Drew Barrymore is going through perimenopause. For anyone that grew up watching ET, that’s a weird concept to grasp. However, age catches up with all of us and I’m glad Drew is putting it out there that the changes during that time are wild. It’s like if you look up “what should I expect during perimenopause” and a big shrug emoji comes back as your results. The answer is everything, expect everything. Slightly more medical symptoms include: changes in menstrual cycle, hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal dryness, mood swings, weight gain, disrupted sleep, foggy brain and changes in libido. It is the changes in the menstrual cycle that clued Drew in to this new phase of life. She said she’s starting to get her period every two weeks.
In an interview on CBS Mornings, Drew Barrymore and Gayle King sat down with CBS News correspondent Nikki Battiste in which they detailed their own experiences with this phase of life.
“I realized that I was in perimenopause when I started having my period every two weeks,” Barrymore explained, saying that her heavy flow was like that of “a teenager.”
Her doctor told her that having a heavy period could last 10 years.
King echoed that experience, explaining, “I’d never even heard the phrase perimenopause until I went to the doctor because you know, not to get too graphic, but when it first happens for a lot of people it looked like a crime scene.”
She acknowledged that not everyone had her symptoms, which included hot flashes. “I know some women who have been through it and they’ve just sort of sailed through to have had very minimal things,” King said. “It wasn’t disruptive to their life. That was not my experience.”
Both Barrymore and King chose not to have hormonal treatments during perimenopause. For Barrymore, she felt she was not far along enough in perimenopause to require treatment. While hormones are still prescribed by health care providers to help with symptoms, Wider says that these treatments are not quite as common as they once were.
“The treatment was typically systemic hormones to counteract the fluctuating hormones causing the symptoms,” Wider explains. “Doctors don’t prescribe this as readily anymore because there is some risk involved, depending on a woman’s personal and family history of disease. Other treatments include topical estrogen cream, antidepressants and gabapentin, specifically for hot flashes and/or headaches.”
One thing that Barrymore also wanted to share about her perimenopause journey? It’s not the end of the road.
“Women in their 40s, 50s and 60s are looking so attractive and feeling so vibrant, living their best lives,” she said. “The way menopause has been branded is, ‘You’re old, you’re done.’ That’s not it.”
I can’t remember if I had the bi-monthly period thing or not. So clearly I did experience the foggy brain. Peri lasts about four years on average, although it can go up to 10. I think I am post-menopausal now. I went a full year without a period, which is supposed to mean menopause, but at the 13-month mark, I got a period. I have no idea if I was supposed to reset the clock or what. I’ve given up trying to understand any of this. My hot flashes may be back too, but they’re not as bad. While a few of the symptoms seem to happen to everyone, I don’t know two women who have had the same experience. It’s just a big hormonal grab bag. The good thing is that people like Drew and Naomi Watts are talking about it now. It made it a lot less scary to hear people bringing the subject up as I was going through it. It wasn’t any more fun, but less frightening.
The article talked about systemic hormones treatment and how doctors don’t prescribe this as readily anymore. I know you all have had some good discussions in our comments about hormones as well. For me, hormones were never never suggested. What I can speak to is Drew’s last point, about how menopause messaging is changing. To that I say – hell yes! Look, I won’t sugar coat it, perimenopause sucked. But so far, menopause is looking up. There’s a few more roads to till, but there are also quite a few moments where the fabulous has been breaking through again. I never heard about that when I was looking at this from the other side. Drew’s right, it definitely isn’t over.
Robin Platzer / Twin Images & Xavier Collin / Image Press Agency / Avalon and Getty Images
Main things are to really take care of your self. Sleep, exercise, reduce alcohol/sugar/caffeine, eat plenty of good fats and address stress as best you can and keep having sex and/or masterbating to keep the fluids flowing!
My period got more spaced out around 47 and now I get a “whisper” period every month and hemmorhage every 3 months. I got a few bad night sweats and occasionally get heated up but otherwise not much else. Oddly my libido increased at about 47 and has stabilised there…not made about it!
What I now know was perimenopause–no idea at the time–hit the summer before I turned 49, with some super heavy periods thrown into the quite sparse periods. Prior to that, for nearly 30 years, I was regular as clockwork, every 28 days, lasting five days. The irregularity threw me! especially as how I was still doing fieldwork at the time (archaeologist). That winter, in the evenings after work, after dinner, relaxing before bedtime, I’d get hit with the hot flashes, but that was it. Just that one year of fluctuating periods, one winter of hot flashes (before bed, not during), and done. I recall my mom saying she had no issues at all. Hang in there everyone! I have no advice, just sympathy & empathy.
With you @BeanieBean. I was not familiar with perimenopause. I’m from a family of a lot of females. My older siblings didin’t discuss it. Mom didn’t She passed away a year or two before THINGS. I felt outside of myself. Don’t know how to explain it. Like you, my menstrual cycles were clockwork. Been that way since the beginning. 40 years of periods. Then, I started bleeding for 2-3 weeks. Freaked out. I was waking up almost every hour due to hot sweats. Could not drink enough cold water. My innards were hurting,
I’d ask my husband to rub my belly a certain way (had to clarify that this wasn’t a prelude to anything else, lol). Oddly, our female cat, knew what to do. The strangest thing. Not kidding. She’d go to town on her biscuit making on my tummy when I needed it the most and then lay in the perfect position for both of ours comfort. Lap cats are a thing.imo
My eldest sister, is some one very open minded to things. An 18 age difference. I broke and spoke openly to her about my thoughts feelings. She said there is no one answer and most doctors are not helpful. Her suggestions were. Alternate days between turmeric tea and warm lemon water. She doesn’t drink alcohol at all. Turn the tv off. (we don’t need that noise-yep, it was during Trump’s presidency) Listen to spa music instead. Sit out in the sun for 10-15 minutes with your eyes closed if you can with no noise outside of nature. The most beautiful thing, she said, if nothing seems to be working…call me. If you’re feeling down I will tell you at least 10 reasons why you matter in this world. So, get over it because I have your back. I took her words seriously. She’s a trailblazer. She was told due to a medical condition from a young age she couldn’t do certain things. Her response, “Just watch me!”. Seriously. And, she did.
