How many years have you had a period?

[Dogmama]

Geez, I'm glad this is a women's forum. This has been bugging me.

I started my period with I was 9 years old (rode my bike home from elementary school to change my napkin at lunch - oh what joy.) I'm 52 & still having my period, pretty much on schedule. I also have PMS, but finally found a med that helps so it isn't quite so bad (read: I'm not completely homicidal or suicidal for five days a month.) I read that being exposed to your own estrogen for a long period of time is a precursor to breast cancer and I've been at this for 43 years.

Is this pretty unusual? I know we have some 50'ish women - maybe you could share your experiences?

[Bad JuJu]

I read somewhere that, on average, women who start earlier also stop later, while those who start later will stop earlier, which makes no sense to me, but seems to have been true in my case. My periods didn't start until I was 13, about 13 1/2 actually, and by the time I was 51, I was done. I'll be 54 next month (:eek: ) and I've been post-menopausal for about 3 years. Jeez, it's nice to be done with that.

I've had a little in the way of hot flashes, mood swings, and sleepless nights, but never anything bad enough for me to consider HRT. But here's the strange thing: I continue to have some symptoms of pms occasionally--maybe every 3 months or so. No blood, but some of the other indicators: headache (which I never get otherwise), mild cramping, fatigue, even mood swings sometimes. My doc says my system's probably still pumping out some residual estrogen now and then. Weird, eh?

I guess some of this is hereditary. According to a maternal aunt, my experience is pretty typical for the women in my family. Can you ask your mom or maybe an aunt?

[esther231]

My period started when I was 11. I just stopped having them 2 months ago - I'll be 55 in December. It was regular and normal till the day it stopped. Every month after 50 I kept thinking - this is it. This has to be the last one. I'd buy a white nightgown and white underwear. And then it started again the next month......

The upside is I've had no hot flashes or night sweats or any of that stuff. ::::knock wood:::: I did go through about 4 weeks of being a nut. It was like chronic PMS. I was hyper sensitive and very quick to anger and it didn't take much to make me an insane person. Bought some of the over the counter stuff for menopause and it calmed down.

I had no idea about the connection with breast cancer. That's scary. I am going in regularly for mammograms.

[mimitabby]

I started when i was 14.
Then hotflashes started in my early 40's and continue today. I will be 55 and have been in menopause officially just this season.** I continued to have regular cycles until 2 years ago. Then it just stopped for 10 months. and then it came back for 2 months and then NOTHING... (except amazing hot flashes)
I have learned to live with the hotflashes, at this point I will be very very surprised when they stop. I am glad it's done.

**menopause starts 12 months after the last period**

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Started around 13 years old. Am 52 now and still regular, no menopause symptoms yet.
From what friends tell me, menopuase can either be very defined, or it can be a gradual process that take a few years and is sometimes not very clearcut.

[mlove]

I started at 11 and I will be 55 on Sunday. The doctor tells me that I could go on into my 60s. Since I am having a hysterectomy in January, I will go into menopause suddenly.

[esther231]

Drats. Sounds like I'm celebrating too early and need to wait more than a couple of months to be sure it's over.

ARRRRGHHHHHHH

Like a bad dream, isn't it?

[DebW]

I started early (maybe around 11), am 50 now, and been in perimenopause since about 44. Long process. I've have a year with an occassional missed month, a year regular, a year with every other month, a year of irregular (between 2 weeks a 2 months apart), another every other month year, and for the last 2 years have been on a 6 month schedule. I'm eagerly awaiting the 12 month milestone. Getting really tired of perimenopause -- I want the real thing! Hot flashes for 4 or 5 years now. Some bad insomnia at ages 44-46, now only occassionally (like 1-2x per week).

[Bikingmomof3]

I began around age 9 and I am ready to quit anytime now, although it appears my body is not. SIGH

[Dogmama]

I bought the 1000 count tampax at Costco thinking maybe I'd hurry up the 'pause. Before this, I figured I'd just buy the smaller boxes because, hey, this can't last forever - right? :confused:

[bcipam]

I had read "start early stop late" as well but that didn't happem with me. I started my period around 8 1/2 (yes very early - it scared me to death - I thought I was dying when it started) and stopped at exactly age 50 (two months before my 51 birthday). I was always like clockwork, had a easy period (usually flow was 3 - 4 days), seldom had PMS and menopause was brief. I did have hot flashes for a year (about 6 months before stopping and 6 month after). I don't regret ever stopping my period. Life is just so much easier!!!! All in all had a period around 42 years... a long time!

[run it, ride it]

Started at age twelve and a half, stopped from age 17-18 (hard athletics training), started again near 19. I bled lightly a few hours every 40 days or so. Went on the pill at 20 and now have a monthy cycle and bleed about 3 days. I'm 21.

[chickwhorips]

started at 11ish. had bad periods and bled everyother week. i was miserable. finially got on the pill when i was almost 16 and been on it ever since. makes my life so much easier.

sad thing is i'm sick having my period already (i'm only 25) and i've started taking the pill for 3 consecutive months so i only get my period 4x a year. so much better!

[mimitabby]

Hey Chick, tell your Dr you don't want periods. They can put you on stuff that makes them GO AWAY. (like bc pills) If I had had that option at your age, believe me, I would have taken it!!

[CyclChyk]

Started at 9. I too thought I was dying and my mom said "No. You just got your period. Go back to bed"............. :(

On the pill for years; . lasted 2 days max nothing ever heavy, super light cramping...

