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'?

[LimeKiwi]

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

[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.

[PickAChew]

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

[clairemcnam]

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

[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.

[halfwitpicker]

Only tracked it when trying to conceive.

[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.

[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.

[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?

[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.

[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..

[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'.

[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.

[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.