Classification of age/conception potential

[Anonymous]

Hi all, I know it's useless to let this bother me, but I admit it does ... Bit of background, that I had a miscarriage a few months ago, at time I was 38, and the various blood tests done indicated I was in the normal range for the relevant prenatal testing. The main "negative" attribute for me is that my period has changed, with some notably heavier flow. I got a copy of my medical report, and in there I'm described as "premenopausal," which was upsetting to see. Of course I'm no longer younger, but it's my understanding that perimenopause usually begins in the mid-40s. I can understand things can begin earlier, but naturally it threw me off (and upset me, but I know it's not good to get worked up) to be labelled a certain way before it seems I am at that stage. Sorry for the rambling. I'm wondering if anyone can relate, if maybe this is a "usual" way that physicians classify women in my age bracket, for what I've experienced? Thanks for any comments.

[Anonymous]

Perimenopause just describes the five or so years before you go into menopause and the age of menopause is more variable than people realize. I know this because I was in perimenopause at 30 and full blown menopause at 35. My sister was in menopause at 37. Some women don't enter perimenopause until their mid-fifties. It is all about your genetics and there is nothing you can do about it. If you are still TTC, you should go to see an RE right now. A person's fertility reaches the nil point a few years before menopause, not actually when menstruation ceases. In my case, I was able to get pregnant with donor eggs at 35, even though I was technically menopausal. Drugs can make your body mimic a period even if it is too late to use your own eggs.

[Anonymous]

Ask for clarification if you saw "premenopausal" rather than "perimenopausal." Premenopausal technically means any normally menstruating female, but some people do use the term to mean perimenopausal.

[Anonymous]

Oh OP, I totally get it. There's all kinds of terminology in TTC-land that can freak you out. My diagnosis is "habitual aborter." You can only imagine what that was like to read. It means I suffer from recurrent miscarriage, btw.

That said, thanks for the explanation 21:46. I just found out from my birth mother that the women in my bio-family tend to go through menopause early. I didn't make the connection between that fact and the fact that I'm having trouble when other women my age aren't. You have no idea how I've been wracking my brain to understand what they are doing that I'm not.

[Anonymous]

OP here ... thanks PPs. I may call to ask for the clarification. It's definitely tough when the issues are already hard to deal with, and then to be labelled a certain way doesn't help. I'd be curious to know if contemporaries who successfully conceived and gave birth were also referred to this way; so, does the doctor factor in that I've yet to succeed, or is it based strictly on my age, period changing, etc. Again, it's great to get support/empathy from others. Thanks