To think I shouldn’t still be having periods!

[pensionsums]

I’m 55! Still having periods. I’m so done with this. Anyone else dragged on this long?

I think my Mum had just about stopped having them at 58... I'm not even peri yet although I am wondering...

I'm 55, have about 6 periods a year still but not evenly spaced, so I never know when the bloody thing is coming!

I long for the day it's finally all over. I have suffered certain symptoms. The night sweats at one point were horrendous and I still get hot flushes. But not enough to make me want to go on HRT.

Almost 52 and still regular. I don't think I've even experienced any peri symptoms 🙄

I never knew this. That's a nice thought 😊

I think I am done, I thought I was done at almost 54, had been pretty regular, just missed a few, until then, when they stopped then I thought I was done but had another at 55, perfectly normal period, over a year later, 3 days after my 11 year old daughter got her first, felt a bit magical, am sure that is my last though? I know a few people still bleeding in their mid to late 50's and my mum and grandma did. But yeah most have finished. I think 51 is average?

@TrainGame how did your osteoporosis get picked up? I asked my GP for a scan to check and she said the NHS don't scan for it routinely. Looking at private scans they all need a referral.

@UncertainWife i began pushing for one in early 40s as my mum was osteoporotic aged 50 and my granny died after having a hip replacement also caused by complications of osteoporosis.

I said there’s a family history and bone starts to thin in early 40s and I didn’t want to be like them.

Inititally I was refused but at 46 one of the ‘nicer’ GPs, an older woman like myself agreed to it.

You have to push and make the case. I think it’s so important. Wes streeting is talking of mobile DEXA scans but that prop won’t happen now with the bleak U.K. forecast and them probably having to cut spending or raise taxes.

Its so important id say go private to get one, and make sure its close by so you can use the same machine. Must be the same machine every time.

ill be having my third scan this June.

There are some private hospitals that don’t require referral local to me.

Also I would ask GP to write a letter to refer you as a self pay patient. Ask your local private hospitals if they’d accept this.

Thanks @TrainGame it should be easier for women to get these. My mum had osteoporosis and I'd like to stay ahead of it if I can.

I don't want to scare you, ladies, but my mum still has regular hot flushes at 82 ( no periods for decades though)!

Definitely worth another push if you have an early family history of it.

For the record, as I’m young, they’re not sure what to do with me. They usually reserve bisphosphonates for older ones! As long term they aren’t too good for you and not much available afterwards…

So I’ve taken it upon myself to find out how to get stronger bones without estrogen which I can’t take and aging incoming.., need to do something.

Ive started having marine collagen, kefir, eggs x 2 per day, leafy greens, plenty of veg, beans, fibre, citrus fruits, onions and tomatoes. One yogurt per day. Ginger shots. Plenty of herbs and spices. No alcohol, limited sweet treats. And the corner stone is prunes. Yes prunes. 6 per day. Build up slowly. Prunes are good for cortical bone. My total hip stayed stable between 2021-23 at -3.0 when I was eating six per day. Unfortunately my spine declined from -2.2 to -2.5. Prunes aren’t so good for trabecular bone preservation so I moved into a new phase, where I added in all the foods listed above, other than the prunes which were the start of the food experiment. So now on this new diet from June 2023–June 2025.

since 2023 I’ve started to try and lift heavy weights per the LIFTMOR study. Start low and slow. Caroline Girvan Iron Series on YouTube is very good for starting strength work.

all of the above are listed in Pub Med as helping ameliorate the loss of estrogen and help bones decline less rapidly. Also sauna, trying to go once a week never manage it but also good for everything.

It can even be possible to reverse osteoporosis, just need to put the time in and eat right.

I also ensure tiptop vitamin D, try to have extra magnesium, eat duck liver every two weeks for vitamin K2 and now make my own chicken bone broth. That jelly is bone food 😋

Good luck with it all. I hope you never get it!

The great thing is that if you are tracking the BMD you can see what is working and what’s not. I really hope you can get a scan. 🤞

@Traingame thanks for posting. I found out recently that I won't be able to have HRT because of high BP and family history. I know I need to improve my diet, both to manage the BP and maintain good bone health. I'm inclined to snack on crackers in the evening. I don't think I'm in the headspace to totally cut out my evening snack but switching to yogurt and prunes seems manageable.

@User5612347 that’s a great snack, yogurt and prunes 👍 brilliant for your bones and quite likely much better for your evening blood sugar.

Carby snacks late in the evening can raise blood sugar the whole night… there is a channel on YouTube called insulinresistance1 who goes through this. It’s shocking to see the high sugar if you’re IR.

Crackers are not ideal.

Although prunes are sugar and yogurt has some carbs, you’re getting polyphenols and fibre from the prunes, lots of extra potassium and the yogurt with some fat, will slow the entry of the blood sugar making it less spiky plus all the calcium. This is much better for you. The earlier you can have it the better. I must advise brushing teeth 40 mins after eating this snack because the prunes are bit clingy on the teeth and could make holes…

Brushing teeth is also a good signal to the body and mind that food is finished!

And I quite agree, this is not a race. It’s taken me about 3 years to get to where I am. I was not happy giving stuff up. It’s been a struggle but I do feel a lot better for it most of the time.

I did the Zoe program a couple of years ago and that was a good kick start.

55 and still regular, no peri symptoms either. My mum was 58 when hers stopped so expect I could have a few more years . Real mixture between my friends, one hit menopause at 43 others vary

Yes exactly - even if you're somehow still ovulating, the science shows that by the age of 40 three quarters of your remaining eggs "aren't viable" meaning they'll result in miscarriage/chemical miscarriage.

Does it? Most of the science is done on women with a history of infertility and general fertility data is based on studies of fertility from the 18th century. Thanks to contraception we don't really have modern data on when fertility drops in the general population. We know there were far more women in the 1930s having babies in their 40s than we have now which suggests a significant proportion of women are still fertile at age 40. Lots of my friends had children in their 40s so I don't think it can be that rare to still be fertile at that age.

57 and still going strong 😫.

After about 3 years of getting slightly closer together they went weird. Didn't have one for a few months then had a few weeks of heavy continuous bleeding and flooding. This was repeated a few times then went back to regular but shorter. I began having hot flushes etc so went on cyclical hrt which gives a regular bleed.
I would say I've been in peri a good 7 years now, I'm off hrt now and my bleeding is so far almost non existent so hoping I'm near the end!

Regular until 56. Then stopped one month and never returned!

Speak to your GP about a Mirena coil. It’ll stop your periods and provide the progesterone element of your HRT.

Yep. 55 in march. Never missed a period. Don't even know what this peri menopause is. I'm embarrassed at my age. Just about to come on the blob again

52 and same for me. I don't think I've had any peri or menopausal symptoms at all. Only thing is my rheumatoid arthritis is worse. My nurse told me it could happen 😞