking for someone to talk to. Thank you for listening!

Making a move is extremely stressful - physically, mentally and emotionally!! And we all know what stress can do to our hormones - throws everything out of whack. If it were me I would just hang tight and see if your symptoms lessen after you have finished the move and had time to settle into your new place. If things don't go back to normal after a few months then get it checked out. There are women going through peri in their early 30's but IMO I wouldn't judge it yet with everything else going on right now.

Hi Katiebbb, Welcome to PS. I also agree with Niteowl, and if at all possible try (I know its very hard) to calm down a lil for your kids sake. I agree that they can set you off, and I went thru the same thing but once we yell at them we cant take it back. I am now almost 53yrs young and I look back and can see alot of what was happining was peri and I have now told my grown kids how sorry I am that I was sometimes out of control and even though I cant turn back the hands of time I wish I would have done things different.
What I mean is now when I FEEL terrible I just tell them I am having a bad day, it has nothing to do with them then I make time for me, I sit and have a calming tea, I go walk on the treadmill,I will cheat and eat a small piece of chocolate, whatever works, please try it.
Also I get the pain in my left arm and down my hand before my period, I apply heat and it works for me. Please take care , Tinkybug

Katie, it almost sounds like your mom went through something similar in her 30s. Do you know when she reached menopause? Or when she started having irregular periods? If I were you, I would ask her more questions, because it sounds like she had a similar experience at your age. And they say women often reach menopause when their mother did.

HI... I AM 32 AS WELL AND DOING THE EXACT SAME THING THAT YOU ARE. I JUST CANT GET A DR. TO SAY THAT I AM PERI BECAUSE OF MY AGE... JUST STAY CALM.. RELAX.. I KNOW THAT IT IS EASIER SAID THEN DONE... BUT YOU CAN DO IT. TAKE TIME FOR YOURSELF AND DONT FEEL BAD FOR IT. THIS WAS MY BIGGEST OBSTACLE. I HAVE BEEN DOING THIS NOW ALMOST 6 MONTHS.... 6 LONG MONTHS.... ANY WAYS.. IT IS OK TO SAY NO. AND IT IS OK TO SAY HEY... MY TURN... LET ME HAVE A BREAK. IF YOU DONT DO THIS TRHE ANXIETY WILL CONSUME YOU....... KEEP READING IT REALLY HELPS.... DENISE

Hi Ladies,

I'm a newbie to this website and this is my first post on this particular forum.

In response to Katie and Denise's posts, I wanted to outline the symptoms that I have been going through over the past 3-4 Months:

Light-headedness
Electric Pulses (Mainly in my toes)
Crashing Fatigue
Ache in my arm and wrist
Teariness - bursting into tears for no reason
Sudden period change (now only lasts 2 days as opposed to my regular 5)
Anxiety - thinking I'm going to die
Difficulty concentrating

The on-set of these symptoms are about 10 days before menstruation. This month has been quite mild (only fatigue, dull arm ache and teariness).

However, for the first time I am experiencing symptoms after my period - ache in my arm, difficultly concentrating and reading, tension in my head (similar to a head-ache, but without the pain) and what can only be described as a hot flash in my foot - it was v. bizarre!

I am only just 25 years of age so my GPs are pretty relucant to diagnosis me with anything related to Peri... but my mother went through exactly the same thing and it started at the same age - and the doctors told her it was stress. I also think my Grandmother experienced similar symptoms quite early.

One GP said it was the result of stress (I gave up arguing this with him)... however, there is a pattern with these symptoms and it centres around my menstruation cycle

Given my family history and what I have read on this fabulous site, I do feel reassured and believe that I am (unfortunately) going through the dreaded change (just a little earlier than expected!).

There is so much information and support on this site - the reassurance is wonderful!!

I hope this helps...

Hugs,
LucieX

HI Katie! I was just reading your post & you sound just about EXACTLY how i was a year ago. After not getting my periods for almost more than several months & having PMS symptoms, i went to my gyn dr who had me tested for anti-thyroid antibodies along with a full thyroid panel (tsh, t3 & t4, both frees & totals) and i tested positive for the antibodies which made me hyperthyroid, but eventually i went hypothyroid because the antibodies eventually stopped my thyroid from functioning properly. Also the t3's & t4's were affected as well. I am on medication & doing much better.


