So how do you know if you are pre-menopausal??

[StaceyinLA]

I mean what should I be looking for as signs/symptoms??

[Lawana]

I would like to know the same thing. At 51, I still have monthly cycles, but I do feel things are different. Weight gain in the mid-section, more emotional. No hot flashes. Meanwhile,:lurk5:.

[amy g.]

I'm 44. Every six weeks, I bleed for one day, then spot for two more. I assume this is the beginning of the end.

[PrincessAriel]

Here is a list of 35 symptoms I have often referred to:

 

http://www.project-aware.org/Experience/symptoms.html

[AuntieM]

I asked my doc about that in May. He said that despite all the talk of horrid hot flashes, the most common first symptom among his own patients is sleep that is interrupted for no other reason (no sick/sleepless kids, no excess caffeine, etc). He said that often they do not even see this as a sign on the front end, but more of an in-hindsight kind of thing. He said typically then menstrual cycles will become more erratic over a course of months or years. He told me, again based on information from his own patients, that whatever sort of irregularities a woman experienced when starting to menstruate, that is a pattern she is likely to see as her cycling winds down. Then the other things begin, and the amount of trouble varies with each. His patients that maintain a healthy diet and proper weight seem to have an easier time with symptoms.

 

I hope he's righ on all counts!

 

Anyway, if you're in doubt, have your doc do some bloodwork to measure hormone levels. He did that for me and said that despite my age (47), I am not in premenopause yet ("... and could still have a baby, so watch out!").

[Peela]

I asked my doc about that in May. He said that despite all the talk of horrid hot flashes, the most common first symptom among his own patients is sleep that is interrupted for no other reason (no sick/sleepless kids, no excess caffeine, etc). He said that often they do not even see this as a sign on the front end, but more of an in-hindsight kind of thing.

 

Uh oh. Thats me! Has been for a couple of years now too. And I am 43.

For the first time in my life though, my cycles are fairly regular.

[Parrothead]

Here is a list of 35 symptoms I have often referred to:

 

http://www.project-aware.org/Experience/symptoms.html

 

That list truly is useless for me. Every single one of the symptoms on your list can be attributed to my hyperthyroidism or the other disorders I have.

 

Why do I have this feeling I won't see peri?

[creekmom]

I went through it (unknowingly) at 37 years old. - When I hit 37, I remember feeling like I was losing my mind. The patience I had with my kids evaporated. I started raising my voice and getting irritated at the smallest things that had never bothered me before. Then the periods started getting super heavy. I was going through tampons in record time. Next, I noticed that I would ovulate just a couple days after my period ended and then get my period exactly 2 weeks later. Then, my period wouldn't come for 6 weeks. The next period happened two weeks after that. My skin became incredibly dryand even my nails started peeling. I didn't get the hot flashes/night sweats until about a year after the craziness started. At that point, I went to the dr. and found that I was actually post menopausal.

[StaceyinLA]

I had a hysterectomy, so I don't have the menstrual cycles to go by. I still have my ovaries though, and am just wondering if I could be starting.

 

I'm almost 43.

[Mejane]

I had a hysterectomy, so I don't have the menstrual cycles to go by. I still have my ovaries though, and am just wondering if I could be starting.

 

I'm almost 43.

 

When did your mom start? If she went through it early, there's a good chance you will, too. One site (familydoctor.org) puts the range from 40-59. Peri-menopause can start 10-15 years earlier. I started perimenopause around 35; now at 51, I'm into the real thing.

Edited October 27, 2010 by Mejane

[JenC3]

I went through it (unknowingly) at 37 years old. - When I hit 37, I remember feeling like I was losing my mind. The patience I had with my kids evaporated. I started raising my voice and getting irritated at the smallest things that had never bothered me before. Then the periods started getting super heavy. I was going through tampons in record time. Next, I noticed that I would ovulate just a couple days after my period ended and then get my period exactly 2 weeks later. Then, my period wouldn't come for 6 weeks. The next period happened two weeks after that. My skin became incredibly dryand even my nails started peeling. I didn't get the hot flashes/night sweats until about a year after the craziness started. At that point, I went to the dr. and found that I was actually post menopausal.

 

I'm thinking this might be happening to me! I've developed some eczema as of late and even when my 2 yr old doesn't wake me up I wake up. Along with some irregular cycles. I've actually had very light ones. Hmm maybe I should have my levels checked?

[BMW]

I had an emergency hysterectomy when I ruptured during my last labor and delivery. I had one ovary. I am not sure if it every worked after that.

