menopause????

[newgem]

Hi  new to board will try to make this simple, 42 yrs old last few months been having 2 prds a month have had all the test ran biopsy included  everything looks great.  Fsh levels say 56  dr says its menopause,  i have no menopause symptoms  other than  high fsh levels.  could it be something other than menopause??   high levels is all hes goin by,  says some women have no symptoms, anyone havin this problem??????  by the way  i have been trying to concieve and DO NOT want this to be menopause.      thanks

[Tampa41]

I am 41 yrs old and had my tubes tied almost 19 yrs ago after my son was born. Last month i missed my period for the first time. My periods have always been regular.  I don't know if maybe i'm pregnant or going through menopause. I was told I was too young to be going through menopause.  Could someone help me?

[lulo]

I am the same age as you and also have high FSH and irregular cycles.  But they started getting irregular 4 years ago. I would say you are probably getting close to menopause.  A great web site is earlymenopause.com. I found a lot of useful reading there.  In peri-menopause your hormones can go up and down but the high FSH seems to indicate your ovaries are not producing enough estrogen.  Most things I have read recommend having your thyroid checked out thoroughly (TSH, FreeT3, FreeT4 AND Thyroid antibodies).   Sometimes thyroid problems can contribute to peri-menopause.

I too wondered if "somethign else" could  cause a high FSH tha tis not menopause. The only thing I ever read about was a hormone secreting pituitary tumor, but they are very, very rare.  I think your LH would also be very high.  Might mention it to your ob/gyn but he/she will probably not take you seriously.  That is really the only thing I've read about high FSH.  emedicine.com has a good article on FSH.

[lulo]

I had my tubes tied at age 32. I've also wondered if that can contribute to early menopause. I have read that if part of the tubal ligation restricted blood flow to the ovary, that could result in the ovary going kaputz earlier.  Even though I had my tubes tied when I started missing periods, I too would panic, - could I be pregnant??  I decided a $10 pregnancy test was worth the reassurance...  In the US, the average age of menopause is 45-55 but I've read that 1-2% can be earlier.  Guess we are the lucky ones starting in our early 40's.

[susan363]

you are never to early to go through the menopause, i started at 34 , im now 38. i got up one and my periods just stopped and have never returned but every one is different. they say you go through it around the time that your mother did

[ayg67]

I am 40 yrs old and went throught menopause at age 31.
My FSH is 79.4 now.  I never had any symptoms of menopause.
A high FSH is very indicative of premature ovarian failure.
Please have yourself tested for thyroid as well.