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Mumsnet doesn't verify the qualifications of users. If you have medical concerns, please consult a healthcare professional.

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Mumsnet doesn't verify the qualifications of users. If you have medical concerns, please consult a healthcare professional.

General health

Average age for menopause?

40 replies

Lottie4 · 21/10/2013 16:21

I'm now 47 and just wondering what the average age for the menopause is. If you're going through it or have been through it, can you let me know what age it started. Also, what were the first signs. Just wondering what to expect and when!

OP posts:

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ArgyMargy · 26/10/2013 13:38

I'm 49 and have had about a year of strange periods - close together, 2 days flood then it's over, then a bit a of gap etc etc. Also some heat but not full on flushing. Mood swings - ha! that's just normal for me...

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RockinD · 26/10/2013 18:19

Ha! I know how you feel. I've just had another period after an 11 month break. I'm sure it was a period because it was preceded by homicidal PMT and I've had a full gynae check up only a few months ago when everything was fine.

I am 58 in two weeks and very glad I didn't take my GP's advice to dispense with contraception when I was 50!

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erilou38 · 26/10/2013 18:45

You lucky lot of ladies!! I'm only 38 and going through menopause already! Experiencing hot flashes, vaginal dryness, anxiety, mood swings and palpitations. Menopause is a big bag of shit!!!!!!!!!!

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TheArticFunky · 26/10/2013 18:49

In my family it's 57 and according to my mum it's symptom free!

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digerd · 26/10/2013 20:42

Rockin
My GYNe told me a woman over 50 still having periods they are not ovulating at that age.
When my sis came of the pill at 55 she said to her gyny " But what if I become pg?"..Gyny laughed at her and said if she became pg at 55 it would be a miracle.
Before IVF the Guiness Book of Records showed 48 to be the oldest age for a woman to give birth.

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ShotgunNotDoingThePans · 26/10/2013 20:54

I'm 50 and had my last period almost a year ago, after a coupleof false alarms where I had 6 month gaps then back with a vengeance.

I now realise I was in pm for a few years before that; mood swings, anxiety and hot flushes, plus insomnia and brain death.

Sage tablets by Dr Vosgel sort out the flushes/sweats I find.
I've had awful aches and pains since having DS1 18 years ago, so can't comment on that - other than that learning Alexander Technique helps.

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TheArticFunky · 26/10/2013 21:28

I have known a couple of women to become pregnant over the age of 50, they both miscarried but must have been ovulating.

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squeaver · 26/10/2013 21:34

Haven't had a period since I was 39 (Mirena) but definitely now peri-menopausal, at least - hot flushes and night sweats.

Doctor told me it's very much dictated by the age your mum started menopause and that would be correct in my case (46).

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MsIngaFewmarbles · 26/10/2013 21:34

I'm 35 and mine has started, I knew it was likely (huge family history) and have had all the babies I want.

So far, hot flushes (occasional), periods missing, closer together, further apart, PMT dreadful, but was never great. Back ache and worse cramping than before. Sex drive non existent then crazy. Mood swings and anxiety, also brain blips like in late pregnancy.

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stillenacht · 26/10/2013 21:35

Does starting periods early mean you go through menopause early?

I was 10 when I started (10 and 5 months) and am 40 now. Just had blood test last week to check hormone levels as have had upset cycle for last three months. Also keep getting very warm, walking around in t shirts, everyone saying they are cold and I am hot (I am a bit overweight but this feels different to me than just being comfortably warm due to blubber )

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MsIngaFewmarbles · 26/10/2013 21:38

bunbaker not necessarily pregnancies. All females are born with a number of immature eggs. Menopause begins when these have run out.

IVF forces the body to mature many eggs per cycle so would reduce the number of 'normal' cycles a woman would have.

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teaselweasel · 26/10/2013 21:44

My mum and I both started at 11 years and she didn't go through menopause till her fifties. I have read that women who start early often finish later! I'm 46 and just starting to get odd warm episode, scatter brained and felt a bit pmtish the other day despite being mid cycle. My doctor directed me to menopausematters website for more info.

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stillenacht · 26/10/2013 21:52

Oh God teasel!! Was hoping for earlier rather than later!!!

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teaselweasel · 26/10/2013 21:56

So was I!

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CointreauVersial · 26/10/2013 22:06

I'm 46, and pretty much through it, I think. Only one period in the last 12 months (but it was a whopper, and went on for 29 days). Not much in the way of hot flushes, but have had a few years of irregular, monster periods, moodiness etc.

Teasel - interesting what you say, I wondering if the opposite is true. I started really late (15 1/2), and seem to be stopping early.