Can you easily tell the difference between spotting and your period?

If so, how?

I’ve never been one to spot. Recently, it seems I have spotting with ovulation. PCP says this is normal. And it fits so ok.

But how do you know the difference?

I thought I had figured it out and then I googled it so now I don’t know.

Hey all,

I am 541 days without a period at 31, I have Endo but my OBGYN kicked me off her service because I won’t take hormonal contraception because of the awful side effects I’ve had since starting god knows how many of them at 14.

Bleeding free for 541 days and now I’m bleeding all day ? Not heavy but even so. What the hell ? Has anyone else have this experience ?

Hi everyone,

I’m wondering if anyone who is feeling untested / having poor sleep at times uses a tracker to check ehats actually going on at night and how HRT impacts it?

I’ve been wondering if it would be a good thing to have to get more black and white what’s going on or if my sleep is good.

I just notice my recovery is just terrible at the moment - I often feel like I’m in fight or flight and since starting going to the gym (twice a week) and after a big day of extra physical / stressful day at work I feel this constant lingering of being worn down as if I’m about to get a cold. it’s like I’m on the verge of it.

not sure if getting a device could help explain things or if it will just say things I’m already feeling 😂

Wondering if my sleep is perhaps shittier than I’m aware of.

Hello, it’s been a long time since I’ve posted here as things have been fairly manageable for quite some time. I have been on 0.025 estradiol for approximately 10 months now which really helped night sweats, improved mood, helped keep my anxiety down. About 3 to 4 weeks ago I started noticing a higher level of irritability, coming back again. The last week or so my anxiety has been through the roof, work has been a bit more stressful than usual, enough to have given me shingles a couple weeks ago, but tonight I had to take a Xanax, which I have not done in over a year. I’m wondering if maybe the lower dose of estradiol has possibly run out of its effectiveness? I have read this can happen sometimes. Does anyone have thoughts on this, because I do have the next step up patches ready to go if needed. Just let us see if anybody else has experienced this.

I am 51. I got my first period at age 12. For most of my life, they were light or medium, three days long, and exactly every 28-29 days.

Then, about 6 months ago, everything changed.

In April I had a very heavy period that lasted about 5 days. Since then it’s been so inconsistent.
63 days (heavy)
35 days (heavy)
12 days (light-med)
29 days (heavy)
13 days (medium)
14 days (light-med)

I also have spotting a few days before and after each time. Last month I had a total of 7 days (not in a row) with no spotting or bleeding.

In June I started the Climara patch. That did not seem to help with bleeding at all, but helps with sleep, which is wonderful!

Last week I had an ultrasound and endometrial biopsy to check on things. No issues or concerns were found.

My doctor suggested an ablation, but I’m not sure. What if I’m almost done anyway, and just don’t know it? And I don’t like the idea of not knowing when I actually go through menopause. (My mom had chemo in her mid 40s, due to breast cancer, so did not go through menopause naturally.)

Any guesses on when this might end?? I know everyone is different, but I’d love some real life feedback.

Literally sick and tired of all of this!!

Hi Peri.
What the fuck? Yes I have fibrous, dense breast tissue, but that does not mean to make it rock hard. When I have the period that should have flown the fucking coop, I don’t enjoy this. Yes it will go down in a few days. Yes I’ve had a mammo and it’s ok. Yes I know it’s cyclical. For fucks sake leave the tits alone.
I’ve breastfed two kids. Gone through two pregnancies. Been dealing with breasts not liking hormonal changes. This is too fucking far.
I’m Gen X. I have no fucks left. Just stop.
Thanks
Tired ass human

So, ablation next week (plus hysteroscopy, D&C, and myomectomy). Will be under general anesthesia for all this. Gyn messaged me saying she was sending over a prescription for pain meds for after the procedure. I was surprised, she prescribed Vicodin, enough for multiple days. I’m hoping I don’t hurt that badly, but it feels nice that she sent in a prescription of something more potent just in case.

After hearing about too many women who are straight up denied any pain relief, it’s reassuring to know I’m being cared for by someone who doesn’t want me to suffer. She also looked over my history of various bcp types and Nexplanon failures and advised against a Mirena and straight to ablation due to my 2 week cycles.

Help meeee! Brain fog is my main peri-menopausal issue, and I can't remember jack 💩. I feel like such a dumb butt at work and in any adult conversation 😅. I used the term amendment instead of initiative the other day. Do I know the difference? Yes. Could I give you the correct word two days ago? Not for a million bucks. I work out, get plenty of sleep, drink a lot of water, eat healthy, etc. Other than HRT, any advice would be greatly appreciated.

