Trish,
What a wonderful thread for discussion. I had a horrible time in perimenopause, and while I am completely beyond that at 58 and menopausal, I certainly remember the experience. I thought I might share my experience since I am on the other side.
I was 42 1/2 when all this started. Oddly, when I turned 40, my body was doing something a little different but in a good way. It seemed that I became toned, thin, with full hair, plenty of energy and I felt great. I remember thinking, "If this is aging, bring it on." But I quickly learned to be careful what you ask for, because within a couple years I was begging for help.
My very first odd experience was standing on a csoccer field and I noticed that my left foot got a strange buzzing sensation, then my left arm went completely numb. But the next symptom was a major downer. After a shower one day, I brushed my hair and it was literally falling out by the handfuls. That brush was completely covered with hair. This happened on day 9 of my cycle. At that point I started looking for some answers. The following month, I had the first ever migrain headche, agin on day 9 of my cycle. My periods were bouncing all over the place. I had always been very regular with periods every 28 days. But that was now a thing of the past. Sometimes, it would be 23, then 31, sometimes normal and other times with clots and heavy. I had one that lasted ten days. I wasn't sleeping well and experienced night sweats that would have my gown soaked. None of this was a picnic. Honestly I was completely miserable.
I read like crazy and tried to see the "best of the best" of physicians, who might be able to help get me straighten out. I tried several birth control pills that, all to no avail. Loestrin literally had me shaking like a leaf and crying at 3:00pm every afternoon. I tried bio identical hormones, and again, it was simply awful. I literally flew to Detroit from the midwest, to see a doctor that seemed to have vast knowedge on hormone replacement. He had me taking estrogen injections, and that didn't work well either. As I said, I tried for two years to feel better, but nothing worked. I finally gave up. It took my body a while to get back into a pattern. So for the next 8 years I did it on my own. And actually felt pretty normal.
My periods came less and less when I reached 50. One every two months, then one every six months, unti my last at age 52 1/2. Oddly enough when this occured I barely noticed a thing. No hot flashes, nothing. I did however get into lower back pain, frozen shoulder, and eventually body wide chronic muscle and ligament pain. Then five years after menopause, developed vaginal atrophy an dryness. I am now trying once again to reestablish my hormones.
But what I learned, at least for me, is that in perimenopause, your hormones are bouncing around BIG TIME. Somedays you make plenty and others not so much.
(Try to look at some of the charts that have been done on perimenopausal hormones. It's a wild ride with highs and lows of huge swings.) It's these wide swings that create all these symptoms that make us uncomfortable. If I had to do it over again, what I would focus on is life style, diet, vitamins, sleep and reducing stress, to help myself feel better. At least for me, trying the hormone therapy didn't work well in perimenopause. I was all over the board and they simpy made it worse.
So my suggestion to any woman in perimenopause is to start taking it as easy as you can. Eat a very healthy diet with plenty of good oils, protein and lots of fresh greens. Take a good multivitamin and drink plenty of water. Crawl in bed by ten o'clock every night and give your body time to relax and recover. Excersice, but don't over due it, as this uses up those biochemicals we can make.
There's no doubt this is a time of great change. I would also suggest that woman get a complete panel done of their hormones. Even though it is common for them to come back all in normal range, this can later be used to help you down the road.
So get your FSH, sensitive estradiol, free and total testosterone, progesterone, and a complete thyroid panel (TSH, T-4, T-3). Days 2 -4 and also 21-13 of your cycle would be most helpful. It will show you how your estrogen is starting at the beginning of the cycle and if you are ovulating (producing progesterone) or not.
Good luck and I hope my experience can be of help.