[alphafe]

Here's a quick question -- I've been on the pill for almost a year for cysts.
This month, NO period Just PMS, cramping and a tiny bit of spotting.
What's going on -- I'm 40 somthing and NOT PREGNANT!

I'm supposed to start my active pills tonight...

[SmilingBluEyes]

Perhaps perimenopause. Perhaps more problems with cysts (ovarian?). You can visit your GYN to have some labs drawn or ultrasound to get some anwers........but I would bet that is it....

and you are 40-something but are you SURE you are not pregnant? If there is any chance, get a test. Good luck.

[VivaLasViejas]

It's very possible that you could be in the early perimenopausal stage. It's also not unheard-of to be pregnant (just ask Steph ), even on the Pill. (My last child was a Pill baby.......actually, he still IS a pill, but he's 13, and that's a subject for another day .)

For what it's worth, I've been in perimenopause since I was 40, with hot flashes and irregular periods beginning in earnest around age 42. Now I'll go for 3-4 months without a period, then when I do start I'll flow for several weeks......usually fairly lightly, but sometimes I'll need a large pad and super-plus tampons to control it. (I had an endometrial ablation for severe and prolonged bleeding a couple of years ago, and it helped reduce the volume somewhat.) It's different for every woman, and of course, if you're seriously concerned, you'll want to check w/ your OB-GYN.

[alphafe]

I presume I'm perimenopausal and one of my concerns about going on the pill was "how will I know where I am" in perio-menopause. Does the pill interfere with the beginning of missed, light periods, etc.?

Secondly re: the cyst, if I'm not ovulating, how can I form a cyst?

Please don't even suggest pregnancy ; I took my pills each and every day and barely saw my dh

Are you telling me 40-something women on this board have been pregnant?

[alphafe]

UGH sorry for the typos.

[SMK1]

i still say get a Pregnancy test to be sure, because if you are, it is important that you immediately stop taking the BC pills.

[VivaLasViejas]

Originally Posted by alphafe

Are you telling me 40-something women on this board have been pregnant?

Like I said, Steph can tell you all about it.....she had her preschooler in the midst of what she thought was perimenopause at 43! I myself had a 'scare' a few months after my ablation......and my DH had had a vasectomy when I was expecting our now-13-year-old. I'd never have been able to explain THAT! But then, if any woman were able to conceive under those circumstances, it would have been me, Fertile Myrtle.......I swear, hubby would unzip his pants at the other end of the house, and I'd be pregnant. Now, I've probably got about 2 eggs left, and they're as old as the rest of me......but I'm still not going to believe my reproductive years are truly over until about five minutes before I die.

[Spidey's mom]

Yep, Marla's right. I was having peri-menopausal symptoms for about a year. 18 days of bleeding that necessitated progestin for awhile. I just attributed no period for 36 days as more of the same. But I was pregnant. He is 3 years old now. And very loved. But we did go crazy for awhile. My inlaws on the otherhand jumped up from the table and danced around the kitchen when we told them.

I've enjoyed the chance to be a mom again - even though I was petrified and actually pretty angry for awhile. Now my husband and I talk about how nice it would be to have another

I know lots of women who have had babies on the pill. One of our physician's wife .. my niece ...etc.

Get a pregnancy test . ...

steph