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[canadagirl]

Hi wonderful ladies!
Here's my backstory.  I'm 45 and My last period was in September (5 months ago) and according to my period tracker app I am officially 108 days late.  Prior to that, the last 3-5 years leading up to that were a hot mess ( irregular periods, severe vomitting and diarrhea in the week leading up to my period, strange feelings in breasts, mood swings).  I thought it was perimenopause for sure but anytime I brought it up people thought no way, you're too young.
So here we are - no period since September.  In early November I hurt my back and hip doing who knows what?  I had started walking a ton that previous spring (maybe 8-9kms every 2 days) and my left hip started hurting so I eased off and switched to weight training.  Cut to me doing a lift and my back has never been the same and I think my hip already being tender didn't help.  So that's been a few months of no fun - been seeing a physiotherapist weekly and it helps a bit but nothing has been the BIG fix yet. Then starting this past month I started getting pain in my sternum that would radiate through to my back and my ribs on the left side and most recently my digestive system is kind of wonky.   Now I do have a history of GERD/silent reflux so it could be that because it all does feel a bit familiar but it's never lasted this long before.
Could the perimenopause be a culprit here?  Keep in mind my mood has gone to crap and for someone who was NEVER a crier, I'm literally crying at the drop of a hat now.  Like, even TikTok videos will send me into weeping.
Does all this stuff -- muscle aches and strains, tummy pain, sternum pain, emotional mess -- does this sound like it could be any of your stories too?  I should mention that all of this is also causing my health anxiety to kick into high gear as well which I know isn't helping and could be behind the digestive/tummy pain stuff and not the 100 fatal diseases I've given myself.
Have I landed in a bit melting pot of shit here LOL?

Thanks in advance you wonderful menopause fairies.

[Dotty]

Hi 45 is not too young to be peri menopausal. And yes, everything you describe could be (and likely is) due to peri menopause. x

[canadagirl]

Should also add -- yes to hot flashes although they started in November and seemed to have stopped for now.  Also sleeping just terribly in general - waking like clockwork between 4-5am.

[Flossieteacake]

Hello canadagirl and welcome to the forum. It is sad that some people think there is such a thing as 'too young' to be going through perimenopause. I started at 38 and your symptoms are very familiar to me. I hope you are feeling more reassured after joining the forum.

[Amazing grace]

Hi Canadagirl , your symptoms sound very much like peri menopause, I was 38 when the first symptoms started for me by 43 things were awful and I started hrt, I didn’t mention it to my doctor till I was 40 and he told me any woman over 40 it’s likely to start seeing changes I suppose I was lucky that he didn’t use the too young for menopause like so many get , I’ve had every symptom going and I too have had 100 fatal diseases that I’ve convinced myself I’ve had, health anxiety and insomnia being my worst ones to control, hrt has helped my flushes but unfortunately hasn’t done much for everything else im 49 now and still going through phases of many symptoms, your story definitely sounds similar to mine , it’s been one long journey of endless crap for me , hope you find some relief from your symptoms xx

[CLKD]

Yep.  No lady is 'too young'! 

  as oestrogen levels drop so the body may become dry: inside and out; skin, vagina, scalp, legs, deep in the ears, eyes, nostrils as well as muscles may become lax = aches and pains.

Some find that keeping a mood/food/symptom diary of use.  Ask away!

[canadagirl]

I definitely feel like I'm falling apart.  Is it common for things like hot flashes to just start and stop like that?  Not that I'm in any rush for them to come back LOL! Frankly it's the aches and pains that are giving me the most grief because yeah, is it the PM or is it some insidious disease that i'm just THINKING is the PM?  The cycle is endless. 
Frankly my cycles haven't been easy since I was in my 20s and I think I must have cursed myself by thinking I had it pretty easy when it came to my periods.  Then when I tried to get pregnant in my 30's everything fell apart - I had 7 miscarriages trying to have my daughter and nothing has been the same since.  And if it was JUST the period part of menopause I frankly think I could handle it.  It's all this other stuff - the pains, the irritability, the moods, the weeping, the anxiety -- I never expected it would be like this.

[CLKD]

It's The Change - does what it says on the tin  and yes, symptoms can be intermittent.

Over the counter pain relief may help.  A good exercise regime as well as over-hauling your diet to see if you are missing anything important.  i.e. protein and dairy products.

Anxiety can be problematic.  HRT can help with this as can dedicated anti-anxiety medications.

[canadagirl]

@CKLD - absolutely.  One of the biggest hurdles is dealing with this hip/back injury.  I used to be an avid exerciser and I've had to stop almost everything outside of yoga cuz I just can't do it anymore.  Even walking the dog is painful.  I know 100% that it would help if I could get back into some kind of regime.  It really is crazy how much it affects your life when you stop.

[sheila99]

Oestrogen deficiency can cause these pains as well as the other symptoms you have. I had pain in my hips that I assumed were the joints wearing out but it went on hrt. I was continually pulling muscles for no reason, this wasn't helped by oestrogen, I needed testosterone too. Sadly many of us don't know how insidious meno can be, I certainly didn't.

[CLKD]

Swimming.  Non weight bearing exercise.  Don't rush to get back to running, the body is telling you something.  Have U tried cycling? and no you aren't losing your mind!

[GraceM]

Given the pains in your hip etc, I would suggest you get a DEXA scan.  Depleting oestrogen can lead to osteoporosis so it would be best to get that checked out. 

[canadagirl]

I have not had a DEXA scan but I have an appointment with my family doctor at the beginning of March to get some imaging done on my hip and back so maybe I'll ask her about it.  I know my Mom has Osteoporosis but she is in her late 70's so that makes more sense to me.

For exercise -- yes I definitely try to swim when I can.  I even took one of those aquacise classes with all the old ladies and it was kind of awesome even though I was the youngest person there by 20 years easily LOL.  Cycling I have avoided because in my head it seems like it would be a nightmare for my hip.  My husband is an avid cycler and has one of those indoor bike trainers that he uses in the winter.  I do find the daily yoga helps a ton but definitely more of the gentler stretch stuff and nothing that is too crazy on the hip.

[CLKD]

Protect the bones until you get the scan results.

Criky  - 70 is no age these days  Is your Mum taking any treatment?

[canadagirl]

Yeah she is on some meds and recently lost about 20lbs after a knee replacement so she feels better than she has in awhile!