View Full Version : Menpause Question For The ladies
Yup, I think the change is really occurring, which makes total sense, as I will be 50 in October. I am wondering though what is "normal" and what is not and if/when one should consult a health practitioner? I hesitate because I have no insurance but I was wondering about some of the changes in my cycle. For the last year or so, my cycle had changed to about one day of light flow, two days of heavy-ish flow, followed by two or three days of lingering light flow. Then it was all done for about 26 days; pretty much like clockwork. Some light cramping, occasionally stronger.
So last month it was generally the same length of time but for two days a much heavier flow, which made going out a PITA because I was running to the bathroom every hour to take care of things. Then this month it started out slooooow for three days, then one day of heavier, then it has been like 7 days of lingering and lingering ~ when the hell will it be over???!!!! All in all, it has been 10 days and I am sick of it! Is this normal or should I consult my doctor?
Every menopause is different. It depends upon (in no particular order) genetics, health, diet, and many other factors I am sure I don't know about. What you described can be quite a normal part of menopause.
When did you last have a PAP & pelvic? If it's been over 2 years, it's time. Yes, spend the $$. I know too many menopausal women who ended up with cervical or uterine cancer because they ignored symptoms. I am not saying this is your situation, but prevention is very very important.
Also, get the book The Wisdom of Menopause out of the library, by Dr. Christine Northrup. Educate yourself about this process, and you'll feel better.
If you are just starting these symptoms, it's hard to say. Redfox is correct, it's different for everyone. For me, it became crippling. Unending heavy flow for weeks on end, till I was too anemic to walk across the room. So, iron is necessary. If you don't have health insurance, could you try a Planned Parenthood clinic? Or other low income clinic in your area? I went on progesterone but didn't care for the results. Eventually I went back to an old standby. An herbal uterine toner called Black Haw, that I used in pregnancy for a boggy uterus and excessive post natal bleeding. It works for me in terms of stopping all bleeding which is what I want. I can't do the insane heavy flow t hing, because it's like being very ill. It feels like dying, I was so weak. Some people really like the herbal remedies like blue cohosh and such. But if your bleeding continues unabated and so much that it affects your ability to function, you should look into something.
I think this is why so many women end up with hysterectomies. In my case, it took about four years of irregular cycles before it finally stopped last fall. I had periods that lasted for three weeks, took a week off, and then started up again so that it seemed non-stop. The last two years were horrible - ended up having to get a transfusion for the anemia. You will eventualy get through it but hold on to your hat - it can be a rough ride. I am glad I stood firm and didn't go for surgery.
Ditto whatever has already been posted. My regular 28 day cycle kept getting shorter and heavier. I had even thought of an ablation. I now am on synthetic premarin (couldn't bear to think of those pregnant horses) which I insert as a cream twice a week. Please go to see a gynecologist to make sure everything's ok. I always wanted to talk about menopause because my Mother's generation didn't. However there's so much variation with each individual, I don't know how much sharing will help other than support. BTW I was a B$%%^^&! during some of the perimenopause and had a very short fuse...DH was a saint!
Some women can go a long time with heavier bleeding, but you can get quite anemic. I started having heavy bleeding for several months, and then it got so bad that I had to be hospitalized and have a D&C. My hemoglobin dropped from 16 to 7. If you don't feel like you are getting extremely weak and tired, then I'd say just try to deal with it. If I had it to do over again, I wouldn't take all the hormones the doc had me take. They made me crazy.
Try to be positive.........but also be prepared for a bumpy ride. My life was hell for at least 10 years because of the "change". It does eventually get better though, so don't give up. But as far as your bleeding......if its not making you weak or anemic, then I would just try to tolerate it. But do take a good iron pill.
Gardenarian
8-27-11, 11:12am
Yes, I think irregular cycles of all kinds can occur during menopause. I had a few of those monstrously heavy cycles, then I started skipping cycles, and now I appear to be done. (I'm 53. It's been about 3 years from when I first noticed the changes.)
I have had a lot of trouble sleeping, which is normal. I don't get the very heavy sweats, but I do get extremely hot sometimes, and have a very hard time falling asleep again.
Like pregnancy, I try not to think of this as a medical condition, but just a normal change.
I have found that some vitamin supplements are helpful with the mood swings and sleep. I take evening primrose oil, calcium citrate, magnesium, and vitamin E. When I forget my vitamins I can really tell the difference!
