<p>
</p>
<p>Just saying’… my cancer did not show up on my ultrasounds (and my pelvic exams were normal). It wasn’t until my GYN insisted I have an endometrial ablation and D&C done, that the biopsy showed up with early cancer. </p>
<p>I think that I didn’t actually realize that I was in perimenopause while it was happening. My periods were lighter and closer together instead of the heavy flow that others experience. I did feel bloated and although I never had a hot flash I think that in general I felt warmer than normal. I used to drive to my office at that time and I remember never having to put the heat on and cracking the windows a lot. Then one day my periods simply stopped, not long before I turned 52… so did the feeling warm and bloated. Never have a problem since.</p>
<p><a href=“Page Not Found”>http://www.reproductivefacts.org/uploadedFiles/ASRM_Content/News_and_Publications/Journals_and_Newsletters/Menopausal_Medicine/2011/MenMed_0511.pdf</a></p>
<p>There is a genetic and familial link between ages of both the beginning of menses and the onset of menopause. Chances are you and your sisters will begin and end your reproductive lives in a way that is similar to your mother. That doesn’t mean it will be an exact replication. For my sister and me the onset of menopause was very similar, as were our lack of symptoms.</p>
<p>(This is in response to 3bm103 who said:
“there are four girls in our family. We went through menopause at ages 50, 48, 40 and 56. Some of us with very bad symptoms while some had almost no symptoms. I have two sisters a year apart. One went through menopause two years before the other one had a baby. Nothing genetic about it in our family.”)</p>
<p>I don’t have a sister and this is NOT a conversation that I will be having with my mother. So glad that I have a different relationship with my daughters.</p>
<p>Bookmama22 - I can relate to simply feeling a bit warmed. In general, I feel cold when everone else is hot. This year, for the first time, I’m feeling a tad warmer than usual. I still chill easily, but not quite like before. In fact, this year, for the first time ever, I wanted the AC on some days before my husband did! Changes afoot…</p>
<p>I thanked my H for having a vasectomy years ago.
We knew we were happy with our two kids and since he wasnt likely to undergo th next pregnancy and delivery, it seemed only fair for him to get fixed.
My sister however, is 50, married to someone who is 65 & their youngest is 8. (& their oldest is 31)
No thanks.
My mom had a hysterectomy before she hit menopause.</p>
<p>Thanks to reading and posting in this thread I had a dream (nightmare) last night that I got my period again!</p>
<p>I live that nightmare every 28 days. 
(Just turned 50 last week.)</p>
<p>My mom died 20 years ago so I can’t ask her what menopause was like for her, but I am pretty sure she went through it on the late side. I remember seeing the pad-and-belt setup in her bathroom. Thank God we don’t have to deal with that any more…although I do really resent the cost and inconvenience of the whole thing today.</p>
<p>kiddie - what a nightmare.
And then just when I thought what would be worse - I read Sally305’s post and had a horrible flashback to those pad and belt days. Oh how I hated that damn belt. Let’s make something that’s already awkward for a young girl and make it even more awkward by needing to use that weird belt and a very thick pad. My girls are so fortunate to have no idea what those things are. Hip hip hooray for adhesives and better moisture-abcorbing materials!</p>
<p>I feel compelled to add that the result of my surprise pregnancy at age 48 is the best thing that has ever happened to me. He’s a very special kid who has had a positive impact on many people and, given that at age 15 he is already strongly committed to animal rights and developing-world poverty, he will probably have a positive impact on the world. </p>
<p>Not that I disagree with any of you who are horrified at the thought of a very late baby! I would probably feel differently if DS were a more challenging kid. And I would definitely feel differently if I’d had kids young and THEN had to start all over years later!</p>
<p>Interesting how everyone’s experience is so different. About 4-5 years ago (about age 48) my periods just started getting very light. I then went 7 months with nothing, 9 months, 11 months and then 6 months. My dr. says shedding anything (even the faintest tinge of blood) confirms I’m not through menopause–need to go a full year. So, that part’s been completely painless but I still don’t consider myself ‘done’. The hot flashes are unpleasant but manageable. Not to get off topic but I haven’t done any research about ways to diminish hot flashes. Any recommendations?</p>
<p>My sister and I are 13 months apart; both started our periods at the same time - mine stopped at 53, hers were still going strong at 55 when she had chemo/hysterectomy for ovarian cancer. She has no hot flashes but does feel warm…whereas I have a hot flash almost every hour - some are just flashes others are accompanied by sweats from scalp to knees - embarrassing when you are talking to someone and feel like the incredible hulk - not exploding out of my skin but water beads popping up all around :-(</p>
<p>The only time I ever used pads was after I was pregnant. Yuck.
