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[Eml1211]

Hi ladies,

I’ve just joined in hoping there may be someone out there who can shed some light for me!

I’m 35.

It was June last year that I started spotting brown discharge for a couple of days before my period started. This went on for a few months and the days of spotting seemed to get longer, after 4 days of spotting in the November I decided to visit the GP. As I was also experiencing night sweats before my period she did some bloods and took some swabs etc. All the results just came back “normal” and so that was that.

The spotting and the night sweats continued. By February I decided to look into the possibility of the perimenopause and started realising a lot of symptoms I was getting could be related. I started writing everything down for a few months then went back to the GP with my thoughts. She gave me the option of trying the pill or getting a referral to gynaecology. I took the referral and had my appointment recently, the gynaecologist straight away didn’t even look at my list of symptoms. He said I’m too young and wants to put me on the mini pill.

Thankfully he’s agreed to look into it further though and has ordered more bloods and I’m going for an ultrasound this week. He thinks its maybe polyps or fibroids.

I’m hoping that if the ultrasound comes back fine he may be more open to discussing the possibility of the perimenopause? I’m quite happy to try the pill first but I just want confirmation that this is what I’m going through and I’m not going mad?

Full list of my main symptoms are
- spotting before period
- night sweats before period
- constipation before period
- low mood before period, irritated, absolutely no motivation and just so tired
- headaches around ovulation and period
- vaginal dryness/itchiness usually after period ends
- lack of libido once I’ve ovulated until my period ends
- random aches and pains in my legs
- my eye has been twitching a lot recently - not sure if this is symptom or just an effect of the tiredness? Haven’t been sleeping well.

As you can see it all sort of starts going to pot around a week/10 days before my period. Once I’ve ovulated my mood just seems to start decreasing and things just get worse until my period arrives and then it feels like a cloud has lifted until I ovulate and it starts again!

My cycles have also got much shorter and lighter, before they were around 29-30 days and pretty heavy. My recent cycle was only 26 days and the bleeding is much lighter (one thing I’m not complaining about!)

Has anyone experienced something similar in their mid 30s? Or perhaps is it just a normal part of approaching your 40s and am I overthinking things?

Sorry just wanted a bit of a rant as none of my friends have started going through this yet!! Thank you!

Emily x

[CLKD]

Yep 1 can begin peri at any age ........

     Your GP should have referred U 2 a dedicated menopause specialist not a gynaecologist.  Also blood tests need 2 B taken at the 'right' time of the cycle and really are reliably un-reliable.

GPs and Gynaes often don't know as much about perimenopause as they ought to do!   4 me periods waxed and waned for several years, I knew it was The Change so wasn't worried.  Anxiety has always been a problem.  Many of your symptoms were mine also.  And I've never had fibroids and the polyp which bled on contact shrunk at peri, even though my Gynae wanted to remove it!  I said no ;-)

We know our bodies so rarely over think.  It's GPs that need to keep up!  Is there a Nurse Practitioner who may know more about this than the GP?  Also no one is too young: some girls never see a bleed, others have bleeds which then stop.  Other ladies go into peri from their 30s.

There is a daisy website for very 'early' menopause symptoms too.

Is there a particular symptom which you would like to ease?

[Eml1211]

Thank you for your replies!

I say I saw the GP but come to think of it, it was actually one of the nurse practitioners! She said she doesn’t want to diagnose perimenopause without the opinion of the gynaecologist because of my age, which is fair enough, I suppose they want to completely check any other possible causes first. It was just frustrating the gynae didn’t even look at my list of symptoms (I spent 4 months putting the list together, even colour coded all my symptoms, least he could do was look haha )

Honestly I just want to stop feeling so rubbish. I dread ovulating because i know what is coming next. I’m suddenly tired, moody, my head hurts, i hate my poor husband and I just want to hibernate on the sofa for the following 10 days until I start bleeding. It’s just awful!

Oh another one is frequent urination? I think i notice this around ovulation, suddenly I’m needing to pee constantly?? Lasts a couple of days then goes back to normal!

