Hey female DUers..has anyone started pre menopause before 40?

[Kanola]

I just want to know because I am 38 and my period was like clockwork but now it is erratic.. (spotting, light periods)Just want to get other female DUers input.

[SOteric]

1. No, not me, but...

I do know that life stresses and PID can cause the same symptoms. I think if it's a persistent occurrence I'd be inclined to schedule an appointment with the GYN.

[DeposeTheBoyKing]

2. Yes, unfortunately

I did when I was about 35. No family history; they think MAYBE my thyroid started making antibodies against my ovaries. Found this out JUST WHEN we were starting to try to have a baby. Was able to conceive with the help of hormones, but miscarried on the very day I found out and haven't been able to since. Haven't had a real period for almost four years now.

If you start having hot flashes, have your FSH and LH levels checked. If the FSH is really high, you are probably moving into perimenopause.

The statistics for premature menopause are (I believe) about 1 in 1,000 women. I am one of those unfortunate women; I hope you're not (unless you want to be done with periods!) Good luck to you.

[Kanola]

11. 35 is so young. Sorry you were not able to conceive

I am reading about women being pre menopausal at younger ages. ( I define menopause as being able to go withoug a period for about a year, could be wrong). I feel so bad for you because you are still young.

[impeach the gop]

3. I had my plumbing removed just in time :-)

And life is wonderful and I'd do it again :-)

[REP]

4. Other Causes

Ovarian cysts
Thyroid problems
Change in birth control methods
Underweight
Overweight


And no I didn't - I had to have a tubal ligation and endometrial ablation to achieve the same results.

[SoCalDem]

5. I had a spontaneous/total stop at 40

and then 6 years of the worst hot flashes known to humankind:(

[caledesi]

6. My sis-in-law was in REAL menopause at age 40.

Just like her mother. When did your mother start actual menopause? This should give you a clue.

Now I am 55 and am in menopause. I was 54 went I started (lack of periods for months).

I say, look to your mother and when she stqarted menopause. That should give you a clue.

[DeposeTheBoyKing]

9. Not ALWAYS the case

My mom was in her 50s when she started menopause, as was my oldest sister. My other sister just turned 54 and still has periods, although she's had hot flashes for several years. Why was I the lucky one who started at 35?? My sisters are half-sisters to me (same mom, different dads), but with the same mom, why did I have to start menopause at 35?

[Kanola]

10. my mom started pre menopause in her early forties

I talked to her today. She is 64 and told me that she also had light periods, then no periods for six months than boom a major period. She told me that this was around age forty. I also started menstruating when I was 11. I felt so young when I started.

[blondeatlast]

7. I could write a book.

I'm 44 and pretty much through the entire thing, at least it appears so. Had my only child at 37, stayed on an even keel until I hit 42. Then I started bleeding like CRAZY. Ended up with severe anemia, requiring blood transfusions. Even though I had had arterial stents, my doctor (a wonderful, very smart woman) prescribed the low dose birth control pill. Seems the danger of a heart attack is greater from the bleeding and anemia than from the hormones.

Since then I have been very spotty, sometimes missing them entirely. I have occasional hot flashes, but all in all, it's not too bad so far.

Knock wood!

[arikara]

8. Yep, its actually quite common

I started having symptoms at around 38 too... mostly night sweats. Nothing showed up on any tests but I was told that the hormone tests aren't always accurate. The symptoms went away for a few years, then hot flashes started at age 45 with a vengeance and my periods stopped abruptly.

People kept saying it was too early, but I started researching it and it isn't early at all. It can start anytime from the mid thirties.

Here's an excellent book on the subject, I've used the remedies in it with great success (garden sage is the best for hot flashes) and have completely avoided taking horse pee pills.

New Menopausal Years: The Wise Woman Way by Susun S. Weed

[Kanola]

12. Thanks!

Did you have light periods at 38???

[arikara]

14. After having an endometrial eblation at 40 they were lighter

probably then were like most people's normal. Before that they were on about a 25 day cycle and so heavy that I was getting anemic. And that was normal for me. Its so nice that they've stopped.

[Booberdawg]

13. Really should see the GYN to get any probs ruled out

but sure it's possible to start menopause in 30's - my step-mother and half-sister did with full blown hot flashes in their MID thirties.

On the other hand, I'm 47 and have no periods because I had a partial hyster 11 years ago but I still ovulate and have yet to experience any symptoms of menopause or even pre-menopause or hormone changes.

I would add, though, that the reason I had that partial hyster 10 years ago was that I, too, was regular as clockwork until ONE TIME I was late, and since I was due for a pap check up anyway I followed up immediately and was found to have cancer of the cervix. No shit - I had no other symptoms other than being late that ONE TIME and it was caught early, so I encourage you to get yourself checked out right away and let a Dr decide whether or not this is menopause or something else that requires medical attention.

good luck

Linda

[supernova]

15. Regular as clockwork at 41

still. :shrug: I take a low-dose b.c. pill to alleviate the worst of PMS.

[soleft]

16. still regular but I get night sweats -

started around 39, not as bad now as when I first started having them. But I drink a lot of soy milk and they say soy helps. What I was told was that perimenopausal sypmstoms can start up to ten years before menopause.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

18. Yup...

up to ten years before really hitting the menopause. Interestingly, you can have the chance of having a longer perimenopause if you have low cholestrol or a history of depression -- it seems cholesterol can lead to depression and is vitally needed for the production of hormones.

Ohh, thought of another great book -- "What You Doctor May Not Tell You About Menopause", by John Lee. I don't subscribe to his progesterone fixes EVERYTHING philosphy, but he presents some really great research and understanding of how hormones work.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

17. Not unusual at all...

Those two signs you mentioned are two of the most common signs that perimenopause has started. Of course, you shoudl get checked out by you GYN to make sure nothing else is going on.

With that said, when I started peri in earnest at 39, I found that the tests used by my doctor were not accurate -- I ended up getting saliva hormone tests on my own. They showed that I was Estrogen dominant with Progesterone levels in the toilet, which fit exactly with what was going on with me at the time.

I would HIGHLY recommend checking out Christianne Northrup's book "The Wisdom of Menopause" it is THE bible for women going through peri/menopause.

You can check out and get saliva hormone testing at salivatest.com, and there is a GREAT website at power-surge.com that is a online resource/support system for women at this time of life. You can find a list of the 34 signs of peri/menopause there -- some of them you would never connect to hormones, so you may be surprised to find that you have more symptoms than you thought.

There is also a great book from the Chinese medicine point of view that I foudn incredibly helpful. I'll dig up the title tomorrow and post it.