Now, off the pill, cramp like the DEVIL, lasts 5 days, some heavy, and all I want to do is kill something the whole week. I'm 38. Are you guys telling me that I have 15 or more years of this crap???? :eek:

I don't want to grow up/old, but this is getting tiresome......

[Thistle]

i want menopause! started at 12.5 ... am 46 and seriously over it! the only time i had regular periods was when i was on the pill. Otherwise i could have 2 a year or 26 a year. Not fun. But, when i was 40 I went for counselling for abuse in my childhood and i kid you not, i started counselling in sept and from oct to now i've had a regular period every single month... almost always 4 weeks to the day. It was absolutely incredible to go from not having a clue which year i was going to have a period to knowing almost the exact day!

But, now i'm getting them every 3 weeks (last few months) and figured maybe i'm reaching menopause. Went to the doc and she tells me they cant tell you you're in menopause til it's over :confused: :confused: ... terrific!

Have had hot flushes for years...i mean since my early thirties. My sister is 50 and her periods became irregular last year. I remember my mother went through menopause at 47 (oh boy do i remember that!). And these days i'm really emotional with PMS... like last friday had major sobbing attack at work... that really sucks :( It never used to happen before :confused:

[Dogmama]

I can put up with the cramps. I can even put up with the inevitable IBS. The mood stuff is awful. For two weeks, I would become homicidal/suicidal. I knew that this person wasn't me, but I was powerless to stop her. Tried hormones but can't take them because they mess with my lupus. Finally found a shrink who isn't afraid to prescribe stuff other than prozac and things are better.

I used to plan my life around my periods. I even planned my marriage around my period. I would never schedule a vacation during those last two weeks. It was like half of my life was taken over by a strange creature. DH's socks in the middle of the floor would send me into a rage if I didn't watch it. I once chewed out a boss in front of everybody. Not recommended.

I'll be glad when this is finally over!

[chickwhorips]

Hey Chick, tell your Dr you don't want periods. They can put you on stuff that makes them GO AWAY. (like bc pills) If I had had that option at your age, believe me, I would have taken it!!
and which stuff is this? i'm more than ok with that.


my mom said "No. You just got your period. Go back to bed"............. :(

such kind words

[Python]

Ladies, ladies. We do not have "hot flushes".

We have

Power Surges:D :D :D

[Kitsune06]

I started *late* at 15, and then went on Depo (thinking that was a good thing?) at 18. Depo was bad for me. Hair loss, no libido, dysfunctional in every way you can think of, and no period (but I did manage to cramp)
After all ****in' kinds of fun, I stopped getting the shot. It was a year before I got my period again, and I was *ecstatic*. It seemed unnatural for me not to (just too pagan for my own good, I guess). The Diva is so convenient, etc, that I really don't mind/care...
so I've had my period 5 years. Yay!:p

[Dogmama]

Ladies, ladies. We do not have "hot flushes".

We have

Power Surges:D :D :D


Oh yeah? Where do I pull the plug?

[mary9761]

I got mine for my 9th birthday.. seriously.. I'm 45 and I've been irregular all my life. I have been having what I thought perimenopaus symptoms for years and they tell me no, I have polycystic ovary syndrome so that's the culprit of nearly ALL of my problems female wise.
I had polyps removed from my uterus a few years ago. I had a benign lump removed from my left breast the year before that and just a couple years ago I had a angiomyofibroblastoma (thankfully benign as it COULD have been otherwise) removed from my left labia! OUCH was that thing painful, they thought it was a barthlin's cyst and kept trying to lance it, but all they got was blood.
I may end up with a hysterectomy yet it the polyps return.

[suzieqtwa]

I started my period when I was 15. I thought it was never going to happen. At 36 I had my first hot flash ,and at 40 (full blown hot flashes,and mood swings) I finally went for help ,and I was already post menopausal. The put me on 2 hormones ,and I continued to have a period till I was 48 ,then they lowered the estragon ,and I haven't had a period since ,and I'm 52. The hot flashes were awful ,and I'm sure if I went off estrogen they would continue. I missed not having a period for a while ,now I don't even think about it. No PMS ,or bloating. I think the whole process is dragging out for me.

[Kitsune06]

Just to be darn sure we won't have any male lurkers here (and sorry to the squeamish) but it doesn't seem right to not have a period due to artificial hormonal input. Could someone explain the medical reason why it's healthy and actually okay to stop one's cycle, where the tissue buildup and slough-off would ordinarily occur (and why it's so GOD AWFUL when one finally goes *off* the hormonal b/c?)

[suzieqtwa]

They told me it wasn't a period I was having ,and I couldn't get pregnant...She called it a discharge (which it is anyway ,I guess). I really don't know ,but given the choice of taking estrogen, or dealing with hot flashes ,ill take the low dose of estrogen. She said ,taking the 2 kinds of hormones I was taking, was making the period happen.

[Grog]

Since sometime when I was 13 (now 28), and pretty regularly ever since, having been on the pill for the most part since I've been... hum, 17 or 18 years old. Had a 2-year break at some point. I just can't mentally live with the slight risk of other methods failing, even if I hate myself for throwing so much estrogens in streams and lakes. (It creates an over-feminized pool of fish and lots of problem for these creatures and the environment in general, hence for us all.) I'm hoping to stop that within the next 2 to 5 years to see what the union of DP's genes and mine look like.

In the meantime, my periods have always been SUPER light. I always thought it went with the small breasts, but it might have nothing to do with it!

[hellosunshine]

i started at 15 and stopped at 16!!!!prob as due to weight loss and never started,even when i go on the pill i dont bleed which is ace BUT if im moody it means its part of my personality!i have no scape goat of "time of the month"..how will i know when the menopause hits?????39 now,40 next march,cant wait:D

[Kimmyt]

I luuuuuuuurve my period.

