Fertility and perimenopause ??? maybe TMI

A bit of history, my AF has always been like clock work.. pretty much 28 days, last 4-5 days nothing major, and never any problems. The last couple of months it is all over the place.. I can literally feel it start, and its like a tap.. no warning (usually its pretty slow to start for the first day, but not anymore) lasting up to 10 days and very heavy and (sorry tmi warning..) very big clots.

I asked my doctors about it a couple of weeks back and she has asked me to go and have an ultrasound as it could be perimenopause, even though I am oly 33. She really didnt say much else just wait and see what results are.

Does anyone know much about perimenopause and fertility?

DF and I have been ttc bubba #2 for 4 months now, not a long time I know.. but compared with DS1 who was pretty conceived as soon as we started trying I am starting to get a bit concerned especially now going to the doctor.

I might be worring about nothing.. but I really dont know much about it, or even cycles for that matter.

Has anyone experienced this?

Mummato1, I'm on my phone & at work right now but I'm having the perimenopausal symptoms myself so I will pop back later to tell you what I know.

thanks Marydean :)

:bump:

Hi
On my phone too so short response.
Perimenopause can definitely be a factor in infertility. If you are concerned get your ovarian reserve checked out. This can be determined by blood tests checking your fsh and amh levels.
Hope this helps!

M21 - I too have been having crazy bleeds and my dr explained it can be a sign of perimenopause but not necessarily. If you're menopausal or your ovaries are starting to run out of eggs, your brain starts producing more and more FSH (which is the chemical which triggers ovulation) so high levels of that in your blood can indicate menopause, or like N2L pointed out, a low ovarian reserve.

BUT: it is also possible to get the heavy bleeds and the weird perimenopause symptoms for other reasons too. I think your dr has probably referred you for an ultrasound to make sure there are no fibroids or issues like that (to explain the heavy bleeding) and i suspect they will do blood tests next. As far as i know they can't diagnose perimenopause based on an US. I've had the crazy bleeding too but in my case my FSH levels are still in the normal range, and it has to do with the pituitary axis shutting down. Sometimes this can happen if you're not eating enough, if you're stressed, if you've had surgery, if you've had an accident or had some bodily trauma. If this is the case it doesn't necessarily mean you're menopausal.

Fully understand what you mean with the heavy bleeds, it is literally like a tap, and very difficult to manage when it comes on so suddenly like that. I had a couple of periods that were so bad I was going through a super tampon and a maternity pad in an hour. My dr gave me a medication called Cyclokapron which has some sort of clotting action and it works really well to slow the bleeding, so if you're having problems managing the heaviness, talk to your dr about whether it might be helpful for you too (not sure how it would go with the TTC side of things).

Depending on what your dr says, if you have any further concerns at all, don't be afraid to ask for a referral to a fertility specialist. :hug:

Thanks Marydean - I guess I will just wait until AF is over for this month and then head for the US, maybe another trip to the doctors to ask to have my ovarian reserve checked. Fingers crossed I am worrying about nothing.. actually come to think of it, stressing is probably not going to help either!! lol