Print

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

[SMD]

Hi there, I'm new here, age 47. For the last year I've wondered whether to get my hormone levels checked. Cycles have ranged from 24 to 31 days. I've had some awful mood changes around my period too and I always get up once or twice in the night to wee so I'm always tired.
This year I have acne like when I was a teen. For the last 3 months my periods have been lighter and much longer with a lot of spotting. I've only had 8 days 'completely off' in August. I panic every time I go to the loo and wipe tbh. No idea what is within the realms of normal. I'm not having hot flushes but I do wake in the middle of the night feeling really hot and my pillow and mattress are hot. My anxiety has also got very bad, and as I take a low dose of antidepressants my GPS has doubled my dose in the last month.
I can cope with everything I am feeling (for now) apart from the bleeding changes. I can see myself ringing my GP every two months worried sick with health anxiety. AAAARGHHH. I just want to know what's normal but from reading this forum it's all sooooo varied. Thx for listening x

[Taz2]

Hi SMD. I'm so sorry that your post appears to have been missed but you are in the right place for help and support.

The symptoms you mention are typical for peri menopause. Hormone levels become unpredictable and breakthrough bleeding, spotting, long periods, short periods, light periods, heavy periods are all common. The waking up really hot is also an early sign of peri and shows that your oestrogen levels are dropping. As you get further into meno then you might wish to consider HRT if the symptoms are affecting your quality of life. The usual age of menopause is around 51 and any HRT before this age is seen to be merely replacing oestrogen which should naturally have been produced by your body up to this age. Oestrogen has a beneficial effect on your health in many ways and is especially important in order to maintain your heart and bone health. Not everyone knows this. I left it for quite a while before I tried it at the age of 53 and I had become quite low in my mood with increasing anxiety and fatigue and drenching hot sweats! I'm still on it at 67 as NICE guidelines are now that women can stay on it indefinitely whereas you used to be persuaded to stop at 60.

The other thing to consider is that some antidepressants can affect periods.

Try not to worry - as far as I can tell from your post you are experiencing normal peri. Nobody warns us do they?

Taz 

[SMD]

Thanks Taz. I had no idea it could start like this and encompass all the symptoms I've read about on here. My mum just told me a few months ago that her periods got shorter and shorter and then stopped.  If only......