I guess I'm one of the few.

Hey, when you're sexually active and don't want to get pregnant, even if you're on the pill, those few days of bleeding are a LIFESAVER. I am the happiest girl ever on the first day of mine every month.

Celebrate with red wine and a fancy dinner!

:D

[Tuckervill]

Yes, Kimmy, getting that period every month was a happy day...until that vasectomy, which was an even happier day!

A couple of things have been going through my head while I read this thread.

My aunt and my mother both said they went off HRT a few years after menopause and they never had hot flashes again.

My two aunts and my grandmother on my dad's side got to keep all their parts all the way through menopause, and that's my goal, too. My grandmother was 100 when she died last year. One of my aunts died, too, at age 70, of cancerous things, but she was a sun worshipper and a smoker, and I'm not. I want to be like my grandmother. Here's hoping!

Overweight causes too much estrogen to be stored in your body, so if you're overweight and having problems with your periods, (polycystic ovaries, for instance), getting rid of lots of weight will help.

I never could take the pill. I've always thought my mother using the high-dose pills of the '60s (for 20 years after I was born in 62) is what led to her fibroids causing heavy bleeding and eventually hysterectomy. Now I don't think that any more, but it still can't be groovy-cool to skip periods for entire years. I have a fibroid that makes it really hard to pass a curette into my cervix for a biopsy (found that out the hard way in August). So, even though I've never smoked, I may not avoid troublesome fibroids as I'd hoped.

I'm looking ahead now to The Pause and I hope to handle all the symptoms gracefully and with as little intervention as possible. Exercise, diet, weight loss, meditation...it's why I took up cyling. I think it's starting already but others think it's too early. My mother was 45 when she had her uterus removed for bleeding due to fibroids...but I learned recently that fibroids reduce down after menopause (no estrogen to feed them)....I'm not giving in as easily as she did.

I've been bleeding since I was 14. I'm 44. That's 30 years. I'm ready for it to end, but not before I get the weight off.
Karen

[CyclChyk]

KIT - altho I hate having it, I agree with you. The whole period thing is a cleaning out of our goodies right? So if we don't have it, its not being cleaned?? Maybe I am just naive in this area cuz I never wanted kids so pretty much didn't care how it all worked, but I can't imagine never having one is a good thing. (Prior to menopause I mean).

[mimitabby]

I, too, have a goal of going out with all the parts I came in with. I have lost two wisdom teeth, but I have all the rest of my parts. I tried hormone therapy for
perimenopause symptoms, but it made it WORSE..

When men talk to me about their wives turning into witches, monsters, etc
(mind you, i work with men not women) I like to tell them that i have been going through the change too, right next to them, and the only thing they could have noticed with me was that i often have trouble guessing whether it is hot or cold in here.

[chickwhorips]

the 7 Dwarves of Menopause

[margo49]

Just imagine being a man-person; same same every day every week every mnth year after year and just changing the numbers on your birthday. Give me ups and downs and don't know where I am anytime!
Started in1968 (aged 12 1/2). Stopped after 4 months (of my 7) of chemo (breast cancer) at age 40. Ovaries also "carked out" at this point according to ultrasound. Then 6 months on some weird injection-in-the-bottom for 6 months of suppression. Then 5 years of tamoxifen. Lots of menopausal symptoms eg hot flushes and general madness.Then a while with nothing. Then my daughter started (aged 12) and I had a few "sympathetically" with her for about a year. :cool: Then I had none except in times of extreme stress (deaths in the family and associated international travel and separation from my own family)
I *do* miss them - even the insanely floody ones at the end. What is the point of the Moon? What are my rhythms *now*? How do I navigate thru my life with no monthly signposts? Still have mad cravings for a baby every so often however they are reduced to a fantasy of a foundling in a cane basket outside the door at work :o :o
Haven't had anything for ages ... so I guess what is left of my instability and emotional dynamics is My Own Problem for which I will have to Take Responsibility. :eek:

[mimitabby]

Still have mad cravings for a baby every so often however they are reduced to a fantasy of a foundling in a cane basket outside the door at work :o :o
Haven't had anything for ages ... so I guess what is left of my instability and emotional dynamics is My Own Problem for which I will have to Take Responsibility. :eek:
Well, Margo, considering where you live your fantasies aren't that far fetched.
That's where the original basket story came from, isn't it?

My mad cravings for babies went away. Now I am resentful about my sons who are going to wait until i am too old to have grandkids.
:(

[mimitabby]

For women who prefer less frequent menstruation, there are oral contraceptives taken continuously for 6 to 12 weeks — followed by a week of no pills — which are associated with fewer menstrual-related complaints.

I guess you should ask your doctor what it's called. They didn't say.

[Dogmama]

I wonder about suppressing a menstrual period - Kit said the same thing - it seems like that could cause problems down the road. A woman I work with took those pills for a year. She finally quit them and is having horrible hot flashes and weird periods. She is 46.

It wasn't that long ago that HRT was supposed to be The Answer. Now it is The Problem. They said ERT was better. Now ERT and testosterone is thought to cause breast cancer. Even doctors can't agree. For a short while, I took estrogen only. The gyn said I didn't need progesterone to protect my uterus because I was still having periods. Another doc freaked out & said I absolutely needed progesterone even if I was bleeding.

I say - if men had periods, hot flashes, bad moods, bloating, etc., NIH would be pouring money into research. Bahh!

[ACG]

To answer the question, I started at 13, still going strong at 45.

