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[jenster]

I am new to this forum as I am trying to find answers why I all of a sudden feel like crap every day. After reading many of the posts - I feel like I might be dealing with Perimenapause?
-had an MRI - clear
-been to cardiologist - clear
-had every blood test known to man - clear
and I feel still terrible.
I am 46 years old, still get a monthly period, last one was heavier then normal, my GAD or General Anxiety is thorough the roof, every day I feel like I am shake or off some how, trembling inside, tired, nauseated, achey, foggy, gate is kind of off, I have constipation before period and poop non stop after... My General doctor just sends me away with Ativan and a pill to help me sleep through the night.  I worry constantly that something serious is wrong with me and I wake up having to urinate like crazy or with heart palpitations... My husband who is super supportive always thinks I am losing it!  Help!!!! I just want to feel good again.

[jedigirl]

Hi Jenster,

This sounds very much like peri to me, typical symptoms!
Check out the menopause symptoms section on the left. Print them out for your GP and maybe they'll help more
 

[jenster]

Thank you for the reply - I just want to feel better!

[jedigirl]

I know, I feel like the old me disappeared last year, still waiting for her to come back! Anxiety, palps, fatigue, headaches, foggy head,  it hits you all at once and knocks you for six.
Have you considered HRT? At your age it would be beneficial.
x

[Essexragdoll]

Hi Jenster, I agree with Jedi girl, they are nearly all the same symptoms I have been suffering with for the last year. I am now 48 and over Christmas I had had enough of feeling crap and went to my dr. She did a FSH test and confirmed my sysmptoms were indeed peri menopause. I am now on HRT ( Femoston) which the ladies on here recommended. Have only been on it for 6 days, and although I was a bit apprehensive at the start, especially because of the side effects, today I have actually started to feel a bit better. There is no increase risk of breast cancer if taken before 50 and even afterwards  the risks are minimum. I am 48 and hoping that it will at least give me a bit of my life back. I think you should ask your GP for a FSH test then At least it will put your mind at rest and you can decide what you want to do.

[cheekygal]

Hi Jenster, I can relate to everything you say.  I started feeling like you last April, several blood tests and ECG all clear.  Was prescribed an antidepressant but I am sensitive to them but was so desperate I agreed to try them, I gave them 8 weeks but had to come off them,  Since August I have been on 5mg diazepam twice daily and since then have managed my symptoms till 3 weeks ago when I had a period (first in 14 weeks)  like this past couple of weeks my anxiety has been through the roof, constantly feeling on edge, aware of my heart thudding, extreme fatigue, dizzy, to name but a few symptoms.  My FSH levels were 60 in August so I am classed as perimenopausal. 

I can't really offer any advice other to let you know you are not alone, and many of us are suffering the same.  I am going back to GP next week and am going to try CBT.

CG x

[honorsmum]

I could have written your posts, word for word.
I too have had every blood test known to woman, as well as full cardiology tests - ecgs, echo scan, 24 hour monitor etc.
My symptoms are palpitations (mostly in the early hours, waking me up), anxiety (again, in the early hours), insomnia, feeling like I'm buzzing or vibrating, fatigue, mood swings, low blood sugar issues, dry skin, hair and nails, loss of libido and cycles that vary in length anywhere between 3 and 4 weeks.

My GP won't entertain peri, saying I'm too young at 45, and my FSH level 3 months ago was normal.
However, there ave been times over the last 2 months that I have felt like I was either going slightly mad, or had a serious illness!

I have now booked to see a specialist, in the hope of getting some answers.
In the meantime, this site has proved a life-saver.xxx

[cheekygal]

HM, for a start, 45 is not too young for Peri, and one FSH test isn't accurate, I had high reading in Sept 13, then in April 14 levels were normal and was told it wasn't peri, I then mentioned my high reading in Sept, so they tested me again where my level was 60, 'normal' levels should be in the teens was what my GP told me.  I would go back and ask to be tested again before you pay money for private testing.  I too have the hair loss going on, and also felt that I am going mad.  My mood can change by the minute.  My friend just text me and and asked a question, I replied by saying, I am currently crying, will answer when I have finished, she hasn't text back, she is probably thinking, I HAVE gone mad, haha!

CG x

[honorsmum]

HM, for a start, 45 is not too young for Peri, and one FSH test isn't accurate, I had high reading in Sept 13, then in April 14 levels were normal and was told it wasn't peri, I then mentioned my high reading in Sept, so they tested me again where my level was 60, 'normal' levels should be in the teens was what my GP told me.  I would go back and ask to be tested again before you pay money for private testing.  I too have the hair loss going on, and also felt that I am going mad.  My mood can change by the minute.  My friend just text me and and asked a question, I replied by saying, I am currently crying, will answer when I have finished, she hasn't text back, she is probably thinking, I HAVE gone mad, haha!

CG x

Thank you, Cheekygal.
Your last sentence made me laugh, sorry! - I can relate, as I felt great all day yesterday, and then was horrible to my lovely husband because he asked me if I'd like a hot drink to go to bed with (I have one every night)...I ended up crying into his lap!
I asked my GP for repeat blood tests a couple of weeks ago and she refused, saying there was no point as they were checked in October. She is desperate to shove antidepressants at me for anxiety, which I absolutely don't agree with - hence going privately.

[Briony]

Hello, welcome! If you read through my previous posts, you'll see our stories are very similar - right down to the MRIs and endless normal blood tests . It wasn't until an on the ball neurologist looked past my normal FSH and age (42) and suggested it was still peri menopause. Despite regular periods, my estrogen level was exceptionally low and with a swap of GP, I went on HRT and - whilst I am in no way the old me - I now feel massively better ( and am no longer convinced I am dying!  ). Hope you find some relief soon too xx 

[EllaM]

Hi Jenster and welcome to the site. Like the other ladies who have replied I too have been through everything you describe and more and have felt so ill at times over the last 3 years I have felt like I was dying. Have been on HRT for about a year now and still trying to find something that helps. I am currently off work as cannot cope especially in the morning but take comfort from the fact that others are going through this too and I am not going mad/it's not all in my head as I'm sure many doctors have thought xx

[Hurdity]

Hi Jenster

  from me too.

Sorry to hear about your symptoms - as the others have said you could be becoming peri-menopausal. Some women begin to experience symptoms that are too much to bear even while having regular periods and are especially sensitive to the hormonal fluctuations and the gradually falling levels of oestrogen.

I would urge you to go to the doctor about your symptoms again - - you mentioned that you have had blood tests - what have you had and what were the readings? As others have said FSH and oestrogen levels may not show anything on one reading, but thyroid function often also begins to decline in women during mid-life and can show some similar symptoms. Some doctors vary in their interpretation of these results and what is "normal".

I would resist any attempt to give you anti-depressants - there is far too much of this going on, and too much ignorance of the peri-menopausal years and the different manifestations of this in different women!

In the meantime, if you haven't already done so, I would focus on making sure you are in as good position health-wise as you can be as you enter these years - that is - make sure your diet is healthy and balanced with mainly fresh produce, and cut out refined and processed food, take as much exercise as you can, maintain weight in healthy BMI range etc.  You may already be doing all this but just thought I'd mention!

There is some good info on tis site about lifestyle and diet:
http://www.menopausematters.co.uk/diet.php

Let us know how things progess...

Hurdity x