Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Bonnie84]

Hi all I’m new here,
Wondering if I’m hitting early perimenopause recently turned 39 and terrified right now and actually hoping my symptoms are menopause related.
So I’ve always had heavy periods lasting 7 days and very regular, back in may they started getting a little longer like 9-10 days then suddenly 26 august I thought I was having a very light period of spotting but the spotting turned in to heavy bleeding in total from first day of spotting to last day of bleeding it was 3 weeks, I saw gp a few days before it stopped and she prescribed tranaxemic acid and sent my for internal scan,scan was pretty much all ok just 2 tiny simple cysts,so I had 3 weeks of no bleeding then it started again for another 3 weeks this time I only had 5 days break then the bleeding started again on 9th November on the 7th day of bleeding it suddenly came on heavier than I’ve ever had before soaking through pads in under 30 minutes,I called 111 they sent me to hospital which wasn’t much use,had blood tests all ok there (already on iron tablets) they just gave me more tranaxemic acid and told me to speak to gp,so I followed up with her next day all she did is prescribe mefenamic acid to go alongside the other medication and said she will chase up my gynae appointment (already under gynae due to 3 miscarriages and fertility) I insisted that’s not good enough as nothing sinister has been ruled out with my cervix, so she has said to go in tomorrow so she can look at my cervix but I am still bleeding so I know she won’t have any luck as she tried at my last appointment but couldn’t see my cervix,I had my least smear last September so yes that is good but I’ve also seen in other forums many women had clear smears but still it was the worst news as they aren’t 100 percent and cells can be missed, so right now I’m going crazy and just looking for other ladies that have had this bad bleeding and it’s been down to menopause. Sorry for long post I’m just going out of my mind 😩😩

[CLKD]

Yep.  My periods waxed and waned for a couple/3 years.  Regular, then nowt followed by a few days spotting.  The Change - does what it says on the tin.

   Some find that keeping a mood/food/symptom diary of use and your GP has followed through with the scan.  Have a chat with your GP/Nurse Practitioner about your worries: take a list ;-).


Sorry about your miscarriages, were they recent?  Do U have support so that you can discuss these losses?  It can be such a shock to look forwards and then have nothing 

Let us know how you get on. 

[Bonnie84]

Thank you for your reply, you just always hear so much how periods become less and less never hear about how they can become soooo long, I do think I have been having other milder symptoms over the last few years but not thought much of it as they aren’t extreme but doctors aren’t mentioning menopause as yet as my hormones ect were normal when checked earlier in the year.
Our last miscarriage was June 22, one before that was feb 22 and the first one was October 21, we haven’t been able to get pregnant since so I’ve been working hard to try and lose weight for ivf referral, I was so very close but now with this latest prolonged bleeding I’ve been stuck indoors with no exercise as I just have sudden outbursts of crazy heaviness so just don’t feel great, I’m sure my weight is going back up 😩

[CLKD]

Hormonal blood tests are reliably un-reliable!  Ask for a referral to a dedicated menopause clinic .  What support do you get following miscarriages?  R U simply sent home 'to rest and start again'?  Is there a clinical reason, sometimes the vagina/womb see the sperm as a foreign body to be ejected!

I think that weight loss can be difficult, especially if there is a reason, i.e. poly cystic ovaries.  Also when trying to get pregnant, 1 can 'try too hard', so that the whole focus is on 'sex at the right time'  .  Many years ago a neighbour fostered then adopted siblings: 6 months later she found out that she was pregnant, went on to have 3 of her own  . I can't remember how old the siblings were, about 11 years I think.

Let us know how you get on.  Ask, ask and ask the professionals that you have in your various depts..  Make lists!

[Bonnie84]

I am fortunate to have 3 children, I had my first quite young and was with my ex for 17 years all 3 children are his, I lived miserable for years and one day just realised life is too short stay miserable.
My partner I’m with now doesn’t have any children and it took us 2 years to fall pregnant with the first, I’ve had no support at all and with the first the doctor who came in just after us finding out actually said to me well at least you have children!!!!
I am very lucky to have my 3 children but that doesn’t mean lake our losses any less, I never new how unhappy I really was in my previous relationship until I found real happiness and now everything is against us.
I have had lots of checks to see if there is a reason for the miscarriages and so far everything comes back normal it does annoy me when they think when test means your hormones are fine,when I saw my doctor in September regarding the bleeding she said oh we won’t check your thyroid and hormones as they were done 6 months ago, it’s crazy to me, we have thyroid problems in the family and my levels may have been normal last time but literally only just, and I have seen hormones usually have to be repeatedly checked we are told all the time how they can fluctuate and it’s blamed for so much but then they take one test as gospel 🙈

[Taz2]

Hi Bonnie. You will find lots of support and advice on here so hopefully you will not feel so scared.

Perimenopause is a really difficult time and no two women are the same. As you say it's often thought that periods get lighter and lighter the closer we get to menopause but this isn't always the case. My periods became very heavy and long in my late forties. The longest period I had was over six weeks and then, four weeks into the bleeding, I felt as if I was beginning another period with all of the pre-period signs such as sore breasts, pmt and period pains even though I was still bleeding from the last one. This is due due to the constantly changing levels of hormones. Peri menopause can affect us for the eight to ten years before menopause itself. I didn't know that when I was your age though but nowadays it is more talked about. There is this info taken from the Menopause tab at the top of this page https://www.menopausematters.co.uk/menopause.php.