Question to all you powerful and knowledgeable, what do you do about PMS? The emotional pms part of it? I don't want to go on drugs if I dont' have to, I'm looking for an herb or a tea, or something. Anything?

[CyclChyk]

Oh geez Chick - I am all 7 dwarfs wrapped into one!!! No wonder my a** is so big!

And as far as PMS goes, the only thing that works for me is booze and shop therapy........... torturing something would be REALLY FUN but I might go to jail for that one...........

[annie]

[QUOTEMy mad cravings for babies went away. Now I am resentful about my sons who are going to wait until i am too old to have grandkids.
:([/QUOTE]

Mine are doing that, too!! How do we hurry them up?? :mad: :D I have so many friends with grandkids and I WANT ONE! :D

On the original question -- started when I was almost 16 and hope every month that I am truly finished. But so far, no. :confused: The longest I've gone, raising my hopes, is 3 months. I know I am in perimenopause, but I would be happy for the full-fledged thing! I will be 52 in Jan. so that comes to over 35 years of dealing with it. Right now, I am experiencing the lovely stage of erratic periods, so I NEVER know when to expect it and must be prepared at all times. I've had such heavy flows that I've been anemic. Or else maybe I'll just have spotting. So weird. Still - I don't have hot flashes (yet) or night sweats, or depression, so I can't really complain too much. I do have episodes of very dry skin (everywhere!) and very low libido. But it passes and then all is normal most of the time. Still - I am so glad I am a woman and this is part of the deal, so I'll put up with it and try my best not to be a bit__ TOO much of the time.

annie

[Raindrop]

I started at 12 and am now at least three years past the average age of menapause. However, on my last pap my doctor was kind enough to tell me that my ovaries felt like "two small raisons" which gives me hope that I will not have a period in the near future. However, since i bought the Viva cup just last year, and am beyond the definition of frugal; I figure I'll be menstruating well into my seventieth year...just because that the kind of karma I have.:rolleyes:

[Dogmama]

ACG-

Physical or mental PMS? I suffer from PMDD - PreMenstrual Dysphoric (sp?) Disorder - or in laymen's terms "B*tch from Hell for Two Weeks"

I worked with Andrew Weil for a couple of years (professionally - I was his business manager at the University of AZ (or Univ of OZ, as I say)) and during that time I tried all herbs: Black cohosh, vitex, dong quai, etc. I got a little relief, but not enough. Interestingly, those worked better on the physical aspects than mental.

I finally got a psychiatrist who isn't afraid to try new things. I'd been on everything from Prozac to Lexapro and all of the in-betweens, Welbutrin, Effexor, etc. I'm taking a tiny little speck of Lexapro plus a half of a pill called Provigil. It is for narcolepsy (sp?) but it's also hits norepinephrine whereas Lexapro hits serotonin. I take 1/4 of the regular dose of that.

I, too, didn't want pills. Fought it for years. But I figure it is temporary - just enough to get me through perimenopause and my insane job (my accountant is Sybill, I never know what personality I'm going to get each day, the faculty are 5 years old emotionally and my boss is a Korean woman who doesn't understand the American term "burned out.").

So, it really depends on how bad it is. For me, I was giving up half of my life. If I have to take a couple of pills each day, so be it.

[Kimmyt]

My mom started going into menopause about 10 years ago. I guess now she's through it all finally. But she started around 47 which I guess is fairly young? She had all these symptoms, and went to her doctor to tell her she thought she was starting menopause, and her doctor told her that she should see a psychiatrist because obviously she was too young to go into menopause. I think that's pretty rude, and only a year or so later she was into menopause so obviously she wasn't too young. She was pretty pissed at that!

K.

[mimitabby]

Kimmy, that's a strange story.


I certainly agree, taking pills isn't exactly natural, but neither is having 400 periods in a life time! (low estimate)

In a "natural" state, women got pregnant and nursed their babies as long as they could, easily for 6 years per child. This naturally spaced out pregnancies and kept them amenorrheic. (read bushman ethnologies if you want to know more about this)
The average woman had 3 kids, spaced 6 years apart. Of course if they lost a child, they would start cycling again, and get pregnant again. But the end result was not very many periods at all.

[Bad JuJu]

I had a friend whose doc told her she was too young to be in menopause--she was 49, and this was only about 5 years ago. I told her most of the women in my family, according to my aunt, were in menopause by age 50 or shortly thereafter, so don't believe everything your doc tells you. And sure enough, the woman was in menopause, and the blasted doc didn't have a clue.

It helps to remember that doctors are human too and don't know everything. It's when they pretend that they do know everything that we get into trouble.

[mimitabby]

I had a friend whose doc told her she was too young to be in menopause--she was 49, and this was only about 5 years ago. I told her most of the women in my family, according to my aunt, were in menopause by age 50 or shortly thereafter, so don't believe everything your doc tells you. And sure enough, the woman was in menopause, and the blasted doc didn't have a clue.

It helps to remember that doctors are human too and don't know everything. It's when they pretend that they do know everything that we get into trouble.

on the other hand, when i was at the Doc's for my 51 year old pelvic exam
the young nurse/aide asked me about my cycles which were still normal and she was stunned with my response. You're 51 and still having normal cycles?
And the doctor (also a woman) said to her "yes, this is what healthy looks like...often women keep cycling into their 50's without medication and surgery"

[skibum]

You can actually start perimenopause at a fairly young age. I started having symptoms in my late 30's. Even I thought I was too young and was imagining things so I didn't mention it to my doctor until about a year ago (I'm 42 now). She agreed that I am indeed in perimenopause. I later talked to my mother about it. I had assumed that since she had a hysterectomy due to cervical cancer at age 38 that I couldn't use her as a reference point. It turns out she hit menopause at age 36!

