Am I near Menopause?

It could be. Everyone's different and although many start in their mid 40's, some do start a bit earlier and a few a bit later. On the other hand, some people have irregular periods all their life, so a few months off the usual schedule might not mean too much. The event that convinced me I was starting was when I had my first hot flash. You're completely menopausal when you've gone a full year without a period, but it can take some women 10 years to get there with all kinds of irregular periods in the mean time.

Menopause can occur in a wide variety of ages, depending on the woman and her environment, 41 is early but not unheard of. Actual menopause can only be diagnosed retrospectively, and is said to have occurred when a woman has had no vaginal bleeding for 1 year. But perimenopausal symptoms can start to happen 5, even 10 years before actual menopause. This is when women may start to see changes in menstrual cycles, experience hot flashes or night sweats, changes in mood, etc. With all of the new and ever changing research on hormone replacement therapy (HRT), most practitioners only prescribe it when symptoms are severely interfering with day to day life. But be sure to mention this change at your appt, your practitioner may be able to recommend supplements and/or lifestyle changes to implement if you begin experiencing more symptoms.

you could be peri-menopausal.. which can last for 10 years or so before full blown menopause.. everyone is different. but at 41 it's very likely that you are having some shift in hormones, it's just nature.. peri or not.. to know for certain though, blood tests would be able to reveal as such.
Take it all in stride :)
best of luck

I'm 45 and my period has been shorter and coming sooner than before..about 25 days between..i also thought menopause..but i had blood work and my hormones are normal..but she said my thyroid is borderline so i have to go in for more tests..if your doc doesn't find you entering menopause then i would go to a GP and get blood work or maybe your OB can test you ..
I'm sad b/c i was taking supplements and then i read up on one and it says it can cause thyroid problems..so i quit all supplements..its called Quercetin..i won't ever be taking that again..she also found i have a cyst on my ovary..
so maybe you just have something else b/c menopause usually makes your periods further apart and you skip.

good luck

D.

i started at 40 .. mine would come every 3 months... so who knows

My mom says she started going through menopause (irregular periods) when she was in her early forties and her periods completely ended by the time she was 50. She said her co workers would all tell her she was too young to be going through that already. I guess everyone is different.

Your are about to have menopause be careful regarding your weight as there is fluctuation in hormonal secretion which ultimately lower levels of progesterone tend to result in the body retaining more fluid.
http://www.fightobesity.net/postmenopausal-obesity-some-e...

Hi W.-

I was in peri-menapause at 41 and at 44 started full-menapause. I would call your OB and see what she says. Couldn't hurt!

Good luck!

You could be but not necessarily. It's estimated that 50% of women over age 35 are "estrogen dominant" due to our environment, hormone disruptors that we are exposed to & products that we consume, etc. It makes sense if you think about how the average age of puberty in our country is now 11! There's a great book by Dr. John Lee called "What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About PREmenopause". Also, some self tests on his website: http://www.drjohnlee.com/ that could help you get an idea of if your hormones are off & which ones. I strongly recommend you educate yourself though! Not all doctors have taken the time to thoroughly learn about natural hormones... the drug companies aren't putting on any seminars on this topic!

Peri-menopause can start early and last until menses cease. It is not unusual to be irregular as your hormones start to slow down.

I started hot flashes (very mild at first) when I was 42, so no, it's not really too early to be in perimenopause. But if 2 unusual periods are your only symptom, than it's probably NOT the begining for you.

You might be peri-menopause, which is what I am experiencing. I am 42. I was having a period every 2 - 3 weeks, then it regulated again to 4 weeks. I have been having hot flashes for a year, which they felt was young, but again this is peri- which is before menopause. They suggested I go on birth control to try to regulate my periods which I am totally against (my body hates the hormones that gets pumped in with those), so I settled for natural remedies from the vitamin store for hot flashes and the period has seemed to be regulated now. If it continues for long at 2-1/2 weeks, you may become anemic so you need to watch your iron level. I am not sure what else they will find. Hope all goes well with your appt.

My periods started being irregular...spotty or heavier...just depending...when I was 40. That actually lasted for 2 years...and at 42 they stopped completely....yay! Next month I'll be 52....so 10 years of menopause and no medication and fortunately...I can count on one hand the hot flashes I've had. So, I was fortunate to fly through menopause with very little complications and no meds. Good luck, some are not so lucky!

It could be the beginning of menopause or just your diet or stress or your body changing. The doctor will do a hormone test to determine what it is. I'm 47 and the last few years I've been going 2 months, then 4 weeks, then 4 months, then 6 weeks...I'm in pre-menopause but this phase can last many years. My doctor said you usually go through menopause around the same time that your mother did. So if you know when that was you might have a better idea.

Good luck!

I have had a hormone imbalance since I was about 30. The regular M. D. kept telling me that I was in menopause because he had done a blood test. I even went to an OB and he told me that he was surprised that it took me so long to go through menopause and did ablation on me. I went to a D. O. who specialized in bio-identical hormones and found out that I had almost no progesterone left and my other hormones were fine and I was not in menopause. I took progesterone pills and when my hormones were evened out I felt like new. Almost anything is possible with a woman's body. I don't really feel like there is "normal" for much of anything.

I had my youngest at the age of 42. It took me 13 months to get pregnant because I had started peri-menopause. My period stopped when I was 51. It can last a long time. Plus my friend's mother hit menopause at 38. Everyone is different.