For the ladies: What are your perimenopausal symptoms and when did they begin?

Ah - yes - perimenopause - great, isn't it? LOL! I guess I was about 45, when I first started noticing the symptoms - mainly excessive tiredness, and those dreaded memory lapses, as you mention. It wasn't toobad at first, but by last year - whe I was 48 - I was getting really irregular cycles, and the need to burst into tears most of the tine, was overwhealming. Sorry - you probably have tat to look forward to:-(( I had to have surgery, to investigate some of the physical problems, and they blithely told me it was "nothing serious" - just my age! And I guess that was meant to make me feel better! So - good luck with yours. Guess I am painting a bleak picture, but I am getting through it, and you will too. Must admit I don't have the fscial hair yet, - but your cat is an exceedingly handsome chap, so if I did, I can think of worse things to look like. Cheers!

I don't know because I don't think I'm quite old enough for this yet at 36 but it may be starting. All my life I was really blessed, no PMS, no cramps, no moodiness, and regular as clockwork. Sometimes I'd have a bit of water retention but hearing what some poor women went through I wasn't going to complain! I never had acne, even as a teen, and I was always little bitty, 5'2" 95 lbs. For the last 6 months to a year or so I've started noticing more symptoms though around my time of the month. I figured my weight gain was from having two children, stress, not eating right but sometimes now I wonder. My chin is constantly broken out with horrible, big bumps and sometimes a few over the rest of my face. I went for a facial thinking I just needed a REALLY good cleaning but she said that starting on the chin suddenly like that is hormonal. I'm a little crampy just before my period, tired out almost achey just worn feeling, and it seems no one can look at me without me feeling somehow wronged and bursting into miserable tears! Aren't I too young for this??? Someone please just tell me how to fix it! Surely this and worse aren't what I have to look forward to now and there's help for it? I was abused and taken advantage of all my life until very recently so I'm feeling a little desperate thinking that I finally have my chance at peace and happiness only to have hormones screw it up???? Help.

I am 47 and they say I am not in perimenopause but I miss periods, have hot flashes, then am cold, have had the slowing of metablism, but not facial hair. They took test and say I am not but I think they are wrong. They tried to get me to on birth control to make me have every month. I tried one thing they had and worked and then now back to same old thing so I think I am right and they wrong.

I was 26, started within a month of giving birth to twins. Hot flashes, mood swings, weight gain on top of baby weight. Anyways my doc ran tests after my body had a chance to get back to normal, at 6 months and one year. Both test he checked estrogen and cholesterol levels, ran serveral tests and x-rays to rule out cancer. My cholesterol levels were low just like my hormone levels. So, now I eat red meat at least2 or 3 times a week, and after 4 years I have not gone past the perimenopausal state. While I do still have hot flashes every once in a while, a little extra cholesterol is worth it to not have them everyday. Of course, my doc says I will hit full blown menopause in a few more years, but I am done having kids anyways. So I guess I just get to go through the change earlier than most.

I believe my perimenopausal symptoms started at the age of 32. I am now 42. At 32 I had some kind of hormone blowout where I wound up in the hospital passing blood clots the size of golf balls. Since then I have been intensely moody, about a week before my period lasting until about a week after where I feel like I could rip someone's head off. Lots of joint pain, back pain, extremely heavy, clotty periods. Just recently started the weight gain and craving sweets. Sometimes I will walk in to a room and forget why I'm there. Lots of fun stuff here!