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Original poster

To ask how old you were when your periods stopped/started menopause?

184 replies

CheapSausagesAndSpam · 30/12/2017 15:58

Because I'm 45 and still regular and getting a bit tired of it now. :( I'm not wishing away time or anything but it frigging makes me feel like crap.

When is the average? What was it like for you?

OP posts:
GingersMammy · 30/12/2017 23:03

13 and a half when they started. Got very heavy when I was in my late 30s, got myself a mirena coil at 44 to stop them. I'm 50 now and on second coil, still get the odd bit of spotting. No way am I getting rid of the mirena until I'm sure the damned things have finished for good!

10thingsIhateAboutTheDailyMail · 30/12/2017 23:10

At 46 I dread my periods stopping. I don't mind them, as I wear tampons and luckily that is enough. Don't even mind the cramps.

Am I weird? I think I will feel sad about leaving my "youth" behind and feeling officially old.

Maybe that is silly and vain, but I dread the menopause Sad

bertsdinner · 30/12/2017 23:18

I feel a bit like you 10things, its a bit like retiring or something.
Im 49 and my periods are still going strong, they are shorter than before and I have noticed a change in the last couple of years, heavier, lighter, shorter and not as regular.

Marcipex · 30/12/2017 23:21

56, sorry. On Mirena though so very light.

TaliZorahVasNormandy · 30/12/2017 23:22

I started at 11, now at 34 my periods have started to get erratic, after previously coming every 28 days like clockwork. My mum never went through menopause. Her periods just stopped in her mid 50's and that was it.

hotritenow · 30/12/2017 23:28

I was 50 when my periods stopped.....

Runworkeatsleeprepeat · 30/12/2017 23:37

I had an implant after dc3 at 39 and never had any periods. I started feeling tired and lethargic about 1 year ago age 44 so went to my doctors had blood test. I had really low oestrogen levels so was advised to have implant removed and to have bone density scans. So I've had implant removed for a year now I've had no periods and bone scans showed some bone thinning but can't go on hrt due to family cancer history. I'm assuming I've gone through the menopause with very few symptoms apart fro general grouchiness and tiredness. My dh says not a lots changed!? I actually feel better about myself now than I have since having dc. I also run which is apparently good for staving off osteoporosis. I've got to go for annual bone scans though.

Idontdowindows · 30/12/2017 23:39

I had a uterus extirpation at 40, but I hit menopause at 47/48 or so. My mum and her sisters were much later even, they were into their 50s.

expatmigrant · 30/12/2017 23:42

Very interesting thread cheapsausages it just shows how different us girlie are and that ultimately we can't wait to be rid of the buggers Grin.
However, I used to work in health so please take note of the comment by elsiemoon...if your 'period' returns after not having had one for a while and especially if it is fresh looking blood please go and get it checked out, as it could be a sign of endometrial cancer. My DM died of this cancer when I was 2 years old and my DSis (much older than me) also suffered from this cancer but had a hysterectomy and is now cancer free.

Timefortea99 · 30/12/2017 23:43

I am 52. Get a period every couple of months now. Flow much lighter. No other symptoms other than anxiety but that is probably job related. I quite like the thought of periods stopping as long as I sail through menopause. New era. I feel more womanly than ever, which is very contrary.

smurfy2015 · 31/12/2017 16:59

I was 11 (but a month off turning 12) and at a residential summer camp. I had no idea whatsoever and wanted an ambulance, I was hysterical until the group leader, explained to me in broken English it meant I was a woman but I wasn't having a baby at the minute. lol

When I was around 26 my periods stopped fully for over 2 years, it is now put down to medication that I was on long-term as next period came about 6 months after I came off the med concerned.

About a month later I had a bleed which started very suddenly and violently, I had gone out for a walk but only managed 20 meters when it started as no pain, over the next 6 hours, I lost just over 4 pints till they got the bleeding stopped.

I lived less than half a mile from hospital but I called an ambulance as the blood was dripping out of me, they told me to leave door on latch and just as well as when they came in, I was passed out in what looked like a murder scene, they looked around the house at the scene and asked several times could i be miscarrying, no as I knew I wasn't pregnant, i barely recall leaving house then and next thing I was in a&e resus with a load of staff around me.

Also was diagnosed at the time with endometriosis as they saw it while doing repairs and testing and other fix-ups however I cant have hormone-based treatments as such anymore.

