Menopause at 42, Is this normal???

Posted , 11 users are following.

Hi,

I've been having symptoms of possibly heading towards the menopause.

My first symptom is my menstrual cycle, it's never been overly heavy but it's been regular.

Recently though it has started with a few spots of dark blood and then the normal bright red blood but it doesn't last long and just when I think it's finished it comes back again.

Vaginal dryness is also noticeable, I am a single woman but I still have needs and everything always seems 'dry'??

Weight gain also but then I'm trying to blame Xmas for that one, headaches like you wouldn't believe and tired all the time.

Can these be signs of early menopause????

2 likes, 41 replies

41 Replies

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  • Posted

    You can go and see your nurse and explain things you can request a blood test but it does depend where you are on your cycle for them to do it. It will show your hormone levels and that will give an indication.
  • Posted

    My symptoms have started at 42 and I was breastfeeding then I didn't think. Stopped feeding the girl and still the same with progress 😕

    I have done lots of checks already. I have not done my hormones yet but I am going to .

    What you're saying that's exactly how my periods are.

    I'm going to ask for ultrasound as well.

    Blessings

  • Posted

    Its a possibility just chk your dr ..do not stress much tho..am 42 an have been going through hell u stay strong
  • Posted

    Laura,

        I was exactly 42 1/2 when changes started to occur.  There is roughly a 10 year period, called perimenopause, where our hormones and cycles begin to change before we get to menopause.  In many ways this is the reverse of adolesence.  We didn't just wake up one day with our complete adult bodies.  It took years for those changes to occur.  The same holds true with the descent and decline for this system.  

    I did try to use bioidentical HRT in this period, but it certainly didn't work well.  Mainly because our hormones are bouncing around wildly throughout this period.  Eventually I went off the hormones, and my periods continued for another 10 years.  

    But you are the perfect age for things to begin to change.  What I can recommend is to be good to your body.  Eat a solid diet, take a good multivitamin, get into bed by 10pm, exercise a little, find some "me" time, drink plenty of water.  Anything you can do to allow your body to adjust, as calmy as possible, will help.

    Perimenopause can be a rough and rocky road.  Someday you feel wonderful and others you wonder what in the world is happening.  But all of this will eventually take you to menopause.     

    • Posted

      Hi gallannie 

      Since bioidentical HRt did not work are you taking any other form of hrt to help out with it. I have been trying tibilone hrt for past couple of weeks and not sure what to do. My main concern is nausea morning sickness and anxiety red alert in my head that has kicked in during perimenopause.  I really want to be calm and kind to myself but just struggling I think to accept these changes and want to move on. Your message gives hope and maybe one day don't after how many years menopause will come.

    • Posted

      Pam, there  are so many variables for HRT.  What works for one women can feel like H*LL to another.   I still haven't completely given up on the bioidenticals, as I personally believe they are better for our bodies than the synthetics.  

      What I guess I want women to understand, is that ALL OUR HORMONE systems function together.  When our body chemistry changes, it isn't just the estrogen, progesterone and testosterone that are effected.  It's also our insulin, thyroid and adrenal gland production.  They all support one another.  So when we lose our estrogen and progesterone, our adrenal glands kick in, to try and help out.  Since the adrenal glands produce fight or flight hormones, this is where many women get into anxiety.  Or women have problems with their thyroid, or insulin resistance.  So while losing this minor hormone system isn't going to kill us (it may feel like it will), it does effect everything about our bodies.  

      And the changes that come with menopause, again, don't come on overnight.  I actually hit the ground running, when I finally got to menopause.    I never had a hot flash or a night sweat. Didn't even know I was done with my periods, until the year had passed.  I felt ok, except for chronic muscle and ligament pain.  (But somehow I didn't connect those dots!)  Anyway, it was years later that I first noticed painful sex, and then, vaginal atrophy and dryness came a callin'.  AGAIN, this didn't happen overnight!  

      So Pam, in all honestly (and sorry for delivering this unpleasant message), I wouldn't wish menopause on ANY woman.  It isn't like you get there, and all of this is done and over with.  New things creep up, with a lack of these hormones, and change your world once again.  Sometimes in very negative ways.  I'm 60, but not ready to give up my sex life.  It is reported that 50% of menopausal women have atrophy and dryness.  I personally think it's 100%, and the other half has just given up and doesn't report it to their doctors.  

      I think the thing that bothers me the most, is that in our young and healthy furtile life, we just seem to run so beautifully.  But when this system shuts down, EVERY RULE FOR THE GAME CHANGES.  I knew my body so well before menopause.  Now it feels completely foreign to me.  Foods don't taste right, I can't wear contacts anymore, my sex life is in the toilet, my skin looks weird, my sleep and digestion has changes, even my hair texture has changed.  

