I’m 60 now, and still get an occasional mild hot flash.
Back in my late 30’s/early 40’s, I was on Depo-Provera for a few years, so no periods! Somewhere around age 44, I got off the Depo, and my doctor did some kind of blood test to determine if I was in menopause. It turns out I was! I haven’t had a period since I was 38 or so.
(Don’t hit me! )
I’ve had hot flashes over the years, but they weren’t that bad. I still have a libido, but it is much less now. Like others are saying, everybody is different.
I started getting symptoms around the age of 50. Mostly hot flashes and an irritable feeling. The hot flashes were only at night. I went on HRT. Best thing ever. I was finally able to sleep. Hot flashes were waking me up 3 to 4 times a night. I would feel the heat starting at my feet and shooting up into my chest. I’d wake up and my chest would be slick with sweat. I’m now 57 and still taking estradiol pills. I’m at a lower dose now. My doc wants me to wean off of them within this next year, but I feel so much better when I’m taking them. I’m also afraid of my face turning into a prune if I stop! I still get an occasional hot flash at night but nothing like before. Sex is still good. But lube is a must.
Yes, sometimes I get a “warm flash”. Actually mostly I’ve had “warm flashes”. But when the **Hot flash ** strikes it’s like I’m being hugged by satan himself.
Someone else mentioned that it starts in their feet - same with me. My very first warm flash I was sitting at the computer and suddenly wondered why my feet were so hot. I thought I was having a stroke or something because suddenly my feet were on fire. It didn’t go any further than that and then the next day - boom! Satan hug!
My hot flashes started out like yours, very mild, but eventually escalated to full fledged HOT flashes…as in, I’m sitting in a meeting & suddenly I’m boiling hot, sweating, & short of breath. I look around to see if anyone else looks hot, but nope it’s only me. Then after a few minutes it’s gone, only to return again when I least expect it. This went on for years until I finally went in for hormone replacement therapy.
So the hot flashes suck, but the lack of periods makes up for it. And my periods were all over the map at first (after a lifetime of every 28 days, no exception outside of pregnancy). They became irregularly long or short, or closer together, or farther apart. Eventually they stopped completely. Welcome to the Club!!
Normally I wouldn’t comment on a thread like this, being male and all, but my beloved just went through the “never ending period.” She missed one, then had one that slowed to a trickle but went on until the next one hit full force. Fortunately for her, it actually stopped this time. She made an appointment with the OB-GYN while the never ending one was still going on, but by the time the appointment actually happened it was over. They suggested an endoscopy, which she would definitely get if she were still bleeding. As is, she wants to hold off until it starts again (which it hopefully won’t).
Or you might have one like I did. My period stopped sometime in the fall (September or October, I think) about seven years ago except for one that happened, oh, about 8 months later, which is when (I think) I started getting hot flashes.
All I really remember of it all is that for several months the spring and summer after I stopped having a period, I’d wake up in the middle of night in a puddle of sweat. I don’t recall anything happening during the day, though. By Christmas about 15 months later, I was done.
The only real difference I’ve noticed since then is that my internal temperature seems to be set higher than it was; used to be I’d feel cold when working in an office environment, now I have a fan on half the time.
May your menopause experience be as easy as mine was. I have no idea how I got off so lucky, but I’m grateful.
Geez, that sounds like what happened to me when I started having my period. My mom had me keep track of it on a calendar. I was a late starter (about 14, I think).
My period wasn’t particularly periodic. The cycle averaged out to 43 days, ±21 (give or take, I forget the exact numbers, but those are close). My entire first semester of college, I didn’t have one at all. And they’d last either 3-5 days with heavy bleeding or go for 2 weeks of spotting. Pure hell trying to figure out when or if I’d need to carry supplies, and at least once in high school I got caught without. My only warning was the low ache in the abdomen, and that never started before I started bleeding.
I regard the easy menopause I had as just compensation for the nonsense at the beginning.
I was also irregular, until I went on the birth control pill. It mostly stayed regular after that. But I just assumed that I would have no warning, and carried supplies.
Truth be told, everyone else knew when I would get my period, because I had horrendous PMS. But I was often too miserable to think, “hey, I’m probably just having PMS, and my period will come soon.”
