Menopause In Your Forties – Here’s What You Need To Know

Menopause in your forties?! But menopause only starts in your fifties right? Wrong! 

As a woman who was perimenopausal from 38 and was only diagnosed at 44, I can tell you that I fully expect to be done with menopause by 50 (OK this may be wishful thinking, but still)

This will have its upside but man alive it took a lot of pain, sadness and fear before I found out it was menopause causing ALL of my issues. Yes, ALL of my issues. 

I have spoken a lot about my symptoms in my perimenopause symptom post, so go check it out. 

This post is dedicated to finding out why we all have our info wrong and what can be done about it. Menopause in your forties is a real thing.

Why did I not know?

Let’s fly on back to the early 1990s, Take That was about to hit our airwaves and Bros broke my heart by splitting up, prompting my ceremonial binning of all my Grolch Bottle Tops. 

At that time Sex Education was as basic as basic could be. Here is what a vagina looks like, here is a penis and this is what happens. As for periods, it was even worse. 

I will never forget being handed my little blue Tampax pouch. The little faux leather pouch you could zip open and find 2 tiny yellow Tampax, a vanity case to put them in and a “How To” leaflet inside. 

That was it. 

There may have been a passing comment about menopause whose headlines were “your periods stop at 50 and you get hot flushes” but really and truly that was it. 

So you can imagine my surprise when at the ripe old age of 44 I was diagnosed as perimenopausal. Erm excuse me, I am not 50 and YOU Mr GP told me my hot flashes were stressful. 

Menopause in your forties can come as a shock, especially when my menopause specialist doctor and I realised that my symptoms had been going on since I was 38. 

6 Years of thinking something was very wrong. I diagnosed myself with everything you can imagine. If you want to know more about me, check out the About page and get the goss. 

OK let’s analyse this thing and take a look at the most common questions around early menopause / Perimenopause.

What Does Menopause in Your Forties Look Like?

Well, a lot like any other age but more likely to be ignored by your GP. Being honest.

First, let’s take a look at terminology. Premature menopause refers to women whose ovaries stop producing eggs under 40 years old, early menopause for those between 40 and 45 and good old standard menopause for those over 45. 

Perimenopause is the stage leading up to menopause. 

Nothing annoys me more than when I see time and time again, people boiling menopausal symptoms down to hot flushes, irregular periods, mood swings and brain fog. 

This is the reason why women suffer for as long as they do. Outside of these symptoms, very few GPs will take you seriously when you tell them you think you are menopausal. 

It doesn’t matter what age you are, if you are having any of the symptoms I have listed in my symptom checker, it could be menopause in your forties. 

Go see a GP who specialises in Menopause, show them all the symptoms you are having, use a tracker like the one I created, and prove it. 

If your local surgery doesn’t have one, make them refer you. Keep a diary, be persistent and get yourself checked out. 

There are so many reasons that you might be perimenopausal that you don’t even know. I didn’t know my Mum started menopause when she was 40. Had no clue that your mum’s genetics make a difference when you start menopause. 

I was poorly educated in this field, I didn’t spot the signs and suffered for a long time. 

Am I in Menopause or Perimenopause?

Perimenopause is the time leading up to menopause. You have officially started menopause when you have not had a period for 12 months. Up to then, you are perimenopausal. ALL the symptoms are the same no matter what stage you are in but when the periods are 12 months gone, you are menopausal.