I was wondering if anyone has heard if RA could bring on Menopause? I've tried researching a bit on the internet and found a few things on it but they mainly talk about menopause possibly bringing on RA. I was actually wondering the opposite, would RA bring on Menopause early?
Oh my, menopause and RA, just shoot me. I have only ever heard about the drop in oestrogen maybe causing the onset of RA not the other way around !
I went into menopause at age 33. They aren't sure if it was caused by the RA itself or the MTX. Could be either. I've now been off MTX for about a year now and I have occational spotting. We're watching it to determine if things are returing to normal now that I'm not on MTX anymore. Not sure.
I'm now 38.
[QUOTE=klynn141]...I was actually wondering the opposite, would RA bring on Menopause early?[/QUOTE]
That is a great question to ask both your gyn and rheumatologist! It is known that stress and the hormones related to stress can disrupt cycles and RA certainly brings a great deal of stress in its wake. It is also know that some drugs, and some combination of drugs, interrupt cycles but are RA stress and medications enough to trigger the hormonal alterations that trigger menopause? Interesting question, please keep us informed on what your research and physicians indicate.
I had low disease activity until after menopause... until actually about four years after...
I firmly believe there is a correlation...... hormones are a trigger or something
Lovie: That's really interesting...Were you having hot flashes and all the other fun stuff that goes along with menopause?
I had an unusually long and heavy period (10 days) and took a weeks worth of my birth control pill to actually kick in before it stopped. Usually i have very light periods for about 3 days and once I start the b/c pill it stops pretty quickly. I just started MTX and the dr said it could have to do with that. But, I've also been having these rushing warm feelings in my chest, like hot flashes I guess .... So after I posted this, wondering if something might be going on with early menopause (i'm 34) I got a call from my rheumy saying my thyroid is abnormal. TSH was high. So, i'm going to talk to my PCP today about all this. Maybe it's my thyroid causing hot flashes and fatigue?? If you remember my last posts I was so fatigued and weak i couldnt get out of bed, lasted approx 5 weeks. I'm back to work now but still have a bit of that lingering...so now i wonder if my thyroid is causing these problems...Hashimotos?? Graves??? UGH! SOOO many questions!
Yes, I was having the typical menopause symptoms. They had me on Hormone replacement theropy for a couple years as a result. I've since stopped taking it because I didn't think I needed it anymore (And it's not that good for you) and I've done fine without it.
Have your OB test your hormone levels. Mine were well within the menopause range. The last time mine was tested a couple months ago they were actually moving back into the normal range. I had been on a medication to stop this spotting though so they think that might have changed the levels. I suspect stopping the MTX has changed things again though. I'm due to have mine retested at anytime. I just have to go get it done. I've been holding off though trying to see if I can track the spotting to see if it's anything like a normal cycle....but so far it really hasn't been.
The year before my period stopped all together I went through a point where I was having very long periods and they were coming every few weeks or so. Very irregular to say the least. I was thrilled to see it stop all together!!
If this has all just started since being on MTX; I'd suspect the medication. I think I had taken MTX for about a year when my problems all started. I thikn I was probable up to 20mg or so by that point; it's hard to remember. I took it at 25mg for close to 5 years before I started having trouble with my liver and had to stop taking it.
I went through menopause early, about age 42. Good thing I didn't wait as long as some women do to have kids, or I might have been out of luck! I didn't develop RA till ten years later, but I have wondered if early menopause is either a symptom of RA, or connected to it somehow. I remember previous discussion on this board on the subject, as it seemed that a rather high percentage of RA ladies went through early menopause, by which I mean well before your fifties.
And actually, looking back on my life, there were indications that I had joint problems long before diagnosis. Little things that I dismissed, but now make a certain amount of sense if you think RA might take a long time to get bad enough to make someone like me go to the doctor.
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