# Not for Cowards: A Menopause Inquiry **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 27, 2006, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-for-cowards-a-menopause-inquiry/385761 "2006-12-27T16:51:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7feea3/32.png) [@kiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiz)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2006, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-for-cowards-a-menopause-inquiry/385761/21 "2006-12-29T00:02:12Z")
I’m 46, and according to my ob/gyn, I’m smack in the middle of the perimenopausal phase. I’ve been having irregular periods for the past 3-4 years – nothing earth-shattering, but when you’ve been clockwork for a very long time, this whoops-there-it-is-wtf? stuff is a bit disconcerting. The nice thing? I’m down to 3 days max instead of the usual 5. No cramps, no bloating, no screaming-banshee preludes. OTOH, my general mood goes all over the place at any given time. My cycle’s also become quite short. What used to be roughly 28-30 days now ranges anywhere from 20 to 30, which means sometimes I get my period twice a month without warning. Joy :rolleyes: Haven’t had any inkling of a hot flash. I’ve been told they won’t come for another few years. From what I’ve observed and have heard/read, I’m not particularly looking forward to them. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2006, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-for-cowards-a-menopause-inquiry/385761/22 "2006-12-29T02:14:31Z")
I’m turning 48 soon and have had night sweats for a couple of years now. One thing that’s changed is that my cycle shortened–all my life I ran about a 40-45 day cycle, then all of a sudden about eighteen months ago it’s clockwork 28 days, and boy did THAT piss me off! Cramps were fairly normal, sometimes a bit light, and periods would last a normal time–5 days total, but the last two were pretty token. Then I went for almost three months without a period, followed by a regular humdinger–pads AND tampon, heavy as hell and lasted almost eight days. YUCK! Whereas I don’t mind the once every three months part, the Period From Hell at the end gives me pause… I can’t wait 'til it’s done with, and I’ve been careful the past seven or eight years to keep up with my exercise, tank up on calcium and phytoestrogens. I carry a fair amount of fat around so I figure I won’t need HRT–my mom didn’t bother and she’s in great shape aside from her heavy smoking and definite need to lose some weight. Periods suck, I can’t wait until it’s all done with… ---
**Author:** ![pbbth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f9ae1b/32.png) [@pbbth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pbbth)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2006, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-for-cowards-a-menopause-inquiry/385761/23 "2006-12-29T02:21:30Z")
I worked with a woman a couple of years ago who went through menopause at 25. It was a family thing apparently…it happened to both her mother and her grandmother. Other than that she was perfectly healthy though. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2006, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-for-cowards-a-menopause-inquiry/385761/24 "2006-12-29T02:34:48Z")
My mom started in her early 50’s, and had the hot flashes and night sweats for _years_. It really pissed her off! But she loved not having periods anymore. ---
**Author:** ![4everkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/76d3ee/32.png) [@4everkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/4everkid)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2006, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-for-cowards-a-menopause-inquiry/385761/25 "2006-12-29T17:07:52Z")
I heard somewhere that if you started your period young, you would have a late menopause. If you were a late bloomer, you would have an earlier menopause. Just the opposite of what you would expect. ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2006, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-for-cowards-a-menopause-inquiry/385761/26 "2006-12-29T17:46:17Z")
I started my period late and had early menopause, so there’s at least one of those cases. I didn’t get bad hot flashes, more like warming trends, and not until 3 or 4 years after the end of periods. In my experience (and that of some of my friends) vitamin E helps a lot with hot flashes. Even after nearly 15 years of menopause I still get warmer if I skip the E for a few days. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2006, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-for-cowards-a-menopause-inquiry/385761/27 "2006-12-29T17:51:35Z")
51, and done with the whole horrifying mess. I used HRT for about 5 minutes and toughed the rest of the thing out for about 6 years. Now I’m finally free (to watch my chin dissapear, right behind my eyesite, my hearing, my auburn hair and my memory\*). \*Did I post this already? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-for-cowards-a-menopause-inquiry/385761.md?page=1)