I'm so sorry to hear of your miscarriages and I hope that you have had support. You say that your hormone levels were normal earlier in the year - was this for possible IVF? Is it the FSH they test? Blood tests are very unreliable to diagnose how far we are in the menopause journey via the GP but I expect for IVF they are much more detailed?

Taz x 

[CLKD]

"well at least .......... "    some medics should. never get out of bed in the morning 

This is your journey, not something that you need to hear.  U know that you have children ....... that isn't the issue though  .  ?? U have been seen by a fertility clinic as well as a Gynaecologist ?? 

Most GPs won't refer to the appropriate consultant if thyroid function is 'within normal limits' even when patients: male and female : continue to complain of symptoms.  1 really has to push for referrals ......... health care shouldn't be so difficult!

Browse round.  Make notes ;-). 

[Bonnie84]

Taz2 due to mild symptoms in the last couple of years I have already done some research and new I could be already in peri, my mum was done with menopause fairly young too, I hadn’t been too worried but this long bleeding just worries me, lost my best friends mum to cervical cancer and all I have in my head is the long term bleeding she had, I just truly believe they she rule these things out as well before putting it down to menopause things are way too easily missed, for the most part I think it’s menopause but I’m having my moment where I’m just in a terrified panic.
I’ve had 2 fsh tests one in October 22 and one in April 23 the levels have gone down slightly but still normal range I think, one was through my gp and one through gynae, I haven’t actually been referred for IVF yet as I’m still classed as obese on the old bmi chart which if you saw me is ridiculous lol yes I’m a little over weight but I fit in size 12-14 clothes so far from obese, I once lost 4 stone in 7 months, after the miscarriages I spent time being depressed and staying in bed eating crap so put half of it back on, since being told to lose weight for IVF I have been working so hard to lose the weight but it’s been extremely difficult to get it off this time around, I’ve lost 1 stone 11lb but it’s taken me at least 8 months, which honestly if you saw how hard I’ve worked is ridiculous, but no matter how disheartening my hard work has been I haven’t given up, just seems like everything is against us especially now with this all going on.

[Bonnie84]

CLKD nope haven’t seen fertility yet, we were sent to a clinic once for my partner to do a sample which as far as I’m aware is meant to be done every 6 months,we have been under gynae for over a year now and he hasn’t been asked to repeat at all, I have no trust in the system anymore the amount of times I’ve had things ignored and I turnt out to be right sent me crazy I ended up very mentally ill with severe health anxiety because no one would listen to me, paid abroad for tests that proved I wasn’t crazy.
I managed to beat the anxiety and have done so well for the last 5 years but this situation I’m in now is making it creep in 😩😩

[Taz2]

It's good news that your FSH levels are going down as the lower the better. I'm sorry you are having to wait for the fertility clinic. It must be really frustrating for you.

Taz x

[CLKD]

MayB join weight watchers or similar?  In the 1970s MinL did really well and kept the weight off.  DH comes from a large-sized family  .  She would weigh out her daily allowance each evening for the following day, after each saucer was empty that was it.  Until the next day.  Of course we were the healthiest in all time by the mid-WWII.  No sugar, everyone on rations ....... after 1952 when sugar came off rationing that's when the public began to eat more sugars, then fast food arrived.

DH cooks from scratch in bulk - which goes into the freezer in individual portions.  I have 1 bar of Twirl for pudding or ice cream.  I know that I should do a lot more exercise!

When anxiety strikes I stop eating.  For months sometimes, getting by on Bovril in hot water and boiled rice added.  Or cooked chicken with rice in small amounts. 

[Bonnie84]

CLKD I’ve been following summing world religiously and I walk between 20-30 thousand steps a day 5 times a week that’s between 8 and 12 miles a day some weeks I lose nothing and some just a measly 1lb, walking not only helps with the weight it has helped me mentally after all the miscarriages and trying to get pregnant, this last week I’ve been stuck indoors because of the extreme heavy outbursts of bleeding and the week before due to bad weather, it’s sucks because it sends me spiralling down being stuck indoors which isn’t helping with this worry 😩

[Bonnie84]

Taz2 thank you, I’m not very good with understanding the fsh and hormone levels the last test I was at 0.82 x

[CLKD]

As well as nights getting darker earlier.  I hate that!

Do U have support on-line or are U able to get along to meetings?  How R your bowels?  A good poo can weigh quite a bit 

If the weight isn't shifting, this seems 2B a physiological issue.  When I have a diagnosis I can 'get on' much better than waking in the early hours, wondering. 

[VioletAquarius]

Sorry to hear what you've been, and what you're going through.

Re the weight loss, during peri you can put weight on so trying to lose it may be harder, if you Google weight loss and exercise for peri menopause.

Re your bleeding, my periods were all over the place, very heavy bleeding, with clots, changing tampons every 30 secs! No joke! Just ended up sitting on the toilet for hours at a time. Length and frequently all changed too, sometimes like I was going to start a period but then nothing, or i just finished a period and a few days later started another one.

Blood tests to check for menopause is so unreliable, as hormones fluctuate so much throughout the day.

I thought they discontinued mefanamic acid.  I used to take it with tranexamic acid but was told its no longer used and to take ibuprofen instead as it works the same way.