Vanessa

Jun 17 · Replied

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Thank you Lydia, 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 17 · Posted

Okay so I'm 39 and my cycles started doing weird things about eight months ago. I'd been on the same app since forever (Clue) and suddenly it's just... wrong. Like it's predicting based on who I used to be, not whatever is happening now. My cycles have swung from 26 days to 38 days in the same three-month stretch and the app just kind of shrugs at me. I started keeping a notes doc instead. Just dates, a few words about how I felt, any symptoms that seemed connected. It's not pretty but it's actually more useful than any app I've tried because I can write things like "woke up at 4am convinced something was wrong, nothing was wrong" and that means something to me. But I'm wondering if there's something in between. An app that's actually designed for irregular cycles, or for people who might be in early peri, not just for people trying to conceive or avoid. I don't need ovulation predictions right now. I need something that helps me see patterns across months without assuming my cycle is 28 days. I've seen a few mentioned in passing but I don't want to download six apps and test them all. Does anyone use something that handles the irregularity without making you feel like a bug in the system? Doesn't need to be fancy. I'm saving whatever I find for my OBGYN appointment anyway, so the main thing is that it's easy to export or screenshot. ETA: not looking for anything that tells me what's causing it, just something that helps me track it clearly. I can figure out the rest.

Jun 10 · Replied

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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 10 · Posted

Okay so I finally have an appointment and I have maybe twelve minutes to make it count. I always go in with things I want to say and then just... don't say them. I smile and nod and walk out having mentioned none of it. Not this time. I've been building a notes doc for two weeks. Just adding to it whenever something occurs to me, usually at 11pm when I should be asleep. Here's roughly what's in it so far: Cycle stuff: what changed and when. I have dates going back about four months. Cycles that used to be like clockwork are now anywhere from 24 to 38 days. I wrote that down because I knew if I tried to remember it in the room I'd say "they're a bit irregular" and leave it there. Symptoms I keep minimizing: the anxiety that hits out of nowhere, the brain fog that is genuinely affecting my work, the fact that I wake up at 4am most nights and lie there catastrophizing for an hour. I keep telling myself it's just stress. Maybe it is. But it started around the same time the cycles changed and I want to at least say that out loud to someone with a medical degree. What changed since last year: I wrote a short paragraph on this because I think it's easy for a doctor to hear a list of symptoms and not understand the before and after. I was fine. Then gradually I wasn't. That timeline feels important. Questions I want to ask without sounding dramatic: is this worth investigating? what would bloodwork even show at my age? is 39 too young to be having this conversation? ETA: I'm also bringing a note that says "please don't just tell me it's stress" because honestly that's my biggest fear for the appointment. Anyone else prep like this? Does it actually help?

Jun 9 · Replied

Community post

Thank you Susan, 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 9 · Posted

39 here. My cycles have been all over the place for about eight months. Sometimes 24 days, once it was 38. I mentioned it to my OBGYN and she said "that can happen" and moved on. I've been tracking symptoms in my phone notes but I don't really know what I'm looking for or how to bring it up without sounding dramatic. Has anyone actually gotten their doctor to take cycle irregularity seriously at this age? What did you say, or ask, that made them actually engage with it?