question for the ladies...argh.

[Tink]

so i've been up to my armpits in appointments lately..after numerous test the doctor believes i have ibs, acid reflux, and am allergic to gluten which means i have to change my whole diet.
also, i have cervical dysplasia again (thought it resolved itself two years ago) and i have to go in for a colposcopy..that, plus my numerous mental health checks and it's just been fun, fun, fun :roll:
NOW FOR THE QUESTION OF THE DAY...
i am EXTREMELY irritable and have been having hot flashes..no, not only when the weather is bad...almost all the time. also, night sweats as i've woken up extremely irritated in a pool of my own sweat the last few days. sometimes i have a chill at the same time so i thought it was just a fever..but my temps have been normal on this marathon of appointments lately and i've even been wearing sleeveless tops in the pouring rain the last two days. the hot flashes started slowly over the last few months to the point of now where it is incredibly annoying.
my period has been dwindling...it went from five days...down to four..three...two...and one of the last few months. i told my doctor. she shrugged it off because i'm "too young for menopause so oh well" and wrote me off. if i remember correctly, my mother went into a rare pre menopause during her late twenties/early thirties. i'm 28 now.
much as i'd love to forget about the whole reproductive system altogether, this is getting really flipping old.
i'm hot, cranky, and crying for no good reason.
i'm on tons of mental health meds so it can't be that LOL!
*sighs...*
if anything, could someone at least help me figure out how to soothe the flashes in the meantime while i figure out if i REALLY want to go into ANOTHER doctors office again while dealing with the five more appointments i haven't even atteneded yet that having nothing to do with this?
i'm totally miserable, irritated, and it's raining yet i have the a/c on full blast. i feel like i'm losing my mind.
p.s.
sorry for the abrupt tone, i'm trying to not let it come across cyberspace but...i'm so totally frustrated! not directed in any way to my catsey friends:oops:

[Mags]

Hi Tink, you certainly sound as though you may be going through an early menopause, especially with the irritabilty, night sweats etc. Your doctor was incorrect in telling you that you are too young for the menopause ...... an old schoolfriend of mine went through it when she had just turned 30.

Here are some links for you to have a look at, they may give you some ideas of how to control those hot flushes...

http://www.earlymenopause.org.au/content/view/90/128/
http://holisticonline.com/remedies/hrt/hrt_common_sense.htm#HotFlashes:
http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/library/HQ/01409.html
http://www.naturalmenopause.com/beat_menopause_naturally/

There is also a blood test that you could have to determine whether or not you are in the menopause.

[Tink]

thanks mags, i was having trouble finding things for early/pre menopause. maybe if i print it out the doctor will take me more seriously.

[Tink]

oh wow, this ladies story about the docs always thinking she was pregnant and it always coming back negative sounds exactly like my experience..thank god i'm not alone!

[Mags]

I would definitely go back to your doctor (or a different doctor) Tink, they should be able to tell you whether you are having an early menopause or not. If they say your not, you have every right to ask them what is causing all these symptoms. At your age you need to know what's happening to your body.

[Mags]

oh wow, this ladies story about the docs always thinking she was pregnant and it always coming back negative sounds exactly like my experience..thank god i'm not alone!

:shock: Maybe I shouldn't have given you those links !! :lol: :lol:

[Tink]

:shock: Maybe I shouldn't have given you those links !! :lol: :lol:

LOL..oh nononoonoonNO..i don't want to be..i have enough "kids"!!!!hahahaha:-D
but for some reason they just can't get it through their heads that i'm not pregnant, they've given me like ten tests already..i feel like shouting "I'M NOT PREGNANT!!!" and running through the halls pulling my hair out! okay not really, but it'd be worth it to see the looks on their faces :lol:
actually i'm fairly convinced at this point i'm sterile *fingers crossed*. i told my doctor i'd go get a hysterectomy if someone could approve it and she laughed at me.
all the women on my mom's side have had something hokey with that whole system of their body..so i just wouldn't be surprised.

[dandysmom]

I hope they can get to the bottom of it Tink; you're awfully young for early menopause, but those symptoms sure do sound familiar to me! My hot flashes weren't bad, but everything else sounds like it...can't they do a test for estrogen to see
if your body is still producing it? If so, there are decided opinions about the advantages.disadvantages of HRT...but that's another post! (((hugs)))

[dandysmom]

Another thought: are any of the doctors you're seeing endocrinologists? I know the last thing you want to see is another doctor, but the more I think about those symptoms...I worked in an endocrinologist's office for four years before I retired..sounds very much like some of the patients we saw......

[Tink]

Another thought: are any of the doctors you're seeing endocrinologists? I know the last thing you want to see is another doctor, but the more I think about those symptoms...I worked in an endocrinologist's office for four years before I retired..sounds very much like some of the patients we saw......

my mom recommended i go to one as all the women in our family have hoshimoto's disease. she said that the regular blood panel a regular family doctor runs doesn't detect it. i told my doctor and she said of course my thyroid looked fine on my blood panel so she didn't think i needed an endocrinologist referral. i hate my insurance.:roll:

[Kim]

I'm no expert, Tink, but it does sound like menopausal symptoms, although you are very young, it is definitley not unheard of. I agree, go back to your doctor and ask that they at least consider this is a possibility.

[angieh]

I have nothing helpful to add, I'm afraid Tink. Just posting this to let you know IMO you're probably right, esp with your family history and that I sympathise. I'm at the other end, and want the dratted thing to stop, but it keeps dragging on! Interesting, here we tend to call them hot "flushes" and you say "flashes" - I love the differences between our common language.

[dandysmom]

I have nothing helpful to add, I'm afraid Tink. Just posting this to let you know IMO you're probably right, esp with your family history and that I sympathise. I'm at the other end, and want the dratted thing to stop, but it keeps dragging on! Interesting, here we tend to call them hot "flushes" and you say "flashes" - I love the differences between our common language.That interests me too, Angie. I had a fairly early change of life, nowhere as early as Tink; went in to perimenopause in my early 40s, and had my last period in July 1974!! A very happy day; always hated periods and never had any intention of using my reproductive system, so I was delighted to be rid of it!! And I was fortunate in rarely having hot flashes; one of the women in my office really suffered from them: she'd turn beet red with the perspiration pouring off her right there at work with everyone watching; I felt so sorry for her!

Personal musings aside, I do think a visit to an endocrinologist would be an excellent idea; something is definitely out of whack with Tink's hormones, and she needs some relief ! Pronto!!

[CathyW]

i belong to a brilliant site called menopausematters any questions u have and some one will be ablle to help u.
ive been peri meno for years now,