I was talking to my younger sister a few weeks ago and she mentioned all the symptoms she is having. She is having a hard time convincing her doctor that she is entering perimenopause. He thinks she's crazy and that she's too young (she's about to turn 38). I told her to go back and tell him about me and about mom so maybe he will believe her.

So, while it's not common, it can happen. Like Bad JuJu said, doctors are human and they may not recognize it because it is outside of what is considered normal.

[suzieqtwa]

I was 36 ,and full blown by 40 when I went into menopause . I was in denial. Couldn't believe this was happening to me so young. I'm 52 now ,and have ben on HRT since I was 40. I know there are risks ,but I felt was soooooo awful,Ill take my chances. I was very depressed when I found out. My daughter started her period when she was 11 ,the same day I found out I was post menopausal. If I went off the HRT I would still have hot flashes ,and mood swings. I tried before. I was sad not having a period. It was like loosing my youth. I used to gage my life ,and moods by my period. Now I'm consistent (usually happy) ,and I don't really think about it much. I also couldn't use my Mom or my grand ma as a reference point, as my mom had a hysterectomy at the age of 40 ,and my grandma died when she was 38 from breast cancer.

[Nokomis]

Anyone NOT remember when they started? I remember being self-conscious in middle school because those jumbo pads must have shown thru the little nylon gym uniforms :eek: but I have zero recollection of when I actually started.

It's been pretty miserable ~ pre-cramping that focuses either in my lower back or down the front of my thighs. (Took an acupuncturist asking before I realized that it was related to my cycles.) Heated Seats in cars should be available by perscription to any woman who asks!
The 'real' part of my cycle is less bleeding than passing massive clots that made for many embarassing and near-disaster situations in school -- and are my excuse to work from home certain days of the month. PMS comes & goes - sometimes I'm a raging :mad: and other times just sad or overwhelmed. On top of all this - I've got mid cycle spotting that won't go away, and I have yet to find a doctor that can figure out what or why or how to stop it. PMS also overwhelms me with a desire to binge eat - especially sweets - but even the smallest bite makes me nauseous.

I'm almost 32, and I have some form of bleeding over 50% of the days per cycle - pill or no pill - for as long as I can remember. We've very nearly given up on having kids ~ and I'm working with a doc that I've tasked with finding out what is wrong and how to resolve it, will be in her office this afternoon. :confused:

[short cut sally]

How long have I had mine? WAYYY TOOO LONG..Started at age 11, just about to turn 40. I am ready any day now for it to stop. No chance of that. Mom stopped mid to late 50's, dear god don't let me follow in her footsteps, PLEASE. I am some what regular, am blessed with a short flow, usually. And yes, I am glad to get mine monthly, DH had a vasectomy years ago, never went back to get checked..swears if I get pregnant, it's not his..DUH....somehow it's all my fault? My $0.02 and a little off topic about the hormone therapies that don't allow a cycle for 3-4 months at a time, I tend to not believe in that. We were given this "curse" for a reason, and yes, it would be convenient, but I think those hormones can't be doing us any good either. I had to take estrogen for 10 days after a procedure..stopped at about day 5, was an insomniac and couldn't take it any more..and took a few days to get out of my system. I couldn't imagine life on HRT..

[mary9761]

Overweight causes too much estrogen to be stored in your body, so if you're overweight and having problems with your periods, (polycystic ovaries, for instance), getting rid of lots of weight will help.


Karen

Ah but the catch 22 to PCOS is that it makes it difficult to lose and maintain weight loss so you have to fight harder to lose the weight to try to make the PCOS better to make it easier to lose the weight, etc, etc... not an excuse but PCOS isn't as simple as losing weight. I have had massive blood clots like others have described off an on all of my life as well. Turns out at one point I had polyps that needed to be removed and there's a chance the could return. I have had female problems ever since I BLOSSOMED so I think I'd be glad to be done completely. I told the doctor if I end up needing a hysterectomy to take it all since the ovaries aren't working right either. One of the last ultrasounds showed my left ovary nearly as big as my uterus if what I saw was correct. They could barely find my right ovary.

[pyxichick]

I used to think I didn't want to mess with my hormones, so I never took birth control pills. I just suffered with awful cramps, yucky IBS (in addition to my regular digestive issues) and crabby crabby moods. Somehow I never seemed to plan ahead properly when I had my period and always found myself out somewhere with friends or family having to say "uh, could we stop somewhere so I can get a tampon?" And it always overflowed because I bled so much.

Then my gastroenterologist suggested that I definitely not get pregnant because of the medication I was on. No problem, I don't want to have kids anyway. This, combined with my chronic anemia convinced me to finally go on the pill.

So at the age of 31, I went in to get a prescription and my (female) doctor says to me "you've never been on the pill before? How have you managed to not get pregnant?"

HUH?

Anyway, Seasonale is a girl's best friend. I don't miss the flow. I no longer care that it's "not natural" because the benefits make my life so much better.

[chickwhorips]

Anyway, Seasonale is a girl's best friend. I don't miss the flow. I no longer care that it's "not natural" because the benefits make my life so much better.

you said it sister! that's why i love it!!!!

[Tuckervill]

Ah but the catch 22 to PCOS is that it makes it difficult to lose and maintain weight loss so you have to fight harder to lose the weight to try to make the PCOS better to make it easier to lose the weight, etc, etc... not an excuse but PCOS isn't as simple as losing weight.

