Discussion » Questions » Health and Wellness » Girls over 50: How long was it for you from onset to completion of menopause?
Benedict Arnold

Girls over 50: How long was it for you from onset to completion of menopause?

If you were on contraceptives, how long after completion of menopause did you you get off them? 

Posted - December 29, 2018
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Responses


  • 976
    I'm kind of different, I had a hysterectomy at 35. At 52 (in one week), I still have not felt any symptoms of menopause. If I have, I am oblivious to it. 
      December 29, 2018 7:50 PM MST
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  • You probably won't feel any? 
    Did you feel "different" after your hysterectomy than before? In what way? 
      December 29, 2018 7:55 PM MST
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  • 976
    I still have my ovaries so, I don't know if I will feel any. I did feel different after the hysterectomy as I knew I would never have another child. That alone was difficult.
      December 29, 2018 8:11 PM MST
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  • The wife of a man I know felt like she was "less of a woman" after her hysterectomy, and went off sex altogether. I believe its been a number of years since. They are now both in their sixties  
      December 29, 2018 8:17 PM MST
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  • 976
    Sex will always be a part of my life as long as I'm breathing. I can understand why she felt that way but, sex was not this issue for me.
      December 29, 2018 8:42 PM MST
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  • 46117
    A couple of really bad years.  Hormones went wacko.
      December 29, 2018 7:54 PM MST
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  • Wacko in what way? 
      December 29, 2018 7:56 PM MST
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  • 17596
    It's fine to ask questions like this in general but to ask for personal experience is invasive.  It is, frankly, none of your business.
      December 29, 2018 11:53 PM MST
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  • Why do you keep responding to my queries when I have clearly asked you not to? 
      December 30, 2018 5:29 AM MST
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  • 6098
    Would guess she feels it is too personal for public consumption.  Like perhaps a number of things we discuss on here. 
      December 30, 2018 5:57 AM MST
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  • 6098
    OK but if you feel it is invasive Thriftymaid then no reason to answer it.  Seems to me a very general question which many of us are interested in.  But obviously you need not reveal anything if you choose not to or are offended by it. 
      December 30, 2018 5:55 AM MST
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  • 17596
    Talking about a subject/issue and talking about your personal experience are two different things.  This question doesn't seek discussion about menopause; it seeks information about members' own personal experiences with it.  Very different requests. 
      December 30, 2018 9:48 PM MST
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  • 6098
    Well I don't know about you but I am most willing to share my own experiences in the hope that they may help others live better and happier and more informed lives.  In fact it is what I should have done years ago and, really, would have if I had not imagined I was somehow different enough to feel ashamed about them. 
      January 2, 2019 4:49 AM MST
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  • Thank you, Officegirl. Sharing personal experiences is key in this forum. 
      December 31, 2018 3:17 PM MST
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  • 4624
    I disagree.
    I think all questions within the bounds of the TIS are OK.
    Each of us has different preferences

    I certainly don't see personal questions as invasive when everyone is at liberty whether to answer or not.
    Rather, I see personal questions as an excellent way to get to know one another.
    I see not asking personal questions as a proof of lack of interest in one's fellow human beings.
      December 30, 2018 4:20 PM MST
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  • Thank you, Nom de plume. Sharing personal experiences is key in this forum. 
      December 31, 2018 3:15 PM MST
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  • 4624
    I agree.
    It helps us get to know each other.

    I find it odd that some people dislike personal questions.
    'Though I respect their right to abstain,
    I can't help wondering whether they reserve their intimacy for a few rare chosen ones in real life,
    or whether they are avoidant types who are terrified of authenticity and depth in any kind of personal connection.

    On a site like this where everyone is anonymous,
    it seems to me that people can be completely free to just be themselves;
    the shy or introverted person can experiment with what it feels like to come out of their shell
    in a safe atmosphere.




