To think periods don't just drastically change when you hit 40?

[JELLYFISHANDCHIPS]

Just that really.

I understand perimenopause could start at 40 or even earlier but is it normal to hit 40 and for them to be shorter and lighter by a good day or two?

This has happened for two months now. Unlikely I'm pregnant but not impossible.

Can I ask for your period dramas at this age pls

Can I ask for your period dramas

I am rather fond of Jane Austen period dramas.

42 mine have been lighter last 2y years from horrifically heavy to what assume is more normal. Hoping they don’t come back with peri

When I turned 40 i missed one 3 months later and it didn't turn up till 2 months after that. Then normal for a few months and missed another then normal for pretty much a year but this last one was a week late and lasted 10 days! I've always been 5-7 days long and they've always turned up on the dot of 4 weeks after the last one started but not since I turned 40. I've had a couple of shorter, lighter ones but this last one has been a beast! My mum was in her late 30s when she started the menopause.....

I'm 40 in august and the last few months my cycle has been very long waited 42 days to come on last month! Also some spotting between periods. No reason think I might be peri menopausal as my mum stopped at age 43. When my cycle is long I feel moody too. Not much fun

I'm 39. Length of cycle hasn't changed but periods are shorter and lighter (most recent was just under 2 days long).

I'm 37 and still have lactational amenorrhea at the moment. If my previous experiences are anything to go by, I will probably be 38 when my periods return. I'm quite excited at the possibility of them being lighter and shorter when they do....

I'm 39 and mine have jumped down to every 23 days and I feel pmt for longer. The joys eh!?

Changes in menstrual cycles from around 40 are totally and utterly normal. No drama!

Period drama was really just a phrase 😂

Thanks. If mine are indeed shorter and lighter from now on then I'm happy. Also feel less PMT bitch-ness. Which is nice.

For those of you with worse cycles I'm sorry 😢

I'm 42. I have a menstrual cycle you can set your watch by. This has been the same for 20 plus years.

I think it can be quite sudden. You can be peri and have hormonal fluctuations that don't always immediately manifest with your cycle then bam!
I always had quite sore periods but was generally as clockwork. Early 40s saw extremely heavy periods with the odd couple of very short cycles then all of a sudden it swung the other way - skipped the odd one and now I go months without one. So I think peri started in my early 40s and now at 47 I'm getting closer to proper meno. Best to get radical changes assessed though. I know I get cysts which can delay periods and when they were heavy I was diagnosed with a small fibroid.

Hmm, mine have got a day or two shorter since I was 39 (41 now). I had a 31-33 day cycle before but it's changed to every 35-38 days now. Definitely not as painful now.

Over the last year I've developed something I never had before though - 12-18ish hours before my period begins, I suddenly become utterly exhausted and can't stay awake at all. It's practically narcolepsy - I feel like I just got hit over the head and my whole body goes really heavy and slow. Took me a few months to realise the connection - is this a normal thing to start happening at my age?

Mine used to be bang on 26 days. They've been funky ever since I've been 39/40 - completely irregular, sometimes 3 months in between, sometimes 16 days. Sometimes lift, sometimes a massive flood. I'm prepped with pads and tampons in my bag at all times now and tend to wear a liner at work "just in case"