20 day cycle anyone? Not impressed!

[Anastasie]

I'm 42, and my cycles have been shortish since my late 20s - usually around 25 or 26 days but sometimes up to 28.

This year (since they came back after ds3) they have gone bats and I have had a few 23 dayers and now, a 20 day cycle this month which tbh I could do without.

PMT has also been off the scale.

Does this sound like the start of something, or am I going to have to put up with it for another 10 years?

Every 3 weeks is like about 18 periods a year. I feel like complaining to the management not that that will achieve much

[angemorange]

I feel your pain! I'm 43 and down to about 24/25 days at the minute after years of 28 day regularity.

I went to GP and have been for a few tests, have ruled out peri-menopause, infections, etc. GP has referred me for scan in case of a fibroid so I'm waiting for the appointment.

Don't assume it's something to do with menopause - get yourself a check up.

[Anastasie]

Oh gosh. Thank you...I'm sorry you are going through it too, but glad it isn't that unusual that I'm the only one on here!

Can they rule out the PM thing with a blood test then? That's interesting.

I did wonder about fibroids but wouldn't they hurt quite a lot? My mother had a lot of issues with them and had a hysterectomy in her 40s I think.

[angemorange]

Yes, PM can be ruled out by a hormone profile - I had two blood tests at different times of the cycle and they were OK.

Regarding the fibroid I had to have an internal pelvic exam as apparently changes in the cycle can be due to all sorts of things and the right side was really painful. I don't have pain on a day to day basis though so I think my GP just wanted to rule it out.

Get yourself checked anyway, not to worry you but I think my GP was looking for signs of cancer and asked me a whole host of questions which pretty much discounted it.

The unpredictability of it all is the most annoying thing for me! Glad to know there are others as well :)

[Anastasie]

Thank you, that's really helpful information and I'm grateful to you for sharing it.

I don't have any pain really, just normal period pain and occasional wind or whatever though I seem to remember a bit of unusual pain last time. So I will mention that, have booked a telephone call with the Dr tomorrow in case they can refer me for tests over the phone (toddler + intimate examinations = disaster!)

Thanks again.

[angemorange]

You're welcome - I suffered for a few months before I thought about going to see about it and I'm glad I did.

Good luck and let me know how you get on :)

[SauvignonPlonker]

Me too! I'm 43.5 & since having DD 2.5) my cycles have gone from 23/25 days to 14 at the moment - WTF??

I saw my GP about a year ago, had my thyroid & iron levels checked & all was fine.

Was given the option of going back on Cerazette ( I had no periods on it) but got constant thrush when I was on the pill.

I hope I don't have 10 years of this ahead

[Anastasie]

Gosh Sauv that's harsh!

I would go back. There's other things it could be according to Dr Google, and they should be making sure it isn't them. Endometriosis is one, as well as some horrid things I don't want to think about.

I was wondering about the pill as I feel bonkers at the moment - I felt so normal when I was postnatal and had no periods. Like I was just living and not overemotional or stressed or tired etc.

I'm a bit of a mess now. Still BFing but I wonder about anaemia, also I feel so up and down.

I hope you aren't stuck with it, whatever the problem is. I wouldn't mind if this was peri meno. as that is usually over within about 3 or 4 years apparently, yay

[nf1morethanjustlumpsandbumps]

21 days here and has been for 9 months. As I can't go back on hormonal birth control it's been all about the anemia which my GP seemed shocked I had. Back next week and want answers. I'm 36 and the thoughts of years more of this terrifies me.

[Anastasie]

So you are anaemic then? Poor you, I know how that feels. I think I might be too. I hope you get some answers next week, let us know if you have a moment

[Whatevva]

I had this when I came off the pill (after 5 months of no periods - thought it was going to be all over, or the odd light one )

I think I should have tried mirena, but I balked at the idea when it was suggested. I am taking hrt tablets at the moment, which have resulted in light 28 day bleeds, although that is not supposed to be the answer. It may reconsider the mirena and see if I can get patches/gel with it.

[Bellaciao]

Just to point out that the stage before "official" peri-menopause is known as the Late Reproductive Stage and is characterised by shorter cycles, so in the absence of any pathological reason (eg endometriosis/fibroids) this could be the explanation. Some hormone levels begin to change (the lesser known ones such as Inhibin and AMH decrease - don't know much about these) and I think FSH also begins to become more variable. Many women begin to experience symptoms at this point. Eventually a period will be missed/cycle length will increase and this is a sure sign of peri-menopause.

