feeling hot not just when overly stressed

[Rachel W]

Hello all,

I am 39, but 40 soon and I have been away from my boyfriend for over a year to spend time in the UK with my family (I am English) and am going back to the US next month. Due to my anxiety disorder, he has been hesitant to want to marry and have a family with me as he worries how I would cope with having OCD. I really believe that I have enough strength in me to do fine and work through it, so I have decided to really show that I can act normally as best I can when I go home.

I really want a family so would want to do so in the near future but I read about getting pregnant after 40 and learned that it is more difficult than I imagined (both my grandmothers were 41 when they had my parents and my Mum didn't go through menopause until she was 54 (I think she started symptoms at about 49), so I wasn't too worried about it.

I have put on here in the past about the burning skin sensations that I have when I lean against something for a while, although when I was more active and going out more it got better for quite a few months. Once the weather started to get wet in July I spent more time inside again and it seemed to come back. This also makes me feel hot sometimes.

However lately I have also been feeling hot. When I ask my Mum she admits that it is warm, but then the more i worry about it I get even warmer. Sometimes it is like a rising heat (but not intense).

I have gotten this a lot in the past when faced with something that has upset me, especially if it is 'sudden' thought or fear, but now I am terrified that I could be having hot flushes.
My Mum says that they are not as she had them and they are usually intense, but I am worried that they could be the start.

I REALLY want a baby of my own, and now I am terrified that it could be too late. I have been thinking about it non-stop for two weeks. Could the worry bring on these feelings of being hot. I am usually hot-blooded and if I am in a warm house usually feel warmer than others; it is how i have been. In the past when i have been going somewhere and had to rush, or am excited about it I have had times where I have become extremely flushed (bright red), so this is normal for me.

Please help. I am SO worried. Does anyone go through stages where they feel warm a lot. I just can't tell if it is me or the room making me feel hot. I get a little sensation of rising heat, which is typical when I get scared, so cannot tell.

I read that stress can bring on menopause or perimenopause early. :(

Could it just be stress unbalancing my body and could it get better if I relax.

In addition, does anyone know of people who got pregnant for the first time over 40?

[jothenurse]

I get warm a lot when other people are fine. I am also 56 and I have hot flashes, and when you have a hot flash, you know it.
You can go to the doctor and they can do a blood test to check your hormone levels. That might make you feel better.

[mom1982]

my body feels warm all the time. when i take my temp, sometimes it's low grade and sometimes it's normal but my body is warm to touch & i get night sweats/hot flushes at night like once a month. i dont know what the reason is but i've has 2 kids with no problems. one in 2008 and another in 2009.

[blueangel]

Having your hormone levels tested would certainly establish whether or not you were getting near the menopause, as the hormone levels start to drop when this happens. However, I don't think that one of these tests would tell you definitely if you were fertile.

However, I know a number of people who have had babies after the age of 40, including one lady who had her only child when she was 47!!

[Rachel W]

Thank you.

I don't get night sweats and I don't get a flushed feeling. I read what a hot flush feels like and what I get isn't it. I have always been a hot-blooded person, going out in a T-shirt when others wear a sweater. I do feel the cold but it is like it doesn't affect me as much on the inside.

I think with my current stress, I am taking everytime I feel warm as a sign, but my niece who is only 23 said yesterday: I am always so hot when I am in my Mum's house (without me asking). It is a very hot house, and hopefully with just this and my fears, it just made my temp rise. It definitely seems to get worse the more I think about it.

I have heard that stress can cause imbalances in hormones which can be corrected with the correct lifestyle, so I don't know whether it would panic me more to get a test right now. I have decided to do this a little more naturally, by checking saliva, and other things that are influenced by natural hormone changes. I am also turning to an ultra healthy diet and trying to walk as much as possible (if it would ONLY stop raining).

I plan on going to a ObGyn when I get back to the states, to get a thorough check-up, and I just pray that my FSH levels are normal.

I just don't want my stress to have caused yet another set-back in my life. I am ready to have family. :(