Yeah, I didn't mean to imply that it was easy. Just that weight is a factor. I want to get my weight off before menopause because of the same vicious cycle.

Karen

[light_sabe_r]

While We're on the subject. (thread hijack) Has anyone had endometriosis??

I started VERY late compared to the rest of you. I was almost 15!!! Been coming like clockwork eversince. 1 entire week of bleed through every month until I was 19. That's when I found out I've got full blown endometriosis.

There were days before I saw my gyno that I'd crumple to the floor in pain, couldn't go to work, vomitting and other nasty stuff. I've been on the pill since then and have been purposely SKIPPING periods to avoid these "attacks" (which were pretty mild to begin with, but Doctor saw a pattern emerging) Usually only softens the blow a bit...

I know I'm young, But I'm looking forward to either getting pregnant and having nine months of relief or getting a freaking hysterectomy!!!

[margo49]

Pregnancy *does* give the raging hormones something to organise themselves around.
Infuriating to realise as a feminist of course but can't argue with my own personal experience.

[HipGnosis6]

Overweight causes too much estrogen to be stored in your body, so if you're overweight and having problems with your periods, (polycystic ovaries, for instance), getting rid of lots of weight will help.


Ah but the catch 22 to PCOS is that it makes it difficult to lose and maintain weight loss so you have to fight harder to lose the weight to try to make the PCOS better to make it easier to lose the weight, etc, etc... not an excuse but PCOS isn't as simple as losing weight.


Yeah, I didn't mean to imply that it was easy. Just that weight is a factor.

Weight isn't a factor in PCOS. You can be slender and still have it. Unexplained weight gain and difficulty losing weight is a symptom but not a cause of the disease. Saying so is ignorant, but don't take it personally - a lot of health care providers are deeply misinformed about PCO.

Mary is right when she says that PCOS makes it harder to lose weight - it can be downright impossible. On the reccomendation that i do exactly that, I had to find a combination of excercise and diet that would actually cause weight loss. In doing so, I wound up exercising at a level that created a calorie burn in excess of what I was eating daily - not even considering calories used for day to day functioning. I lost my alreay irregular menstual cycle to overtraining and was technically anorexic - and STILL was only losing half a pound a week.

Once doctors stopped trying to diagnose me as being too fat and started considering the actual hormonal issue at hand, the treatment changed (I was prescribed a pretty sturdy dose of Metformin and spironolactone, an antiandrogen that was supposed to help with the hirstutism and hair loss) and lo and behold, my periods became regular. This was made possible not by my OBGYN; in fact, the people at planned parenthood literally refused to talk to me about it. My regular doctor referred me to see an endocrinologist and she was utterly shocked that my previous doctor had had nothing more to say about it than "Lose some weight, you're too fat."

As for the thread topic.... I started my period when I was 12. I still have it at 31 but it's irregular again after I had to drop the treatment for PCOS when my health insurance ended.

[Tuckervill]

Weight isn't a factor in PCOS. You can be slender and still have it. Unexplained weight gain and difficulty losing weight is a symptom but not a cause of the disease. Saying so is ignorant, but don't take it personally - a lot of health care providers are deeply misinformed about PCO.

I don't take it personally. When my friend was diagnosed with it I read up on the topic, and I recall reading that obesity was a factor in PCOS. Therefore, I don't think I was speaking out of ignorance. If you say otherwise, so be it. I don't even talk to that friend much anymore!

I'm glad you found something that worked.

Karen

[Melstar]

How many years? hmm started at age 13. Went on the pill when i was 17 on and off due to nausea problems and breakthrough bleeding issues.

Had a bout of irregular periods due to losing too much weight a short time back, but that has now been resolved. Been prescribed a new formulation and now back on the pill.

And yes i'm now much healthier, eating well and having my bike rides and walks and even started playing basketball again.

Now to quit smoking for the umpteenth time... that last remaining vice.

LIsa PM'ed me asking me how old i was. Yep i'm 24.

I was young and foolish. I have now gone over to the healthy side... almost.

[hellosunshine]

kinda related,when i was 12 my mum said to me,just before a holiday,"WATCH OUT!your sister started her periods in an aeroplane,it was the air pressure"so i had a total nightmare few hoildays following having to fly,.....i started on dry land............mums a bit old!!!!!!

[GulfCoastSwim]

I don't take it personally. When my friend was diagnosed with it I read up on the topic, and I recall reading that obesity was a factor in PCOS. Therefore, I don't think I was speaking out of ignorance. If you say otherwise, so be it. I don't even talk to that friend much anymore!

I'm glad you found something that worked.

Karen

I was diagnosed a while back...gaining weight while training for a marathon! I'm lucky in that I'm not overweight but I have read that excess weight makes the insulin resistance worse, and that losing it can even improve hirsutism and lessen the need for drug therapy. Don't worry, overweight people aren't the only ones who are treated badly because of weight. I kept insisting that I was gaining when the numbers said I should be losing weight, and nobody really seemed to care. I seemed to get the vibe that they were pissed at me for complaining about 5-10 lbs when their average patient is way more overweight.

[Python]

It is funny how we remember our first period like it was yesterday. I was 12 1/2, it was early evening (about 6.30pm) and I went over to my friend's house. She lived in a block of flats and while I was waiting for the elevator I felt something very warm and wet... No-one was around so I had a quick look and ran home faster than greased lightning. I was soooo excited about it. Kept thinking to myself "I am a WOMAN" LOL. AT 12 1/2...yeah right:D Never did get too much cramping except in the early days and was as regular as clockwork - including the PMS:rolleyes: Things started going haywire about 7 years ago and got quite irregular. Now if I do get anything, if I blinked I'd miss it. I'm 50 now. I've had a few night sweats and that's really about it. Never been near my doc as I feel I don't need to (menopause is perfectly normal and natural) and wouldn't entertain the idea of HRT anyway - too much controversy about it.