My body fluctuates from sweaty hot to painfully freezing cold regularly throughout the day, it is so annoying and frustrating! I don't get night sweats, but I am shivering cold when I crawl into bed for an hour or so before I heat up. Has anybody experienced this and had HRT help?

I just want to know if it gets easier. I was on 100 mg and just went up to 200. 100 made me groggy in morning but now with 200 that feeling is worse.

Will I adapt?

It made me sleep for 9 hours straight, felt difficult to wake up, and now it’s noon and I have low motivation and I feel sleepy and slow and dumb.

I have so much love, respect and appreciation for the women fighting their way through this. Until you experience it yourself, you truly have no idea just how difficult it can be. 🥹❤️

I can’t even begin to imagine how women suffered in the past without medication, understanding, empathy or support. Life is already hard enough, and going through this can feel like a whole new battle of its own.

What hurts is realising that people you’ve known for more than 20 years, even those you thought loved you, sometimes have no idea what you’re going through or seem to care. In the end, you can feel so alone in a daily battle that nobody else can see.

Yet, somehow, there can be more kindness, compassion and genuine care in these spaces than in everyday life. There’s something so beautiful and refreshing about women coming together, understanding one another and offering support without judgement. ❤️‍🩹

To every woman going through this, I see you, I appreciate you, and I’m sending you so much love. We deserve understanding, patience and compassion, especially during the moments when we feel least like ourselves. 🧸💕

Sorry if this has already been posted today. I just saw it. Print it off to take to the doctor, if you need!

Edit to add: I guess the link for the gift article isn't working. u/tea-boat posted this working link:

https://archive.is/rUUpr

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/15/well/live/menopause-hormone-therapy-acog.html?unlocked_article_code=1.I1E.kFyv.OHTHVvvm0-Lv&smid=nytcore-android-share

Hi everyone! I'm 48 and in late perimenopause. For a while now, I've noticed that my armpits seem to have a strong odor all the time, and my old deodorant just doesn't cut it anymore. I feel like I can't even step out of the shower without already smelling bad!

What am I supposed to do? Should I try an antibacterial deodorant? Would that be too harsh on my skin? I've also heard about persimmon soap, but I'm not sure whether it's meant to help with this particular issue.

**P.S.** The smell doesn't seem to be related to how much I sweat. Even when I barely sweat at all, the odor is still there... I feel like I'm a teenager all over again! 😩

Can anyone else relate and do you have any remedies or suggestions? I’m in so much hip pain and it’s causing lower back pain too.

I cannot do anything. Well, okay, I cook my own meals, I feed my cat, and I do 2 small loads of laundry a week.

But that is basically it. The rest of the time I am lying in front of the fan posting on Reddit.

Has anyone found success with any specific treatment that has helped with executive function?

My executive function is so low that I can only attempt stuff that barely requires executive function to do, btw.

I get some help from creatine, but more for energy rather than this specifically.

Part of my problem is disrupted sleep, but this also has its own momentum.

HELP!

I'm 49 have been perimenopausal for a bit. I haven't had my period for six months...SIX. I thought I was gonna be free and clear. That mfer arrived today. I nearly cried. Menopause clock T=0 again.

I know. I know. I need to eat. I need protein and fiber and vitamins and blah blah blah. But now that I’m in Peri, I hate food. Nothing sounds good. I’ll sit and stare at my fridge and can’t decide and just walk away empty handed. It’s easier to go hungry. And when I do eat, I choke it down and try not to barf it up

Am I alone in this???

You guys. My cycle dropped to 23 days last May, and since then I feel like I’m falling apart.

-Stunning anxiety, especially premenstrually.
-Or utter depression snd lack of interest in, well, much of anything.
-My executive function has gone to shit. I can’t sequence complex tasks. I’ve been trying to get my family passports together for over a year and the series of steps required seems like a mountain.
-I’ve started getting wicked untreatable headaches during my period.
-My gut is a mess. I can’t digest gluten anymore; it makes my gut swell up like a balloon.
-Sleep is an elusive beast. Can’t fall asleep, or wake up in the middle of the night and can’t fall back, or wake up early in the morning in a panic.
-My sense of smell is flared up; there are people who smell so intensely I have to leave the room. (Not artificial scent and not unwashed. Just their natural scent). Sometimes this includes my partner and kids.
-I’ve gained weight for no obvious reason.
-My immune system has tanked. I’ve gotten seriously ill (Covid, flu, assorted viruses) 5 times in the last year. I generally have been a pretty robust and healthy person, getting ill once a year or every couple years.

