menopause

[fruitsalad]

can I ask the ladies on here, who have gone through this what age you were when it first started, the reason I ask is i'm 53 later this year and there are no signs of it.

[rowanwitch]

surgical menopause at 40...over by 45 sister started at 43 , she is still going through it..at 51. you may well be in the early stages...might be worth getting hormone levels done by your GP as some lucky women go through it without really noticing... but if you are it might be worth increasing the calcium in your diet

[fruitsalad]

the reason I ask is my monthlys are still as regular as clockwork not getting lighter or any heavier the same as they have always been and on the dot each month

[Huderon]

I know I'm a man, but ... my wife started at 46 and it's still going on - that's 2 years now. And I have a friend whose menopause started earlier this year ... at the age of 60.

[237SJ]

They say you tend to hit the menopause about the same time as your mother did. Give or take how many kids you had (less kids, earlier menopause I believe)

[welshlibranr]

It is to do with your mother! if she had an early menopause, then you will too! I was 45, lasted for years!...................I Hd hormone replacement therapy, which helped, but so glad it's all over now!................

[fruitsalad]

my Mother had hers at 50 which is when I was expecting something to happen or there abouts, it goes to prove then Huderon that ages for the start of the menopause can vary greatly

[Dris]

I started at 38 and finished the endurance test at 46.I was surprised to be going through the menopuase at 38 when GP confirmed it with a hormone test.I wasnt peri menopausal I just went into the full blown one.My Nannie was young as well and my maternal Auntie was too.
Its life changing to be through it right enough -for the better !!!!

[237SJ]

Did your mother have more children than you?

[jackthehat]

My maternal grandmother gave birth to my uncle aged 38, had one period after and then completely stopped.
My Mum started aged aged 46 and now aged 70 still exhibits symptoms.
I started having 'fluctuations' 6 years ago aged 40. I'm now skipping months and have no real pattern..................it's just like being a bloomin' teenager again :o(

[welshlibranr]

When I was going through it, I was so very scatty!.........Very funny!.......not for me though!..........................

[fruitsalad]

yes she had 3 i had 2

[askyourgran]

I didn't have any symptoms, I had a hysterectomy at 38 but my ovaries are intact. my mother also had a hysterectomy and as far as I'm aware she didn't suffer either, nor did my two sisters. But my sister in law suffered badly with it at 52, she took supplements Evening Primrose and I think St Johns Wort.

[jackthehat]

Mrs JtH has no-one whom she can ask as both her mother and sister had early hysterectomies.
She stopped having her periods at the age of 40. That was it. No warnings..........just one month nothing happened and continued to not happen from that time onwards. She's sailed through it all................rotten swine :o(

[daffy654]

I started my menopause quite early. I am now 42 and am only having periods every 3-4 months. I no longer get the horrible hot flushes I had all last year though :)

[ethandron]

you just wait daffy, they'll come back and bite you on the bum when you least expect them!

[ethandron]

some interesting information about it here:
http://www.homehealth...medical/menopause.htm

[ethandron]

and this:
http://www.project-aw...rience/symptoms.shtml

[craft1948]

The menopause totalled me completely.....started at 48 until about 56, and during that time, at some point, I turned into my mother :-(

[rowanwitch]

I now see my mother in the mirror ...but without her great legs!!

[boxtops]

Sounds like you have drawn a straw to keep going, fruitsalad - hard luck, but then I hear menopause symptoms can be pretty ghastly so you might want to keep going as long as you can! Joking apart, I am not in a position to comment, I had a total hysterectomy (including the ovaries, to avoid any potential problems with them later) in 1993, and I had a half hour of menopause flushes before I went on HRT patches. I know some people are sceptical about HRT (and there is a weeny higher risk of breast cancer) but my GP and I weighed up the pros and cons and the "pro" of feeling so well on HRT patches was definitely worth the risk for me at the time. I stayed on the patches for 10 years then - as recommended - came off them - so now well past menopause, hooray. I wish all ladies the same - don't write off HRT if you have symptoms, I'm a living example that it worked for me.