      I wish more women were totally honest about this life altering endocrine shift. Woman might not be so surprised if they actually knew what was coming.   But no, we just keep putting out more of the same old, "You''ll be fine" kind of stuff.  Define FINE?   Does "fine" mean you have aches and pains that prevent you from doing things you once enjoyed?  Does "fine" mean you'll feel lucky to get a good nights sleep?   Does "fine" mean you will graciously give up your desire for sex, and call it quits?  Does "fine" mean you somehow learn to live with buying bras three sizes larger for those overgrown and sagging breasts?  (I cried!)  Or that you enjoy a dry mouth, no energy, ringing in the ears, sagging skin, wrinkles, and a fat meno  belly?  Or that now you get to worry about things like a bad cholesterol profile, having heart attacks just like men, and insulin resistance?  

      I am sorry, to one and all, for what seems like a very negative take on this menopause thing. Ok, lets be honest and call it my RANT.   I wish I could say meno is great, and what a relief to be done with periods.  But honestly, I'd buy tampons till the day I die, and wear white pants every single day of the cycle, if it got me back to feeling more normal.   So ladies, please don't wish away your periods and sex steriods.  Even when they are sometimes uncomfortable. They'll be gone soon enough, and then you'll have a whole new list of things to complain about.  

      May not be pretty, but I'm honest.        

    • Posted

      agree with you. I was much happier before my 45 and wish I could continue with it and not go through this all now right now.
    • Posted

      Only those of us who are there get it, Pam.  It's not easy AFTER MENOPAUSE.  Things change significantly.  

    • Posted

      Aaaaa. You have made me cry 😂. ..You must be a writer ? Great writing! !!

      That's why men go for younger women 😕

      Would be great to stay young or get older in some different way without hormonal changes.

      Blessings

    • Posted

      God bless you for being able to express what most women are thinking and feeling, but do not say it. I too wish that I was 40, vibrant and full of hormones once again. Once you cross over that line, you are never the same again. You can't go back, just gotta make the best of the life you have now.

    • Posted

      Natalie, thank you for those kind words.  And actually yes, I have written a book.  It was about my 3 1/2 year long experience helping my father who was dyng of Alzheimer's disease.  I never knew I had the ability to write until that experience.  

      I sure wish I wasn't writing about the truth of menopause.  But boy do things change.  And frankly, I see nothing wrong with acknowledging and admitting our loss.  Personally,  I think we should be allowed a period of  time to grieve this change in life.     

    • Posted

      Maria, I'm trying to make the best of things, as we all are.  But boy this isn't easy.  And it really is like you cross over a line, isn't it?  Sometimes it's like a line you don't even know you are approaching.  Cause if I'd have known, I'd have high tailed it in the opposite direction!!!!   I'd be LOL if this was even slightly funny.

      I have seen some improvement with HRT.  But I've got a long way to go.     

       

    • Posted

      Gail Annie,

      Brilliantly put! I truly think I'm going through some changes, my body and mind hasn't felt 'normal' since September 2016, it may not seem that long but before that I was relatively healthy and happy but now I'm just fed up, miserable,depressed and suffer massively with anxiety so all these changes are really hard to handle. Dry mouth, dry skin, weight gain, are to name a few!!! My period started today so I'm feeling even more yuk than normal, my whole body feels weak and aching, I wish it would STOP

    • Posted

      No, it is not easy. When you go through menopause you lose a part of yourself that was once carefree. It shakes you to the core. It wakes you up from that blissful sleep. Now you are aware of every ache and pain. Things you never gave a second thought about, now consumes you to the point of insanity almost.

      It does get better though. I have my good and bad days. Now I have more good ones than bad.

    • Posted

      I'm having more bad days lately than I can ever remember having. I can't remember the last time I felt normal it feels like an eternity ago!!!

    • Posted

      Me too Laura!  All I can offer is that you are with a good group of women here, how will offer personal experience and be honest about this transition in life. 

      I completley understand how you are feeling.  I get the dry mouth, weight gain, dry skin and hair.  And as you said, this only is mentioning a few of the wonderful changes!!   But it doesn't stop.  As someone wise said:  the only stable thing in life, is that things are ALWAYS changing.  (Well that close, but my meno brain isn't working well right now....LOL)

        

    • Posted

      Hi laura, I know exactly what you are experiencing. Trust me it gets better. Every woman is different, some feel better faster than others. Hang in there. Your body is commanding your full attention. Now it is time to take care of yourself.
    • Posted

      Maria, I love that!  YOU DO LOSE A PART OF YOURSELF.  And it was the care free part.  

      I know it's hard for the women in perimenopause to see this.  And I'm not down playing that unpleasant perimeno rock and roll of hormones. (It's not easy)  But I'd even take that back if I could.  It sure as heck beats this hormone desert.  

    • Posted

      I just feel so rotten all the time and being a single mum of 2 boys I'm finding it really difficult sad

    • Posted

      But Laura, keep in mind you are still having periods. You're still got some time!!!   Do everything you can to keep your system calm and steady.  You're only 42, and the average age is 52 1/2 for meno.  