The BCP can regulate cycles at this point and there is one available now with bio-identical oestrogen known as Qlaira with only 2 tablet free days which some women find very helpful as it eliminates the major hormonal fluctuations which cause such problems during peri-menopause.

[ouryve]

I used to be 31 days in my 20s, then 28 in my 30s. Now they're anything from 18 to 36!

The plus is that, apart from the first day, they're not that heavy. The PMS is horrendous, some months, though. I have HMS and can spend days in agony with a throbbing neck and headaches.

[Whatevva]

I have HMS and can spend days in agony with a throbbing neck and headaches

You have me stumped there - I tried googling it and all I got was ships!

[ouryve]

Sorry - hypermobility syndrome. My ligaments get even softer when I'm pre-menstrual, so I end up hurting myself all over as things bend in ways they weren't designed to.

[ouryve]

Though the way my midriff has gone, HMS Yve does seem apt :o

[Crosbybeach]

I'm using Qlaira in perimenopause, as mentioned up thread, and it stopped the continual light bleeding I had (I got anaemic too).

Unfortunately I've now moved on to permanent PMT - it seems that I can either have continual bleeding or PMT - can't seem to sort both.

[Anastasie]

Sympathies to all my fellow sufferers

Bella, that is such an interesting post. Thank you - so theoretically this could be LRS related, I suppose.

I'm interested to know about the Qlaira and will ask my GP once we know what we're dealing with.

They took about half my arm's worth of blood this morning, and are testing for thyroid function, ferritin and all that jazz, plus hormones she said. Hopefully it will give us a better idea.

Have been feeling pretty rotten the last few days, just not myself, not hungry, not able to do much physically, exhausted from climbing the stairs (and we have a lot of stairs!).

Hope it is something that's easy to sort out, though frankly I'd not be unduly surprised if they said I might keel over tomorrow.

Ouryve, that sounds particularly painful. Can you go back and have more investigations done or have they told you to put up with it?

I do hurt myself all the time when I'm due on, too, and that's uncompounded by other conditions and it's bad enough. It makes me really clumsy.

[Bellaciao]

Here is the link to the paper about reproductive stages: ( still don't know how to post an abbreviated link!)
www.imsociety.org/downloads/email_downloads/2012_02_16_1773491/straw10.pdf

Obviously we don't all fit into such neat little categories and there will be a gradual change from one to another but the stages still have to be gone through (I presume)

[Anastasie]

Bella that's really cool, thanks a lot

FWIW a link is just, double brackets - no space after - and then C&P your link right there, then a space, then the word you want to appear as the link, then close double brackets .

So,
(no space) [[www.imsociety.org/downloads/email_downloads/2012_02_16_1773491/straw10.pdf (space) Here]]

=

Here

I hope that might help a bit

[Bellaciao]

Thanks Anastasie

[Whatevva]

I don't know if I am still in 'late reproductive phase' and not even perimenopause

I experiences low oestrogen symptoms in the last 4 years of being on the pill

[Whatevva]

Sorry - computer keeps messing me about.

I was saying... after 4 years of low oestrogen-like symptoms, I had no periods for 5 months (partly because of trying pop) then one with a 3 week gap, then six weeks, then loads every 15-26 days for over a year. At this point I started hrt for the vaginal/bladder/joints rollercoaster that I was on.

On my charts, I was not really ovulating, maybe a dribble of progestogen occasionally at a push, and the ovulation mucus incidents were fairly random and lessening, and absolutely no sign of anything stopping.

Any way the nurse at the new practice says if I stop the hrt she can do me a blood test to see if that will throw any light on it and I am think about it.

[Bellaciao]

What pill did you use Whatevva? Some of the POP contain progestogens that depress oestrogen levels - so this could be why you had this too.

Also what HRT tablets are you on and are they making you feel better? When you say up thread "although I know that is not supposed to be the answer" re the HRT - what do you mean? Not sure why you would need to stop if the tablets are working OK - I mean why does one need to know - although depends how old you are....?

[Anastasie]

Hello again

Got results - not anaemic, no thyroid issues, and hormones seem to be normal range?

FSH was 6.2
LH 2.6
Estradiol 305

So does anyone know, what is the next step if these don't show any reason for what's happening? GP mentioned something about a scan but I haven't spoken to her yet since results.