S/O menopause .. so I am 55..

I'll be watching this thread. I'm a bit younger than you & still do get light periods. I'm reaching the point of wondering when I'll see more changes.


(As an aside, I had an aunt who once told me (when I was a tween) that women get their periods for no more 35 years. She was dead sure about that. She was definitely wrong, LOL! )

I literally had one hot flash and one night sweat and that was it. I think it was my reward for years of hellish PMS.

My periods had been done for a year and 8 months and I was all excited, because I also wasn’t feeling anything. Then the hot flashes started. They aren’t super bad, but this is my first summer and I hate that I have to wash my hair every other day, because all the on and off sweating makes my head stink. I don’t feel anything else.

I don’t don’t really understand your statement that you have no signs of menopause except no periods. That literally is what menopause is. The definition is “cessation of periods for 12 months.” You have gone through menopause. You are post menopausal.

Stopping periods is a sign of menopause lol.

I had minimal issues- hot flashes, but only at night, maybe a little moodiness, but it was also during the early pandemic, so...

As women, as a society, so many seem to know as much about perimenopause and menopause as they do about their "down there". Calling it a down there, hooha etc. Calling the entire down there area the vagina only is how everything is called menopause.

It's sad that we aren't taught or educated ourselves on it all. Doctors don't seem to have much education on it either. I've been very interested in hormone fluctuations because I have hormonal migraines so I'm trying to help those and help my transition into perimenopause be a bit smoother.

Not picking on you OP, just using you as an example.

Blood work can be very helpful to see what your hormone levels are.  I had it done 6 months after no periods and was already post menopausal.  It would be good for you to have that confirmation so you can be noted in your medical file as menopausal.  

It would also be relevant to confirm if you are still using birth control so that you can discontinue use if no longer needed.

I had no symptoms other than my period stopping.

I didn't have a rough go of it at all. Period stopped at 55 1/2 and that was it. No mood swings; I think I may have had a hot flash once in the middle of the night.

It's totally random and people are different. Although I was told by my doctor that often women follow the same pattern as their mothers.

Personally, I had sudden menopause when I had a total hysterectomy (everything out, including ovaries). I've had zero effects, except maybe some minor hot flashes at night from time to time. Although that might just be because the bedroom is stuffy. lol

I am 48 and haven't had a period in 18 months. Last summer I started having a reaction when I drank alcohol. It wasn't until May this year that I realized it was a hot flash. I still avoid alcohol, but Vitamin E helps with the hot flashes.

My periods stopped at age 40--nothing else to go with it. It was time for annual Pap smear and I asked dr. She thought it was too early so did a blood test. IIRC it was testing the FSH hormone. That determined I had indeed completed menopause.

Unfortunately this was in the era when it was believed one should have HRT. THAT was what gave me mood swings and was all in all an AWFUL, HORRIBLE experience. Those 14 years were awful. When the medical world said HRT did not help heart health or anything else, I got off those so fast it made my doctor's head swim. Doctor was dawdling with a plan, so I gave myself a plan. I skipped the hormones ever other day for a month, then skipped 2 days for a month and did not take any more.

Ugg, so sorry you are dealing with this also. I'm almost 46, I have had migraines for about 15 years.

I started going to a naturopath doctor a few years ago when I was having major sleep problems. She tested my hormones with a salvia test a week before my period. She tested hormones, cortisol, DHEA, has done a blood test for a full thyroid panel. Since I wasn't in perimenopause yet and still capable of making my own hormones I was on different adapatagen herbs like chaste berry and ashwagandha. This helped my insomnia and my migraines were decreased by 50-60%. The severity was often not as bad but the length still the same (3 days plus some pre and post drome). Three months ago I started on compounded progesterone (bioidentical hormones) and had one migraine which was barely there.

A few things without going to a doctor, a clean diet helps. I'm not perfect but I make all our meals from scratch and so don't eat a lot of extra crap ingredients, just eat too much. Your liver is your body's fuel filter, if you eat a crappy diet then your liver is working hard to process the junk on top of trying to process your wacky hormones. Pooping every day. When things are slow then hormones have time to re-absorb into the body.

Frovatriptan is often recommended for hormonal migraine since they tend to last longer. I don't find anything really helps as mine build so slowly and then last 3 days.