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[Jewel]

Hello all I've just joined so sorry if I'm in the wrong place.

I'm 51 and my periods have been a bit erratic for a while - closer together and lighter really. My period though over Christmas came relatively late (about 8 days longer than usual) and hadn't really stopped since.

It was light then heavy, then light and now heavy again. I'm on day 13 and it's manageable but I wondered if this was relatively normal? I have a stinking cold and stressed at work so thought this might also be contributing?

I don't like going to the doctor but in this case I don't want to go and upset the normal changes with hormones etc if you see what I mean.

Any advice at all? X

[Poshpaws]

I've been bleeding since October 2018!

My advice would be to go to doctors and get checked out - I ended up in a and e in November after a massive blood loss episode and feeling shite - had a scan and hysterescopy - biopsies of womb taken as the lining was thick - got results yesterday which are all clear

The day I had the hysterscopy they suggested fitting a Mirena coil which has slowed the bleeding down undoubtedly but I'm spotting every day and every now and again I'll have a bleed - worst was five days but manageable.

They also found three fibroids and a polyp!

For your own peace of mind I'd go and get checked out and I hope you feel better soon as it's exhausting

[AngP]

I'm 51 and still having periods, though not regular ones. Sometimes monthly, sometimes less frequent. Had an early period in December which was unusual, and it kept going for 16 days, not particularly heavy but kept restarting whenever I thought it had finished. Am now experiencing intermittent spotting. Am waiting now for a non urgent ultrasound it am concerned. Suffer with health anxiety so looking forward to knowing what's going on. I had a uterine polyp removed two years ago following lots of investigations for similar issues. They recommended a mirena coil then but I prefer to avoid hormones. That may have been a mistake as I did have a thick endometrial lining then... the trouble with perimenopause is that you lose sight of what is ‘normal'.

[Hurdity]

Hi jewel and AngP

 

Any and every sort of cycle change and bleeding is common as you enter peri-menopause but it is a good idea for any abnormal bleeding for you ( lengthy or very heavy periods) to be checked out initially just in case - as Poshpaws says - you could have fibroids or a polpy etc. Sometimes the womb lining can overthicken and causes clots etc especially during anovulatory cycles (no ovulation) where the womb lining continues to build up.

In the meantime here is an article about peri-menopause which you might find interesting:
https://www.menopausematters.co.uk/magazine/pdf/Article%20-%20Perils%20of%20the%20Perimenopause.pdf

Do have a good read of all the information on this excellent website so that you can make informed decisions about any treatment. There is a section on periods and bleeding too:
https://www.menopausematters.co.uk/heavyperiods.php ... and other tabs

I agree it can be worrying once these unpredictable changes start to happen. If you start getting worse symptoms like flushes and sweats then HRT can be taken which will then help to regulate your periods as the bleed will hopefully then be monthly. Try not to worry and keep posting on here for support!

Hurdity x

[squeaker99]

yes I can relate to this. My periods went from 5-6 days to 7-8 days at the start of Peri then I would get
mid cycle ' gunk' / mucus and brown/orange blood. It is alarming as I never knew it could be a sign of Peri.
I got it all checked out via the GP (None of the staff I came across were alarmed or surprised about it) who
sent me for a routine ultra sound and cervix check and blood tests (all fine - had one small cyst but it sent away on
its own)
Since then the mid term discharge has extended to 5-7 days so sometimes it did feel like I only had a few
days of non bleeding (I had several GP trips during this time as it is a bit freaky to feel like you are continually
bleeding). So after 3 years I was having 7 - 10 days periods from very start to very finish then 5 days mid cycle
discharge - then maybe a few days at the end. My cycles went from 28 days to 24/26 days then eventually I
would miss a month or two.

Now nothing for maybe 2-3 month so all the worry was for nothing - it was just my version of a ' normal' Peri.

So yes do go to the GP for peace of mind but don't worry like I did!

[Jewel]

Thank you so so much everyone. What I do realise is how little I know about it - amazing after having gone through 50 years including pregnancy, not to know more!

It's all come as a massive shock and scary - like you don't know your body any more.

[Jewel]

Thank you so much everyone this is all so helpful.

Makes me realise how little I know about this stage of my life. Women have been so quiet about it in the past.

[JCH187]

I would echo what others have said, any bleeding that is abnormal for you, should be checked out.

I started on HRT about 9 months ago and would have long periods too, after getting the all clear that there was nothing else going on, a new doctor I saw said she thought I had too much progesterone in my body as I was also still on the mini pill (POP), I stopped the pill and things are starting to settle down, I've had periods but they've been 4-5 days max. The blood test I had at the time also confirmed I had way too much progesterone in my body.