Perimenopause

Have had symptoms for the best part of three years, chronic fatigue, night sweats and lately mood issues. I'm early forties, getting a diagnosis was so difficult due to my age, which probably delayed me seeking help for it for a good while. Have tried everything including medication and unfortunately nothing has alleviated my symptoms. Wish I knew what I was in for, it's not been a happy time for me.

51 here and have been perimenopausal for a number of years. Migraine is my greatest scourge. Always had a premenstrual migraine since menarche. I didn't even know it was migraine, I used to call it my 'period headache'. It was normally fairly moderate pain that responded rapidly to over the counter pain relief and within 24 hours of onset my period would arrive. The exhaustion that followed I used to put down to my period. It wasn't til my 40s and they started to strike randomly and aggressively that I realised these were migraines all along but now they are completely debilitating. Loss of vision, shaking, vomiting, fainting, excruciating pain that responds to nothing and can last for days.

Extremely heavy periods that can last a fortnight is another gift of this phase if life. I had itchy skin for a while but that seems to have resolved now. No night sweats (yet) but do get hot flushes, particularly around the time if my period. No HRT yet, I have yet to skip two full cycles so GP reckons my oestrogen is still too high to use it safely. Honestly didn't think I'd be dealing with this hassle at my age and definitely think there needs to be more education about it. I'd never even heard of perimenopause til my GP mentioned it to me in my mid 40s and I thought I was very well informed.

I'll be starting Black Cohosh soon to help with the flushes, GP recommended but it's not available in Ireland! Thankfully, I've a neighbour who travels back and forth from UK frequently and she got it fir me. I'll report back how I get on. Any other recommendations of herbal supplements that work would be greatly appreciated.

I’m 48, dealing with peri for many years now; still haven’t skipped a single cycle, regular as ever, but that could be down to all the supplementing I’ve been doing since a thousand symptoms started showing up one by one, to deal with them.

I always say, the first line of defence should be Agnus Castus; it balances the hormones like magic and I’ve found it so useful and helpful, while being a mild, herbal supplement. It might take a few weeks til ye see the full effects.

Other than that, I take my multivit every morning, also Apple cider vinegar, and maca root in capsule form for energy. Ginger in capsules for the menstrual migraines (they are a right pain, aren’t they?! Excuse the pun. Never used to have them til they started showing up a few years ago - ginger is a blessing though! And go swimming, if possible! Migraines go whoosh, they’re gone! IME) Turmeric for low moods. Evening Primrose oil and Raspberry Leaf and fish oils for aching breasts and generally reducing breast density. Sage for hot flushes etc. CoQ10 for vitality, energy, fighting fatigue and for general wellbeing.

Do your own research, There’s loads of useful info out there. Herbs and supplements can help us a lot with dealing with different symptoms and I’ve long decided to go that route and stick with it before I’d touch HRT or anti-depressants. It’s a normal stage of life after all (if sometimes unpleasant and annoying).

Also, a lot of supplementing is about timing, knowing your cycle and what happens when. For example, I start taking some turmeric here and there a few days before my period, it keeps my mood on an even keel because PMS depression is real (it rhymes! :D). Same with ginger, really, I always have it to hand and have a capsule if I feel like a migraine could be starting. Helps amazingly, like 90% of the time.

The best thing about the above stuff is that it’s just spices which we would be eating in great quantities anyway, were we living in India or somewhere like that. Oh and green tea is very good for you - antioxidants blah-de-blah but I also really enjoy the taste!

ETA: Sardonicat, poor you with those migraines! :( But, I’ve just thought, if they are that bad, a bit of ginger may not help. Mine are not really pleasant, oh god that throbbing inside the temples ugh, but not that bad either. Do please let us know how you progress with the black cohosh but also if you find anything effective against migraines, I’d be interested to know.

fyi you can buy black cohosh and red clover from amazon.de and they'll ship to ireland. i had really bad hot flushes...almost every hour of the day but once i started taking these along with st johns wort, i only get maybe 1 or 2 a day now. i also bought a little neck fan from amazon uk that is a life saver for when they hit...after a couple of mins using this everything is back to normal again

The new thinking is that it is diagnosed by symptoms alone as blood hormone levels may still be within a normal range for some time after symptoms begin, and many doctors recommend all women start HRT at 40 because of the heart and bone benefits and the prevention of symptoms. Erratic periods are often the first sign.