Time to embrace your inner crone!
I went thru a natural very early menopuse (self inflicted from too much exercise and getting too thin) at the ripe old age of 30. It took me a long time to get diagnosed because of my age, but once I did get diagonosed, let up on the exercise and put on some much needed weight, I STILL didn't go back to normal. I had very bad heavy flows for a week or longer and then absolutely nothing for several months at a time. I also had extreme hot flashes and night sweats. I eventually went on HRT (very low dose estrogen and provera) for a couple of years until the worse of the hot flashes went away and never did get my period back (YAY!!). I know that HRT is bad but it was a life saver for me as I could hardly stand the hot flashes and night sweats - unbearable! Stopped HRT around age 35 and have never had any menopuse symtoms since. As a matter of fact it has been absolutely wonderful!! I have had no ill effects from either menopause or HRT. I think the aging that people experience in their 50's isn't because of menopause, I think it's just natural aging. I never had any of the other issues assocsiated with menopause like mood swings, dryness, bloating or weight gain. I have never had any aging issues from it either other than what's normal for most folks. Even look younger than my age IMHO even though I've been post-menopausal for over 15 years now. I personally love it! Getting THRU it was bad, but there is definetely a bright sunny light on the other side though!
during my last year before a complete stop, I had several months of really heavy flow, the kind I had never experienced. No HRT for me, so far. I am 55, but have to many really anxiety filled days. Cannot enjoy the present for worrying about the future. I wonder how much of this is the lack of HRT. And if I should be considering looking into it.
during my last year before a complete stop, I had several months of really heavy flow, the kind I had never experienced. No HRT for me, so far. I am 55, but have to many really anxiety filled days. Cannot enjoy the present for worrying about the future. I wonder how much of this is the lack of HRT. And if I should be considering looking into it.
What kind of things are you worried about? Is it just general worry about things in your life or are you feeling anxious for no reason? I think alot of people go thru hormonal fluxuations during peri-menopause that can cause a general moodiness and sense of anxiousness. But I also think that as people get older they may have more worries in general and those may have nothing to do with menopause or hormones. It's coomon for women AND men to worry more as they get older - more responsibility, financial issues, family issues (kids and aging parents), work, retirement, body falling apart, illness, etc... And in this economy many people feel fretful. So your anxiety may not be hormonal, just the normal stress of aging. HRT has risks and if you don't have physical symptoms that are extreme, like hot flashes and night sweats which can disrupt sleep and make life in general pretty damn miserable - as well as embarrassing and uncomfortable - I'd stay away from it. Exercise works the best for reducing stress and anxiety IMHO and it's a MUCH healthier alternative to HRT. Even some of the herbal remedies like Black Cohosh, et al, can be dangerous. Just cause it's "natural" don't mean it's harmless!
During perimenopause, my anxiety sky-rocketed. I lately learned to tell if it was caused by hormone fluctuations, because when it was hormones, I thought every little pain was a terminal illness. It would send me into panic. Now when I get pains, it doesn't. As one of my old friends said to me about perimenopause "You know, they used to send women to insane asylums during this time." haha
I think a huge problem I had was that I developed sleep apnea during that time and it was untreated for a long time. I think a fair amount of women with sleep apnea had it start up during perimenopause. That's a time when alot of muscles get sort of weak and it can cause problems in alot of places in our bodies.
most of my worries have to do with my kids, age 31 and 24. The 24 yr old lost her job due to budget cuts a few weeks ago. Even minimum wage jobs are hard to come by in our area. It is really hard to enjoy life when all you can do is worry about tomorrow. I think I am just generally more on edge and when something happens, I lose it these days. The fact that I work for local gov and everyone knows that these days we are all considered to be lazy and living off the backs of the taxpayers does not help one bit.