Just one more thing to say on the subject:

Ladies. We do not get hot flushes/flashes...we get


POWER SURGES

:D :D :D

[RoadRaven]

You know... I am amazed at how many of you remember your first period so well.

I remember my daughter's first - she was at school! Fortunately an understanding teacher was available, and I had already pre-warned daughter and made sure she had pads ready "just in case" in her school bag. She was nearly 14, now 19, she gets hers every 21 days - you could almost set a clock by her.

I remember when my best friend got hers at 11, and I was so jealous.

But mine? I don't recall... I got mine around 12 I think, def before I was 13 anyways. No recollection of where I was, or my response to it.

Was on 'the pill' from age 14 til 20, when I got married.
Used pregnancy and breast feeding to space babies. After number 5, I had my tubes "clipped" (like miniature pegs apparently).

Now nearly 42 and I have two days of heavy bleeding and significant cramps (as in, emptying of mooncup needed every 3/4 hour or so and going to bed/sleep with a towel between my legs!) and 3 days around those of lighter bleeding. On a 29-30 day cycle.

I'm leery of menopause - I'd love to be free of my period, but worry about it upsetting my, erm, "natural responses" and that interferring with sex!

[Kitsune06]

OK. I know I was all about the natural blah-blah in october last year, but I'm getting kinda sick of the whole cramping, bleeding thing taking me off my bike. The 2nd or 3rd days always get me. I'm not so bad if I can take some ibuprophen and take it easy, but if I try riding hard or fast, it just kills me. The whole cramping-so-badly-you-sweat, nauseous, panting thing. oh, agony. :(
Stupid diva cup. It's great for those 'just in case' days, when you're a little irregular and not sure when you'll start, and those 'ok it's the light-bleedin' last 3-4 days of my period' because you don't get all dried out, etc... but the 2-3 days when you're having Carrie flashbacks every time you head to the privy, you're emptying it every hour or so. Geez! RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!! ARRRRGGGHHHH
...oh and I'm sick of PMS. My stress doll at work got his head torn off this morning. With teeth. *sigh*

But yeah, the whole hysterectomy/menopause thing sounds great except for the whole decreased sex drive thing.

[RoadRaven]

OK. I know I was all about the natural blah-blah in october last year, but I'm getting kinda sick of the whole cramping, bleeding thing taking me off my bike. The 2nd or 3rd days always get me. I'm not so bad if I can take some ibuprophen and take it easy, but if I try riding hard or fast, it just kills me.

LOL Kit - I hear ya! I have found if I dose up on panadeine (thats the panadol with added coedine) before a ride, and then go out and "make" myself (a mission in itself) do a really hard but short ride - like hills, or an ATT, then the mess may be bigger, but I seem to fast-track the 'heavy' part of the cycle.


But yeah, the whole hysterectomy/menopause thing sounds great except for the whole decreased sex drive thing.

OMG - I wasn't thinking/aware of DECREASED sex drive!!! Tell me its not true! I was just bothered by decreasing, erm... lubrication... (thank goodness this is a women's forum).

[Kitsune06]

That's what lube is for. (I don't want to go 'too far' but I want to still try to be informative...) Sea Buckthorn and damiana are good for 'natural' lubricity, but there are very good artificial ones out there, too. (if anyone needs suggestions, they can pm me privately... )

but as far as I know, nothing will jumpstart the drive but hormones...

When I was on Depo, nothing touched me. Nothing. I was asexual as far as I was concerned. sex was like an extended push-up session. I never want to repeat that. :(

[RoadRaven]

But Kit! I don't want to use/buy lube!
I dont wanna go there... for a start I am waaaaay too lazy!
I like the convenience of what I have!

OK... enough of this... gonna sign off and jump on the spin bike - its just coming up 6am and I gotta get an hour in before I go wake the boys for school!

Have a great ... evening???

Rave

[Aquila]

12 maybe? Ugh, cramps, and doctors saying "just go take a hot bath" when I was living in a boarding house with no bath, and need to work and such.

A couple years ago I went on the pill for continuous use, and I wish I'd done it years ago (or more!). No cramps, no pms, no wasting 10% of my life or more feeling semi-crappy! I travel wherever, do whatever, and just don't have to plan to feel semi-crappy. It's the best!

Some folks have asked questions about the continous use issue, so I'll share a web-site if that's okay. It's a blog by an ob/gyn, and the right hand side has lots of links to birth control and continous use information. http://thewelltimedperiod.blogspot.com/

From what I've read, the bleeding while you're "on" the pill but in the off week is actually a reaction to estrogen withdrawal, and not at all like a regular period. On the pill, there's no build up of uterine lining to support a potential pregnancy, so there's no need to shed any lining.

Back in the 50s, the pill was invented for women with painful periods, and then everyone figured out, hey, no ovulation=no pregnancy, and suddenly everyone was using it. But the folks who'd invented it thought that women would be a lot more comfortable with the whole thing if they had a fake period, so they did the formulations with a built in week off from estrogen.

But there's no NEED to have a fake bleed.

If you find a pill formulation that works well for you, you can probably work with your doctor to do continuous use if you want; low dose formulations work great, but it's a matter of finding the right one for an individual woman.

[SouthernBelle]

I started when I was 12, on the night of my first dance!

