Hello ladies! I am 53. My last period was in December 2019 after I had a benign polyp removed. Until today when it came back, 178 days later. (January 2020 was the first time I had skipped a period since I was 12 years old.) I thought there was nothing but daylight at the nearly 6 month mark. But here we are. What have you ladies experienced with skipping/crowding of periods towards the end of peri? Do you think work/stress had any contributing factor(s)? Or is it just the randomness of hormones? The months I missed my period were paradise! No hot flashes, better sleep, better control of my appetite, Instead of losing half the month to PMS and excruciating cramps, I was able to work out consistently, 6 days a week..... If I am back in that horrible rotation I will be pretty sad. Thanks!
Last summer I went 101 days without a period. I kept getting cramping on and off and the feeling that a period would come, so I wasn’t totally surprised when it did, but I was disappointed. This was the first time that I skipped a period in my life, and I was 50.
Now, a year later, I haven’t yet skipped another one, but my periods range from 20 to 36 days, sometimes with spotting during my cycle.
I really just want all of this to be over, as the physical and psychological symptoms, in particular, have been very difficult to deal with.
Thanks for the insight, Bev! I agree that the physical and psych symptoms are the hardest to deal with. My health anxiety was way more manageable–even with everything that’s going on–when my period didn’t come.
Do you think body weight has any factor? I lost 30 pounds over the last year. With the decrease in fat, and the estrogen it holds, I was hoping that I could count on my period being close to over.
I am making a promise to myself that I will continue to exercise and lose the last 12 I have to lose.
Thanks for letting me know what your experience is. I feel way less alone.
I am certain that a lot of the symptoms that come with perimenopause are from high and quickly shifting levels of estrogen, not low estrogen, as many women think. I have almost all of the symptoms of high estrogen, except weight gain. I have lost over ten pounds so far, and I haven’t been trying to lose weight. I think that it is just the stress that has caused it.
I know that estrogen from the blood gets taken into the liver and then excreted through the bowels. If women don’t have regular bowel movements ie - daily, then the estrogen will get reabsorbed from the bowel back into the bloodstream, leaving women with high circulating levels of estrogen.
I am glad to hear that your symptoms decreased significantly when you didn’t have a period. I am so looking forward to the day when I am in post-menopause and all of this is behind me!