Becoming a Woman - Your first period?

I was 12 when I started my periods and 49 when I had my last one!

12 I think, then a gap of about a year before another one. Never felt it was anything to envy!

Ilovecheese

12 I think, then a gap of about a year before another one. Never felt it was anything to envy!

Absolutely.
Once I realised that a huge part of being a woman involved having periods for the next 40 or so years I soon lost the 'envy'

My mother and grandmother apparently both started fairly young. 10 or 11.
So no idea why I was such a late starter.
I was quite a skinny child so that may have had some bearing on things.

10 finished at 54

I was about 12 and remember those awful sanitary belts.

And Dr Whites!
Was like having a brick between your legs

Do they even sell those anymore?

I was 12 and remember the exact date (1st January 1968) as had gone to stay at a friend's house overnight for New Year's Eve as her parents were out. They were very trusting! Think her older brother may have been there too to 'supervise'! Think I may have had some pads packed ' just in case'. I also remember attempting to cook fried eggs for breakfast that day. Not hugely successful but we ate them!

11 and last one at 56

13 I think. My mum was out and my brother bless him found her towels and passed them to me. My gran was horrified when she found out, that my brother knew what they looked like, knew what they were for and where mum kept them.

Last one when I was 34 then I had a hysterectomy; thank goodness.

what again? this was an op just a few weeks ago!

Never seen this before.
Oh well never mind.

Smile less
Hopefully we're getting to a time when girls are no longer made to feel ashamed of something that is a natural part of womanhood.

I was 11 when I had my first period, fifty something when I had my last.

I didn't have children, didn't try to, so I remember being fascinated when the menstrual side of menopause began to manifest itself. Weirdly, I felt rather proud of my body that was just quietly doing its own thing,

I do remember that there were a couple of "false stops", when I went over a year or more without a period, and various GPs sent me to gynae for investigation but it was just my body being whimsical.

It was during the Easter Holidays. I was 11. Mum was at work but my big sister sorted me out. I was so lucky - small amount of bleeding for 4 days every forth week, no pain, neither up nor down. My poor sister had much pain, heavy irregular bleeds and fainting.

Fast forward to the menopause DSis hardly noticed the change, just suddenly realised that she had not had a period for months. Me? irregular very heavy bleedings lasting for 4 or 5 days for over 4 years until a young trainee GP prescribed the version of the contraceptive pill that stopped your periods. Took that for 9 months, stopped and had one small period. and that was the end of it. I was 55.

13 - and it was hell - pain and flooding. And so it continued (except during pregnancies) till I was 42 when the darned thing was removed and incinerated - hooray!!!

I was 11 and just about to get the bus home from school - worried all the way that it would show! My mum gave me the necessary equipment and I then had to cycle uncomfortably to my music lesson. They soon became quite painful and heavy - I had the last one at 53 - what a relief. I worked out I must have had over 500 periods in order to produce one son. Nature can be a bit wasteful!

Started at 12 - bad stomach cramps (Mum said that was a "woman's lot") but then I got a Saturday job aged 14 in a chemist's, and discovered products for period pain.

Last one aged 55, despite having been on Tamoxifen for years after breast cancer, which was supposed to reduce oestrogen .... but no, my body wouldn't give up!

Mum said that was a "woman's lot")

Unfortunately true.
Men will never understand what women have to go through.

I hope so too snowberry and think we should have got there already.

11-45 (prematurely stopped by chemo, of which I was delighted).

Started at 11 and finished at 54, periods themselves were always light and never a problem. After periods stopped I had lots of pains in joints so was put on Hrt and how I wish I wasn't. That started a period that lasted non stop for 5 years and was so heavy I could rarely leave the house as I leaked constantly. Eventually got referred to gynae and given 3 Mirena coils and lost them all. I was then given Northisterone and after much trial and error the bleeding stopped. I shudder every time I read on here how wonderful Hrt is, not for me it wasn't, not only did I have a 5 year constant bleed I then developed an auto immune condition that put me in a wheelchair.

Sorry to hear you had such a tough time FlexibleFriend.

I took Hrt reluctantly too and only took it for a year because I kept being told I had to give it time to work. The last straw was being told the Hrt had triggered the auto immune condition.