Perimenopause is the two to ten years before your final period. It’s different from menopause, which is the life phase that begins one year after the final period.

The normal age for the final period is anywhere from 45 to 55 so the normal age for perimenopause is up to ten years before that—as young as 35.

That’s why perimenopause is not about aging but is instead about an important (and unavoidable) recalibration of your hormonal system.

The timing of menopause is genetic 

Menopause has been around for as long as we’ve been human and is not just an accident of living too long. According to some historians,menopause may even have been the driving force behind the evolution of a longer human lifespan.

According to Australian Naturopathic doctor Lara Briden, you are genetically programmed to achieve menopause at approximately the age your mother or female relatives achieved it.

If that’s on the younger end of normal (mid-40s), please know that you’re fine and healthy and not aging more rapidly than your friends.

If, on the other hand, you’re genetically programmed to achieve menopause on the older end of normal (mid-50s), then you’re perimenopause is happening alongside aging but is not caused by aging.

Finally, if you enter menopause before age 40, it’s the medical condition of premature menopause or primary ovarian insufficiency and is also not about aging.

How to diagnose perimenopause

Menopause (including early menopause) can be diagnosed by two high FSH readings (more than 40 IU/L) at least a month apart.

Perimenopause cannot be diagnosed by FSH or any other lab test. Instead, it’s diagnosed based on age and symptoms.

According to Canadian endocrinology professor Jerilynn C Prior, a midlife woman with regular cycles is likely to be in perimenopause if she notices any three of the following nine changes:

•  new-onset heavy and/or longer flow
• shorter menstrual cycles (25 days or less)
• new sore, swollen or lumpy breasts
• new mid-sleep waking
• increased menstrual cramps
• onset of night sweats, in particular premenstrually
• new or markedly increased migraine headaches
• new or increased premenstrual mood swings
• weight gain without changes in exercise or eating.In other words, if you’re older than 35, and have at least three symptoms on this list, you’re likely to be in perimenopause.What are the hormonal changes of perimenopause?

  In the early phases of perimenopause, the biggest change is lower progesterone due to shorter luteal phases and more anovulatory cycles—despite regular periods.

  Lower progesterone contributes to anxiety, breast pain, heart palpitations, night sweats, frequent migraines and heavy periods.

  At the same time that progesterone drops away, oestrogen spikes up to three times normal which contributes to irritable mood, breast pain and heavy periods.

  Changes of progesterone and oestrogen in perimenopause.

  High oestrogen symptoms stem both from the direct effects of the hormone and from oestrogen’s indirect effects on mast cells and histamine.

  The fact that perimenopausal symptoms stem largely from losing progesterone, not oestrogen, is why progesterone, not oestrogen, can be more helpful.

  Helpful information 

  Perimenopause is when you start noticing the changes that are leading you into the Menopause stage of your life.

  One of the most visible is the change to your menstrual cycle when periods can become less frequent, more frequent heavier, lighter or some combination of all of those.

  If this is a symptom that you are experiencing, then this article will be helpful.

  https://anna.blog.wellsprings-health.com/perimenopause-and-periods-what-can-you-expect/