Possible perimenopause age 35

[emmalemmadingdong]

Hi All

I am 35 years of age and am questioning if I could be in perimenopause but have normal blood results. I’ve seen my GP,initially for heart palpitations, and was referred to a cardiologist. This was around 2021 so would have been 32. All investigations came back as normal. I’ve since been seen again as ended up in A&E with them and was told I have an irregular heartbeat and was started on a Beta blocker. As well as the palpitations i’ve experienced mood swings, headaches, brain fog, depression, anxiety but put these down to hormones and becoming a mom in 2020.

In the end I went to my GP regarding low mood and mood swings because it got to the point where I would wake up most days and not know what mood I would be in and I noticed it was affecting how I was as a mom and partner. It’s like some days i’m on top of the world and then the next I feel so low, irritable, tearful etc. Just given self help info and sent on my way.

Went back to GP this year because of a period that lasted for weeks. I’m always very wary of things like that as my grandmother died of ovarian cancer. Now my periods have always been irregular until I had my daughter and they seem to be pretty regular now for the first time in my life however this was the first time one lasted for weeks and I wanted to get it checked. I remembered reading something about perimenopause so mentioned this and said along with the mood swings, brain fog could this be the culprit and possibly be behind the palpitations as well? Dr pretty much scoffed and said because of my age he thought it unlikely but would do bloods which came back normal.

My ? is could I still be in perimenopause but still have normal bloods? I’m really struggling now with not knowing how I’m going to feel from one day to the next. Worried and convinced myself I could have a serious underlying heart issue because of the palpitations and this has increased my anxiety levels even more than they already was so it’s like a vicious circle at the mo.

Any help advice appreciated.

[Regenallotment]

have they checked your thyroid? I was on HRT 10 years too early, got worse and worse and eventually a locum spotted it. Hope you get answers I’ve been there and got the T shirt 🙏

[emmalemmadingdong in reply to Regenallotment]

I was having my thyroid checked regularly at one point at my old GP surgery but I actually can’t remember why and don’t believe it’s been checked by my new GP.

[Regenallotment in reply to emmalemmadingdong]

You can test it privately for about £25.00 (Randox online or via Amazon) they have a black friday deal. This will give you more info than the GP test, they only test one marker usually. Knowing FT3 FT4 as well as TSH and any antibodies would be really good to know. Other things it can be (or as well as) is low B12 and Low ferritin/iron.

[emmalemmadingdong in reply to Regenallotment]

That’s fab, I didn’t realise you could test it privately. Thank you ☺️

[Regenallotment in reply to emmalemmadingdong]

If you post your results in the Thyroid UK forum here on Health Unlocked then folks will advise, its a super busy forum and the admins are so helpful.

[bethm1983]

I went into surgical menopause age 35, although due to normal blood tests and lack of knowledge of GPs I didn't get diagnosed until I was 39. I was in a bad way, I could barely get out of bed due to joint pain amongst many other symptoms.I highly recommend speaking to a menopause specialist. I had to go private as there was a 5 month waiting list and I was close to doing something silly.

I am still truly shocked and concerned by the lack of knowledge within general GPs on the menopause and other women's health issues.

If you have any questions. Please feel free to contact me. I'd be happy to offer help although I can only go by my own experiences. HRT has helped a lot. I don't know where I would be without it. Xxx

[bluebug]

If you are in perimenopause then blood tests for hormones aren't very helpful as they are a snap shot of your hormones at a particular time and date. The issue with perimenopause is your hormones fluctuate a lot.

Do you know when your own mother reached the menopause?

As that will give you a clue of when you are likely to reach it. So if she reached it around her mid-40s then you could be in perimenopause.

I actually know women who had reached the menopause in their early 40s. Two of them were aware when their own mothers had reached the menopause so weren't surprised by it though their GPs were. I know because they were pissed off with them.

Anyway as other posters said get thyroid blood tests before doing anything else.

[Lester23]

Hi, Although I am older than you (51) I am currently experiencing the same as you. Mood swings, periods that go on for weeks and weeks, brain fog etc. My anxiety is often really bad to the point I just lay awake at night, worrying. I also started to have heart palpitations and had a couple of ECG's but nothing showed up. I understand your concerns as my mum also had ovarian cancer and my sister has had breast cancer. I have had 3 internal ultrasounds and so far all is good except I have had cysts on my ovaries but have been told nothing to worry about. My blood tests don't really show anything, although I have recently been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis so my GP is more focussed on this. I have recently started therapy with a counsellor who specialises in menopause and I must admit, she is really helping. I have also been advised not to take HRT due to my mum's cancer but will be getting a second opinion on that one.

Can't really offer much advice except everything you have mentioned, I have also experienced. For me, counselling has really helped me come to terms with the changes my body is going through and just taking things day by day.

It is horrible you are going through this at such a young age, happy to talk directly if that will help xx

[Koala365]

My GP ran bloods tests and deemed them normal because GPs are only testing to see if you are in actual menopause apparently which is crazy because perimenopause cab appear 5 to 10 years before menopause and has many of the debilitating symptoms you describe. When I went to see a menopause specialist ie a consultant gynacologist who bad some specialism in that area (check their bios), they established that my levels of various hormones were very much in the "we would expect you to be symptomatic for perimenopause" bracket. I also had unexplained bleeding which I was keen to have looked at due to various friends having had uterine cancer with bleeding as symptoms. I managed to get a referral from my GP but through my private medical insurance which covered me for all the tests for unexplained bleeding and perimenopause came up as part of the discussion with the gynaecologist as part of this who raised that it could relate to perimenopause and looked at my tests the GP had run. I was lucky in that sense as I don't think my policy would have covered me for investigations for perimenopause but I was able to get this dealt with as a result of the investigations into the unexplained bleeding. If not, just to pay a private consultant to look at your test results would be worth it, in my view!

[Rainbow2468]

Hi yes all of these things cam be linked to perimenopause. And yes bloods can come back as normal too. I started having issues like this at thirty six. It's frustrating amf stressful isn't it sending hugs x🤗

[Rainbow2468]

Oh and too add i had biopsies done fur to the bleeding getting out t of hand and they came back clear, so i understand you worrying too x

[emmalemmadingdong]

Thank you all so much for taking the time to respond ☺️ I’m definitely going to push to see a specialist of some sort because my quality of life is so much lower because of how I am feeling

[TheNewOne]

Hi, I’m not from UK but I have read your post. It’s possible it’s perimenopause even tho the blood results are okay. I have entered perimenopause at 28, due to Premature ovarian insufficiency and I have been feeling symptoms for at least 2 years before doctors finally realized what’s happening. I thought I was going crazy because I wasn’t feeling well but every result kept coming back normal. Now I’m on HRT including testosterone for a full year already, and it has greatly improved quality of my life.

My advice to you is to be persistent and keep advocating for yourself. Doctors tend to dismiss possibility of someone young being in perimenopause. Also, do hormones blood test on 2nd day of your period as that’s when the results should be the most accurate (FSH, LH, Estrogen and Progesterone; testosterone also if you feel low libido and symptoms like that).

And good luck, I’m crossing my fingers for you!

[emmalemmadingdong in reply to TheNewOne]

Thank you so much for your reply. I’m sorry to hear you are going through it at such a young age. I’m glad the HRT and testosterone have improved things for you ☺️