There could also be other reasons for skipped periods, i know stress is a contributing factor, also it could be related to pcos (polycystic ovary syndrome, which could stop periods or even insulin resistance) Your gyn dr can answer any questions you have related to this, as well as thyroid issues. I am 43 & more than likely in perimenopause, you on the other hand seem awfully young to be going through that. It sounds to me like there's something else going on.


Please make an appointment with an ob/gyn and a primary care physician (pcp) Katie it's crucial for you to be tested for the above mentioned. Look up information on the internet (perhaps do a google search) and you will find lots of useful information. Check back with us & please let us know how you are doing, ok? Good luck to you!


Denise, read the post i just put for katie, the advice is for you too!

hi... i am writing in response to the post for me to read.... i have had the following tests done..... glucose-normal, ct on head-normal,complete blood cell count,basic mtabolic profile,tsh and cholesterol-normal, xray of neck-normal,ekg-normal,chest xray-normal, echocardiogram of heat-normal, holter monitor-showed mild palpitations, vaginal ultra sound-normal, blood work for menopause- within normal range but doctor told me that i was not ovulating. so.... now where should i start in finding what is wrong if people dont think that i am peri? i am going this afternoon to have a dexa scan because i had been on the depo provera for 9 years... funny how they tell you after the fact that the length of time to be on the depo provera is only 2 years. any ways here are a list of my symptoms. i get this odd feeling like tingly in my head and down my arms which then turns me hot feeling. this will last any where from 1 minute to doing it several times in an hour or so. ny heart feels like it is pounding. i saw it one time go from 80-125 in a mtter of sceonds. i cry for no reason. i have pain in my left shoulder into my elbow and wrist. my breasts are sor and i am very tired in the afternoon. i have to pee all the time with urgency.... i have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep... i wake up several time a night just to pee or i am really thirsty. i worry about dying and all that because i dont know what is wrong. my period use to come on the 9th of every month and last 5 days.... now it comes on the 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th somewhere in those days and lasts some months only 2 days very heavy with clotrs and other months it starts out heavy and then eases up lasting 4-5 days. i bloat like crazy,,,looking like i am 6 months pregnant. i have major stomach aches in the top of my stomach... which i have chalked up to anxiety. i have been to the er i know 6 times in the last 5 months thinking i was dying,, only for them to say that they cant find anything and asking me if i have heard of panic attacks,,, i dont know what else to do or what other tests i should have done.... i am constantley thinking that something is wrong with my heart becausei do have little pinches sometimes onmy breast bone.... and it is hard for me to distinguish if its my left breats hurting or my heart... so if any one out there can think of what this could be other than peri... let me know..... oh yeah by the way... i didnt dtart my period until i was almost 18 years old and i had my only child when i was 21... immmediatley following that i went on the depo provera shot 9 years like i said above and in that 9 years i never once had a period...... so any advice will be greatful.... i am 32 years old and my life has been crappy for the last almost 6 months....... thanks for listening denise

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Having been through a lot myself recently, I have just one word of advice for the poster: THYROID. Unfortunately an out of whack thyroid can cause symptoms exactly to peri and meno. Doctors don't get this often.

Have your thyroid check by TSH, FT3 andFT4...a TSH over 3 or even 2 is suspect with symptoms (some doctors don't get this either!) and you will need to be checked for the antibodies for the autoimmune disease of the thyroid Gravea and Hashimotos. It is really best to have ALL the tests I mentioned to be properly tested for this problem (sometimes doctors only want to test TSH).

It may not be thryoid, but I can't stress enough how similar the symptoms are...hope this helps a bit and you find your answers.

Spelling mistake...it is GRAVES not Gravea...sorry

Thank u all for the responses. My mom said to have my thyroid checked also as she has had probs with it and says it may be my prob to. I dont have insurance at the moment which makes it hard to afford the blood work needed. Hopefully soon I will be able to have it all check.