    This post was edited by inky at January 1, 2019 3:32 PM MST
      December 31, 2018 5:30 PM MST
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  • 4624
    I ceased taking contraceptives when I was 21. Changed to IUD, then cervical cap, and finally the Billings method.

    My periods gradually grew scantier and further apart during my forties.
    By 50, they had ceased completely, but the hot sweats and sleepless nights had begun.
    By 53, my skin was starting to dry, lose its elasticity and become noticeably more wrinkly. Too much time training horses, weeding and working out doors probably made it worse. Lots of other changes too - affecting sex life with a husband who is nine years older and going through his own changes.
    It would have been a lot easier if there was more public discussion and information on the issues. Searches on the internet took ages before I found information that was specific, detailed and helpful.
    At 62, I still get the occasional sweats and chills. I'm sleeping somewhat better but not sure I'll ever be able to return to those years of easy, regular, eight or nine-hour sleeps.

      December 30, 2018 4:50 AM MST
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  • 6098
    About six or so years from 46 to 52.  Though reading Nom de Plume's answer I remember my periods has become quite irregular well before that.  I became pregnant when at 45 and had a miscarriage.  So guess I am measuring from the time of onset of the obvious symptoms - hot flashes, including sweating at night, periods of feeling just blah and of breast tenderness and soreness, etc. - to their cessation.   By 48 had stopped menstruating but such symptoms became more acute.  And included itchy skin and periods of anxiety concerning my life and well-being.   I can't recall any loss of libido or trouble sleeping.  Or dryness. Though during this period I was without a close relationship though did date as well as engage in primarily sexual relationships.  My face broke out obviously discharging toxins probably in my system from drugs I did when I was young.  Also were times I felt like I had a mild cold.  All of which eventually came to an end and I felt greater confidence and more positive. 

    I pretty much left off using my diaphragm following the breakup of a relationship whish meant a lot to me in my early 40s.  After which the way I thought was I would never be married so if I were to have children I would have to be a single parent unless I could convince someone to share it with me.  Though  did sometimes use it though mostly I just thought from experience I would likely not become pregnant. Though of course I did.  Would guess I left off entirely at 47. 

    Can't help thinking our desire to become mothers is just so deeply ingrained that we still feel it though we know no way can that happen!  Perhaps more so for me as I never had children of my own.  Weird that I think about it a lot more now and it affects my feelings more now than when it was a real possibility and I probably just took it for granted. 
      December 30, 2018 6:55 AM MST
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  • I think I experienced my first hot flashes yesterday. A mild one in the afternoon, and a second more severe one at about 11.30 last night. Not had one all day today. Good thing it's a Sunday so I could rest. 
      December 30, 2018 7:23 AM MST
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  • 53509

      What do hot flashes feel like?
    ~
      December 30, 2018 8:38 AM MST
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  • 4624
    The body begins to feel uncomfortably hot and may then breaks out in a sweat, even though there is no change in the surrounding temperature or level of activity.
    On average, at the peak of transition through menopause, hot sweats come every twenty minutes and last for about 3 minutes.
    Flushes frequently wake a woman from sleep, causing disturbed nights and tired days.
    Though not often talked about, flushes are frequently preceded or followed by feeling chilled, even to the point of goosebumps.
    Not every woman gets them. For some women, once they start, the flushes never stop.
    The reasons for the variations are not well known, although many women follow their mother's pattern.
    Good physical fitness can reduce the severity.
    Most women quickly learn to dress in layers so they can remove or add warmth at need. Many will carry fans and'or spray bottles in hot weather. The added clobber can be inconvenient.
    Many will turn up the aircon so everyone else around them ends up feeling as if they're freezing.
      December 30, 2018 4:40 PM MST
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  • 53509

      Thank you!

    ~
      December 30, 2018 4:49 PM MST
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  • 22891
    i had a hysterectonny cause of fibroids when i was 43, i dont think i ever went thru nnenopause cause of it
      December 30, 2018 2:37 PM MST
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