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An_245514 posted:
My sister I take care of is 46 and has missed 3 periods now and is wondering if she could be going thru menopause. Is there anything to do except keep up with recording it till her appt in November? Shes scared and I hope to calm her down.
1 Replies |Watch This Discussion | Report This| Share this:missing periodsMy sister I take care of is 46 and has missed 3 periods now and is wondering if she could be going thru menopause. Is there anything to do except keep up with recording it till her appt in November? Shes scared and I hope to calm her down.
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Mary Jane Minkin, MD responded:
Dear An_245514,
Is there any chance of pregnancy? it would be unlikely but not impossible at 46; so I'd get a pregnancy test, just to be sure, if there is any chance. However, if she is anxious, one can do an FSH and estradiol blood test, which will give you a ballpark, but not exact picture of what is going on. The likeliest bet at this point would be perimenopause. Just one other thought: you mentioned that you take care of her-does she have any particular physical or emotional health problems? because if she were started on a new medication, for example, certain ones do have side effects of causing menstrual irregularities-so occasionally a new medication could be the culprit.
So I think you can calm her down, in a fairly straightforward manner.
Good luck to you and her, and thanks for taking care of her.
Mary Jane
Report This| Share this:missing periodsDear An_245514,<br />Is there any chance of pregnancy? it would be unlikely but not impossible at 46; so I'd get a pregnancy test, just to be sure, if there is any chance. However, if she is anxious, one can do an FSH and estradiol blood test, which will give you a ballpark, but not exact picture of what is going on. The likeliest bet at this point would be perimenopause. Just one other thought: you mentioned that you take care of her-does she have any particular physical or emotional health problems? because if she were started on a new medication, for example, certain ones do have side effects of causing menstrual irregularities-so occasionally a new medication could be the culprit.<br />So I think you can calm her down, in a fairly straightforward manner.<br />Good luck to you and her, and thanks for taking care of her.<br />Mary Jane
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