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| I'm just wondering if this is a common part of entering menopause...
I've been in perimenopause forever, well, for probably 7 or 8 years now with the last 3 years being more h*llish than ever (but that's for a whole different post!). My blood tests more than a year ago showed I was *in* menopause, however I was still having periods. Further blood tests after that showed I wasn't in menopause - I guess this is common when you're in peri to go up and down like that in your blood test results. Anyway, I skipped a period about a year ago, then I had periods again, although short ones every 22/24 days. Now since late Sept/early Oct 2011 I haven't had a period. However, I'm having cramps like I'm going to start my period, but it doesn't start. The cramps last a couple of weeks, then go away. Now I'm cramping again, but I'm having no period again this month. So this has gone on for two cycles now. Is this common when you enter menopause? Has this happened to any of you? I was sort of hoping not having periods anymore would mean I would no longer have cramps! I'm 48 years old. Thanks. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| I don't know. I always had a low level of cramping so maybe I'm not a good example. Anyway, in the months where I've missed periods I haven't had any cramping or any other signals at all that a period was on its way/here. This is just my experience. |
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- Posted by mjjones453 (My Page) on Thu, Jan 5, 12 at 15:52
| I have experienced the same thing. It is very frustrating. Anybody out there that can give us a clue??? |
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| I ended up having a mammoth period after missing those two cycles. I had heavy bleeding for days, and just about the worst cramping I've ever had. I could barely stand up. Then I had another period just 22 days later - this one not as intense as the one prior, and shorter. I suspect this rollercoaster is part of going into menopause for some of us. kangell, I've always had cramping with my periods too. mjjones, how many cycles have you missed? I think I'd rather have a period with cramps then no period with cramps because the cramps just go on and on. I've been thinking about a theory, that maybe with our estrogen levels naturally getting lower going into menopause, the uterus might not be getting a lining every month that sheds (ie. a period) so we keep getting the enduring cramping but since nothing is being shed, the uterus keeps cramping like it's saying 'come on, darn it, do something'. I don't know... ha - guess I'm answering my own questions. |
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| (adding another thought)... Or maybe the lining does build up, but just won't come out for some reason, so we get the endless cramping with no period? Could be why when I did have a period it was so painful and heavy, with blood clots. |
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- Posted by mjjones453 (My Page) on Mon, Jan 9, 12 at 16:28
| Well, I missed one period completely the month of November. I feel so messed up. I unfortunatly am on Tamoxifen for Breast Cancer, and it produces hot flashes, but does not put you into menopause. I am peri, I believe. I just wish I had a clue. I had my period arount the 26th of Dec. but am today cramping like crazy. What's up with that!!! |
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| Me too.. cramping but no periods. I just got off the pill in March after a good 25 years of being on it. first month off, i didn't get a period but lots of cramps to make me believe it was certainly on its way. i am actually hoping to get one, just so i can quit freaking out about it. have had some hot flashes, night sweats one night, woke up drenched. good grief. should have stayed on the pill. i'll be 48 in sept by the way. so yippee here i go! so very grateful for this site. need so much to hear other gals are going through the same thing. |
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| This is one of the 34 symptoms of peri-menopause and it is called "phantom periods" and it feels as if you have your period or are just about to get it, any time during the month but nothing else, like bleeding happens. It was one of my first signs of peri and it is so confusing because it would actually happen sometimes as close as a week after I just got a period. |
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| so Tina L are you through all this or still experiencing it all. i'm wondering if anyone else was on the pill and got off and then had the same type of reaction. not too much out there on getting off the pill at a later age and then what will happen. my doc told me i was probably going to have heavy painful periods after getting off and als o that i had a rather good sized fybroid so i was def expecting periods, not phantoms. not once did he tell me i might start menopause nor skip periods. darnit!!! |
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| I am definitely not all through this since I still have periods. They are very irregular but I am still getting them along with the phantom periods where at times I have missed the period altogether but it feels as if it is there or going to be there. I too have fibroids but am not too familiar with your situation as far as the pill is concerned. All I know is that anything goes as far as peri and menopause is concerned so nothing is probably off the table as far as symptoms go and for you and what you are experiencing is probably from the perimenopause. |
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| I'd say it's probably perimenopause too, especially considering your age. The pill may have tricked your body into thinking you were... younger, for lack of a better description. Then all of sudden you got off the pill, and wham, your hormones balanced out naturally to where they should be? Just guessing. That's a long time to be on the pill. I was on it for a few years in my early 20's and I didn't tolerate it well. The term phantom periods describes what's happening perfectly. I just missed the last two cycles again, with some cramping (for weeks!) again. The cramping will stop for a couple of days, and then start again. I did have just a touch of 'show' at one point, but it never turned into a full-blown period. First my regular doctor told me that the pain could be from scarring on the ovaries from when the egg bursts through every month (hmm, not so sure on that one)... but then when I went to the gynaecologist for my yearly exam, he thought it was from naturally-lowering progesterone at my age (and that my ovaries felt fine upon examination). Then at my latest appointment earlier this month, my regular doctor told me that I don't have enough hormones right now to produce a lining in my uterus every month, but my body thinks I should be having a period so it's trying to expel blood in my uterus that isn't there. Ha - I'm confused at this point what is really the cause, but I'll just say it's from lessening hormones and hormonal swings. Of course, it varies from month to month, which is the 'fun' part, I guess. Not. : / |