But I never bled when I was under stress. The summer I traveled on a eurail pass – no period all summer. (Okay, one day of bleeding in Greece. They had the same brands of tampons as the US, with a different box.) Exams? Right after. Still, I always carried supplies until 7 months ago. It’s easier to pack for trips now.
This thread prompted me to check my calendar. Seven months since the last period! Yay!
So far I’ve had an easy time of it - nothing more than a warm flash, my periods got much lighter and less crampy… the insomnia was the worst of it, and what prompted me to go to a doctor, but I’ve also been going through a LOT of stress and I’m sure that factored into the sleep problems as well.
My advice is to consider estrogen. I really wish I’d started it a year ago. Check out the links in the thread I started a couple of days ago for more information.
Everyone is different. It sounds like you don’t need it. But honestly, I didn’t need it. PM me if you want the personal details.
Menopause (and peri-menopause) has wildly variable symptoms. For a bunch of women it’s an annoyance but not something that gets in the way much.
In other cases it’s a big deal.
The good news is that there are options for any symptoms you may be experiencing that are interfering with your life. They aren’t perfect, but they will help alleviate misery. If you’ve having big issues then investigate them.
Another fun side effect of menopause is getting frequent UTI’s. I was getting them every other month for awhile and went to see my doctor about it. Apparently the tissues in your pelvic area lose their plumpness and moistness, and shrink away a bit. This allows bacteria to climb up where they shouldn’t be, and voila, UTIs.
I started getting them, so my doctor put me on Yuvafem, which is a vaginally inserted estrogen replacement. It only works locally, and it acts to plump up the tissues again. I haven’t had a UTI since.
Heh, I was just commenting to myself–the Dope Ladies finally found a IMHO topic the guys will stay out of. It’s good general info for us XY types, though. Expressions of gratitude to those participating. I’m not sure you could get dudes to open up about their own post-50 experiences.
I was not wanting to go through menopause. My mother has terrible hot flashes, and I figured I was doomed. (Also, I have never wanted to grow up…)
I was treated for fibroids in 2001. After that treatment, my periods went to a trickle and then stopped after 3-4 years. Note that I always had very regular periods, even with fibroids (they were just insanely heavy, or insanely long, but they almost always started about every 28 days)
But no hot flashes. I figured that some of the endometrial tissue had been damaged, that I might even be having periods, but so light that it wasn’t registering, so to speak.
A few years after I stopped having (noticeable) periods, I noticed I was having pains in my side - tracking them on a calendar, and I was still having PMS pain (in my duodenum of all places) even though I wasn’t bleeding. That would have been, oh, early 2010s? Doctor pointed out that this was a problem that would probably go away on its own soon enough, and had my hormone levels checked. I was at about half strength at the time.
The past couple of years I’ve finally had something I might be willing to call a hot flash, but it’s more of a warm glow - like I have been exercising, or I’m a touch feverish.
All I can think is that I have been very, very lucky (crosses fingers).
Also, I’ve observed that if you’re a woman and complain about problems with your period - if you’re under 35 you’re pregnant, if you’re over 35 you’re hitting menopause.
Oh, hell, if you’re in you’re 50’s EVERYTHING is menopause:
“Doctor, I feel warm all the time” - menopause
“Doctor, I’m tired all the time, I can’t get enough sleep” - menopause
“Doctor, I’m constipated” - menopause
“Doctor, I can’t sleep” - menopause
“Doctor, I woke up this morning and my left foot had fallen off during the night” - menopause
A couple of years ago I had some minor infection that made my menstrual blood smell horrible. I complained to my doctor. He said, I’m not worried about the odor, I’m worried about the bleeding ". I did a double take, realized he thought I was menopausal, and said, “I’ve been bleeding every month since I was twelve. The timing and quantity of blood is fine. The odor and consistency isn’t.”
So had gave me an antibiotic suppository that cleaned it up.
I understand, but it’s still a shame they don’t; sharing what you experience w/ others having similar experiences is one of the best treatments this side of medicine. I know there are men who don’t know a thing about their prostate or the potential affect it will (yes, will) have on their lives as they age.
)
It’s good general info for us XY types, though. Expressions of gratitude to those participating. I’m not sure you could get dudes to open up about their own post-50 experiences.