Hello ladies,
I'm new to the menopause and the board. Here's my story: I'm 42 years old and have recently had my FSH levels checked and they were 88.8. I was shocked because less than 18 months ago they were checked and they were 5 then. I was getting regular periods every month until about 2 months ago then started having hot flashes and mood swings, the mood swings and anger was so bad at one point I set fire to my carpet in the living room. I did a home fsh urine test and the results were kind of hard to read but it seemed positive so I went to see my GP and a week later had some blood tests done. I have not had any children and always wanted them so when he told me I was shocked and have not been handling it very well - I drunk a bottle of wine all to myself the other day and slept for a couple of days following that as I felt quite ill.
I've been doing some research and from what I can tell this isn't normal for my age, I shouldn't be going through this for another 10 years approximately. Also the changes that I went through so quickly isn't normal...to go from being absolutely fine one year to being post-menopausal the next without anything in between...odd. There is no early or premature menopause in the family and a lot of my female relatives had children in their 30s and 40s. I do however have Chrons disease and from what I have read it can trigger off early or premature menopause. I've also read that when premature menopause is suspected a second fsh blood test should be done within 4-6 weeks. Does anyone know if that's just for premature menopause or also early menopause? My GP offered my hrt straight away but I said I'd think about it because of the cancer risk also at the moment I am taking soya isoflavones.
Nice to meet you all, any input would be gratefully appreciated.
Many thanks.