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[peri]

I have a question and wonder if anyone can advise.  Is it true it that the later you start your periods the earlier you go through the menopause or is it just an old wives tale?  I am perimenopausal at 49 and guess this has been the case for the last 3 years, however, my sister who is 48 has no symptoms at all!  I didn't start my periods until I was 15 1/2 and at the time I thought there was something wrong with me as my sister who is one year younger had started hers at 13 so was having periods at least a couple of years before me.  Cut to 30 years later and it's me who is going through all this stuff and she's functioning normally - she did have a baby at 45 so don't know if this will have made a difference.  Would be interested to know what anyone thinks x

[Hurdity]

In a word - no!

Here is what it says on web md:

http://www.webmd.com/menopause/features/menopause-age-prediction?page=2

Here are three things you might think would influence menopause age, but don't:

    Age at first period. Although the average age of menarche (onset of first menstrual period) has been getting younger in U.S. women, there hasn't been a corresponding shift in the average age at menopause. The average age at menarche is now about 12.4 years old, down from 13.3 in women born prior to the 1920s, but the average age at menopause has been around 51.5 for decades. “You would assume that a woman only has so many cycles in her life and if she menstruates later, she'll reach menopause later, but that doesn't seem to be true,” Cedars says.

I started late and finished late, also had a baby at 40, but what is true for one individual cannot be used to generalise - it is only statistics for large enough populations which can tell you!

Hurdity x

[Taz2]

I started my periods at 11 and was still having them at 53 when I started HRT.

Taz x

[honeybun]

I started at 12 and meno struck at 47.

My mother had me when she was nearly 39 and then had an early meno five years later.
I read somewhere that a late baby could trigger an early meno. Probably no truth in that one though.

Lot of old wives tales out there I think.


Honeyb
x

[CLKD]

I was 12 and peri-meno by (have to think hard) : 46

[peri]

 Thanks for all your replies, learning such a lot on this site.    Think the thing with me is the meopause is one big fat sign I am getting older and I'm struggling to come to terms with it, thanks again x

[CLKD]

We are as old as we feel  - make sure that you enjoy the in-between 'bits' ………. take time to sniff the roses!