Another gynae consultant did allow me to try chemical menopause with HRT as I'm now 42 and periods have as much left me as while I had a couple of months of an injection and the side effects were too dangerous,

In the past year I have had 1 period it lasted 2 days (started night, finished by next night),

in 2016 before chemical injections, I had a total of 2 in around the same duration,

in 2015 I think I had 3/4 but I know there was definitely one around Nov 15 which was a really long and painful one for me as it lasted over 2 weeks, i remember it distinctly as I was in respite care as a step down bed from a hospital admission so was dependant on help from care staff in the unit who commented about it as they were doing their record keeping

eggsandwich · 31/12/2017 17:08

12 when I started and 50 when I stopped, literally no tailing off gradually just didn’t have one after the last one been three years now.

My mum was 36 when she stopped and had terrible sweats bless her it would be dripping off her, I’ve not had them as bad as her but I’d say that’s the worst part, luckily it’s not so bad now.

MostIneptThatEverStepped · 31/12/2017 17:18

Started at nearly 16 and still going at 50.
Two of the things people often say have not been true for me, first one is that you have a similar pattern to your mother's menopause. My mum had hers right after she had my sister at 40.
The other thing is the start late, finish early thing. Apparently not true for me either. In fact I had an unexpected pregnancy at 43 🙄

AlbertandVicky · 31/12/2017 17:50

Great thread OP.

FitbitAddict · 31/12/2017 17:53

I was 49 in March, haven't had one since June. I was getting night sweats but sage tablets really do relieve those. I take two (from H&B) after dinner and if I forget then the sweats come straight back, so I am convinced that they work.

Blobby10 · 31/12/2017 18:00

I'm 48 and had a coil fitted 5 months ago so this may have affected my periods which have got more regular over the past 10years going from anywhere between 28 and 65 days apart to every 30 days! and since having the coil they are much much lighter.
Definitely have awful brain fog but much fewer pmt symptoms. Occasional night sweats and generally colder during the day but no other symptoms - really hoping i'm coming to the end of periods

Adultsahouldeatrusks · 31/12/2017 18:09

1st at 12 then early menopause at 33...been on HRT for 10 years. Luckily had children early and now have 4 grandchildren! (2 sets of twins!)

Smokeyrobinson · 31/12/2017 18:11

I was 46 when my periods first became irregular and finally they stopped altogether when I was 53.

MonumentalAlabaster · 31/12/2017 18:18

Mine petered out in a half-hearted way when I was about 55. I feel very lucky because I don't seem to have had any menopausal symptoms to speak of - there was a bit of waking up all sweaty in the night for a while but I dealt with it by cutting out coffee, sugar & alcohol for a year (stimulants tend to make the symptoms worse)

bigbluebus · 31/12/2017 18:44

I'm 53 and as I'm still taking Cerelle, I don't have periods so have no idea if they've stopped. Saw GP a few months ago who prescribed another 6 months supply but said they would advise that I stop taking the pill sometime during that 6 months to see what happened. Plan is to stop at the end of current packet and see what happens. In last few years I have had a couple of panic attacks, had hot sweats at night, not been sleeping as well and beard has definitely increased - so may all be linked. Am keeping my fingers crossed that periods don't re start after years of having none due to the Pill.

ChristmasFluff · 31/12/2017 18:44

Last period age 51 (up to now - I'm almost 53) Awful periods from 38 onwards, so really glad to be done with it. All the horror stories about menopause were not true for me. Bloody glad to be done with it, and the odd panic attack in the middle of the night is a small price to pay. Had worse symptoms through my 40s - and even they weren't that bad (sweaty nights, hot flushes etc). Started periods at 11 and always hated them, so maybe my mental set of being glad to be rid has had an effect?

IrritatedUser1960 · 31/12/2017 18:50

Periods started at 13 and ended at 45, had one child but almost no bleeding and what there was went on for only 3 days.
I know the exact day my menopause started as I was always completely regular and the day nothing arrived on time was the day my menopause started.
It's a relief really, apart from the menopause gut fat.

Greenshoots1 · 31/12/2017 18:51

51, still regular, but much lighter than previous decades

KenDoddsDadsDogIsDead · 31/12/2017 18:54

Started at 17 ended at 48. No warning of them starting and no other menopausal symptoms since they ended. Just as it is.

BeyondThePage · 31/12/2017 18:54

53 still regular as clockwork.