I feel the very same way. I'm 50--I thought I was done with getting my period since the last one was Dec. 10. And this morning I woke up with one. SO confusing. I have gained 10 pounds in the last six months. My eyelids are puffy and weird looking. I haven't gone to the doctor yet but I seriously need some help. Anyway, I don't have any answers but just wanted to say you have a kindred spirit out here...

hello. I am 53 and started having irregular periods right after I turned 50. I would go a couple of months without one...then it showed up...but as time went on they were fewer and further apart. My last one was about 20 months ago. So I am DONE with that. Hot flashes started about the same time but seem to be subsiding a bit. My issue NOW is waking every night...2-3 a.m and tender breasts!! No wonder they call it "the change"!! Hang in there!

Hi, Im 48 and this thing is at times very hard to deal with. I have also started to feel bloated and not very much appetite. I force myself to eat. I had an endoscopy and colonoscopy done (with money I do not have). They did find and overgrowth of Candida in my esofagus, but I was treated for it. I believe it is the depression that is not letting me eat. My stomach feel "nervous" especially when I have to do tasks that I don't want to. Anyway started some new natural meds hope that this will help. Hang in there, at least you started to skip periods. I have not missed one yet and I've been going thru this for one year and about 8 months.

Thanks so much! I went to my PCP and she said "welcome to menopause", very comforting, not! We discussed my recent symptoms and she prescribed Effexor XR. She felt it would help me sleep better, feel less anxious, calm my mood swings, which in turn should help the weight gain. Well, it was a disaster. I took it once with high hopes it was going to help me feel normal again. It did anything but that. It made me feel like I was a zombie, gave me a severe headache and worst of all raised my blood pressure. The doctor insisted I give it time. My thought was give it time for what, to give me a stroke? No thank you. After more research I found this experience to be common with this drug. I stopped it at once. It took 2 days (only 1 dose) to get out of my system and I feel so much better. I have decided to go the natural route with supplements, Vit D, Magnesium, B12, and Estroprin, which is similar to Estrogen but has better outcomes. This is not easy, but I am a fighter and I am going to do everything I can to keep these symptoms at bay. I will keep you posted. I'm waiting on delivery of Estroprin, it is only available thru mail order. Thanks for listening. Best of luck to all of you in your meno battle!

oh boy can I ever relate!
I'm 52 and have only had one blissful 3 month absence of my period. Now they appear regular again only the bleeding is pretty bad on day 3 and 4.

Fatigue, mood swings, lack of energy, depression, dark circles under my eyes, worsening of anxiety, acid reflux, pimples ...

I'm now used to being awake half the night, I take some melatonin at bed time, sleep for a few hours and then spend a good chunk of the night awake, snuggling with my cats and listening to hubby snore, then fall asleep again only to wake up to the alarm completely exhausted. I can't nap though for the life of me.

The one thing I'm very grateful for is that I have not been gaining weight, knock on wood. I'm part of a weight loss buddy group and though my weight loss is an ounce or so once in a blue moon, at least with the efforts I put in, I'm not going the other way.

I'm learning how to pamper myself a bit, has never been a part of who I am but I find that I'm enjoying feeling a bit less blech.
This seems to be the time in our lives where we have to be extra nice to ourselves. A bit of self love goes a long way.