Could this be peri menopause?

Oh yes Daisy03, you're in perimenopause! It is indeed a rollercoaster of moods and symptoms. I never had much luck with natural remedies although I tried bunches of them, as well as lifestyle changes.  I suffered for 6-7 years because I was afraid of medicine and possible side effects. However, my New Year's resolution this year was to do whatever it took to get a semi-normal life again. I told my husband what would it matter if you lived to be a hundred if you were miserable? I started Prometrium, (bioidentical progesterone) in January and felt 75% better almost immediately. I was able to take it at bedtime and go to sleep on my own! But, I still have some tweaking to do with the dosage and the week before I start I still have depression and mood swings horribly. The rest of the month is much much better. Over all I'm very happy with the results and wish I'd done this a long time ago. I'm not trying to talk you into trying bioidentical hrt. I wanted a natural remedy, but never found it. I was so just tired of living that way, especially since some women report peri  lasting 10 years. Anyway, best of luck!

Try an alkaline or anti-inflammatory diet, it helps reduce the joint/muscle pain, as does taking Vitamin D (have your levels checked by a blood test) and magnesium for muscle aches/spasms.  When my physical symptoms first started (heart palpitations, achy joints, fatigue, vertigo) I had terrible anxiety worrying that I had some sort of disease or infection (I still worry sometimes, though not as often after seeing this wonderful forum full of others going through the same stuff).

Daisy.............that is definately peri, and think its early, it gets worse before it gets better then you reach a peak with your symptoms making you think, i cannot do this anymore, you can feel like your going mad, or going to die, and you cannot believe hormones can make you feel so ill, so, you start having lots of tests, to prove your seriously ill, but your not,   heavy periods are a sign its early, then periods change, they get lighter, and shorter duration, and you come on more frequently, from 4 weeks to 3, then to 2 etc, you know your decling in hormones then, but early on, hormones are, very up and down blood tests can be, and were for me, fairly unreliable during early peri as a result of fluctuations so, doesnt always show your on the menopause, for some it does, you just have to go on symptoms, and symptoms come on nearing period time, ease whilst on, then flare up immediately after or, a couple of days after until it settles again, then starts all over again near cycle time, and if you suffered with pms/depression before peri, its much worse during, peri affects all our body systems, so you will get some symptoms one day, then start with new and alarming symptoms the next,   Im post now, and was on peri for nearly 8 years, started bad from age 46, then went into phase 2, which is menopause, this is when your periods stop altogether, then when you have not had a period for a full 12 months you are then considered post, if you have a period at 11 months and as long as you believe its a proper period, then you have to go another full 12 months before you can say your post, i have been post now for just over a year not a single spotting, and my symptoms are settling, i feel im getting more days like my old self, with a  balanced feeling which is great, my friends and 2 sisters have been post longer than me, and they now have no symptoms whatsoever, symptoms can last in some, for up to 5 years after post but, decreasing as they go, however,  if things dont settle, or, get worse  after that first year of being post, then you may need to consider HRT, its your decision, most of the ladies on here, do it by lifestyle changes, and alternative therapies, some cant do that, as their drop in hormones is too great, so dont suffer if this becomes you, im not allowed HRT due to cancer being in my immediate family. 

Thank you everyone for your comments. I think at the back of my mind I knew this is what is happenning but it still surprises me as I wasn't expecting to have such symptoms at this age.... but then perhaps that's just ignorance on my side. I have to young children age 6 & 7 and sometimes I wonder if having them when I was a bit older affected how I am now. It took me about 2 years to recover from the havoc my second pregnancy and lack of sleep have done to my body and now the peri-menopause! One positive is that reading your replies and some other threads makes me less anxious, just the knowledge that there is a reason for feeling the way I do and it doesn't have to be a terminal illness. Part of me is still shocked at times that hormones could affect me this much. Reading some of the posts on here made me realise that I have other symptoms such as dry skin, dry eyes and I am sure there are others but I cannot remember just right now ( a symptom itself I am sure!). I am grateful for sharing your experience with me.

Elaine, thanks for your insights, I am a bit scared thinking it all will get much worse first. What worries me it the impact it has on my family and myself really, if it gets worse, how am I going to cope and how they are going to cope? I am not the easiest person to be around when my hormones are playing up!

thanks again everybody