Can you peri at 34? - Menopause Message Board

AnnaK · 09-28-2007, 12:48 PM

Hi, everyone:

I seem to be experiencing a LOT of perimenopause symptoms of late, including very light periods lasting 2-3 days at most, a random cycle, light cold sweats during the day, light night sweats, nausea, extreme agitation and anxiety (for no good reason), mood swings, fatigue, a terrible, lingering depression, and sleep problems. I have no medical conditions, am not pregnant, and am in overall excellent health, except for the above symptoms which come and go. I often experience them for about a week just before my period, what there is of it. When I ****** my symptoms I often come up with menopause and perimenopause as possible causes, but the problem is, I'm only 34.

I had bloodwork done recently and everything is A-OK. But for about one to two weeks out of the month I feel nauseous, snipe at everyone, and want to cry all day. I can't get any help anywhere.

I was wondering if peri is even a remote possibility? I've asked on other forums, but I never get a response because everyone thinks I'm pulling their leg. I have periods where I feel absolutely miserable.

I don't know what to do, if there's even a test I can take.

Any thoughts?

Thank you VERY much in advance. I appreciate it.

Titchou · 09-28-2007, 09:17 PM

What kind of blood work? Did they run an FSH level? That even might not show it....are you on bcp?

rheanna · 09-29-2007, 12:37 AM

AnnaK,

Yes you can be starting the fluctuating hormones indicating perimenopause at the age of 34. Several people on this Board are reporting that it is happening to them. I started obvious menopause symptoms at the age of 39 (that is, symptoms that I couldn't ignore like hot flashes and skipped periods), and was probably gearing up before that age.

It is hard to get people to believe this. Somehow the age 50 got assigned to menopause. My understanding is that 50% of women are declared to be in menopause by the time they reach 50. Menopause is defined as having gone for 12 months (or 18 months) without a period. Many women on this Board report having periods after they have been period-free for several years. So are they "officially" in menopause or not?

Since our hormones fluctuate so much from day to day, it is hard to get a blood test that says exactly what stage we are in, or how much longer we have to go before we are "officially" in menopause. Therefore the term perimenopause was invented. It means that things are up in the air and you haven't settled down (low blood levels of hormones and a year of no periods) so that doctors can "officially" say that you are in menopause.

Back to the number 50. If half of women have reached "official" menopause by the time they reach the age of 50, then that means, logically, that half of women are still working towards it after the age of 50. It also means, logically, that the half of women who haven't reached that vague "official" status of menopause are under the age of 50! I hear too often from doctors and women themselves "oh, you're too young for menopause". Somehow, people have confused the "official" (but vague) definition of menopause (12 or 18 months of no periods) with all those years that lead up to finally having no more periods. So therefore women under the age of 50 are "too young" for menopause.

No, you are not too young to start going through the long process of shutting down your hormone production -- the process that is termed perimenopause. You are (statistically) too young to be in "official" menopause.

Does any of this rambling (and rant) make any sense?

Welcome to the group!

--Rheanna

AnnaK · 09-29-2007, 05:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Titchou

What kind of blood work? Did they run an FSH level? That even might not show it....are you on bcp?

I don't think so, since I don't know what FSH or BCP is. I had work done because I was suffering some sharp stomach pains and my doctor was concerned I had appendicitis. Turns out I was fine, and the CT scans and blood work showed normal and he suggested it was a symptom of stress and/or anxiety. A while after that I started looking into other possible sources for the symptoms I had and it seemed like it COULD be perimenopause. I don't really know. All I know is I have no other reason to be experiencing the symptoms--I HAD looked into plain ol' anxiety and depression, but since it comes in waves only at certain times of the month, I thought it might be linked to hormones.

I often think how much better guys have it. LOL

AnnaK · 09-29-2007, 05:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rheanna

AnnaK,

No, you are not too young to start going through the long process of shutting down your hormone production -- the process that is termed perimenopause. You are (statistically) too young to be in "official" menopause.

Does any of this rambling (and rant) make any sense?

Welcome to the group!

--Rheanna

Thanks, Rheanna! Yes, it makes a lot of good sense to me. I've been reading up on the subject--though I didn't know it could take so long to go through these changes. Argh, it's just so frustrating, because, all of a sudden, I feel like my body no longer entirely belongs to me, as crazy as that sounds. Like someone else is in the driver's seat.

If it's what's really happening, it's not even the idea that my fertility is almost over that bothers me. It's just the darn mood swings and the interference in everyday life.

to the group.