I have just come from an appointment with an NHS gynecology consultant who confirmed my Premature Ovarian Insufficiency diagnosis AND that as I have Hashimoto's then it is almost certain my POI is autoimmune.
I think I just wanted to post because even having my thyroid levels ok I was still desperately struggling with symptoms and finding no answers.
POI is a comorbidity of Hashimotos as is type 1 diabetes so if you're in you 30's and still struggling with thyroid symptoms maybe consider POI.
Much love,
Witchy 🧡
Written by
WitchingHour2point0
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
I've been on HRT for over a year now which was a total game changer.
I think I was let down but the medics because noone was aware that POI was related to Hashimoto's.
I went to my GP in 2022 aged 35 begging for help as I'd had a total loss of libido and my marriage was suffering and I had a female hormones test that showed estrogen was only 9% through the range. She was so awful to me that it took me a months to gather the courage to seek another opinion.
I went to see my (male) private endocrinologist, who told me my bloods were normal, my libido might never return, and it was because I was an anxious person (which he determined by testing my ankle reflexes), and prescribed me a beta blocker!
I was, at this point, almost housebound with OCD, sleeping 10 hours a night and getting no still feeling exhausted, struggling at work etc etc. I was literally a shell of who I was.
A year after my first female hormones test, my new (female) endo, reran the test and confirmed I was perimenopausal and prescribed HRT. Which has been an absolute lifesaver. Quite literally.
It was difficult to unpick for lots of reasons.
Mostly, I was 'too young' for anyone to consider perimenopause. I had a lot of trauma in my childhood so OCD was explained away by that. Once the chronic illness of UAT was given any further symptoms was put down to that and there was a feeling of having to put up with it because this was life with a chronic disease.
I think if it were more widely known that autoimmune thyroid disease if strongly linked with autoimmune premature ovarian insufficiency it would've helped. Upto 10% of women with AITD go on to develop POI.
I can keep an eye on my sister and daughter now. Consultant recommended getting my daughter's AMH tested in her early 20's to see where she stands and again a year later for comparison.
Full of admiration for you and how you have handled it all and how you can now prepare those around you and support other women with this. What a learning curve and thank goodness for second or third opinions. 🤞🙏👏
Thank you, Apple. As I said to Regen, not a lot of support in real life and it has been heart warming to hear this from you. It's been a lonely road for the most part but the support I received here has been galvanising.
wow well done you it must be such a relief. Im43 and suspect Im in peri menopause but have had same issues as you getting anyone to listen. Can I ask what indicators in blood tests showed you were POI? As I don’t know which tests to get given I’ve been told tests are unnecessary in peri menopause
Over the course of a year my oestrogen dropped from very low in range (9%) to below range(-14%). My FSH had also gone from 11.2 (3.5 - 12.5) to 23. I was 37 at the time. I think Menopause is officially diagnosed when FSH is over 40 and perhaps I ought to have waited to see it rise further but that would have left me suicidal.
Because my biggest complaint was total loss of libido; Complete and absolute, (You can imagine the impact that was having on my marriage...) My GP was short tempered with me and asked if I had hot flashes, night sweats, or vaginal dryness and when I answered 'no' she said I needed psychosexual counselling.
I ugly cried on the phone to her, I was so desperate for help.
Once I'd let that percolate though I realised I was having all those symptoms it just didn't look like I expected. My hot flashes were focused on my neck and felt like my skin getting tight. My night sweats were waking up at 3am thinking someone had left the heating on overnight. My vaginal dryness was no longer being able to use tampons or even pads. (I had previously put this down to birth trauma.)
I had absolutely zero clue that OCD could be hormonally driven. I was almost housebound, having a panic episode hourly. I am now 95% free of it and no longer having panic episodes.
I write all this here because it might be useful to someone else too.
If you have a good GP then yes, bloods can be unnecessary for perimenopause, but I was getting nowhere so I had female hormones tests by medichecks. But again, I wasn't looking for perimenopause, I was just looking for proof of something hormonal!
The average age of menopause is 51 and perimenopause can start 10 years prior to that so it's quite reasonable to assume that at 43 you're noticing perimenopausal symptoms.
You might just have to keep on and on. Try a different GP, ask to be referred to a menopause clinic, go privately if it's an option for you.
You deserve to feel well so don't let them keep you sick. 💚
Oh wow you have really been through hell, and shown great determination and courage in the face of it. I hope you take time to congratulate yourself & enjoy life now things are a bit easier!bravo!
My FSH and LH were around 13 and day 3,oestrodil was between 100-300 ( medichecks). Complication was my SHBG and Free T3 were up at times so lots of overlapping symptoms
My OCD has got much worse, Im so itchy vaginally and I get really bad urge incontenence - and im SO angry all the time
I’ll keep testing and logging my symptoms- Im 43 so very likely in peri menopause- the GP is resistant to HRT but I’ve been through all of this with my thyroid so happy to keep trying! I pay privately for NDT and thyroid care so would like to avoid paying for HRT if I can
Hi, have you been offered testosterone alongside your oestrogen and progesterone? I really can be life changing. Officially, testosterone is only prescribed for low libido but that's a load tosh, it's so much more than that. With you being thrown into early menopause having POI, you should have been spoken to about it.
Yes, I am taking testosterone. My endo was happy to prescribe it. I stopped taking it for a few months as I thought it wasn't doing anything but there was a clear difference in how I felt so I've started taking it again.
That's really good that you have a genned up endo.
I also did that..2 weeks I lasted.
It's so hard when you have a thyroid condition and symptoms. You just presume it's down to your thyroid and don't think of anything else.
I went through blaming my thyroid when in fact
It was perimenopause. I really wasn't well and my thyroid medication just stopped working.
I ended up going private to an amazing endocrinologist who was unbeknown to me a prominent menopause specialist.
I was under her 18 months as had both hrt and thyroid to sort out.
Perimenopause can play a big factor in how we feel, and a lot of the symptoms overlap with thyroid. It's hard to see it in yourself if your not having hot flushes or night sweats. Your crazy mood swings and tempers, you don't see them yourself, only others do.
Then having had numerous years of all that peri throws at you, then post menopause and all the misery that low estrogen brings us. I'll be staying on hrt till I die!
I'm sorry your going through all this at your age.
Pleased to hear that there has been some improvement in the last 30 years to the way women’s hormones are being considered, though still needs some persistentence. I was someone who stopped periods by 41, and within a few years got diabetic, hypothyroid and menopausal diagnoses in that order….only later do you find untimely and inappropriately treated, or not. HR would have been a life changer!
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
As I said to Regen, not a lot of support in real life and it has been heart warming to hear this from you. It's been a lonely road for the most part but the support I received here has been galvanising. 
Supplements and hashimotos 
hashimotos & menopause
Hypothyroidism and Menopause
When is it Hashimotos?
Dermatopolymyositis and Hashimotos.
