Is it menopause ?

[veryanxious84]

My story is complicated and confusing. I am 39 now but I think I am getting into menopause very soon.I have severe hot flushes for nearly a month and half now, they are so severe and frequent that I have to sit motionless in front of the AC or fan all the time, even going to the bathroom would trigger a hot flush.Cold showers and getting dressed give me severe and very long hot flushes (may persist for more than 1-2 hours even with the AC and the fan switched on together).When I try to cook food I sweat like crazy, I have to change clothes afterwards.Night sweats are not so severe, but I need to keep the AC on during the night, which I never did before.

I am still having periods but I don't know if they are considered regular or not. Period sometimes comes on time (every 25 days) but sometimes it is 1-2 days earlier or 2-3 days later. Some doctors say this is normal and regular, other say this is not. No noticeable change in bleeding (last period was a little bit lighter than my usual super heavy periods). The only significant change in my periods occured in my late twenties or early thirties, when they changed from regular 28 day cycles to regular 24 day cycles. Later the cycles stabilized at 25 days for several years. I knew that the shortening of cycles is the first stmptom of perimenopause (??? so started peri at around 30 years or earlier).

I had an experience with night sweats at the age of 34, they stayed there for 3 months and disappeared. Menopause wasn't in mind at that time and I attributed them to stress.I had night sweats for the second time last year, they were worse and were associated with massive anxiety and panic-like attacks, occasional daytime hot flushes and weird digestive symptoms. Medical tests including hormone tests and scans were all normal, including FSH , thyroid hormones and estradiol (the estrogen produced by ovaries).Eventually the hot flushes and night sweats went away after 2-3 months, just to come back in mid August. I had the hormone tests repeated twice recently and the results of the 2 tests were identical and all within the normal range. I also got AMH test (ovarian reserve), it was slightly low but , as by 2 gynecologists, acceptable for my age. Doctors do not think I am close to menopause but I tend to not believe them. I have read in several sources that hot flushes are symptoms of late perimenopause and that the severe ones(like those I have) indicate rapid transition to full menopause in a short time, and if I considered the change in period frequency that happened about 10 years ago-as the start of perimenopause, so this means I am actually in late peri now.

Does anyone of you ladies have a similar experience? and if anyone had hot flushes before actual menopause, how long did they last before you hit menopause ? I live in much uncertainty and fear of the coming part of my life.I don't wish to have a very early menopause and alreagy started to feel like I am 50 or 60.

[Belle76]

Hormone tests can be unreliable because our hormones change all the time it could well be perimenopause, but could be something else. Going through peri perimenopause and menopause isn’t just hot flushes and night sweats there are many different symptoms and signs.

Have you had any other tests done to rule out any thing else.

I would recommend menopausal not mad website or look up dr Louise Newson they are very good. They are UK based.