How many years have you had a period?

[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..