irregular periods.

[Fuzzyhead]

I am 46 and i seemed to miss my last period or it was 2-3 weeks late. I then started my period 11 days ago and it hasn't stopped yet and no signs of stopping. Also last month i was getting random pains in my boobs.

 

[hellytheelephant]

@Fuzzyhead- am 47- sounds like perimenopause.
I keep missing cycles and also have hot flashes and some weight gain. Boob pains I think are a classic symptom.

Always good to check with your doc though, to rule out any other causes. I LOVE being a girl!

 

[Fuzzyhead]

I have also gained weight too.

 

[Invisible Woman]

It could be the start of the menopause ...or not. I am a few years older than you and have had similar problems. I would definitely go to the doc for a checkup - especially if you are flooding or the bleeding doesn't stop. There are ways they can help depending on what is happening to you including:

• progesterone can help if your body isn't producing enough and can control bleeding
• a D&C can sort out overgrowth of the uterine lining
  
• the mirena coil could be used to control overgrowth of the lining & will reduce if not stop bleeding altogether

The boob thing - yeah, that another of nature's "gifts". No harm to get that check out too. Again, if the problem is unopposed oestrogen then taking evening primrose oil can help stabilize oestrogen levels in the breast tissue and this can help.

Don't just suffer & soldier on...we girls tend to do that and it'll just wear you out.

Top tip: make sure you keep a diary of gynaelogical events - when it starts, when it stops (fingers crossed), how heavy etc.

 

[hellytheelephant]

I don't know about the rest of you ladies- but I feel quite frustrated that we were not taught about menopause at school- it was barely mentioned in mine. fast forward 30 years and I am googling my symptoms and finding out stuff that is totally normal...that no one tells you about.We were taught loads about babies- which some of us had, but not about menopause which we would all be experiencing in one way or another.
@Fuzzyhead -the weight gain sucks, especially when my GP implied I was eating more- It takes a lot of time and energy to eat well and I am not secretly snaffling chocolate!

 

[CantThink]

I wasn't taught about babies or menopause haha @hellytheelephant

@Fuzzyhead With the weight gain, I would suggest to get your thyroid checked, and also have a look on Thyroid UK forum. You can post there with the results - it is not just for UK people, and experienced members on there will typically comment on what the results might indicate. Often we are told our thyroid results are okay as they are in range, but they may jot be optimal for us.

It could be that you have menopause starting. The doctor can test your hormones to see if it's menopause. After a coxsackie B infection, my mother developed viral related thyroid problems rightbaround the same time as starting the menopause, just to make things confusing... So sometimes it can be multiple things at play.

 

[Invisible Woman]

I wasn't taught about periods or babies or menopause or any of that. Very much we don't discuss that sort of thing. Ridiculous!

I agree it's always worth checking the thyroid - mine is underactive and it took a long time to diagnose & then I was undermedicated for years. They kept just saying that it was within the normal range but I am not symptom free until my results are at the very top end of the normal range. It was very frustrating being dismissed by docs for 10 years until an endocrinologist got to grips with it!

I did find that my abdomen became very, very puffy. My uterine lining had overgrown and the puffiness decreased after a D&C. I have lost quite a bit of weight recently (due to other issues) but I do think I am thickening about the waist area.

 

[CantThink]

I did find that my abdomen became very, very puffy. My uterine lining had overgrown and the puffiness decreased after a D&C. I have lost quite a bit of weight recently (due to other issues) but I do think I am thickening about the waist area.

I'm hypothyroid too (on NDT). Thyroid issues (both hyper & hypo) really affected my periods. I remember they went reallyong and heavy, and then short and still heavy. I think when I was hyper they might have been very light. They definitely changed quite noticeably.

Eventually I was bleeding all over the place - very irregular and either too frequent, or too far apart and 3 weeks long.

In 2014 I had surgery, where I got diagnosed with endometriosis (I had other symptoms of that), and in the process had another ovarian cyst discovered (it burst) and now have a fibroid growing outside my uterus on a stalk. I have the Mirena coil (IUD) now, and this plus the NDT has settled things down a lot. I am lucky it works for me! A lot of women hate it.

 

[Invisible Woman]

I had to get rid of my mirena. I don't handle hormones well either. Luckily for me I already had good control over the thyroid situation before all this gynae stuff cropped up. The constant bleeding really knocked the stuffing out of me.

Never thought I'd see the day when I wished my menopause would start!!

 

[Misfit Toy]

I just had a period for 25 days prior to having my thyroid removed. Unreal. This past year, my periods have been nuts, including missing a period. I got my thyroid out and the period went away. STAY AWAY..PERIOD. AMEN.

 

[Invisible Woman]

period for 25 days

Not fun. My longest one was about 13 weeks and some of that was flooding. All those extra trips to the loo & having to get up 3 or 4 times during the night. Ooooph! Bad enough at the best of times I'm sure, but it certainly does someone with ME no favours!

Fingers crossed it'll all be in the past soon!

 

[Sidereal]

My personal record is two months straight.