Pleased to still be having periods on cusp of 53rd birthday

[3StoneStillToGo]

So, like title says I'll be 53 before the end of the year and still having regular periods. They have got shorter in cycle - so 27 days this month, down from 28 days last month. They have been 28 days for a while.
My periods when younger were every 35 days.

Don't have kids in case that is relevant to anything.

Everytime I get another one I think 'Oh good, protected for another month'

What I mean by that is I have heard the longer you have your periods the better it is for your health to still have all the relevant hormones in enough quantities to cause a period.

Obviously I am in perimenopause as my cycle is changing but apart from some quite heavy periods nothing has really changed. No hot flushes or night sweats or anything.

I sort of feel the closer I get to being 60 without them stopping the better it is for all things concerned. If I fall apart after 60 I'm not so bothered as I feel like I'll be 'old' then. Planning to stop dying my hair at 60 too although of course that could change.

Anyway just wondered if anyone else felt like that. I read often that people are sick of them and wish they would hurry up and stop but I feel the opposite way although of course I still hate the mess, sore stomach, headaches.

I’m 52, it was months yesterday since my last period & I’m really hoping that’s it.

At 60, I still expect to be doing everything I’m doing now but to have worked up to lifting heavier weights.

I think the OP is terrified of ageing, hence coming on here to try and convince herself that she still young and vibrant with her non grey hair 🙄

@Otterdrunk My doctor says that the estrogen can have some protective effects but it’s not going to last forever!

It’s certainly not protecting my hair, I’m white at the front, skipped grey completely and went straight to white. 😂

Mine stopped when I was 40 so thrilled to read this 🙄

My doctor says that the estrogen can have some protective effects but it’s not going to last forever!

@Otterdrunk If you take HRT for 10 -15 years, your bones could be as good as they were 10 -15 years previously, so at 60/65 you'd be far better off than a woman not taking HRT. And you can use HRT for life if you want to. There are women in their 80s and 90s on it.

BTW you mentioned you take calcium tabs. These are now under review as being dangerous. The only people who should take them are if they don't get enough calcium from their diet. There is concern they cause kidney stones and heart disease by furring up the arteries.

Periods stopped at 53. Not on HRT. Still bleaching hair and wearing my make up. 60 isn’t old. This 2025 not 1956

@JinglingSpringbells That was my post, not @Otterdrunk’s !

Re. Calcium. I was told to take them after my accident to help the healing so I’m doing it for now. I may come off them at some point depending on my blood results.

I’m certainly not against HRT, just not on it yet.

I was still regular at 56 and wondering if/when they'd stop 🤣

Tailed off all of a sudden and now i note there's been nothing for a year.
(no HRT or hormonal contraception)

I actually feel better physically now than the couple of years when they (the periods) were in their death throes. The fuss, tiredness, irritability and possibly the fluctuation of iron used to make me feel crap for 10 days a month.

I agree - hence why I’m on HRT myself! But I was sympathising with OP for maybe just being simply a bit misinformed about the protective benefits of HRT still. Hence why I said more information & the changes in offering menopause care to all women over 40 by the current government can only be a good thing to dispel misunderstanding & change attitudes to it.

Some friends of mine & some GP’s I’ve encountered still believe it’s better to somehow to manage without it (aka it’s some kind of moral failing if you take it) or they’re still reticent b’cos of the scaremongering & demonising of HRT due to the faulty research of old.

I know OP feels her periods are evidence of sufficient estrogen which everyone has pointed out is not actually accurate. I just think she’s got a bit of a bashing for sounding a bit arrogant about her current positive predicament - when I think it’s more ignorance than arrogance. Plus a lot of us on here have suffered from horrible peri /meno issues that the poor OP only having had a good experience so far, is coming across as being a bit tone deaf.

Maybe I can relate b’cos I was probably the same - misinformed, ignorant & hopeful - until I was rudely awakened by the hell that then unfolded.

Mine went on rather longer than I wanted - whilst i recognise the benefits I was desperate to be shot of them for the discomfort and pain gave me - since they have stopped I feel like me all the time. Didn’t have menopause problems either so win win

Well done you.

If I fall apart after 60 I'm not so bothered as I feel like I'll be 'old' then

Please do come back when you are 60 and tell us then you are happy to be old and falling apart 🤣
Also, such a strange thing to be smug about.

"If I fall apart after 60 I'm not so bothered as I feel like I'll be 'old' then."

I honestly wonder how some posters feed themselves.

I’m thinking she means 90 not 60. Really bizarre thread

Almost 57 and it's been 7 months since my last one...fingers crossed I'm finally though the menopause. I'm laughing at the idea that 60 is old - since when?!

Having a long menstrual history is not necessarily a cause for celebration as there are risks associated with it, including breast cancer and CHD.

Mine stopped suddenly at 50. Brilliant I thought.
Sadly not.
Old age hit within 4 months. It was literally bonkers how my joints, skin and hair deteriorated so quickly.

I agree Op you are better off.

@BruFord Sorry! The point still stands about calcium supplements though. Many drs are unaware of the newer research on using supplements.

As long as you get ENOUGH calcium from natural sources, that is what counts.
Women need around 700-1000mgs a day.

You can easily get that from eating half a pint of milk, yoghurt, cheese, greens, some dried fruits, oranges, sardines, beans and pulses. (not all of those every day!)

Lots of info online about which foods are calcium rich.

I agree. And how they dress themselves. 🙄
Ridiculous insensitive and unkind comment

I thought that if you were still having periods your hormones and oestrogen would still be over a certain level. Is that not correct then?

I tried to get a gp appointment to ask about hrt but after several days of doing the phone in at 8am and no appointments I gave up.

I had been 'consoling' myself that it didn't matter cos I was still having pretty regular periods. Oh well.

No i wasn't expecting to have periods till 60. I was just hopeful that the longer I had them the better it would be for my bone health etc.

Unfortunately our GP services are dire and having tried to get an appointment to discuss HRT and failed I gave up. I may not have needed it but I wanted to check.

I'm actually looking forward to being 60. I sort of feel like I have to keep looking 'attractive' in my fifties as far as possible ie dying my hair etc, keeping fit etc

Once I get to 60 I sort of feel I can relax and embrace my older self with grey hair etc.

I already give way less fucks about lots of things than I used to but I figured at 60 I really would be free of any society expectations.

I'm not dreading being over 60 - I'm looking forward to staying in and reading books and watching period dramas while eating icecream in my pj's.

I'm 55 and haven't had a period since I started using the coil to treat my severe endometriosis when I was 36. Endo was so severe I was never able to have children so when I started the adoption process I was able to have the coil. I thank my lucky stars for that coil as my periods were a horror show that blighted my life. Never want to have a period ever again.

No I am looking forward to not having the mess etc.
I just wanted to have any benefits of still having them for as long as I could.

So strange to have people being mean on a thread about menopause.

I definately did not expect that.

You have a very skewed idea of 60 if I may say so.

Why do you feel the need to give up at 60?

Most women are working at 60, looking after their health and yes, dyeing their hair if they want to, not sitting in PJs and eating ice cream.

I wouldn’t say that I keep fit or eat healthily for ‘society expectations’.

It’s more about self preservation. I want to stay strong & healthy for as long as possible & I don’t see that changing at 60. I’ve never bothered to dye my hair though, apart from occasionally going green or purple.

Why can’t you read & watch period dramas in your pjs now though, if you want?