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'?

[WidoWanky]

Never.

Just always kept a tampon in my bag. 😂

I live life on the edge!

[PinkHeart5914]

I don’t track mine either

If I didn’t get my period one month, I’d probably think Oh I haven’t had my period but that’s the one time I’d think about periods

[TemporaryPermanent]

At 49 I have started tracking because I have 6 current or potential lovers, and I prefer not to schedule sex during my heaviest days. It's surprisingly interesting. I now know I have a much shorter cycle than I used to which explains my feeling that I'm ALWAYS having a period. I'm using an app called Clue which I think is good.

[grinningcheshirecat]

I'm 39 and have never been regular. I gave up tracking in my teens. The only reason to want to know is either pregnancy or menopause (or ruling out thereof). Both will become obvious when time passes anyway.

[YorkshireIndie]

I started tracking when I had my implant out after four years. The implant made my periods irregular (often have a month of light bleeding) and I wanted to see if my body would get itself back on track.

[EmpressAdultHumanFemale]

46 and I started tracking with an app a couple of years ago so I could look out for my perimenopause.

[Cla9]

I never used to. I downloaded an app for it when I kept getting caught out by heavy bleeding. Makes it easier to know exactly when it’s due.

[notangelinajolie]

No I didn't track my periods. I only suspected I was pregnant after realising I hadn't had a period for ages. Didn't ever use contraception in over 25 years of fertility which resulted in 3 babies. I had heavy periods and may have miscarried but I don't know. The first baby was conceived after we'd been together for 8 years so I knew I was fertile - but there was another 6 years between the next 2. Had I been the worrying type and actively trying to conceive then I would have sought medical advice but me and DH were of the opinion to let nature take it's course and any babies that came along were a bonus.

I also struggle when asked my age - I literally don't keep count. And remembering other peoples birthdays and phone numbers (mine) are a lost cause.

[HennyPennyHorror]

I am the same. So much so that with DD2 I had NO idea when my last period was and because I was very thin, they were a bit scant...I think that the guess I made was way off and DD was born by planned section...and I reckon she came out a bit soon.

[Raspberry10]

Just get an app for your phone. Super handy for when you need to schedule smear tests as you know when you are mid cycle.

[lljkk]

I lurk on the (peri) menop threads coz I'm over 50. It astounds me the number of people who describe in huge detail how slightly irregular their periods have become. The irregularity is a first & foremost point like it's an extremely important problem (or most important problem) they are dealing with. Often insist that they have had bang on the same cycle for decades previously with no deviations. They seem very frightened sometimes. Rarely say it's because their periods were always painful/super heavy so actually need a lot of planning for. I can't relate that they are freaked out by irregularity.

Because my mother & school said we should, I tracked until my early 30s. I could be regular for 6-18m but then my regular always changed to something else. It's lovely liberating to not track.

[YouBumder]

Ha MrsMaisel I read that yesterday too and thought jeez something else to add to my “crap woman” badgework I did know roughly when I was due though hence I was able to answer when I’d had my last period when I was pregnant.

I had been contemplating starting though as I’m nearly 46 and my periods are all over the bloody place now. They were coming every 2/3 weeks and now It’s every couple of months.

[AFistfulofDolores1]

I do - have done for the past five years or so. It's useful as I head into perimenopause, and also to explain mood swings/feelings - including sudden (but obviously fleeting) crushes on men mid-month!

[cardibach]

Do all you non-trackers have light periods. I don’t have any anymore (mirena coil and now probs menopausal anyway) but I always had to know because mine were heavy. I’d need to be prepared for sudden onset very heavy flow (wearing protection before it started) and also because I had to plan when to do some things around when my period was likely to be. Holiday was a definite no. Anything involving swimming or removing clothes (e.g. a massage).

[MrsMaisel]

I can always tell when its about to hit anyway... i get the strong urge to buy tampons when I'm at the shops and awful PMS, so it's never a surprise. I do think it might be useful heading into perimenopause too...

[MrsMaisel]

You Bumder - it's funny isn't it, that's entirely not the point of the article but it's what we both came away with.

[MrsMaisel]

No - always been quite heavy actually.

[ChesterGreySideboard]

Only when I was TTC.

Other than that I always just kind of knew when it was on its way.

[YouBumder]

Do all you non-trackers have light periods.

They’ve varied, never been super heavy/flooding but have varied between super light and probably just average? They were very painful after they came back after I had my first child though and before I got pregnant with the second, so for about 18 months maybe.

[FuzzyShadowChatter]

Even with related health issues personally and in my family, I go through time periods where I can't be arsed to track things. I know I should, especially with uterus and ovarian cancers running as they do in my family and my own issues, but when things are going well it tends to slip my mind until the next flare-up or period.

I do find the tracking apps helpful, even if it's just putting in my period when it shows and goes away. I've found with perimenopause everything about my cycle is all over the place but the apps have helped me spot patterns I wouldn't have otherwise - like the longer my period goes on for, the longer the next cycle is going to be - which is helpful.

[Evilspiritgin]

I track (peri menopausal) , for some reason my periods used to sync in with women’s periods ie I was a live in nanny for a lady who’d a hysterectomy after giving birth and my periods were only 2 days long and as light as anything, on the other side they’ve got 7 days heavy when being with women who have heavy periods

[RedSkyLastNight]

I was so irregular pre DC ( a cycle could be anywhere from 21to 44 days), there was no point in tracking them.
Post DC I was too frazzled. I have started tracking the last year because I'm perimenopausal and actually want to understand when I'm having periods now.

[DinosApple]

I only use the Fitbit period tracker because it's there iyswim.

Mine vary by up to a week in length and the ovulation prediction is never correct (I get ov pain).

It's only by tracking I realised how variable my cycles are, generally they're longer in the summer. And now I'm getting peri menopausal symptoms it's helpful.

[OlennasWimple]

I'm mid 40s and have never tracked either - my crap skin is an indicator that I'm about to get my period, so it never really takes me by surprise.

I was thinking I ought to keep some kind of record, though, as I'm vaguely aware that I am getting more irregular and think I'm going into the perimenopause, so I guess it might be handy...