Early-onset Menopause?

I just got back from my GP, who believes I may be moving into peri-menopause. My cycles have been progressively getting further and further apart, the bleeding being much heavier and not always ovulating, I've been having night sweats, terrible hot flushes, insomnia, mood swings etc. So I thought it was time I went to the doctor. Obviously she isn't an absolute expert in early-onset menopause and it was just her opinion, and I've had my referral sent off to the FS for an appointment.

Aside from being really shocked and a little scared, menopause is not something I'm knowledgable about and I was hoping someone could help me out. My GP told me around 100,000 women a year experience early menopause (under 40 years old) some as young as 12.

Has anyone gone through menopause early or know someone who has? Did you have trouble falling pregnant before you found out? What about after? What happens from here? I know I need my FSH checked and I can't remember what else.

I can't type much ATM but is it AMH that you need to get tested????

I had my AMH tested, it was borderline low. So not quite low but for my age, there shouldn't have been any problem. I think it's the FSH that helps diagnose menopause? I'd say they'd do both, I'm going to be asking for a full re-workup.

AMH is the better indicator for ovarian reserve. Can you remember the number??

Also, make sure you get the fsh tested on CD2.

I am sure it will be okay :hug:

I hope it's not the case for you hun - fingers crossed!

My SIL had early onset menopause - not sure when it started but I know by her 30th birthday she knew she wouldn't be able to have children and she'd been having tests and treatments for a few years before that. Probably not what you want to hear :( I don't know whether IVF would have been an option but being Catholic it's not something she would have been able to do anyway.

One of my friends (aged 35) is going through this now, and another woman I know went through it at 17. She eventually had a child with the help of a FS and a donated egg from her cousin. The first woman had no trouble falling pregnant, in fact her issue was falling pregnant too easily with multiples (happened twice when not TTC). We assumed she was going through menopause because she releases so many eggs at each ovulation that she is running out fast, if that makes any sort of sense at all. Sorry I can't be any more help that that, those are the only two women I know who have gone through this.

I just remembered Gecko (BB member) was going through it. Not sure she is posting any more but you may be able to look through some old posts or PM her. She also has a blog on here.

N2L, I'm trying to remember, I believe it was 1.1 or 1.3. I'd have to pull out my fertility stuff to be 100%.

Have a look if you can. 1.1 would be very, very low. It's usually up to around 20 with the higher the better.

Eta - it also depends whether it's ng/ml or pMOL

It says:

1.4 ng/mL (14.9 pmol/L)

Nooooo real clue as to what that means other than being told it's low :dunno:

Snap haha

FSH gives an indication of whether your ovaries are nearing the end of their functional life vs temporary suppression of ovulation for other reasons, so it's used as a marker for menopause vs other hormonal imbalances. Lower FSH is good, higher numbers indicate the ovaries have stopped producing.

:

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It says:

1.4 ng/mL (14.9 pmol/L)

Nooooo real clue as to what that means other than being told it's low :dunno:

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Lol..well that sounds better!!!

Low amh and high fsh usually go together. As n2l says, low amh indicates low ovarian reserve and therefore your body thinks it needs to produce more fsh together the eggs growing hence the high fsh. I met a few women on the egg donor forums who had experienced early menopause. One was only in her twenties and was very advanced and now she has 3 children from donor eggs. Another lady had one child while she was going through early menopause and was diagnosed in her late 30s and had another child via donor eggs. We did hear of people still conceiving going through early menopause so it does happen.
Sorry you are going thru this on top of your other worries. If u want an FS recommendation let me know. (ETA - just reread your post and I see your referral is already on its way)

Thank you all for your responses. It's quite scary to know this can happen and is a possibility for me. If anyone has any more experiences or advice to add, that would be amazing.

Anney, could you pm me your FS deets anyway? I went through (and am going back to) a public FS through the RWH, and although they're great, the waits can be a while, so I might have to look into other options depending on what is happening with me.

PZ, not sure what kind of waits you're talking for public, but my FS (private) is three months plus for new patients.

When we went through the RWH we were pretty lucky, it was a one month wait. 3 month wait for my HyCoSy, and I was on the waiting list 6 months for a laparoscopy and hysteroscopy. Hopefully it'll be a short wait to get in again and then no wait for tests (assuming they're only blood tests).

[QUOTE=PumpkinZulu;3063271] It's quite scary to know this can happen and is a possibility for me. If anyone has any more experiences or advice to add, that would be amazing.

Hi PumpkinZulu,

Im wondering if Im going into premature menopause at the moment too, Im off to the Dr next week to get some tests and hopefully find out more.
Im 30 now, my Mum was 32 when she went through menopause and her maternal relatives were also around that age, so its not a surprise to me, but its still scary.

When I was 28 my AMH was 12.? pmol/L, last year I had it re-tested and it was down to 3.1.
My FS thinks I have Premature Ovarian Failure, due to my test results, the size of my ovariaries on scans and my poor response to IVF treatment.
After a failed round of IVF, I was having acupunture &taking DHEA when I was lucky enough to fall pregnant.
I still look at my daughter (who is 13 months now) and know how lucky we are, every day. :)

Im TTC again now, but Im starting to wonder if my menopause is starting.
My periods are irregular, I have mood swings &irritabilty, vaginal dryness, loss of libido, fatigue, forgetfulness and weight gain.
My Mum went on HRT when she was 32 as her symptoms were unbearable (she tells me she thought she was going crazy at the time) until she started HRT.
Problem is she ended up with Eostrogen-driven breast cancer at 50.

So Im not quite sure what to do at the moment, Im hoping my Dr can give me some direction next week.

Have you had your FSH tested yet? Have you found a good Dr that knows more about premature menopause?

:hug: :hug: Hun. Unfortunately I cannot answer your questions, I never went to my FS appointment (which was actually this Thursday gone) as I ironically fell accidentally pregnant not long after this post. Not sure if that's still indicative of PM (sometimes PM women will fall unexpectedly pregnant) or what. So I really don't have answers, but I hope people can answer your questions.

Hi Kate

A friend of mine with POF had good results with Chinese medicine. Worth looking into if you are interested in alternative therapies.

good luck