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[Elizabethrose]

Machair and Sparkle, read this.

http://www.gfmer.ch/Books/bookmp/33.htm

One passage that particularly caught my eye was this;

The female fetus starts in utero with approximately 6 million primordial follicles which decrease to 600,000 at birth, 300,000 at menarche and 10,000 or fewer near the time of the menopause. A few immature follicles may continue to undergo maturation and atresia even for a few years after the menopause. There have been some reports of postmenopausal ovulation.

Haha, that'll be us!

[Elizabethrose]

Hahaha,well it is late! Night night!

[Machair]

Yes that may be us! Anyone fancy a late pregnancy?

[Elizabethrose]

Hahaha, Sparkle you are a natural born comedian! Let me just point out, quite emphatically.....it's not going to be me! Over to you Machair!

[Hurdity]

Machair and Sparkle, read this.

http://www.gfmer.ch/Books/bookmp/33.htm

One passage that particularly caught my eye was this;

The female fetus starts in utero with approximately 6 million primordial follicles which decrease to 600,000 at birth, 300,000 at menarche and 10,000 or fewer near the time of the menopause. A few immature follicles may continue to undergo maturation and atresia even for a few years after the menopause. There have been some reports of postmenopausal ovulation.

Haha, that'll be us!

I'm not Machair or sparky but I read it all the same!

That is very interesting about the follicles maturing after menopause. Interestingly also the paper on stages of reproductive ageing talks about the period (of time) following the last menstrual period where FSH and estradiol levels stabilise - lasting from 3-6 years - even though the main dramatic fall in oestrogen levels occurs in the first two years following LMP. It also mentions that FSH shows a further decline in very old people. Shows there is still a lot about the details of women's reproduction and associated hormones that we have still to find out!

Hurdity x

[elainediva]

hi thanks elizabeth rose for pointing me in this direction
ive gone 84 days without a period but am having very light brown spotting
not really sure what im supposed to do,do i just track it as a period, just keep counting as its not
like a normal one, do i need to see gp as im trying hard to avoid that as they are useless im not on hrt

my cycles have been all over the place for a while-- have been missing 1or 2 each year for
last 3 years, but ive gone nearly 3 months without and the one before that was spotting-only enough for a small pad
im too scared to go without a pad as i never know when its going to happen
the first day of spotting i was at home without a pad-- not pleased

[Elizabethrose]

Hi elainediva,

Have you read through the thread and seen what is happening to each of us? We all seem to be in the same boat!

I started wearing light panty liners when my periods became totally erratic so I was never caught out. Have you kept a record of what is happening to you and when? It enables you to see a pattern and also allows you to see whether you're ovulating or whether these light losses are anovulatory bleeds. It seems that we all experience late stage peri in different ways, some women can bleed heavily and for others it can just peter away. It also seems it can stop and start, so just when you think all is slowing, everything can start up again! Oh the joys of womanhood!

If bleeding is unexplained they advise that you see a GP but if the spotting is coinciding with when you might expect a bleed you probably don't need to. How old are you Elaine and what stage of peri are you, i.e. when did it start and what other symptoms do you have? It's suggested that our hormones don't start to settle for a couple of years after our final period but again women are all different and for some it can take longer.

The uncertainty can be very wearing at this stage in our lives especially if it is accompanied by lots of other symptoms. This is a great place to vent your concerns and ask any questions.

[Elizabethrose]

Hi again Elaine

Sorry I've just realised we've spoken before on the late meno thread. I've been out this evening and didn't go through the old posts before I left my message there! Meno brain!

[Elizabethrose]

Hurdity, I missed your post.

Yes it was an interesting read and the site had a number of informative papers which were quite illuminating. So much still to be discovered about peri and meno and about the roles hormones play generally.