Wildflower
8-28-11, 4:37am
I am nearly 54 and still having periods, but each one is very different. Sometimes I won't have one for 3 months, then I will have one that is super heavy and last for 2 weeks. Then the next one will just be light spotting for a few days. Some are months apart and some are 3 weeks apart. Otherwise, I don't feel too bad. I don't have mood swings and generally feel pretty good, but lately have alot worse joint and muscle pain. I have Lupus and my doctor says the hormonal changes can trigger flares. She promises I will feel alot better once I get through menopause... :)
I do get hot really easily though and occasionally have night sweats. I have found that chocolate, caffeine and alcohol all will trigger hot flashes for me, but sometimes I indulge and just endure the heat. ;) I do look forward to the periods ending and I hope that is very soon. I am losing patience with that because when they are so heavy I miss out on doing things I enjoy and that ticks me off. >:(
Oh my goodness, every story is soooo different! Thank you for your insights; at this point for me, it is a pretty minor annoyance, compared to what some of you have gone and are going through. However, I think I am just at the beginning of the spectrum. I guess I will just roll with it and see what happens and keep track of things a little more closely, should I need to end up consulting a doctor in the future.
Cheers to all, and I have to run off to work now!
I hope we didn't scare you too much SiouzQ! Its sort of like telling a pregnant woman about labor!
Hopefully, your trek through menopause will be fairly uneventful! :)
I think a huge problem I had was that I developed sleep apnea during that time and it was untreated for a long time. I think a fair amount of women with sleep apnea had it start up during perimenopause. That's a time when alot of muscles get sort of weak and it can cause problems in alot of places in our bodies.
VERY interesting! That's when my sleep apnea also developed, and went untreated for about 10 years. I've been compliant & happy on XPAP treatment for over a year. You?
+1 on Christiane Northrup's book - really excellent.
I'm currently trying Estroven hoping to reduce hot flashes.
redfox.....I'm compliant and happy too! I didn't know sleeping could be so much fun! :)
The first sleep study I had, I only slept and hour and a half and the doc said it was normal. :(
He was a neurologist who supposedly was the head resident at the John Hopkins Sleep Lab. I thought he would have more sense than to diagnose me as normal on 1 and 1/2 hours of sleep.
So I went another couple of years through hell before I got another study that showed moderate apnea. I only need a pressure of 8, but it makes all the difference in the world!
I'm glad its worked for you too!
I am using a progesterone cream by Emerita, great stuff that was recommended at a health food store. Check it out on Amazon, much cheaper and the reviews are interesting. It has helped with my anxiety issues, mood swings and sleepless nights. I refuse to do Premarin.
Well, the period FINALLY ended yesterday, but again, it wasn't bad at all, just annoying. I did find that book by Christine Northrup at the library, so I will be checking that out.
I am in the midst of planning my 50th birthday party along with my friend who is turning 40 the same day. Both of our families and a whole bunch of various friends and co-workers are going to come to our hang-out bar and we are going to do a gig for them ~ very exciting for me because my dad (Seattle) and my brother (North Carolina) and sister (Flint) are coming for this shindig and they have never seen me perform!
I have made so many positive health changes in the last 8 months I can't believe I survived intact what I was doing for the last few years; I was going out all the time, playing gigs and open mics, drinking, smoking, never sleeping enough. I am so different now; I LOVE my sleep! I make sure to get at least 7 hours. I don't like going out very much anymore and go out maybe just twice a week now (it helps that I work Sat and Sun so I cannot stay out very late anymore because I can't function at my job with little sleep and a hangover)! My diet is excellent and without effort I have lost about 8 lbs just by eating mainly vegetables, very little meat, and cutting way back on the beer! Since I hardly go out anymore and hardly drink, smoking has fallen by the wayside too. All of this is positioning myself for the CHANGE....I am hoping to go through it without meds or doctors. So far, I haven't really gotten anything that I would characterize as "hot flashes" per say, but have awakened in the night drenched with sweat, but I just figured I had too many blankets on! My bi-polar 2 has been pretty easy to deal with too and I have not needed to be on meds for it since I quit the partying ways. I can tell when my sleep cycle gets screwed up because my moods start swinging a bit. I found out at my late age that I can deal with it just by taking really good care and listening to what my body really needs; basically, don't get too hungry, angry, lonely or tired. And don't run around trying to be a social butterfly when I'm not that at all. Embracing my solitariness but also honoring the need to be social on occasion when I feel like it.
Anyway, things are going really quite well and I generally feel calm and fairly rested. I would like to have more energy, however...
This is really interesting for me too - I'm 47 and have only had three periods in the last thirteen months, the last one six months ago. I'm having absolutely terrible insomnia and moderately horrible hot flashes. I've just been to the doctor this morning and he said he wasn't a big fan of HRT as it tends to delay rather than cure the symptoms and most people will experience them when they stop HRT. He gave me the choice to try it, but I've decided against it for the time being. My anxiety/depression has been so bad this year, but I've just lost my mother and brother and my other brother is terminally ill, so I don't know what is grief and what is menopause.