 

I didn't get hot flashes at all. I got angry. It wasn't tied to crummy stuff if life, but, like creekmom, I had no more patience. I would snap at my children and say things that were NOT typical of who I had always been! I, too, felt like I was losing my mind. I could literally point to the spot below my stomach where I physically felt anger... One day I snapped at my little toddlers and went to the phone and called my Dr. and asked if I could come in immediately for a blood test to check hormones. I was completely POST menopausal! Because I was just about 33 yrs. at the time, I took hormone replacement. I stopped by 37, though, because I do not like the risks for cancer related to HRT and my Dr. could not endorse HRT without giving the warning. Fortunately, I have not had the anger like I did at 33!!

[Pippen]

I didn't have hot flashes. I just got hot. The frozen food and dairy aisles where I used to grab for a sweatshirt started feeling really, really good.

[Onceuponatime]

I mean what should I be looking for as signs/symptoms??

 

I am 46. I was always very regular until about 40. Then my cycles were from 32-34 days instead of exactly 28. They were also extremely heavy (clots) and I got horrible hormonal headaches and emotions on day one, for about 3 years. I also battled with depression then.

 

Three years ago, things started changing again. My cycles gradually got shorter and shorter and lighter and lighter. Now they are 24-27 days apart and last about 5 days with just spotting on the last 3 days. Some months I can tell that I did not ovulate.

 

My skin has gotten much dryer, I stopped using soap at all and had to change my shampoo. My hair has gotten thinner and grayer. This year my eye sight changed, now I need reading glasses.

 

The funny thing is that I feel emotionally and physically better than I have in a long while. I am walking daily, taking cod liver oil, and trying to eat an all natural diet. I do have a little sag around the middle, but I've given up worrying about it. After all I have had 5 kids, 1 by c-section, and I seriously do not want to do crunches. :)

 

My mom says she had very few hot flashes, I have had none. I'm hoping I don't have much longer to go before I'm free from AF.

[Dawn in OH]

I asked my doc about that in May. He said that despite all the talk of horrid hot flashes, the most common first symptom among his own patients is sleep that is interrupted for no other reason (no sick/sleepless kids, no excess caffeine, etc). He said that often they do not even see this as a sign on the front end, but more of an in-hindsight kind of thing.

 

 

 

Do you mean to tell me that I have no nights of good sleeping awaiting me in the future? I've been either pregnant or nursing for the past 4 years, with about another 2 years of nursing to go. There's no good sleep at the end of this experience?

[cheryl h]

My doctor diagnosed me with perimenopause when I was just 32. It started with increased headaches and severe breast tenderness the week before my cycle. It quickly evolved to include very sporadic cycles ranging from every 3 weeks to every 5 weeks to 3 in one month. I just never know what I'm going to get. This is still where I am at 36, with all the above symptoms, and I guess the grumpiness factor should be mentioned as well. My sleeping problems are apnea related, so I wouldn't know if it was exascerbated by perimeno or not. So far no hot flashes but the breast tenderness is enough to put me over the edge, just having clothes on hurts, just walking through the house is too much bounce. My mom and grandmother were done with meno by 42, but my dr. thinks I may be a little earlier than that. My doctor keeps a close eye on my symptoms and does bloodwork every year at my annual. Excercise makes a night and day difference in severity of symptoms and taking certain vitamins also helps with certain symptoms. My suggestion is to not miss your annual and to have your dr. help you figure out a plan to eleviate your symptoms. Know you aren't alone...

[creekmom]

I had an emergency hysterectomy when I ruptured during my last labor and delivery. I had one ovary. I am not sure if it every worked after that.

 

I didn't get hot flashes at all. I got angry. It wasn't tied to crummy stuff if life, but, like creekmom, I had no more patience. I would snap at my children and say things that were NOT typical of who I had always been! I, too, felt like I was losing my mind. I could literally point to the spot below my stomach where I physically felt anger... One day I snapped at my little toddlers and went to the phone and called my Dr. and asked if I could come in immediately for a blood test to check hormones. I was completely POST menopausal! Because I was just about 33 yrs. at the time, I took hormone replacement. I stopped by 37, though, because I do not like the risks for cancer related to HRT and my Dr. could not endorse HRT without giving the warning. Fortunately, I have not had the anger like I did at 33!!

 

I've been on hormone replacement therapy for 3 years now. I was also scared of the cancer risks, but my dr. told me that the amount of estrogen I'm getting from the hormones is significantly lower than what my body should be producing for a woman my age. You have to remember that the studies done on hrt have focused on women who are post menopausal at a much later age than we are. I'm at extremely high risk for osteoporosis. The benefits of taking estrogen far outweigh the risks for our age. I'll reevaluate the hrt when I'm 45.

[HappyGrace]

EVERY woman needs to read this book!!!!

http://www.amazon.com/What-Your-Doctor-About-Premenopause/dp/0446673803/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1288450389&sr=8-1

 

Dr. John Lee is the well-known premenopause guru. He goes over all the symptoms and how to treat naturally. Reading this book and getting the bioidentical progesterone cream (over the counter) I needed gave me my life back! I am recommending this to all my friends.