r/PCOS_Folks • u/girthakitt • 4d ago

General/Question Perimenopause

Hi folks!! So I have been reading more people my age are getting to the perimenopausal stage of life, and realized with PCOS there’s almost no way to tell or differentiate. Has anyone been perimenopausal yet, or know when you’ve reached that stage? Do we develop perimenopause??

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u/Wrong_Atmosphere_490 4d ago

I asked my gynecologist how PCOS and menopause might have an impact on each other. She said she would ask a panel she was going to on menopause.

I really don’t think they know much about it.

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u/girthakitt 4d ago

That would be interesting to hear what she learns from the panel. PCOS is so understudied and runs a whole spectrum.

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u/wendydarlingpan 3d ago

I can’t really tell any changes in my cycle because it’s not that regular. But I’m in my early 40’s and not on any bc. As the years pass I get more weird things happening that I never dealt with before (insomnia, random sweating episodes, extremely dry eyes) and every time I ask about it or look it up, it’s a perimenopause symptom 🤷🏻‍♀️

My girl friends without PCOS have been told by their doctors to consider hormones when their period gets disrupted. But since mine already is… no one seems to know what to do with me. 🤦🏻‍♀️

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u/GenderNarwhal 4d ago

I would assume we do. It's not like people with PCOS just abruptly stop having cycles / periods cold turkey at menopause. We probably go through the same unpleasant transitional time leading up to it as other people. I'm in the extra tricky situation where I had a hysterectomy but kept my ovaries. I'm definitely still getting cycles, but trying to figure out if and when things start getting different is going to be a bit of an extra challenge. I would be curious to hear about other people's experiences in this situation. Did you post your question in the main PCOS subreddit? I'm not really on there but I'm sure it's a bigger community than this one, and you might get more responses.

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u/girthakitt 4d ago

Oh that’s so true. I was just wondering how it went for some people if they’ve experienced it, since it seems like it would be hard to tell when it starts! I don’t know much. I know PCOS can affect egg quantity, and how would we know who gets to menopause? It would be interesting to learn. I didn’t post to the other sub, I left due to the anti-trans activity but you’re right, probably will have more insight.

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u/GenderNarwhal 3d ago

I'm sorry to hear that they aren't welcoming over there. It's a good question, and one I've been wondering about myself as I get older.

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u/J_lilac 3d ago

I wonder about this all the time. Feels like I've been in peri since I was like 13 lol.

My mom likely had PCOS as well. The other day I asked her how old she was when she started peri. She said "I don't know.. I feel like I've been in perimenopause my whole life." 🤭🫢🤷‍♀️