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| don't know what i'd do with out this sight to check in on to keep my sanity about this all! so, missed my June period as well. Come on already. just wish i could have one so i can quit freaking out about it. i start imagining every little muscle twitch as something else! good Lord , we've used condoms all the time, one time, like 2 days before i expected my first pill free period my husband went in without a condom, however yanked out long before the big event. so of course, i think, well??? but i know better. i am just so impatient i guess, 3 missed periods. breasts have not been swollen, and i've actually been losing weight not gaining it, so i need to settle down. from reading all the other topics, it seems not abnormal to miss this many cycles. i should have gotten off the pill long time ago! i told my sis to do the same, she's 4 years younger and of course thinks its just fine to be on yet, she's 43 and her doctor said the same thing as mine had, stay on till menopause, that was until my blood pressure went up and i had weird dizzy spells. oh well, thanks for letting me vent! |
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| I signed up for an account just to leave a message and say thank you thank you so much for even posting the question! I'm on day 2 of what looks like must be a phantom period, and I'd never heard of such a thing. I'm dizzy, pounding heart, night sweats, hot flashes, and bloated to high heaven. These are some of the worst cramps i've ever had! Usually it takes 3 Alleve to bring them down a notch so I can function, and it hasn't made a damn dent. I've been having the other symptoms for a few years now, but this is the first time I've ever felt like I was having a period with absolutely nothing to show for it. Someone else in this thread said she'd rather have cramps with a period than without, and I couldn't agree more. If I'm gonna suffer like this, I'd at least like to have something to show for it! Yeesh!! I'm so grateful for this thread!! My big question is, does this count as a missed period? They've been wacky the last 4 or 5 years, but I haven't missed one yet. Once you start missing them, is that truly the beginning of the end or do I have another 5 years of this crap ahead of me? Ugh! If we got little to no info on our periods when we hit puberty, there's even less info for this crap! Again - thanks so much - so grateful to have stumbled on this thread!! |
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| you didn't say how old you were but your probably in the same boat at some of us out here with the phantom stuff going on. i have not had any periods since i got off the pill in March. always lots of cramping off and on through the month. just no period. still wish i'd have one. then i'd feel like myself again. |
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| I've not experienced any menstrual bleeding in several months. At first I would get cramps, breast tenderness, bloating and carb cravings like the usual signs of the impending bleeding, but then nothing happened. This all slowly diminished over time. Now I just get bloating and cravings, and one most likely feeds the other. |
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| well I went officially 6 months without a period after giving up the Pill. finally got a period 3 days ago. nothing horrible but am basically happy for it. just makes me feel a bit more like my normal self again. who knows if they'll be regular again or not, but will take it month at a time. Just for anyone out there who has dealt with getting off the pill after so many years, to let you know, it can take quite some time for your body to adjust itself.plenty of cramps and about 3 weeks before i started i got super sore sensitive nipples, hard to even take a shower cuz just a brush past with the soap bar was too much. now that i've got my period, its finally getting better. onward i go down this fun path of peri. |
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| Appreciate these posts so much...I have never heard of 'phantom periods', but have been experiencing them lately. Did not understand what was going on! Haven't had cramps or cravings like these in years. Also experiencing hot flashes and night sweats...yay! : ( |
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| "phantom periords" have been happening to me about every other day.. driving me crazy... cramping like your going to start your period, but nothing there.. is there any relief out there..??? |
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| I had phantom periods for probably the last year before hitting menopause. In fact I still have them occasionally now! I think that the hormones are winding down but they are still subject to bumping up and down to some degree, just not enough to produce a period. I've found the cramping with the phantom periods can be worse than with a real period, but ibuprofen helps. |
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| Quote: MissEdee, from Aug 12 - yikes - I haven't checked the thread in awhile. Hopefully MissEdee is still reading : ) "My big question is, does this count as a missed period? They've been wacky the last 4 or 5 years, but I haven't missed one yet. Once you start missing them, is that truly the beginning of the end or do I have another 5 years of this crap ahead of me? Ugh! If we got little to no info on our periods when we hit puberty, there's even less info for this crap!" I would say that cramping without having an actual period (ie. bleeding) would count as a missed period. Also, to update on my situation, I haven't had a period now since January, and I can happily report that I haven't been experiencing the bad cramping (w/o bleeding) that I was having when I first started the thread. So I'd say the 'phantom periods' lasted about a year or two for me. Hopefully this is typical. I've noticed some very slight cramping in the last week or so, but nothing like it was before. Hopefully it stays this way, knock on wood. Also, I've had my very first hot flashes ever in the last 6 - 9 months. They haven't been really bad - just short time periods where I'll get (almost pleasantly) warm all over, and have to 'fan' myself, then a couple of minutes later I feel cold. I'm at the point where I actually don't want to have any more periods to be honest. So if I'm 'done' it'll be a relief in a way. I just turned 50 last month, which made me feel a little sad. But, I saw a sign last week at a dentist office that said, "I'm not 50, I'm 49.95". Gave me a chuckle.
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