[Machair]

Hello Elainediva,

 I am 56 and my periods have dwindled to nothing more than brown spotting as well and very light and short lived. This forum and the wonderful ladies here have saved my sanity, so stay around and we will support you all we can.xx

[elainediva]

thank you x
elizabethrose im 55- 56 in a few weeks, ive been at this i think for about 5 years thats when i noticed i was missing
some and they were a bit awry-ive had hot flushes and a few night sweats on and off for about the same time
i take a thermos of iced water to bed
i keep a diary for my symptoms as the last time i went to gp she said 'oh i dont think its connected to your cycles'
so i thought keep a diary and i can look and see each time what seems to be each month.i noticed the breast pain.ibs and cramping
were 15 days into the cycle--- trouble is now ive gone 90 days i have nothing to compare so i just write it in
Machair--thank you,i will be around more often now

[Elizabethrose]

Hi Elaine

We are all a similar age on this thread, I think Sparkle is the youngest and I'm the oldest at 57 and it is utterly amazing that we seem to be experiencing almost the same things happening. None of our friends appear to have reached meno in the same way.

My peri has gone on since my early 40s (kill me!) and as I am really sensitive to hormone change, my records show a clear pattern of my reactions to changing hormone levels. Are you seeing changes in your mucus as that is an indicator of what your hormones are doing? We've all found that aside from the usual cervical mucus (slippery, fertile egg white type) that appears just before ovulation, if anovulatory it then reappears and goes on for lengthy periods of time. If this continues into a bleed or spotting it is an indication that it is an anovulatory bleed where the body is just clearing out any endometrial build up from the oestrogen highs. Therefore it may be that the light periods you are having are just slight anovulatory bleeds.

Unfortunately my oestrogen surges are usually through the roof and I seem pretty adept at shedding any buildup despite not having ovulated since last Oct. Machair and Sparkle are both having very very light spotting instead of a proper bleed now but my last bleed in June was like a light/medium period though only 2 days long, definitely anovulatory and I had gone 6 months without one.

Poor Sparkle has problems with her gut but I think Machair's and mine are only really affected by low progesterone, historically with a period bleed. I don't know whether you have read through this thread but you may find that you are in a similar situation and it may therefore be relevant for you.

Ask anything, we are usually around to support each other. It really helps to have someone to talk to about it, just makes you feel normal! (Well normal for us!) I think my poor husband could write a book with his knowledge of a woman's anatomy and hormonal responses!! Poor man!!

All good wishes to you.

[Hurdity]

Hi Elisabethrose

Have you had your uterus lining checked out? I am wondering how you can be so sure that your bleeds are anovulatory? I mean things are different during peri-menopause so the usual signs may not be there. If you have been bleeding several times without ovulation since October then you should ask for a scan - because this would be termed oestrogen breakthrough bleeding and is when the lining builds up, is not shed after normal ovulation, continues to build and then gets so thick that it breaks off sporadically. This would be classed as abnormal uterine bleeding and could mean endometrial hyperplasia which can lead to cancer if unchecked.

Not wishing to alarm you -  so I would suggest if you have had some significant bleeds then they could well be ovulatory especially if you are having oestrogen surges - this is usually at ovulation from the dominant follicle (although I think this is a bit different in very early peri-menopause - sorry a buit hazy about those surges!).

Hurdity x

[Elizabethrose]

Thanks Hurdity,

I had a hysteroscopy under GA just a few months ago and all well. No it would seem I am a bit of an anomaly. All has been checked thoroughly by Nick Panay, Ann MacGregor and one of Nick's team who is a GP at my practise. I've had excellent care and advice. My body just does not want to give up! Hormone levels checked (frequently), fertility monitors and temperatures logged along with charted records of other symptoms. My FSH is pummelling my ovaries producing high oestrogen surges that can continue on a high through anovulatory bleeds. All been checked and all very boring! My body is very adept at clearing the endometrium and therefore as long as I continue having these high surges, the bleeds will continue happening.

[elainediva]

thanks Elizabethrose, i will go back and read all the posts from this thread as it does seem im going through the same stuff
i have bought some moisturising gel today as my bits are getting dry with wearing pads all the time
its called Sensilube so hoping that will help make it more comfortable
i read your last post you are going through it with those surges xx