I've just been to the doctor this morning and he said he wasn't a big fan of HRT as it tends to delay rather than cure the symptoms and most people will experience them when they stop HRT. He gave me the choice to try it, but I've decided against it for the time being.
Julia, my Mother went off HRT in her mid 60's and experienced full blown menopausal symptoms with hot flashes being the worst for her. She was so angry that she had been told years earlier by her doctor that HRT was the cure for her menopausal symptoms, when really all it did was delay it. She took HRT for about 15 years.... I don't plan on taking HRT myself.
I took no medications orally or otherwise, just let nature do it. There was nothing that was bad enough to cause me to seek medical help. When weird stuff happened I read a book, saw that my symptoms were typical, and then just went on with life.
I experienced insomnia lite, heart palpatations-with-coffee, hot flashes lite, hair changes (in new places, loss in other places) loss of skin elasticity (that was the creepiest!) but it was all manageable.
poetry_writer
9-1-11, 11:04am
I used a patch hormone replacement after a hysterectomy. I never felt any different after my surgery than before. After several years I weaned myself off it. Nothing happened except a few hot flashes. If you are totally miserable, there is nothing wrong with considering hormone therapy. I used half of a patch so the prescription lasted twice as long.
No matter when you come off HRT, you're going to experience menopause. Its just that when you're older, the fluctuations when you come off it aren't quite so bad. But you still have to pay the piper. :(
Also, get the book The Wisdom of Menopause out of the library, by Dr. Christine Northrup. Educate yourself about this process, and you'll feel better.
Thanks for the book recommendation. I am 37 and feel like perimenopause is kicking my butt. I need to learn more about what symptoms I should just learn to live with and what ones I need to see my doctor for.
Kara
Gardenarian
9-1-11, 3:16pm
I wanted to add that there are of course great things about menopause. Thank Goddess no more periods! Mine were always a nightmare. And I used to get headaches very frequently, and migraines every couple of weeks; they have decreased dramatically.
Mention of Hormone Replacement Therapy reminded me of the tv show I saw last night about transgendered juvenile. I just wonder about all of those hormone treatments, what effect beside the desired will they have?
I immediately disliked the Southern California Doctor who said that she couldn't think of one note one reason why hormone therapy was bad in kids.
I haven't had a period since March, and before that I skipped a couple of months here and there, and my periods were light when they did come. Right now I feel as though I have lava flowing through my veins sometimes.
I've been drinking a lot of ice water in the vain attempt to try and keep my core cool. I'm hoping this doesn't last incredibly long.
I'm 61 and I'm still getting what I'm certain are fluctuations. I get the same group of symptoms.....I get really, really hot, get headaches, get irregular heartbeats, my heartrate goes up a bit, I feel every ache and pain, I get migraine auras, I think I have something terminal, I feel pain in my ovaries, blah, blah, blah.
Alot of women are really glad to be done with their periods, but they never really bothered me (except when I was bleeding to death in perimenopause). I guess I always thought it was cool to be reminded of what we can grow inside us! (or not).
I had my last migraine aura about 2 weeks ago, so hopefully that means that in another 2 weeks, things might normalize again. Fingers crossed.
Julia, my Mother went off HRT in her mid 60's and experienced full blown menopausal symptoms with hot flashes being the worst for her. She was so angry that she had been told years earlier by her doctor that HRT was the cure for her menopausal symptoms, when really all it did was delay it. She took HRT for about 15 years.... I don't plan on taking HRT myself.
This wasn't my experience art all. Peri-menopausal in my late 20's and full blown menopause at 30 with major hot flashes and night sweats, a few years on low dose HRT and when I came off HRT in my mid 30's I had absolutely NO menopausal symtoms at all. Everything was completely gone and have never come back 15 years later. I actually feel(and have felt) like a 20-something person again (minus the periods - YAY!!) since becoming menopausal and coming off HRT. So maybe it had something to do with being so young, or maybe it's just different for everyone irregardless of their age or when they start going thru it. Don't really know but I have really enjoyed my post-menopausal years (once I went oh HRT and then once I went off) beginning at the ripe old age of 30 ;-)!
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