Is this premenopause?

Hi all, I am 37 yrs old and have been having some trouble for the past year or two. I started having anxiety attacks a cple of yrs ago and was put on Lexapro. Evythg fine after that. About 6mths later I noticed that I would wake up in the morning soaking wet in sweat, hair, clothes and skin. This usually occurs around period time. Then about every other month I would have a terrible menstual period, so bad it fells like I am having another child. My hubby and I have been married 18 wonderful years. I noticed on occational period time, we would fight alot because of my moods. For the past 3mnths, I have been having occational headaches, tired all the time, no energy, and what I think is hot flashes. Heat building up in my chest, head, neck and arms but no sweating and my heart races. This occurs when I go to bed, just occasionally. My sex life is so-so. We dont have it as often but I just havent been in the mood like usual. My yearly exam is coming in Oct. and was wanting to to get some insight on this with others before I go. What is this I am having? I has been going on now for about 1 1/2 yrs. Is this premenopause and what should I do when I go for my exam? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Machelle Seibel, MD]

A. What you are describing sounds like perimenopause, though it could be something else.  For about 98% of women, menopause starts after age 40, but for about 2% it can start earlier.  Headaches, irritability and mood swings, reduced sex drive and hot flashes are common symptoms.

Have your doctor do a blood test for estradiol and FSH. If the estradiol is low and the FSH is high, that is typical for perimenopause.  You might also discuss with your doctor checking your thyroid hormones and checking for diabetes.  These can cause similar symptoms in some women.  You can also have your blood tested for testosterone to see if it is low and contributing to your reduced libido.

If you are in perimenopause and you and your doctor agree estrogen is a good choice for you, the estrogen can improve all the symptoms you are having.  If you don

[borninquisitive]

This is a copy & paste (mine) from a post below.
As an aside, my sister and I have had bouts of anxiety attacks too-which isn't common of us.




I'm begining to wonder if this is more common than thought. I am 34 and have been going through the same for 8 months (if not more), save for headaches.
Prior to and during my period, I'm also experiencing night sweats.
My sister who is 38 has been also experiencing this for a year.

My doctor checked my TSH level-did yours? My TSH is just fine though. The other option is checking hormone level, test begining with a F (can't remember at this time) however, he says that it tends to be unreliable unless you are litterally going into Menopause.
If I were you, if you haven't already, have your pap/pelvic exam.
Mine came back fine.

My doc mentioned putting me on a hormone for 3 months in an attempt to "kick start" my cycle and see if it will "get back to normal."

I too hope that you find answers. Good luck.

[chicken3]

Hi There

I would like the person on the tread before get thyroid check and get your hormones check FSH and estrodiol and so forth.  I would see your doctor and ask him to do that for you.  I would also look up your drug for anxiety and see what the side effects are.

Take care best wishes