As the title to my post implies, how do you know the signs if you are close to menopause?

I am asking because I had a very light period last week and I'm still bleeding this week and I bleed a lot when I urinate. (Sorry for the TMI).

And I was going anywhere from 28 - 60 some days in between and now they are hitting 28 - 30ish.

Thank you kindly for your input ladies. *HUGS* to you all.

You should probably pu this in the adult forum-I think you would get more replies

There is an adult forum? I know there's an adult dancer's forum, but since this was the PG-13 forum, I thought all the older ladies came here too. It's not like I'm asking a how to on to become menopausal, just to determine what the signs are.

If there is some 'new' forum I should know about, someone please direct me in the correct direction. Thank you kindly.

You'd probably get more help in the 40 something forum. Most people on this forum are going to be teens or young adults.

I don't know anything about menopause, I just have to say I read in a recent comment you made about how your doctor told you you "never have to go back" so you haven't been in years...(www.dance.net . . .)

I'm pretty sure that if you 1) Haven't had a pelvic exam/Pap in years, 2)are having changes in your menstrual cycle and bleeding when you pee, and 3) think you may be menopausal....than you should probably get to a doctor...like now.

Well, if you see a change in your usual pattern it would be a good idea to get checked out by your doctor regardless. But it might or might not be menopause. Everyone seems to be different. I was always so irregular that I never kept track or noticed changes. One year, at my regular pap smear exam, I said to my doctor, "I haven't had a period for about two years. Can we assume I went through menopause?". He answered,
"Yes, we can assume that."

And that was it. No hot flashes, no symptoms I could identify. Maybe I'm just out of touch with my body.

Well, there was one thing I could do which I've since lost the ability to have happen. It was very Zen-like. I had to be very relaxed and undisturbed like before I went to sleep. I could get very warm, sweating even, sort of like glowing all over, and I'd throw off the covers (but leave them my my feet because if I get cold in the night I'll pull up a blanket or quilt without waking). Then, if I concentrated and stayed relaxed, I could go to sleep still glowing. Maybe those were hot flashes but I don't know because they're supposed to be uncomfortable and this felt really great!

Or maybe it was because I was doing a lot of Yoga at the time.

Anyway, it never hurts to notify your doctor about changes. If it is menopause and if you do get uncomfortable symptoms I've heard that various hormone prescriptions can ease your way through quite well.

Edit: Just read ayyyshuga's reply saying that elsewhere you mentioned you hadn't had a checkup in years. Is that true? If you didn't have a doctor who encouraged it and had an office reminding you to make an appointment -- well, it's time to find a different doctor with a better attitude. (I'll bet that doctor never checked the oil in his car, either.) Every woman needs a checkup and Pap smear once a year. I can vouch for it because doing this has enabled me, personally, to dodge one bullet!

This is an old thread and it's locked, but there is some good info in there.

www.dance.net . . .

Hope that helps! Best bet - see a doctor.

kk~

Bleeding when you urinate has nothing to do with menopause. Doctor time, pronto.

I have a bladder condition. When I have blood in my urine (no pain) it means my bladder lining is inflamed. Either way, blood in the urine is NEVER good.

Please go to the doc.

FYI, symptoms of menopause vary, but hot flashes, heart palps, and slight cognitive differences are some signs. When I first started, I was VERY nauseated and thought I was pregnant, but it was because of the huge drop in my female hormone levels.

Get a new doctor and visit immediately. It's always better to be safe than sorry. And for all the snotty comments about posting in the adult section, if you don't die beforhand, you'll be going through this at some point in your life also. Listen up and ask you mommies about it!

^ They weren't snotty, they were being helpful (it got moved, after all; it was originally in Guys & Girls PG-13). You really want advice on menopause from a 13 year old?

Dani

I am 48 and am having the same problems. My mood swings are horrible at times and can go 7-8 weeks between my periods. They say they can't really tell until you have actually been through it so I truly sympathise with you.

It really is time to get to a doctor: Blood in the urine can be a sign of a bladder infection, or much, much worse. It's not at all associated with menopause, or any other reproductive tract function or dysfunction; it's a completely different organ system.

But FYI: Perimenopause is accompanied sometimes by increased OR decreased menstrual flow, irregular or skipped cycles, or sometimes by NO recognizable difference at all in amount, character, and frequency of flow. The strict medical criterion for natural menopause is the absence of a menstrual cycle for twelve consecutive months.

Other symptoms, such as night sweats, bloating, mood swings, and hot flashes, can be symptomatic of real diseases. And there are some people who never experience any of those symptoms.

Just because someone has gone through menopause does not mean that their days of pelvic exams/pap smears are over: Abnormal cervical cells can occur at any time. I'm sure that you know, from the news, that the human papillomavirus is one of the primary risk factors for cervical cancer. Sexual activity is not the only means of transmission: HPV has been isolated on other body parts and in the environment as well.

There are other reproductive tract cancers that increase in frequency after menopause (ovarian, uterine, and vaginal) so it is important to continue with regular gynecologic exams for life. The frequency is up to your doctor, as (s)he can accurately assess your own personal risk factors. In some cases, pelvic exams are not necessary annually. You may be able to get off the hook a little bit that way, depending on your own risk factors.

Sorry for the "preachy" tone of this response, but I worked in cancer nursing for twelve years. I hate to see women die because of a myth that once periods stop, so does the need for followup. And I hope you had that hematuria checked out by the time you read this: An ascending bladder infection can attack your kidneys.

wrote:

I don't know anything about menopause, I just have to say I read in a recent comment you made about how your doctor told you you "never have to go back" so you haven't been in years...(www.dance.net . . .)

I'm pretty sure that if you 1) Haven't had a pelvic exam/Pap in years, 2)are having changes in your menstrual cycle and bleeding when you pee, and 3) think you may be menopausal....than you should probably get to a doctor...like now.

I'm sorry but every time I view this post I have to smile. Do you realize that the link is to the wrong thread? It's to something called easy cheap christmas treats.

You definitely need to get to a doctor. Also, a simple blood test by your doctor can tell you if you're beginning menopause. Please see the doctor!

Once I started wanting to smack the hubby for every thing he said, did, wore, smelled, looked at, wrote, read, breathed, and once I found I was crying at all the commercials, encountering road rage just pulling into the driveway, ironing the dish cloths and tea towels and redoing it because it wasn't perfect, opening the bedroom window when it was -30'c at night and all but flashing the neighbours because I couldn't stand sweating, and drinking gallons of water at the same time, and oh, yeah, turning the music down, hubby insisted that I go to the Dr.

Lucky me. It's peri-menopause. It hasn't hit full swing yet. Lord help us all! lol.

There is all that stuff about black and blue cohosh.. well, black cohosh and blue cohosh.. an all-natural remedy used by the Native Americans to help one "equalize" themselves through this time.

I'm wondering if we have some sort of a "peri-menopausal", or other type of thread that covers this.. I put a post into "Girls PG-13" because I didn't know where else to put it.


www.dance.net . . .


Um... ! ????


Shadow.