Menopause question from concerned daughter

[LucysLogic101]

without going into too much detail...my mother is 48. The time between her periods has grown drastically short lately. We couldn't go out shopping today because she can't be away from a bathroom for longer than an hour, an hour and a half. This is superplus absorbency as well as pad protection.

well, so much for too much detail... :smack:

my question is - i mean, is bleeding this heavily a symptom of approaching menopause? Or at least, experiencing menopause?

I'd say that she's grown increasingly moody...but she's always growing increasingly moody, so i can't really use to determine her current hormonal state. She's made a doctor's appointment to see what the hell is going on, but I've just been worried. I saw a thread about how birth control pills can make some women's cycles go absolutely bonkers or there's an internal problem...so i thought i'd ask, thats all.

[Whack-a-Mole]

It seems that what you describe is one of the possible symptoms of pre-menopause (note second item in the list).


Hot flashes, night sweats, coldness
Irregular periods that can be heavy, light, shorter or longer cycles
Difficulty sleeping either getting to sleep or staying asleep
Mood changes, anxiety, depression, irritability
Heart palpitations (if you experience any heart disturbances, always consult a physician)
Dry skin and/or hair loss
Loss of or decreased sexual desire
Vaginal dryness
Incontinence

SOURCE: http://womenshealth.about.com/library/blperimeno.htm

The most common, earliest sign that a woman is approaching the menopause is erratic periods. They can be irregular in length or occurrence, or unusually heavy or light in flow. Other signs that can signal the onset of perimenopause in any combination are mood swings, flooding, and hot flushes or 'flashes'.

SOURCE: http://www.50plushealth.co.uk/index.cfm?articleid=1029

As with all of these things it is absolutely best that your mother speak with her doctor (as you said she is doing but it needed stressing anyway).

There are many other possible symptoms and it seems women can experience any combination of them with varying intensities (from not noticeable to debilitating) and occur over a wide range of time (both onset and how long the symptoms persist).

I'm surprised abotu birth control pills making a woman's cycle going bonkers. Do you have a link to that thread? I've known several women in my life who opposed using birth control (religious reasons) but were on the pill because it moderated their periods effectively (which left to themselves were debilitating for those women). I suppose it isn't surprising that some women respond badly but on the whole I thought the pill did more good than harm when it came to regulating and moderating a woman's cycle.