How old were you when you went through natural menopause?

Rague
Rague Member Posts: 3,653 Member
edited March 2014 in Breast Cancer #1
Just wondering - there have been several posts about going through treatment induced menopause - so if you went through normal/natural menopause, how old were you and how 'bad' was it?

'Natural' for me - 44/45 y/o - no problems at all. Mom had been younger than me but she was aneoritic (I wasn't).

Susan
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Comments

  • cahjah75
    cahjah75 Member Posts: 2,631
    #2
    Susan
    Susan I started at age 45 but was in perimenopause til age 50 when periods completely stopped. I had cramps as a teenager and went through a horrible menopause. I had mood swings, was always hot, cried all the time and hot flashes made my hair drip wet! Wellbutrin helped with everything but the hot flashes. I still get them frequently and I'm 61.
    Char
  • chenheart
    chenheart Member Posts: 5,159
    #3
    I was still having full on,
    I was still having full on, OMG young woman heavy flow, cramping,stay in bed for 2 days periods at 53 when I was dx with BC. Obviously, chemo stopped them, but I have no idea when it would have come naturally, as it was showing no signs of becoming irregular or slowing down. I didn't suffer from hot flashes very much at all...not from chemo, Arimidex, for 5 years and not at all since starting Tamoxifen.

    Hugs,
    Chen
  • KathiM
    KathiM Member Posts: 8,028 Member
    #4
    I didn't, and won't....
    Part of my surgery for the rectal cancer was a total hysterectomy.

    So, I got the high-speed version...lol...6 months of feeling like my bed was a jacuzzi!!!

    Hugs, Kathi
  • MyTurnNow
    MyTurnNow Member Posts: 2,686 Member
    #5
    Susan, mine was also natural
    Susan, mine was also natural at age 50. Mine was not bad at all. I think I had maybe 1 hot flash a day, My experience with Arimidex, which I have been taking since January, has had basically the same 1 hot flash a day. Just lucky I guess but thankful at the same time.
  • Rague
    Rague Member Posts: 3,653 Member
    #6
    cahjah75 said:

    Susan
    Susan I started at age 45 but was in perimenopause til age 50 when periods completely stopped. I had cramps as a teenager and went through a horrible menopause. I had mood swings, was always hot, cried all the time and hot flashes made my hair drip wet! Wellbutrin helped with everything but the hot flashes. I still get them frequently and I'm 61.
    Char

    I've had it so easy - in some ways - all my life.
    YEAH - I know - I'm WEIRD!

    I only remember one time I had cramps when I was in 9th grade - no other times. My knee (injury area) would hurt/burn for a couple of hours, the day before period would start but tylenol took care of that. Actually, I was still 44 when I had my last period (Feb or Mar 1991). I've never had a hot flash, even on Femara. I never had morning sickness, the only time I had contraction were while drugs were being pumped in - soon as they stopped/wore off, contraction stopped - so 2 C-sections.

    I'm 64 and there are so many ways I have been so lucky!

    Susan
  • MNLynn
    MNLynn Member Posts: 224
    #7
    natural - probably around 54 y/o
    I think my hot flashes were just starting to settle down when I was diagnosed with bc at age 56 . . . then the hot flashes started up again like crazy - and when I wasn't even on any new bc meds . . . I asked my surgeon about that . . . he said probably due to stress. Now I'm 2 weeks into Arimidex - haven't noticed any increase in the hot flashes yet - but I am having trouble sleeping through the night - although I have some other things going on that are kind of stressing me out right now.

    Lynn
  • Double Whammy
    Double Whammy Member Posts: 2,832 Member
    #8
    57!
    Periods finally just stopped one day. I had very few hot flashes at all. I thought I was going to need to be buried with a box of tampons! I had only 2 pregnancies (and children) so I menstruated and was exposed to estrogen for a long time, and my cancer is estrogen receptor positive.

    I just had a hysterectomy and bilateral oophorectomy for endometrial cancer. I have not noticed any difference in how I feel without my ovaries. They must have been really done. We'll see how it goes when I'm started on aromatase therapy (after chemo and radiation).
    Suzanne
  • heidijez
    heidijez Member Posts: 441
    #9
    natural at age 51
    i had my last period when my father died, and that was it. . . no hot flashes, no drugs, i was just done!
  • jessiesmom1
    jessiesmom1 Member Posts: 915 Member
    #10
    heidijez said:

    natural at age 51
    i had my last period when my father died, and that was it. . . no hot flashes, no drugs, i was just done!

    Age at Natural Menopause
    I had my last period at the age of 51. They just stopped coming. No complaints here. No hot flashes. No real symptoms of any kind. No drugs or medical intervention of any kind required. Then, of course, I was diagnosed with breast cancer.
  • Rague
    Rague Member Posts: 3,653 Member
    #11
    I'm the youngest so far
    So far it seems I'm the youngest - don't know rather to jump for joy or sniffle/sob? Hubby's Mom was 45 when he was born - he was their only child though his parents had been married for over 20 years and cervical cancer took her when he was 9 (1964).
  • jk1952
    jk1952 Member Posts: 613
    #12
    Rague said:

    I'm the youngest so far
    So far it seems I'm the youngest - don't know rather to jump for joy or sniffle/sob? Hubby's Mom was 45 when he was born - he was their only child though his parents had been married for over 20 years and cervical cancer took her when he was 9 (1964).

