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[GypsyRoseLee]

I have always thought my peri symptoms all started, quite suddenly, in November 2013. Infact I can virtually pin point the exact day.

But now with hindsight and experience I think there were clear warning signs 12-18 months before that.

There was the family holiday in 2012 where I suddenly became convinced that my poor DH didn't love me anymore. I was convinced he was planning to leave me and felt desperately anxious and miserable for several days. Even hid in the loo to cry. Then my period started and I was as right as rain again 

Then soon after that I started having to carefully plan my social commitments around my monthly cycle and avoid doing things in the 2nd half of my cycle because I knew I wouldn't be able to remotely enjoy them as I would be feeling so very flat and fed up.

At the time I just sucked it up and got on with it, little realising these were early warning shots across my bows, a taste of the Hell to come.

Anyone else?

[dazned]

Mine definitely started when I was 48 ,then took almost a year seeing various gps at my surgery until one agreed with me that it was hormonal changes causing all this s..t ! Hrt was then perscribed at age 49 ,great until 54 when I started missing periods for months at a time even on sequential regime ,so I guess I was by then post ,after seeing a gyne and trying various conti can't get settled ,so I think even after menopause things still aren't any easier for me anyway because my symptogs were exactly the same as when I was 48 !
Have now decided to stop hrt and see what happens.

[Taz2]

Usual age of around 42/43 I think.

Taz x

[Limpy]

About the same as Taz 41/42 ish.
Though it has to be said, I had NO idea it was happening at the time, still getting bleeds on BCP.

[SadLynda]

My main symptoms started at age 46, I gave up smoking a week after my birthday and spent the next 3 years complaining about how ill I was from giving up smoking, I had one thing after another, the insomnia was first almost instant, followed by the mystery gum problem that nobody managed to diagnose (I have since found on the forum this was BMS).  A good year of major paranoia and constant tears.    It was only (yet another) on line search for help to sleep that I found this website and worked out what was wrong with me.

[20032003]

Hard to pinpoint, but I would say about a year ago when I  was 45. That's when my stomach issues/hemmorhoid problem started gradually. Insomnia, anxiety, sore boobs... Can't say for sure when my periods started changing, but that must be about a couple of years ago. Started becoming shorter and lighter.

[honeybun]

42/43 I think. Awful mood swings.....my poor family really suffered.
A few years later my periods went for months and I felt great, no flushes no nothing. I really thought if that was meno it was great.
Periods returned and flooding with them.
Periods again went and along came night sweats and flushing all day.

Went on HRT at 49.
All fairly standard stuff


Honeybun
X

[CLKD]

Have to do some sums: I was born in 1953: BAD periods with pain from age 11: in my mid-30s I had bad PMT and NAPS advised eating 3 hourly which did ease the AWFUL nausea, dizzy feelings: periods began to wax and wane in 2001/02.  Big gaps between bleeds, less PMT and nausea; knew it was the start of menopause because of the gaps.  For, maybe 12/18 months I would get flushes across my shoulders and down my back to the waist; at night after my bath and after swallowing my BB and AD so didn't know if it was connected to the medication.

As for the itching      - my insteps first, as soon as I took off my socks to get into the bath.  I would wake in the night to find 1 heel scratching the instep on the other foot. For months  but never in the day time.  Various vague aches and pains in various joints but not at the same time, occasionally requiring Nurofen.

I know I've been lucky.  VA began 2 years ago and my GP noted symptoms so advised treatment.

[Sarai]

I really can't say, think over 5 years ago, then I had a bad spell off ADs and going back on symptoms I thought were peri, that was 2011. Than everything settled and this year I'd say is THE year. Who knows. All I know is I hate it.

[LeeJane]

Looking back with the knowledge I now have,  I think I started my peri three or four years before I realised what it was.  I put the weird things going on down to something else.  Mood swings, depression, anxiety as examples.

