Kathleen
MemberMom, Gen X, tired but still funny. 41. Here for the real talk.
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Activity (5)
Jun 20 · Replied
Community post
Just popping back to say thank you, especially Susan. I read all of these with a cup of tea and had a little cry, in a good way. This community is such a relief sometimes.
Jun 20 · Posted
Okay so my cycle was like clockwork for literally 15 years and now in the past 8 months it has been 24 days, 38 days, 31 days, 26 days, 19 days. NINETEEN. I bought a 40-pack of tampons in January and barely touched them and then got blindsided at work in February with zero warning. Nobody told me this could start happening at 41. I thought perimenopause was a thing that crept up slowly in your late 40s and you had time to prepare. I did not have time to prepare. I started keeping a little notes doc on my phone after the third weird cycle because I needed to see if there was actually a pattern or if I was just catastrophizing. Logging the start date, how heavy, how long, and then just... whatever else felt relevant that week. Mood, sleep, that kind of thing. It's not fancy. It's a google doc called "period stuff" that I would be embarrassed for anyone to find. The exhaustion on weeknights has gotten so bad that dinner is basically whatever requires the fewest decisions. I used to actually cook. Now I'm doing a lot of rotisserie chicken and whatever vegetable I can roast in 20 minutes while I sit on the kitchen floor. That's not a joke, I sat on the floor last Tuesday. I have an OB appointment next month and I genuinely don't know how to bring this up without sounding like I've been doom-spiraling on the internet (I have been doom-spiraling on the internet). Does anyone have a way of framing cycle changes to their doctor that doesn't sound dramatic? I have my little notes doc but I feel like I'm going to walk in there and she's going to say "some cycles are just irregular" and send me home.
Jun 18 · Replied
Community post
Thank you Philippa, and everyone who replied. This is exactly why I posted. Reading these has made me feel much less ridiculous, and I am adding a few notes before my next appointment.
Jun 18 · Posted
Okay so can I just ask... did anyone else's cycle just start doing whatever it wants with zero warning? Like I've had a 28-day cycle basically my whole adult life and then this past year it's been 22 days, 35 days, 26 days, 19 days. NINETEEN. I'm 41. Nobody told me this could start happening at 41. I went down a rabbit hole at midnight (classic) and kept landing on perimenopause content and honestly my first reaction was denial because I thought that was a 50-something thing. But the more I read the more I was like... oh. Oh no. I've started keeping a little calendar on my phone. Just the cycle dates, plus whatever I'm feeling that week. Anxious for no reason. Exhausted even after a full night. Snapping at my kids over nothing and then feeling awful about it. I don't know what's connected to what yet but writing it down feels better than just white-knuckling through each month wondering why I feel like a different person. I have an appointment coming up and I'm genuinely nervous my doctor is going to look at my age and shrug. Like how do I even bring the cycle changes up without sounding like I've diagnosed myself off TikTok? I want to show her the pattern without her dismissing it as stress. (It might also be stress. I have a lot of stress. But it's not ONLY stress, I don't think.) Anyway. Hi. First post. Glad this place exists.
Jun 7 · Posted
Okay so I want to be mad at someone but I don't even know who. 41 years old and my cycles have been doing whatever they want for the past year and not one person, not my OB, not my mom, nobody, mentioned that this could start happening in your late thirties. I thought irregular periods were a you're-almost-done thing. Apparently not! I started keeping a symptom calendar because I needed to feel like I had some kind of grip on it. Mood, sleep, where I am in my cycle, what I ate (weeknight dinners are a disaster zone right now, we're in survival mode). Taking it to my next appointment because I am not walking in there empty-handed again and leaving with nothing. If anyone else is tracking cycle changes and figuring out how to actually talk to their doctor about it, I would love to know what's working.
Posts (3)
Okay so my cycle was like clockwork for literally 15 years and now in the past 8 months it has been 24 days, 38 days, 31 days, 26 days, 19 days. NINETEEN. I bought a 40-pack of tampons in January and barely touched them and then got blindsided at work in February with zero warning. Nobody told me this could start happening at 41. I thought perimenopause was a thing that crept up slowly in your late 40s and you had time to prepare. I did not have time to prepare. I started keeping a little notes doc on my phone after the third weird cycle because I needed to see if there was actually a pattern or if I was just catastrophizing. Logging the start date, how heavy, how long, and then just... whatever else felt relevant that week. Mood, sleep, that kind of thing. It's not fancy. It's a google doc called "period stuff" that I would be embarrassed for anyone to find. The exhaustion on weeknights has gotten so bad that dinner is basically whatever requires the fewest decisions. I used to actually cook. Now I'm doing a lot of rotisserie chicken and whatever vegetable I can roast in 20 minutes while I sit on the kitchen floor. That's not a joke, I sat on the floor last Tuesday. I have an OB appointment next month and I genuinely don't know how to bring this up without sounding like I've been doom-spiraling on the internet (I have been doom-spiraling on the internet). Does anyone have a way of framing cycle changes to their doctor that doesn't sound dramatic? I have my little notes doc but I feel like I'm going to walk in there and she's going to say "some cycles are just irregular" and send me home.
Okay so can I just ask... did anyone else's cycle just start doing whatever it wants with zero warning? Like I've had a 28-day cycle basically my whole adult life and then this past year it's been 22 days, 35 days, 26 days, 19 days. NINETEEN. I'm 41. Nobody told me this could start happening at 41. I went down a rabbit hole at midnight (classic) and kept landing on perimenopause content and honestly my first reaction was denial because I thought that was a 50-something thing. But the more I read the more I was like... oh. Oh no. I've started keeping a little calendar on my phone. Just the cycle dates, plus whatever I'm feeling that week. Anxious for no reason. Exhausted even after a full night. Snapping at my kids over nothing and then feeling awful about it. I don't know what's connected to what yet but writing it down feels better than just white-knuckling through each month wondering why I feel like a different person. I have an appointment coming up and I'm genuinely nervous my doctor is going to look at my age and shrug. Like how do I even bring the cycle changes up without sounding like I've diagnosed myself off TikTok? I want to show her the pattern without her dismissing it as stress. (It might also be stress. I have a lot of stress. But it's not ONLY stress, I don't think.) Anyway. Hi. First post. Glad this place exists.
Okay so I want to be mad at someone but I don't even know who. 41 years old and my cycles have been doing whatever they want for the past year and not one person, not my OB, not my mom, nobody, mentioned that this could start happening in your late thirties. I thought irregular periods were a you're-almost-done thing. Apparently not! I started keeping a symptom calendar because I needed to feel like I had some kind of grip on it. Mood, sleep, where I am in my cycle, what I ate (weeknight dinners are a disaster zone right now, we're in survival mode). Taking it to my next appointment because I am not walking in there empty-handed again and leaving with nothing. If anyone else is tracking cycle changes and figuring out how to actually talk to their doctor about it, I would love to know what's working.
Likes & Replies (2)
Jun 20 · Replied to Community post
Just popping back to say thank you, especially Susan. I read all of these with a cup of tea and had a little cry, in a good way. This community is such a relief sometimes.
Jun 18 · Replied to Community post
Thank you Philippa, and everyone who replied. This is exactly why I posted. Reading these has made me feel much less ridiculous, and I am adding a few notes before my next appointment.
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Comments (2)
Just popping back to say thank you, especially Susan. I read all of these with a cup of tea and had a little cry, in a good way. This community is such a relief sometimes.
Thank you Philippa, and everyone who replied. This is exactly why I posted. Reading these has made me feel much less ridiculous, and I am adding a few notes before my next appointment.