I took black cohosh & hesparidin for hot flashes.
<a href=“http://www.allaboutnutritionalhealing.com/menopause2”>http://www.allaboutnutritionalhealing.com/menopause2</a></p>
<p>My mom thought she was going through menopause at 44 when her period stopped, but she was actually pregnant with my little sister! It was a total surprise, and she hadn’t been trying to get pregnant. Now I have siblings spanning 17 years!</p>
<p>I used pads as a teenager, because that’s what my mom gave me. When I was about 20, my sister asked me why in the world I was still using them, and told me about tampons! Thank goodness.</p>
<p>My mom came from a family that didn’t discuss sex. ( she was also an only child)
When I was about 11 or 12, she asked me if I would like some napkins & a belt.
I had NO idea what she was talking about, but about a month later, a box from Modess or Kotex came in the mail, with a little booklet & the appropriate items.
She told me to open it in my room. I was still confused.
I didn’t actually need them till a year or so later, and OB tampons were invented shortly after, so Ive always used them.</p>
<p>@bookreader - sorry, I’ve been away for a few days and just saw your reply. To clarify, I had a Mirena and didn’t have a period for about 8 years. It prevents ovulation. Hobby Lobby has chosen it as one of the four “abortifacients” that it doesn’t want to cover - that’s a whole separate issue - but it is not an abortifacient. It simply prevents ovulation much like many other forms of birth control. For me, it prevented me from having to have a hysterectomy and I am very grateful. But also angry at their interfering ignorance.</p>
<p>My aunt had the last kid at 44 and she’s menopause in her 60s. My mom was surgically cut off at 55 otherwise she would have her period till her 60s. My sister and I we had menopause much earlier than our mom and aunt, so it does vary. I had medium light to light period after stopping for 12 months. Definitely not the same as bleeding that needs to be checked up by doctor because it came out very light pink at first then slowly evolved to a period, but not heavy. but I had to wear pads. I’m definitely glad it’s over, no more emotional roller coaster. </p>
<p>I’m 52 and have always been very regular (28 days almost every time), not on the pill. Lately they’ve been getting irregular - I’ll have a three-week cycle, then a 5-week one, then 3, then 5. One month it’ll be light, the next heavy. Definitely changes are afoot. Now, we sometimes skip the BC (barrier method) when we know it’s a safe time (I got pretty knowledgeable about fertility when I was trying to get pregnant, and being regular makes it easy), but it’s getting harder to keep track! So a few months ago I had to get an ept, too, just to be sure. Nope, just a long cycle. Phew! But there was a part of me that was secretly hoping for a positive. Though at 52 it would be pretty risky.</p>
<p>I’m thinking of getting the Mirena. Doc said they’re great for this time of life. You put it in, and take it out a few years later, and you’re usually done.</p>
<p>OP, I was like you, with a gradually tapering period. I would skip a month, two months, and think "is this it? or am I pregnant?"Then I would get my period and not always be ready. I bought a few EPTs, too, and wondered what the check out clerks thought seeing my old self buying those. I was done at age fifty. Hot flashes leading up to the end, but not awful. My OB found a big growth on my ovary during my last check up, and so the done with menopause celebration was muted by that discovery. (It ended up being nothing, but underlined the importance of staying on top of my health after fifty.)</p>
<p>Anyone here been on pills for several years? Curious to know what the experience with menopause was after the pills. </p>
<p>My obgyn says that as long as I am on the pill, I won’t have any menopausal symptoms. I had been on pills for several years with a brief break in between when I had S. But was not feeling too good with the recent pills - they made me feel bloated and I put on a lot of weight ( nothing changed in my routine other than the pills - so I blamed them!). So, I did ditch the pill a few months ago, My cycle the last couple of months seems to be shorter than usual and now am wondering when menopause will hit :)</p>