In my 40s and have never really tracked my periods

[MrsMaisel]

am i just disorganised? Am I alone? Occasionally when things seem to be going a little awry i will look back at a calendar and try to reverse engineer some semblance of a record... but never really able to pin point days. I feel a bit daft whenever a doctor asks me the date of my last period - i sort of look up to the ceiling and guesstimate. Can I just hide behind the expression, 'going with the flow'?

[Drum2018]

Fitbit does it for me. I get notification on my phone when I'm allegedly fertile and then 2 days before my period is due. It came in handy at a doctors appointment recently.

[NameChanger22]

I got asked the date of my last period by a doctor a few months ago and I said "I dunno, a week or two ago". He then asked me if I could be pregnant. He must have heard the conviction in my voice when I said "DEFINITELY NOT" because he couldn't stop laughing.

[MrsMaisel]

Had to laugh - at the doctors today, filling out a form, and yet again hit the 'date of last period' question. Even worse than being asked for my NI number - I can't look it up anywhere! I just wanted to write, 'I guarantee I am not pregnant'.

[contestingtheages]

I'm exactly the same. I don't know when I am due until I start to feel the distinct feeling I get when I am..

[soulrider]

Mine gets tracked by the fitbit now but i never formally did before. They're eventful enough that I'd always know when the last one was and regular enough that i could work out when the next one was due.

[NameChanger22]

I've never tracked, I just carry a tampon. My periods have always been light and last only 2 days, no period pains or PMT.

Why would I need to know if I am perimenopausal?

[Chouetted]

Also, I don't get warning cramps like PPs have mentioned, it's just suddenly blood everywhere. Helpful to have an idea when that might be coming.

[Chouetted]

I track mine so that I can plan around it - also that if people who otherwise like me tell me I'm being seriously unreasonable, I can have a quick check and see if they might be right.

[halfwitpicker]

Only tracked it when trying to conceive.

[ImNotKitten]

I track mine because they’re so painful that I try to avoid making plans on the first couple of days of each period.

[clairemcnam]

Why is it needed? I am in peri menopause, periods are very irregular, I still don't bother.

[PickAChew]

I never did until last year. I'm close to menopause now and my last cycle was 6 months. Tracking absolutely needed.

[ChanklyBore]

No tracking here. I just make up a date when asked when my last one was. I’d notice if they stopped. I notice if I have one when I have a big event, holiday or Christmas for eg

I am lucky in that they don’t impair my life at all and They start with an occasional smear rather than a sudden onset, so I don’t have any worry of suddenly having a period or have to carry sanitary stuff around with me. But I don’t know when I had my last one and I don’t know when my next one is due.

[LimeKiwi]

40 something here and always never tracked - had 2 kids too.

[clairemcnam]

Never ever tracked mine, and I have always had very heavy periods. CBA. I have been lectured a few times by GPs though when I have said I had no idea when my last period was.

[MissSingerbrains]

www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/feb/23/facebook-app-data-leaks

[MissSingerbrains]

I’ve always tracked mine since I was a teenager. I just think it’s a good idea to have a record in case the cycle suddenly goes wonky.

I just mark it in my calendar. Speaking of apps though, I was just reading recently about apps sharing information etc, and it ended up with Facebook getting all these women’s period information from health apps

[Unicornfeathers]

I track mine after being ‘told off’ by the GP for not tracking. I started bleeding every two weeks but had no record what so ever

Strangely enough I started tracking and it fixed itself and has never repeated.

I have really very good periods that only last a few days so no reason to track other than my own record.

[TearingUpMyHeart]

I also use it to ..

Schedule hot sex with hot lovers
Track my mid cycle randyness
Explain my end of cycle mood swings
Tell gp why I need more hrt

So wait two or three years til perimenopause hits and it might come in handy

[Stripyhoglets]

I've got an app as I'm older and want to track.if they become irregular. But only for the last year or two. It's quite useful for predicting when I'll feel like shit!

[MrsJBaptiste]

It's always a surprise when I get a period God, yes and not a nice surprise either! 😮

I've never tracked mine either and it was quite a surprise to realise a few years ago that I'd gone 10 months without one. Not pregnant, not sure what was going on! Absolutely gutted when they returned one day out of the blue 😣

[Haisuli]

I'm 45 and have been tracking for a year. I think I'm perimenopausal and I keep getting UTIs, which are always better when I get my period. I think I'm the only one who likes having periods. Sometimes I have short 21 day cycles which I like. My longest has been 36 days and I hated it. I dread the menopause.

[Makemeaname]

I track mine in the fitbit app. It's just there so it's easy and I open the app every day to check my sleep and so I can see "oh yeah I'm due this week" or whatever. Helpful when I'm going away for a few days - if I'm due I'll take sufficient products for the whole trip, if not I'll generally just take one days worth just in case.

[TemporaryPermanent]

It's quite hard work

They're all infrequent though, tbh married women with quite quiet sex lives would be getting more sex than me, though possibly less of it via sexting.