menopause

[fruitsalad]

could i ask the ladies out there what age you were when it started i'm 50 but my monthlys are still as regular as clockwork, i had thought they may have started to slow by now.

[Drisgirl]

I started at 38 and finished at 47 -struggle but wa haaay was definately worth it..One year free -bliss.

Everyone is different so you may just stop -ive heard of that happening -however you will know if you are approaching it-there are definite signs.Ask your GP for a blood test -he/she can tell if you are perimenopausal due to the hormone level -least you would know either way what to look out for -thats how I got diagnosed at 38 -bit early but at least I knew the reason for some of the symptoms I was having.

[fruitsalad]

can i ask what other symptoms you had Drisgirl, i am getting tearful and a bit snappy at certain times of the month, but i just put that down to the monthly curse.

[netibiza]

I had my meno at 52, and the periods had got worse not better for the last 5 yrs. Glad when they finished. 11yrs on I'm still getting dreadful hot flushes day and night. It's a dog's life!

[Drisgirl]

Well I started having PMT 24/7 and i couldnt understand it then I started to have hot flushes and when someone says a hot flush its nothing like a menopausal one -as i'm sure someone will agree.I was almost passing out with the intensity of it then the night sweats started -but funnily enough my periods didnt start to go all over the place until about say 3years ago.They started getting really heavier (embarassingly) then latterly they just came and went when they pleased but they were heavy with me until the last one.
So I for one wouldnt go on the periods -its the 24/7 PMT which made me got to the GP and he tested me -I felt marginally better but for me it has been a real uphill struggle-i havent behaved remotely rationally at times -to which some people still take pleasure in digging up although I am different now.
Well suppose they have to get their kicks somewhere -its sad tho that it wasnt recognised that I was suffering from a medical condition which I had NO control over.
Lastly I tried the HRT - patches, tablets -it just didnt do anything for me so i went 'cold turkey' as I wanted to know exactly when I was through the menopause naturally -rather that it being controlled.
I am glad I did now.
PM anytime if you want any advice -I will be more than happy to help and advise - x

[ethandron]

everyone is different in the way it happens, i think. i was still having regular periods at your age, sometimes light and sometimes heavy, and my doctor said she thought i was quite old to still be having them!! the mood swings and pms were definitely the worst symptom, and that started a good few years before any interruption in the monthly cycle. if you google 'menopause' you'll find out all about it, along with the 35/36 symptoms which you have to look forward to, some of which you would never connect with menopause (itchy skin, stomache problems, tinnitus, sleeplessness), not to mention a hairy chin, thinning hair, acne........
best of luck.

[ethandron]

did i mention hot flushes, palpitations, loss of confidence, needing the loo every 5 minutes.....?

[dot.hawkes]

i am 52 but not yet even pre-menopausal, but I had a trans surgical resection of the endrometrium in about 1995 and I have been fine ever since, it wasn't a hysterectomy, but the removal of the lining of the womb, and so no periods, no pre-menstual tension, no nothing, it has been great. As it wa a fairly nw procedure, they did not know whether it would mean I would actually have a menopause either, and so it may be that it never happens naturally. I havn't checked the site to see the uopdated feedback, i am still in the long term survey for it.

[Drisgirl]

Thats right Ethandron (3 times to get your name spelt right -lol) -dont go by the periods its the mood swings and pms/t that you have to watch for -that is often the first symptom.
Hope you get back and let us know if this has helped cos I wouldnt wish it upon my worst enemy -just keep in touch -I have supplements that do help and other advice x.

[FoxLee2]

As has been said, everyone is different. I was having normal periods until age 54, then they would disappear for months, and I had the last one when I was over 56. When I had one, it wasn't any heavier than usual and I never experienced any of the 'flooding' that friends had told me about. I started my periods quite early, just about 12 years old and I think the earlier you begin, the longer they go on for which doesn't really seem fair.

[Pesk]

I'm 52 and my periods were irregular from 48 onwards. I haven't had a period now for well over a year. I'm not nearly as moody as with periods, I get the odd hot flush but not desperately so. The only real pain is vaginal dryness which is sorted by using "vagifem", a vaginal direc hit pessary of oestrogen. So far do good for me!

[Drisgirl]

ooooooo the flooding -now just a distant memory thankfully.

Dot-thats interesting -I have never heard of that but looks like you may -fingers crossed-have escaped it.

I was just younger than normal to have it but hey i'm glad its out the damned way -I feel like a new person.

Its corrct to say -as I said in my initial post-that everyone is different but dont be embarassed to post and share your feelings -theres always someone who can tell you -youre not going mad and help you..
Mu mum had a bad time as well -and she said to her GP- what happened years ago to women and the GP said they most often ended up in an Institution -thats how bad it can be.

Hope its not like that for you lot -anyway its recognised nowadays -it wasnt years ago -poor souls.

[hollie1586]

my mum has started going through menopause and she gets hot flushes that start at her feet and it works its way up through her body. we were in ikea the other week and i thought she was gonna pass out. also she cant remember stuff quite alot of the time....she went to see the GP about forgetfullness and they described it like being in cotton wool and that she felt just the same lol

[beejaybee]

i was 29 due to having hysterectomy. i`m now 54, but still get the hot flushes. sorry to upset you girls, but the flushes can go on for ever. i know of a lady who`s 72 & still gets them. taking sage tablets do help a heck of a lot.

[ethandron]

...the upside is that for the great majority of women they tail off and stop altogether after 2/3 years. it's unusual, although not unheard of, to still be having hot flushes 5 years after they start, let alone 20 years.

[grasscarp]

For hot flushes a quick acting remedy is black cohosh.

[horselady]

I'm 58 and when I was 55 my periods just stopped. No flooding, no problems, I was very, very lucky. Some hot flushes but that was the only sympton.

[Lonnie]

Mrs L is 52, and still gets her monthlys, mind you, to look at her, you'd take her for 32.

As said earlier, its different for everyone

[fruitsalad]

thank you all for your replies they have been very helpful, and that is interesting FoxLee2 about starting your periods early, i also started my periods early between 11 and 12 and did wonder if that meant they would maybe finish earlier or later.

[beejaybee]

grasscrap. I`ve taken Black cohosh for years & found it good for general menopause symtoms, but not the hot flushes.

[mrs_overall]

That's an interesting remark by FoxLee2 and I've heard of that before.
I'm 51 and showing no signs of the menopause, and my periods started when I was 10, so maybe there is something in being an early starter.