    I'm 58 and think that I've
    I'm 58 and think that I've finally hit menopause. I pretty much stopped having regular periods two or three years ago, but I continued to have occasional bleeding. Finally determined it was at least partially caused by polyps. Since they were removed in November, I haven't had a period. Other than that, I've only had a handful of hot flashes and no other problems. It's actually a great relief from very painful periods that I had most of my life.

    Joyce
  • BlownAway60
    BlownAway60 Member Posts: 851
    #13
    Started at 45. Could not
    Started at 45. Could not take any of the hormones my gyno was recommending. I took soy for about 3 years. until they came out with the statement about HRT being bad for you. It didn't matter if they meant the synthetic ones or not. I stopped taking anything that day. My side effects were not bad. Mostly heart palpatations. Not much in the way of night sweats or hot flashes. I have had more of them since taking Femara than I did going throug menopause.

    Hugs

    Donna
  • GayleMc
    GayleMc Member Posts: 311 Member
    #14
    BlownAway60 said:

    Started at 45. Could not
    Started at 45. Could not take any of the hormones my gyno was recommending. I took soy for about 3 years. until they came out with the statement about HRT being bad for you. It didn't matter if they meant the synthetic ones or not. I stopped taking anything that day. My side effects were not bad. Mostly heart palpatations. Not much in the way of night sweats or hot flashes. I have had more of them since taking Femara than I did going throug menopause.

    Hugs

    Donna

    I started at age 45. I was
    I started at age 45. I was one of those that would have one period a year for about 3 years after that, then nothing. I was on Prempro for about 2-3 years before the evidence made my doctor stop them. I sometimes wonder if I brought on my bc doing that. Well, it's done. I didn't have any problems after we stop the HRT. I just started Femara a week ago and so far so good.
  • meena1
    meena1 Member Posts: 1,003
    #15
    GayleMc said:

    I started at age 45. I was
    I started at age 45. I was one of those that would have one period a year for about 3 years after that, then nothing. I was on Prempro for about 2-3 years before the evidence made my doctor stop them. I sometimes wonder if I brought on my bc doing that. Well, it's done. I didn't have any problems after we stop the HRT. I just started Femara a week ago and so far so good.

    I was 46, and no problems
    I was 46, and no problems except a few hot flashes. I got breast cancer at 52 yo.
  • Lighthouse_7
    Lighthouse_7 Member Posts: 1,566 Member
    #16
    I was 50 when all stopped.
    I was 50 when all stopped. Probably started peri menopause around 45 or 46. Had terrible flow, cramps and hot flashes.
    Diagnosed last year at 55 (Birthday soon! ) Still have terrible night sweats compounded now by Aromatase inhibitors.
    All I can say is "get me a fan!"
  • KayNYC
    KayNYC Member Posts: 495 Member
    #17
    Lighthouse_7 said:

    I was 50 when all stopped.
    I was 50 when all stopped. Probably started peri menopause around 45 or 46. Had terrible flow, cramps and hot flashes.
    Diagnosed last year at 55 (Birthday soon! ) Still have terrible night sweats compounded now by Aromatase inhibitors.
    All I can say is "get me a fan!"

    natural menopause
    I was forty six when I began menopause after several years of perimenopausal symptoms.My periods stopped completely when I was forty eight. Hot flashes, night sweats, fuzzy thinking and insomnia drove me to ask my GYN for Hormone replacement (HR) after several years of being on BC pills to regulate my periods (this helped relieve the bad cramps too). Took HR for 5 years and was diagnosed with BC ten years later.The BC pills and HR were very effective in relieving my menopausal symptoms. I was in graduate school and would never have completed my degree if I didn't take the HR.
    I am on Arimidex now. No hot flashes only mild sleep disturbance due to needing to use the toilet at night than true sleep issues.
    Hugs, K
  • mimivac
    mimivac Member Posts: 2,143
    #18
    Interesting...
    I went into chemopause at 34, but period returned at 35. Hated forced menapause -- lots of hot flashes, etc. My mom went into natural menapause in her 50's and never had a hot flash or any symptoms. Her doctor prescribed hormone replacement therapy, which she refused. We're really glad she did since both her mother and her daughter have had breast cancer....

    Mimi
  • youngnana
    youngnana Member Posts: 41
    #19
    I was 46
    When my periods came every 3 months, then at 47 they stopped all together. No problems, a few night sweats. still have never had a hot flash. Diagnosed with BC 4 months ago at age 50. Been on Femara 6 weeks so far, no side effects except for some weight gain.
  • Tux
    Tux Member Posts: 544
    #20
    Natural meno at age 51.
    Natural meno at age 51. Horrific hot flashes! Could not go to work. Took HRT until diagnosed last year with bc at age 62. Tamoxifen has given me some hot flashes, but not near as bad as the ones with meno.
  • Snowkitty
    Snowkitty Member Posts: 295
    #21
    Tux said:

    Natural meno at age 51.
    Natural meno at age 51. Horrific hot flashes! Could not go to work. Took HRT until diagnosed last year with bc at age 62. Tamoxifen has given me some hot flashes, but not near as bad as the ones with meno.

    Natural also at 51
    I stopped working with a bunch of women in May 1999. That was my last period. Maybe 1 hot flash. No spotting. Nothing. Hyst a couple years later for a mass on my overy. Doc said I might as well take everything out. After that Premarin for 1 year. My doc took me off after a year because of it's link to BC if taken longer. HAHA. Got me anyway.

    Cindy

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