Utterly sick of periods; would it be safe to take the pill? (I'm 49!)

[BigbreastsBiggerbeard]

I'm 49. Totally sick of periods and all the associated hassle. Two weeks out of every month I'm bloated, feel like crap and the pain starts way before the actual period arrives. Period pain is dreadful and I'm heartily sick of the whole thing. I suffer from ME too, so could really do without extra ill health.

My cycle has shortened so now I only have 22/23 clear days between periods and the bloating starts way before that. I'm just so SICK of them.

Is it safe for me to go on the pill, purely to stop my periods? I don't relish the prospect of chucking a lot of hormones into my body (especially with the ME) which is why I've waited this long to do anything about it. I just can't bear more years of this.

Obviously I'll speak to my GP next week about this, but I just wanted to find out if anyone else is my age and taking the pill, if it's safe, and if it's a relief to be free of 'the monthly joy'.

Thanks in advance!

No-one? Ah well, just me then

Why not just get the Depo injection - no more periods. "Chucking a lot of hormones into your body" is pretty normal for most women - I did it for most of my adult life with no problems. Just ask your doctor for the Pill and take it without a break, or get the Depo. Easy.

You probably couldn't take the combined pill and even if you didn't have risk factors it would have to be stopped by age 50. Mini pill would be ok but no guarantee it would stop periods. Mirena coil, injection and implant are other options

older than you, cerazette since years and no bleeding at all - although as everyone reacts differently to drugs you may not be as lucky. No guarantee of safety as nothing is safe, you must assess the risk.

natures cockup needs medical help. worth a try.

Depo gave me a constant period so it's not guaranteed to stop them either. I put on tons of weight with it too

The old advice about not taking the combined pill past a certain age is not true. If you have no risk factors you can take it right up until menopause- many people do instead of taking HRT. I take it for this reason as due to a whole host of autoimmune conditions I have low estrogen so need to take the combined pill to replace it. I am under the clinical director of my very large hospital and she has told me the combined pill is safe to take right up until menopause and you don’t even have to leave a gap between packs anymore. It’s been life changing for me, I feel so much better taking it.

Mirena is a good option for peri menopausal women. They can be in for 5 years, usually periods stop, and after that you could have it removed and will probably be post menopausal and period free

Mirena has worked for me. On my third. No periods for 12 years. It’s been great.

Everything I've read says combined pill overt 50 is contraindicated

Thanks people - I'm seeing the GP tomorrow so will speak to her about it. I've even thought about HRT, as I'm sure I heard that you can start it even if you're still having periods. Though no idea if that would help with my symptoms. Anything has to be better than this!