      Remember, I tried to use bioidenticals in peri.  But it didn't work well.  I had periods for almost another 10 years.  And most of them were pretty darn good.  

      So do some things to help your system adjust.  A good mulit vitamin, extra sleep, plenty of water, and a good diet.  Eat those vegetables girl!  This really can help at this point in time.  

    • Posted

      I'm suffering with anxiety too which really blows up sometimes!!

      And this dizziness feeling is horrible, can't stand up sometimes because it feels like I'm spinning, is that normal ?

    • Posted

      I was there too, divorced with two boys 17 and 14.  I had to work very hard just to make the mortgage payments.   Not a good time.  So I feel for you.  
    • Posted

      I start a new job January 30th and I'm really scared I'm going to fail at it because of my health issues 😢

    • Posted

      Laura, a lot of women notice a dizzy sensation.  Can you track it?  Is is normally at a certain time in your cycle?  That might give some clues as to what is going on.  

      Our brains are very sensitive to hormone fluctuations.  

    • Posted

      That feeling of dread and failure is also a part of hormone fluctuations.  Again, it is effecting your brain chemistry.  This is also why women will noitice they cry alot.  Depression is very common in perimenopause.  

      Lovely, isn't it! 

    • Posted

      Well my cycle started today so maybe that has something to do with it, I'll keep a health diary and see if the same symptoms/issues happen next month, my legs feel jelly like, almost as if they wouldn't hold me up if I stand up, it's quite scary, but I'm sure it's my anxiety playing tricks with my mind

    • Posted

      Lovely isn't a word I would choose, I remember when my mum was going through the menopause, she was evil!! 😡

      So angry all the time, she doesn't remember being like it but I do 😂

      I just would like a day where I feel 'good' it's making me feel like a prisoner in my own home

    • Posted

      Once you start taking time out for yourself, doing things that make your feel good it will start to get easier. You need to first work on your anxiety, take short walks, light execise. Magnesium supplements really help with anxiety. Just like gailannie said take a good multivitamin, increase your nutrition by eating healthy whole foods. Watch uplifting movies, shows and books.
    • Posted

      Holy moly girl, your cycle started today!!  Ok so notice if you feel better by next week.  Right now your hormones are at their LOW POINT.  Even at a younger age, this is often when women feel really down.  

      But by next week your estrogen will be rising.  Please keep track and see how you do each day of this month.  This might give you something to go on. 

    • Posted

      You've been amazing to talk too, I love these forums they are so helpful!!

      I have got some magnesium supplements so I will start taking them again, what multivitamin so you recommend?

    • Posted

      Ok, so I posted, but apparently I used a triger word and now it has to be cleared by a moderator. So I'll try again....without that word.

      So you know I was kidding with the word LOVELY.  But I'm afraid we'd be moderated with acurately, honest words to describe this.   But now you know first hand why your mom was acting so evil.  

      Sad, but I have hoped that I would live long enough to see my daughter go through this.  She never seemed to understand how badly I was feeling at the time.  It almost p*ssed me off.  But her turn is coming, she's already 33.  

    • Posted

      I certainly feel my mums pain!

      I drink herbal tea (manuka honey is my favourite), and I've tried to cut out caffeine. Health diet will have to kick in soon!!! Plenty of fruit and veg !

    • Posted

      Don't know that I have a recommendation for a particular vitamin.  Just read the labels, and buy a respected brand.  Any additional support you give your body can be helpful.  

       

    • Posted

      I think the ones I have are centrum? I'll look in the morning, my whole upper body feels tight, like I could do with a good massage to release all tension in my muscles

    • Posted

      Hey Laura, GO GET A MESSAGE.  This can be very helpful in many ways.  Including helping your lympatic system move things.  

      Follow those body clues!  You are holding tension in your muscles right now.  So go get it worked out with a good message.  If nothing else it would be an hour where you are doing nothing but relaxing and letting go.  

      And don't see this as being selfish.  Right now your body needs this help.  

    • Posted

      Totally agree with everything your saying gailannie, you've saved me from typing all of this cos I feel the same, medical people and other woman who say it's not an illness you'll be fine just stay positive, well there's no one more positive than what I used to be but this hormone imbalance has turned me into a nervous wreck, struggle with negative thoughts, severe anxiety etc etc. It frustrates me the way I react to even minor stressful situations now. I've had a row with my sister and tonight a minor incident happened and it caused me to have a severe panic attack, I've never had an attack like this couldn't speak or breath, I was crying uncontrollably, now all my muscles are aching it's ridiculous

      Nothing else for it but to just keep marching on and hope that one day my body will accept and get used to the Changes and let me start the next wonderful chapter of my life, symptom free 😬

      Love and best wishes to all of the lovely ladies xx

    • Posted

      You are right. We are getting older. We need to take care of ourselves. When my GP Said that my pain on 1 site of the throat and feeling lump is muscular I could believe but she was right! I have seen a Physician and after 5-7 days of good stretch i was fine. I'm doing 10 15 minutes every morning and feel good with my neck.

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