It was a relief when I eventually realised what was going on.  I had seen various doctors during that time, none mentioned menopause.  I was late forties at the time.  Duh, is all I can say!!  I would have thought it would be obvious to them!   

[20032003]

My symptoms, especially depression and anxiety, got REALLY bad in November last year when we had to put our dog to sleep ... That would have been horrible in any case, but I really think that being in peri (which I didn't even know what it was back then) made it 1000 times worse and so much harder to cope with!

[peri]

I'd say 45 for me, it started with really bad pmt every month (mood swings, anxiety, depression and crying).  This got steadily worse until I went on her at the age of 48.

[Galadriel]

Interesting thread!

I think mine kicked off 5 years ago, 44 years old. I was on holiday in August when I had an unusually heavy period for the first time. I was in a water park and had to scuttle with my knees locked together, back to the lockers for another tampon. This continued for the next couple of cycles. By Christmas time, I was flooding through super plus tampons within an hour. I had a hysteroscopy to check everything was ok and they put in a mirena. (I'd had two mirenas after child 2 was born, no trouble at all and no periods) Within a month, I'd lost it. I had a horrific bleed - it fell out wrapped round an huge clot. Cue trip to A&E for massive bleed. Discharged with more progestogen pills to stop the bleeding. I had multiple floodings and was stuck at home with them. So back to the gynae clinic where we decide to go for an ablation.

In all this time, not one doctor mentioned that this might be the start of perimenopause The clues were there... regular light periods turning super-heavy and the cycle becoming erratic.

Since then my major symptoms are more anxiety-related. I rarely have flushes. I get the odd night sweat but I do get palpitations, upset tummy, feelings of dread, extreme health anxiety (I've lost count of the number of times a new symptom was a sign of cancer/imminent death), erratic cycles even on HRT.

I'm off to the doc this morning to have him check out a skin blob (just in case) and to ask him to up my HRT dose as I don't think the current one is working for me any more. As I'm typing this, my stomach is churning, my heart is pounding and my jaw muscles are so tight.

[Chi chi]

My main symptoms started at age 46, I gave up smoking a week after my birthday and spent the next 3 years complaining about how ill I was from giving up smoking, I had one thing after another, the insomnia was first almost instant, followed by the mystery gum problem that nobody managed to diagnose (I have since found on the forum this was BMS).  A good year of major paranoia and constant tears.    It was only (yet another) on line search for help to sleep that I found this website and worked out what was wrong with me.

This is exactly what happened to me! I gave up smoking in the September, countless visits to the GP as I felt crap, I kept saying something isn't right! I e given up smoking but I don't feel better for it! All I got from the GP was you need to give it time! Went all through Christmas feeling on edge, snappy, moody, miserable etc etc then January had my breakdown! Course I went back on the fags  then was given countless AD's to try for months and months! None of them made any difference whatsoever so stuck with the one I was on before the breakdown. First I thought the breakdown was caused by giving up smoking then I thought it was the cerazette I'd been on for 2/3 years prior. Started researching hormones and here I am.
This was 2012 so I was 39  I'm now 41 and still suffering. Main symptoms are anxiety, low moods on and off, aches and pains everywhere especially joints, daily headaches, tiredness, feelings of doom and gloom, no energy or enthusiasm for anything, I may as well stay in the bathroom as I'm always in there going to wee 

[babyjane]

My experience was a bit like Galadriel's but the difference being that my GP did not fiddle about with coils and ablation and I had a hysterectomy at 38.  Some schools of thought might be that this was unnecessary but I thought it was wonderful as I had my life back free from the calendar and industrial sized sanitary towels.  Looking back I think I had hormonal blips from about mid 40s but put it down to my thyroid levels which were not stable at that time.  I was offered some HRT and also various ADs but never tolerated them and did not feel bad enough for them.  Knew nothing about perimenopause and thought meno was hot flushes (these started aged 53 and that's when I thought 'menopause').  Looking back though and having learned from this forum, things were up and down for quite a long time before then but having no periods I did not join the dots.