How many years have you had a period?

[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.

[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"

[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 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 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.

[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.

[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..