Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[toffeecushion]

Until last year I hadn't even heard of perimenopause.   I think I am of average intelligence but I never knew about this stage in a woman's life.   I assummed when I got to a certain age my periods would just stop.  Why aren't girls told about this in school?  Why don't mums prepare their daughters?  Why aren't doctors more knowledgeable about it? 

Too many questions, but forewarned is forearmed.

[honeybun]

It's not something that is done in school. They do what's relevant ....age appropriate....you can't tell 17 yr olds about meno.....just not what they need to know. I'm afraid that's up to mothers as the years go by.
Would you be interested in what will happen 30 years on the future...I know I wouldn't be.


Forewarned great but not 30 years or so.


Honeyb
X

[honorsmum]

I'm not sure about telling us at school, but it would be helpful if GPs offered info after 30, or at least 40 - maybe on the back of smear tests, contraception check ups etc.

[Millykin]

I never knew myself and I don't think my did she had hysterectomy quite young. It would be useful if we were given information leaflets in 30s and 40s to inform us to be aware of changes and what is happening x

[honorsmum]

Believe me, my children will know everything there is to know about perimenopause by the time I'm through it - they're seeing the effects first hand!!

My mother couldn't bring herself to even talk about periods or sex, so menopause wasn't ever mentioned.

[Joyce]

My daughter is in her mid 30s & she doesn't want to know.  All I knew was that one day I'd go through the menopause, but had no idea really what it would be like.

[CLKD]

It wasn't talked about.  Probably because women were having babies more often so their bodies were acting more 'naturally' in the cycle of pregnancy, childbirth, breast feeding etc.; by the time they reached 45 they were worn out …….. it was hard enough getting details of periods in the 1960s - I was able to ask my Mum by reading the back pages of her magazines and 'wondering out loud' ……… how many of us looked any further than our 20s? ……. I can't believe I've reached 60 so quickly 

Knowing wouldn't have made any difference …..

[honorsmum]

Believe me, my children will know everything there is to know about perimenopause by the time I'm through it - they're seeing the effects first hand!!

Honorsmum - that did make me laugh!  Mine are the same, there isn't anything they don't know about my body these days as I'm constantly moaning about one symptom or another or off on another round of medical tests!  They're only 22 but I think they're already dreading getting older!!!

S x

Sparkle, mine are only 11 and  just 9!
My son (the 9 year old) says to me, "Enough about periods!".
My daughter and I put everything down to hormones - hers or mine - at the moment!

[honeybun]

My daughter is aware of what I have gone through but to be honest she is only 20 and does not need to be burdened with my issues.
When the time comes....and I think it's right then I will talk to her in more detail.

I'm more concerned with her...making sure she is looking after her health and life ....that's how it's meant to be surely.

I have never talked to my son about periods....he is 25 and does not need to know about his mothers issues in that dept ....ever 


Honeyb
X

[BrightLight]

A leaflet in the doctors surgery would be very useful - my mother never mentioned it.  In fact when she was 60 and not feeling well, having tests and things, I piped up "do you think it could be the menopause?"  I was 35 at the time!  She replied - oh no, that was ages ago and moved onto something else.  Things like that just didn't figure in her world as a focus. 

Well woman centres are mentioned a lot on here and I remember going to these in my 20's or at least an afternoon a week where you could see a nurse about all sorts of things.  Just to have a chat, for some information - sexual health clinics are numerous.  We need some sort of widespread health promotion on all this.  I had NO idea it was a whole body shift - until a few years ago I just thought periods stopped and that was that.

[rosebud57]

Even GPs know naff all so informing the young is a non starter. 

What I think would be great is DVDs.  One for women as they near Meno and one for the men in their lives.  No matter how much I explain things to my husband, and think he's got it, I then get 'what up with you then?'

[Millykin]

Had to laugh at your post Rosebud 
I get that too from huuby. You think you've explained what's going on, you have a few good days, then an off day,
 H. "What's wrong with you? "
W.  "Hormones, feeling a bit down "
H "but you've been happy lately"
W. "Ye it's just a dip"
H.  "Mm thought I had done something"
W.   "No just the way I'm feeling today "
H.   "If you're sure your quiet today"
H.  " you ok but"
W.   "YES"
H    "you sure I've not done anything to annoy you? "
W.  "YOU HAVE NOW! "

(H -hubby.  W- wife)

[CLKD]

  ……….       'which bit of YOU HAVEN'T ANNOYED ME YET don't you understand' 

[GypsyRoseLee]

I knew nothing about being peri menopausal. I just thought that one day I would start getting hot flushes and then soon afterwards my periods would stop. Quite an open and shut case.

It was only after I found this site that I discovered that such a thing as peri menopause even existed. And that sudden anxiety and inexplicable mood swings were a CLASSIC symptom. When I read that, and other people's very similar experiences to mine I actually had tears in my eyes because up until then I genuinely thought I was becoming mentally ill for absolutely no reason that I could fathom. I had been so scared.

Very early full  menopause runs strongly in my family (one cousin was only 29, my aunt only 37) and so I will be explaining to my own daughters very soon about how this could affect them and their fertility.

It was only after I opened up to my lovely Mum about my horrible symptoms that she exclaimed 'But that's EXACTLY how I felt back when I was about 40!' and we talked more and realised we had experienced almost identical symptoms of sudden anxiety, mood swings, insomnia. At the time (this was back in the 80s) my Mum was considered to have had a mini nervous breakdown and was just given tranquilisers which she refused to take. She just suffered until having a hysterectomy at 43 followed by HRT and 'magically' all her symptoms disappeared.

[rosebud57]

Just started to think this morning as to when I first knew about the menopause.

It was when I was quite young (8 or 9 years), and I watched from the landing window as a friends mum ran down the road screaming, closely followed by her husband.  My mother said not to worry as she was 'going through the change' and it made some women a little crazy for a while.

I now know how right she was.