And the latest kicker- I was telling my partner I’m having these flushes of heat, often when I’m working. They said “you mean hot… flashes?” 😮 and I was like, oh shit oh dear, I mean yes, I mean hot FLASHES. Which I associate with my frumpy old middle school Latin teacher and just can’t believe it’s coming home.

What is happening to me! What the actual fuck! Anyone else getting it from all sides? How do we survive this without tanking everything in our lives? Are we just destined to be shells of our former selves from here on out?

I’m 42 and already on transdermal estradiol patches and progesterone pills. I just. I can’t believe this. I feel like I have a different body than I did 18 months ago. Tell me I’m not alone!

Does anyone know why doctors readily prescribe oral birth control pills that contain estrogen without a blink of an eye, but when estrogen is requested as part of HRT they balk and suddenly have concerns about blood clots and cancer? If those concerns are real why wouldn't they apply to BCP?

My Doc has recommended to take Prog 16-26 Cycle day. My sleep is after the 16.Day pretty much wrecked.

These are the guidelines here if there’s no sweating, palpitations etc are not involved. I’m 45.
Still on periods

Has anyone seen a change with only adding Prog in a certain time ?

Thanks

Did anyone else get bladder pain with the hormone changes? When I was 35 I started feeling like I had a UTI, it got worse, and I just felt like I had to pee all the time. I also had CONSTANT bladder pain that significantly lowered my quality of life. The urologist said interstitial cystitis, which I found hard to believe because it came on rather suddenly. The urogyn gave me estrogen cream for the vaginal/urethral area and it helped a lot initially, and then the effects started to wear off. She also said to take the nexplanon out because the large amount of progesterone in that birth control lowers your estrogen levels, and a low estrogen state for 7 years possibly caused this. I serendipitously discovered that high amounts of systemic estrogen was the solution to my bladder issues when I started the nuvaring (since I took out the nexplanon), which is estrogen and progesterone based. I guess the flood of higher amounts of systemic estrogen to the pelvic area is what I needed because that is what completely got rid of my bladder issues. Whenever I take it out, it comes back. I don't know what to attribute this to, other than perimenopause... just curious if that has happened to anyone else because my gyno said he has never seen bladder issues like this before.

I'm just scared this will be a forever thing. I'm wondering if this is just an issue caused by having nexplanon in for so long or if this is perimenopause, my mom had her last period at 42, so genetically early onset menopause.

53F - I’m going to have a Hysteroscopy and D&C under anesthesia next month. The tricky part for me is that I live alone - I worked up the courage to ask a casual friend to take me and stay with me for several hours after we get home, but she can’t stay longer than that. All the official instructions say to have someone for “24 hours,” but that isn’t possible.

I’ve had colonoscopies, and been fine to take care of myself for the rest of the day, but this might be more than twilight sleep. Anyone gone through this procedure that can reassure me that I’ll be mentally alert enough to take care of myself that evening? This is making more anxious than the procedure!

I’m wondering if anyone here has experienced positional or orthostatic headaches and had it be related to perimenopause. I’m 46 and definitely in perimenopause. For the past 1.5 months I’ve had daily headaches. If I’m lying down, I’m totally fine. When I stand or sit up I get around an hour, sometimes a little longer, before I start to get headaches. If I don’t lay down they get progressively worse. My PCP referred me to a neurologist. They suspect a CSF leak, and I do have all of the symptoms of that. I had a brain MRI and it was normal. CSF leaks can be difficult to diagnose with imaging, especially if they’re spontaneous and not caused by a known injury to the head or spine. I’m waiting for a call back from my neurologist after the MRI, but I’m also just looking for anything else that could be causing these headaches. Today, both my mom and MIL, suggested it could be related to hormones so I thought I’d check here to see if anyone has had a similar experience.

Pretty much what the title says. I’ve had zero energy for quite some time. For the past several months, my periods have been every 2-3 weeks. The periods are not heavier than normal, but the frequency is concerning. I got tested for low iron and ferritin and sure enough, I’ve got it. However, just taking an iron pill isn’t going to be enough. I need to address the root cause. So I’m going to the gynecologist next Wednesday.

Symptoms: fatigue, headaches, dizziness, shortness of breath/air hunger(also have asthma), brain fog, irritability, distract ability (ADHD meds not working well due to iron deficiency), hot temper, etc.

I have been referred for this so just wondering if anyone has had it and if it helps.