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 ( ) 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?

[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...

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! I just can't believe it took her that long to figure it out when she had experienced it six times before.

[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...)

[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.

[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).

[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!!!!!!