Menopause Matters Forum
Menopause Discussion => All things menopause => Topic started by: Gill Mojo on July 11, 2015, 10:47:13 AM
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I guess I just want to know if this is common (No such thing as normal, right ;) )
For about the last 6 months, although my periods continue to be depressingly regular (aside from one which I skipped completely), they have changed quite noticeably. Firstly, I have started getting excruciating pain around ovulation (received wisdom seems to say this is due to little water cysts which burst and then the pain goes away). I have never had ovulation pain in my life, so this is completely new to me.
Secondly, the course of my period has altered. It starts (and excuse the graphic nature here) with a day of brown staining, then a day or two of nothing, then three days of Niagara Falls, replete with heavy clots, and then nothing for a day, followed by a couple of days of vague, not worth the effort staining. This is all new to my body.
So please, is this kind of change in the nature of my periods something lots of ladies go through?
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Yep unfortunately sounds about right ,on the joys of this time of life ;)
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Yes that sounds right although I'm not sure about the ovulation pain if you have never had it before? It may be worth getting this checked out.
The stop-start nature of periods in peri is because the hormones are no longer stable as they used to be. They are released at odd times so your body begins to shed the lining as normal and then the hormone is switched off or on and so the shedding stops or slows and then it all changes again so the shedding starts again.. etc etc. Also, although periods can be a pain (literally) lots of us found that it's good to hang on to them for as long as possible as it's only after they stop that real meno symptoms begin. Sounds incredible I know to want to keep having them!
Taz x
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Thanks for the explanations :) I'll see how the ovulation thing goes. At the moment it is once every three months or so. If it gets worse or more frequent, I'll go bother a professional ;)
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Is it always on the same side i.e. does it only affect one ovary?
Taz x
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No, it alternates. Does that make a difference do you think?
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I just wondered as, usually, the ovaries release an egg alternate months. I would always get ovulation pain one side one month and then on the other side the next month. There's a brief explanation here http://www.yourhormones.info/glands/ovaries.aspx
Taz x :)
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Sounds about 'normal' to me ……. brown staining was my 'problem' at the end of my intermittent periods ……. all my Life had I had painful, heavy, clotty periods until I took The Pill ……. which at least eased the pain. It took about 2/3 years for periods to appear/not before they disappeared ::)
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Thanks for the reassurance all; nice to feel included ;)
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The on-and-off switching.... Does that also affect cramps? The last couple of periods have been weird in that sense too. Take this one for instance. Started Friday morning. Cramps . Also cramps yesterday. Today I thoght the cramps were over, but I have an on-and-off burning cramping this afternoon. Still bleeding and when I go to the toilet I have drops coming out. It's like the bleeding can't get going really good, but instead drags out both with the bleeding and the cramping. Looked back on my last period (I have an app ;) ) and could see that I had cramping days 1, 2 and 4... Weird to skip a day and get it back. Is that what you're talking about, Taz?
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Yep - that's what I'm talking about ;D
Taz x
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Yep - that's what I'm talking about ;D
Taz x
Hmm... I wonder if that's why my stomach is acting up then too? I've always had stomach upsets with my periods, but at least they made some sense before...
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HORMONES >:( ::)
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CLKD, you make me ;D so often. Always spot on with the comments. Hormones indeed
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Hrm... On cycle day 9 now. My boobs are itchy (I usually get itchy instead of sore, or both), I've had some slight cramping an an increase in discharge. About to ovulate soon again????
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This sounds like me at the moment, word for word, with sore boobs to match. :-\
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Hi
I'm another one, seems every other month I get a uncomfortable feeling around ovulation and periods have changed from every 6 weeks bleeding for 7 days to around every 28 days bleeding for 3 days, hoping if can sort out symptoms now they won't get hugely worse when they stop
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It's "nice" to know that other people are going through weird symptoms too... It seems that I barely had a couple of days around my period without my boobs itching, and now it's already back again. Too weird, really. So maybe that it's what could be expected now, then. Four-five days on my period. Three-four days without itchy boobs and bloating. And then, on day 8 or 9, it starts ALL over again... Itchy boobs, bloating, mild cramps, mucus (not yet, but I expect that soon too...), and so on until the next period. Huh...
But when you read stuff like this, it kind of makes a little more sense:
"PMS symptoms are cyclical and directly correlate with a woman's menstrual cycle. They also disappear once a woman gets her period. Not so with perimenopause.
Perimenopause symptoms typically continue throughout a woman's monthly cycle and do not disappear once she gets her period. They are also much more erratic, unpredictable and intense. So much so that many women feel they are losing control or as if they are going crazy."
(from: http://mialundin.com/perimenopause-and-the-emotional-rollercoaster/). I hope it's okay to quote other sources here!
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That is correct for pre-menstrual tension/syndrome - symptoms build up 10-14 days before the bleed begins which relieves the body, however, PMT/S doesn't happen in peri-menopause. It can continue after because hormones are all over the place! I had PMT/S and it was AWFUL (nausea was the worse bit) but went once the period began ………..
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My biggest issue nowadays is that I don't get that nice relief when my period starts. I would feel energetic, happy, light (both mentally and physically), etc. but now the symptoms just go on. I actually feel almost WORSE when my period starts than before my period. And I found another quoute that PERFECTLY describes this: "She emphasizes that when her period starts she does not get the kind of relief from her symptoms that she used to. Now she suffers from crying spells, insomnia, and extreme fatigue during her menses and a week after." I feel more or less EXACTLY like this... Tired, very SAD, depressed, etc. Ugh... :(
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It's awful. Hormonal upheaval is not easy to live with is it >:(
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My periods have changed completely! I know get a period every 2 weeks and it lasts approx. 2 weeks from start to finish! I have had every test/biopsy going and all came back good so I am putting it down to hormones. I thought periods got further apart not closer together, lol :)
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My periods have changed completely! I know get a period every 2 weeks and it lasts approx. 2 weeks from start to finish! I have had every test/biopsy going and all came back good so I am putting it down to hormones. I thought periods got further apart not closer together, lol :)
Mine are very similar to yours. I am bleeding every couple of weeks and the bleeding lasts 2 to 3 weeks. It's not really heavy but constant. I also thought periods stopped, why were we never told? lol
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Hi toffeecushion. Yes I thought they were meant to get lighter and further apart but I guess there is no normal during perimenopause!! I have a week where all is fine and then it starts again. It is usually very slight and only when I wipe and can range from pink to slighter redder. I get approx. 9 - 10 days of this and the closer to me period it gets the redder it gets. I then have my normal period which usually tails off after about 6 days, a week free :) and then it all starts again. I guess hormones have an awful lot to answer for >:(
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Yes before I started HRT my periods changed. Suddenly they got much lighter. I would have a day or so of light brwon spotting, followed by a day if bright red flow (but not heavy). Then a completely clear day followed by another 2-3 days of brown spotting.
I stopped having any cramps and my boobs stopped swrlling and feeling gender. But my PMS would last night through my period and not lift until day 5-6 of my cycle. Then it stopped lifting and just carried on right through for the rest of the month.
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But my PMS would last night through my period and not lift until day 5-6 of my cycle. Then it stopped lifting and just carried on right through for the rest of the month.
This is definitely the most depressing part of it all, if you ask me... :(