A lot of GPs aren't up to date on this and on the newer HRTs so some research is required.

Perimenopause can begin for some unlucky women in their 30s, so it's definitely possibly at 40 @bluepeter.

Glad to have happened upon this thread. Hi ladies!

I am 42 and for the past 6-8 months or so my cycle has reduced to 23 days. I read this can be due to perimenopause but the nurse at my GP surgery told me she didn't think so, and I was too young, and said the cycle gets longer not shorter in perimenopause. But I read it can often get shorter before getting longer. I was getting blood work done at the time and I asked her to check my hormone levels but they didn't!! My cycle has been shorter since having my second child, but like 25-26 days, now it's at 23. Often heavy with clotting for about 2 of those days.

I have lots of other ailments and now I'm wondering could they be perimenopause too.

A practice nurse won’t be an expert on menopause. Go to someone who has some expertise in it.

You're the only one who knows your own body, if something is not right keep pushing for answers. You will need to find someone with up to date information though, that's not going to be the majority of GPs or practice nurses.

Keep on putting off ringing the GP for an appointment. Am definitely going to ring this morning. It's important. There's a lot of advertising the gov.ie menopause website at the moment. That and this thread has made me try and do something about it.

Finally had an appointment with my GP today. Getting bloods done next week and will take it from there. This thread made me get up and do something about it.

Ok, so I've gone to see the menopause specialist recently. She thinks HRT is the way to go (no blood tests were offered) and I'm due to start my first month on estrogen 2 weeks (patch) followed by progesterone 2wks (oral tablets) shortly and see if it helps with my symptoms. I have 3 months initial prescription, and after that I'm seeing the doctor again for follow up visit. I'm sort of excited and really hoping it's gonna help me because I'm really fed up with my current state, fingers crossed!

How is it diagnosed exactly, blood tests?

Blood tests are not necessarily used for diagnosis, especially over the age of 45. Symptoms should be enough to diagnose. Symptom lists are available online and its best to tick one off and bring it to the gp so you can actually remember what your symptoms are! I ticked the list off but forgot to bring it - forgetfulness being a symptom of mine. In perimenopause your levels of oestrogen fluctuate a lot so you could have a high reading today and a low reading in a few days. Progesterone is the first hormone to deplete and can do so from mid 30's onwards. This can result in heavier periods which a lot of women will experience into their 40's.

If a woman would like to try HRT, the best thing is to start low on oestrogen and work your way up. You will also be prescribed progesterone/progestin alongside the oestrogen, though if you have had a hysterectomy you may not need progesterone. The progesterone/progestin element is primarily to protect the womb lining from thickening. Its a trial and error situation to get the dose of HRT correct for each individual, so while I could use a 25mg oestrogen patch, my friend of the same age could be on a 100mg patch.

Its definitely worth learning about and finding out how the depletion of our hormones can affect us both physically and mentally. HRT is a very individual choice and its not something everyone will want or be able to use, but it can be life changing for many women.

My GP didn't even bother. She said there was no point given that the hormones fluctuate during the month.

I am on the mini pill for years, and don't get periods, so couldn't even judge by that.

She said based on symptoms she would start me on hrt, within 10 days I felt the affects. Great stuff.

Yeah, that's the thing, your levels can be fine, so if you have other symptoms what could be causing them?

I was honestly delighted with my GP

If it works for you then that's good, the hrt has been brilliant for me.

Whatever works for us is the important thing ,😊

Is there a good multivitamin supplement for pre peri etc.,?

I'm 42, and believe I'm perimenopausal.

The frequency of my cycle is getting shorter and shorter, I'm down to a 22 day cycle some months. I read that this can happen before they start to space out. I've always suffered with oily, blemish prone skin but it's gotten a lot worse, and my hair is visibly oily after 1.5 days. I began suffering with anxiety really badly this year too, to the point that I had to go on meds, which I never thought I'd do.