# For fellow Women: When did PMS start for you? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 14, 2018, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-fellow-women-when-did-pms-start-for-you/821363 "2018-09-14T23:22:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 1
**Author:** ![laurieb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/51bf81/32.png) [@laurieb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/laurieb)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2018, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-fellow-women-when-did-pms-start-for-you/821363/1 "2018-09-14T23:22:51Z")
My niece, who is 12, came over to stay at my boyfriend and I’s apartment for about a month over the summer. One morning, she came downstairs, looking tired and stressed. “Aunty Laurie, I’m bloated again. My jeans hurt.” I looked over at her. Her stomach was swollen, and she couldn’t button her jeans. She was almost on the verge of tears. Later on, I spoke to my sister (Her mom) who told me that she’s been going through PMS for the past year. AT 12?! Am I weird for being shocked at this? I didn’t get my first symptoms of PMS until I was 17, and even then, I thought that was early. Is this weird? --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-fellow-women-when-did-pms-start-for-you/821363)._