PERIMENOPAUSE AND THE PERIOD THAT DISAPPEARS FOR MONTHS

 

 

 

Have you noticed that you are waking up perspiring heavily during the night? Are you enduring profuse sweating, weakness, or faintness during the day? These are signs of estrogen depletion. However, a woman’s period can be quite erratic when she is still making estrogen, and not nearly as close to menopause as she thinks.

 

Dr Steven R. Goldstein, a Perimenopause Specialist in NYC says that nine times out of ten, if you are between the ages of thirty five and fifty, the answer to your missing period is PERIMENOPAUSE. Perimenopause is when a woman’s body begins to slow the production of hormones and is the transitional phase into Menopause. Symptoms are irregular periods, free floating anxiety, mood swings, inability to concentrate, memory lapses, sleep disturbances and a period that disappears for one or more months.

 

A missing period for several months could be signalling menopause. An FSH test and a test for estrogen will give you the answer whether it is perimenopause.

 

However, this is not the only cause of missing periods. Disorders of the pituitary gland are a common reason for a periods that disappears for months for women who are not in menopause. An underactive or overactive thyroid gland, known respectively as hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism can be the culprit. A simple blood test can tell if you are suffering from either of these.

 

Also, excess prolactin, a pituitary hormone that stimulates breast milk production, can cause lack of periods. This is often associated with discharge from the nipple. Dilatation and Curettage (D&C) that hasn’t healed properly and left scar tissue can also cause a loss of your period. A pelvic exam can rule out ovarian cysts or other growths that can cause you to skip your period.

 

There are other, less frequent reasons women can stop having their menstrual cycles. Very heavy drinkers can develop cirrhosis of liver, and their menstrual cycles will stop. Generally, this will not be the first sign of such a disorder. You will have experienced jaundice, gastrointestinal problems, a distended stomach from fluid retention, and an all-over ill feeling.

 

Dr Steven R. Goldstein is a Perimenopause Specialist in NYC who has worked with numerous women to help them cope with the symptoms of Perimenopause for his over 30 years in private practice. Perimenopause is a transitionary phase to menopause which can begin as early as the late thirties and as late as up to the late forties.

 

A past president of the International Menopause Society, a Certified Menopause Practitioner and co author of the book “Could it be….Perimenopause?”, Dr Goldstein is available for consultation at his office in Manhattan.