[CLKD]

Oh the symptoms keep on coming this malarky keeps on giving 

It may be the start of vaginal atrophy: as oestrogen levels drop the body may become dry: inside and out; nostrils, deep in the ears, skin, scalp, vagina, anus, between the toes.  Also the muscles may become lax = aches and pains, oestrogen being our elasticity.

Colour coded: too much time on your hands    ..... it's good to keep a mood/food/symptom diary to chart progress.  MayB the Consultant was colour blind?

Eating every 3 hours may help - the National Association for Pre-menstrual Syndrome [NAPS] advised me to get into the habit.  That's every 3 hours even in the night.  I had a puppy who soon learnt that there were biscuits on my side of the bed after she had been out to pee in the early hours.   

My regime is to eat B4 my body needs an energy boost which lessens the chance of nausea. 

MayB direct your Nurse Practitioner to this Forum ;-).

[bombsh3ll]

Clinically yes it sounds like perimenopause.

Unfortunately blood tests aren't helpful as FSH levels can still be within the normal range.

Firstly the most important thing is do you plan to have (more) children?

If fertility is a concern that makes it more pressing.

If not then the best course of action is a trial of treatment.

This could be menopause hormone therapy (higher doses can be required by younger women) or the combined pill.

Don't be fobbed off with the mini pill, it contains no estrogen hence doesn't offer either the symptom control or health protection of estrogen containing therapy.

A combined pill, taken continuously, can be a great option for perimenopause as it controls symptoms, protects bones and stops your periods.

I take Zoely which contains the same estradiol that our body makes. I'm 44 and have been on the combined pill since 30 apart from when my supply was interrupted during the pandemic, which made me appreciate it all the more!

[CLKD]

   bombsh3II

[Eml1211]

Thank you Bombsh3ll! I have two children so fertility is not an issue, we’re definitely finished with that side of things.

I had my ultrasound scan today and they also did an internal one. The scan tech wouldn’t tell me anything at all and I have to wait to see the doctor in 5 weeks to discuss the results and next steps. It’s going to be a long wait

Thank you for the advice re: the mini pill. I stopped taking the combined pill around 10 years ago as I didn’t like what it did to my mood. Perhaps I may cope better with it now if my body now needs the extra hormones? He also suggested the coil so maybe i should look into that. So many different options it’s such a minefield sometimes!

[bombsh3ll]

That's great that fertility isn't a concern.

Do make sure you get appropriate treatment - a mirena IUS may have been the coil they were referring to, and it can be great for stopping bleeding but if you are perimenopausal then you'll need some form of estrogen as well.

[CLKD]

5 weeks is a long while but the NHS is in dire straights.  It may of course be returned earlier ......... and if there appears to be a problem, a patient should certainly be informed sooner rather than later. 

In the meantime, make the app. with the Doctor now to avoid any further waiting?

[Eml1211]

It is such a long time, the actual results apparently take 10 days but then he’s away until September. I’ve got a telephone appointment booked for once he’s back.

I’m hoping if there was anything of concern they’d contact me earlier regardless surely? He did say he wasn’t too worried as my spotting and symptoms are consistently in the run up to my period not randomly throughout my cycle - surely this then points to peri menopause? yet he still says it’s too early?! So confusing.

In terms of estrogen then is it only the combined pill or HRT that can provide this?

It’s so frustrating that you have to figure this all out yourself and push to get what you need. Guess I have to just wait and see what the results say and go from there. Health anxiety is going into overdrive haha

[bombsh3ll]

Yes the only options that provide estrogen are menopause hormone therapy and the combined pill.

The mini pill or mirena IUS can absolutely be used, but on their own will not address all perimenopause symptoms and long term health risks, which are especially important if going through this at a younger age.

[CLKD]

Have a LookC at the Daisy web-site in the mean time, make notes.

Also do point out that no lady is too young to go into peri-menopause.  The mean age is apparently 51 or 55 - can't remember - but a good clinician will 'go' on symptoms not age.

In about 3 weeks U could ring his secretary and ask whether there is any concern.   

[Cassie]

I was in full blown Menopause by 38, had to beg for blood tests as my Gynae said impossible & lo & behold, my levels were menopausal so straight onto gel & utrogestan, 20 yrs later still taking them. Its essential that you go onto HRT should you be menopausal at least until you are closer to 50, wishing you all the best.