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groovychic
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Joined: 27 Feb 2006
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 Posted: 02/27/06 - 13:56 Post subject: Perimenapause |
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| I am 41 years old (42 in 5 mos) and for the past 4 mons. have had NO PERIODS. My doc says my hormone levels are that of perimenopause. Does this sound right? I always thought it happened much later in life. I really don't mind, however, I am very anxious about cancers etc. & I want to know that it's nothing more serious. Can they tell by simple bloodwork if it's just perimenopause? I have no Mother or sisters to ask if they went through it early. Can anybody help? I feel like crying!!! Thank you!! |
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Jane23
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| Posted: 02/28/06 - 11:03 Post subject: |
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Believe it or not, perimenopause can even start at the ago of 35. Perimenopause doesn’t mean that you are in menopause but approaching to menopause. This period can last even ten years until a woman enters menopause.
There is no rule why some women enter menopause earlier and some later. Are you experiencing any problems besides lack of your periods? Symptoms like weight gain, low libido, fatigue before periods, dry vagina and vulva indicate perimenopause. IF you don’t, consider yourself like because many women go through devastating symptoms once sexual hormones start to decline.
Yes, your doctor can tell by running FSH level blood test if you are approaching menopause. Here is how it works: FSH is a hormone that is released from the brain by pituitary gland to stimulate egg development. When there are no eggs (or little) the pituitary gland releases more and more FSH hormone and when the body runs out of eggs the levels of FSH hormones are always elevated because the body will never stop trying to make the ovaries produce eggs for fertilization. So, after running FSH blood tests, a doc can tell if they are elevated or not.
When a woman approaches menopause their baseline FSH levels increase over the years and are quite high-over 30-40 mIU/ml. When you reach these levels you stop having periods.
As for being scared of cancer and other medical conditions, the only thing you can do about it is have regular annual check-ups at the gynecologist office. Do you have a family history of “women” disorders? Even if a gynecologist finds some precancerous cells during a pap smear, they tend to grow very slowly and if they are found on time, they are almost always treatable. |
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groovychic
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Joined: 27 Feb 2006
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| Posted: 02/28/06 - 14:04 Post subject: Perimenopause |
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| Thank you so much for your reply. Thankfully, NO, I have no family history of female cancers, & I do go for my yearly pap smear (always came back negative) & for my yearly breast exam (negative also). In response to the other questions, yes I am losing "desire" for sex, but have a wonderful husband & because of that, do my "duty" (ha ha). I also experience fatigue & moods, but the other thing is that my thyroid levels are low. I heard that this can also cause peri symptoms- lack of periods, etc. I am due to see my doctor in June (annual exam), but have been keeping them posted via telephone.....thanks again! G.C. |
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