The cool thing was that for many years I did not have periods during the summer. Isn't that weird?

Had a hysterectomy at 43. Weaned off of hormones a couple or 3 years later. I've only had one hot flash ever. The night after my surgery.

Dryness is a definite issue though.

[Jolt]

OK. I know I was all about the natural blah-blah in october last year, but I'm getting kinda sick of the whole cramping, bleeding thing taking me off my bike. The 2nd or 3rd days always get me. I'm not so bad if I can take some ibuprophen and take it easy, but if I try riding hard or fast, it just kills me. The whole cramping-so-badly-you-sweat, nauseous, panting thing. oh, agony. :(


Yeah, cramps are the pits! I am usually rather miserable the first day of my period b/c of the cramps--I take naproxen sodium which helps some but definitely doesn't get rid of them. Sounds like yours are worse though, and I have a rather light flow, so I really shouldn't complain. Funny thing is, I started having periods when I was almost 13 and never cramped until I was 14 and taking the pill to regulate my cycle (had an incident where I started bleeding 2 weeks after the last period, and bled so heavily I ended up in the hospital and almost had to get a transfusion, so they put me on the pill for six months to get things back on track). When I started on that, I started having cramps, and continued to get them after stopping. BTW, I am "all about the whole natural thing"--I just think our bodies are designed to work a certain way for a reason, and messing with it to skip periods may turn out to have some unwanted effects. Just doesn't seem healthy to me. I know that when I was on the pill for those few months it sent my cholesterol levels through the roof (when I had it checked at my physical that year it was 240, and that was due to high LDL) and raised my blood pressure as well. I'm just leery of messing with the function of the normal body like that, even though the cramps etc. are a drag!

[sgtiger]

I read somewhere that, on average, women who start earlier also stop later, while those who start later will stop earlier, which makes no sense to me... :confused: :eek: :eek:

EEK! If this is true, mine will be around a while. <sigh> It's bad enough that I started early. At the ripe old age of nine, BTW. And it doesn't help knowing that my maternal grandmother went into menopause late. She wasn't perimenopausal until her very late fifties and it took a couple of years for her menses to stop altogether. When she was pregnant with my mom's youngest sister in her early fifties she thought she was menopausal then. She even went to go see her doc and he didn't bother giving her a pregnancy test because of her age. She didn't realize she was with child until she was six months gone!:eek: I just can't believe it took her that long to figure it out when she had experienced it six times before.:rolleyes: :o:confused:

[surgtech1956]

I started at 12 1/2 yrs and stopped around 45 yrs old. Never took any hormones. I still have some 'power surges' but they're not that bad. When I first started with the hot flashes, they were bad - bearable, but the worse thing for me is not sleeping well. The last year I'm bad to sleeping like a baby.

[bmccasland]

Original topic.... I started when I was 12 1/2 or 13 - at a Girl Scout camp-out as I recall. Did two 5-yr stints of being on the pill with approximatly 5 yrs off between. Two pregnancies, but no kids. Premenopausal in my early 40's, last period when I was 44.5, am now 47. Have been on HRT for 4 years, and according to my Dr. will be on it for one more year. I requested the HRT due to the hot flashes, night sweats cycles during the night, I just could NOT sleep. Get hot, kick covers off, wake up freezing, pull covers back, rearrange kitties, repeat 4 or 5 times during the night. GIVE ME MEDICATION!!!! I see my Gynocologist next month (3 weeks to get a routine well woman checkup!!!).

Both my grandmothers had early menopause, hard to say about my Mom. She had a hysterectomy when she was in her mid-30, am not sure why (but not Cancer), and nearly died on the table. She did survive the surgery.

(this reads really concise, to the point. and dry. the facts, just the facts...):D

[Crankin]

Started at age 11.5 (June 1964) and I had my last one on June 5, 2002, at age 48. I had horrible PMS, mostly physical, my whole life, along with cramps and heavier bleeding the first 2 days. I was on the Pill from age 17 to 25, stopped because of all kinds of weird symptoms. I had 3 pregnancies, two kids in a short time frame, after which the periods got a bit better, until I began having perimenopause symptoms around age 37, getting progressively worse in my early forties. In fact I had a couple of years where i didn't have my period for 3-4 months and felt like i was going to explode. I have exercised my whole adult life, since about 25 and always eaten a healthy diet, and i am not overweight. When I was around 46 I went for almost a year without a period, but then I had them irregularly until the last one at 49. During that time, I did start gaining weight and started cycling because what I was doing was obviously not working.
Didn't ever consider HRT. I had hot flashes on and off for a long time 5-6 years, but nothing I couldn't live with. I just took a drink of cool water from my water bottle at work! A bit of insomnia, but I have always been a poor sleeper. My hot flashes stopped last summer, but i started taking Evista for osteopeinia in January and that has brought them back (but not even as bad as they were before). I am 53 now and I definitely think all of the cycling helped me through some of the perimenopausal stuff. The worst noticeable side effect was the lack of uh, lubrication that was mentioned. It was not lack of desire, so to you younger people, don't think that automatically happens! I now have an E-string, which is like a birth control device that stays in for 3 months at a time and supplies a super low dose of local estrogen to cure the problem. My gyn said that even cancer patients are allowed to use it. Not only did it cure the problem, but it also made cycling a bit easier (I had suspected that part of my seat issues were really physical ones related to menopause). So, I think i have had it fairly easy compared to some and i was frankly, very happy to get rid of my periods. I had to plan my whole life around them for 37 years. I had it for every school dance, vacation, and special occaison I can think of.