I’m passed all that now. Having someone relate to me and help me feel okay. so helpful
I’ll be honest, I had my first hot flash a few months ago and alcohol/sugar/caffeine is about all that’s keeping me going right now.
I’m almost fifty and started having problems with my period several years ago. Mild hot flashes and mild depression about five years ago (lexapro helps with both) and serious fatigue two years ago. So yea, I’m not cutting back on alcohol or caffeine right now. Sugar and carbs are the only thing I have cut back on bc they go straight to my stomach now.
Ugh.. I remember going through perimenopause and the q2week periods. Anemia set in and I had to get 2 blood transfusions.
Wow, that sounds awful. I have the period every two weeks part of perimenopause, and I did start taking iron supplements because I was getting headaches.
I’m there right now. I don’t have bi-weekly periods but my periods are now 7 days and very heavy six of those days. It sucks.
Yes! I was not prepared for the anxiety, brain fog, sleeplessness etc. After 6 months of thinking there was something seriously wrong with me mentally and physically I started antidepressants and it helped. But at no time did either of my doctors or OBGYN ever mention that this might be perimenopause. The only thing I ever hear people talk about was hot flashes. There is so much more to it, and I wish I had been more prepared. Still going through it.
I think it is the duty of all of us of a certain age to talk about it with the younger women in our lives!
Yes, I had no idea about the brain fog and depression stuff! And my situation was unusual, because I had a hysterectomy at age 30, so I didn’t have periods as a clue to my condition. I couldn’t focus, had no energy, it was awful. When I started mentioning this to older women friends, they told me they had the brain fog, etc. too. Why isn’t this talked about more?!
It was unreal how little so many doctors know about peri and menopause and how little it’s talked about, so most of us in society are clueless! The study, for example, that mistakenly concluded that hormone replacement therapy was dangerous has been debunked, for most women, and especially if you are fine with the risks outlined for things like birth control pills. (The Menopause Manifesto by Dr Jen Gunther is helpful).
The menopause subreddit has a sidebar thing with tons of useful information and sources.
I had terrible symptoms and thank God for my estrogen patches every day even though my dr was undereducated on the subject and suspicious of them. We have to do own research. I don’t believe in suffering if there’s no good reason for it.
I’m 45 and haven’t had a period since December so I’m right there with her. 😫
Thank you for posting this. I completely missed this interview with drew and this is happening to me as I type this. I have been wondering what is going on. Second period in two weeks and is already 10 days. Turning 46 in a couple weeks.
I started having increasingly heavy periods at 35. By the time I was 40 they were 29 out of 31 days and I needed to wear two maxi pads and always nervous. It turned out that I had 2 massive fibroids so hysterectomy was booked. The night before my surgery I was questioning having it. Than my period started after a break of one day and I knew I was making the right decision. Period free at age 40 and I never looked back, best decision I’ve ever made.
Holy shit. 29 out of 31 days is torture, I’m glad you are free now!
In my 40s, my period, PERIOD FLORIDA!, was so heavy I had to get a hysterectomy which obviously exacerbated the peri and into meno. I think I’m on the other side of meno (I don’t get nearly as many hot flashes anymore. Still losing hair though lol. Not funny. BUT, exercising is a game changer. That’s it. And eating right, of course, but exercise is the only magic I’ve found.
A million times I agree with you – exercise has kept me sane. Didn’t solve all problems but it sure helped mitigate the stress, weight gain etc
And I like what it does to my thinking. My brain seems to ‘feel’ better if that’s possible lol.
I feel her pain, as I am currently in day 11 of my second period this month.
I’ve had months of skipping cycles, then having one every two weeks, then skipping two cycles, then waking up like a crime scene etc etc.
The peri menopause carnival is the worst. Having an unpredictable cycle is destroying me.
That was actually my first ten years’ experience, from 11-21, periods two & three times a month with killer cramps. At 21–which is when I started running daily–everything evened out to the every 28 day cycle. I have no idea if it was age or if the daily running helped, but that was my period life. Until I started closing in on 49, as I noted above. Then everything went wackadoodle again.
I had the same thing start to happen at 47. After having spaced out but very regular cycles all my life it was disconcerting. I’m pushing 50 now and have changed to long but totally unpredictable intervals.
Note that if you’re bleeding a lot not to rule out other causes, not just automatically think perimenopause. And watch your iron levels and take a supplement.
I’ve always watched my weight and have a pretty healthy diet, but now I’m concentrating on building endurance and strength. Working out regularly for the first time of my life with the goal to build some muscle mass.
Drew looks great. She’s a healthy weight (not goop thin) and it shows on her face, hair and skin.
I forgot about that, I did have low iron levels for a bit. I took iron supplements after learning that & the next time I saw my doctor my iron levels were too high. She said no, don’t take supplements! Just eat more of these foods! Raisins, folks, get to liking them.
Lentils have lots of iron, too! And brown mushrooms of all types, especially shiitake
I’m going to second @normade’s comment about ruling out other causes. I assumed my more frequent, and very heavy, periods were due to peri so I lived with them until my annual gyno appointment. She took one look at me, by that time I was severely anemic, and said we need to run tests and do an ultrasound. My hormone levels were normal, but I had some significant fibroids.
I was getting a full period every single week for a couple of years because I had fibroids. I’m so glad I got a hysterectomy (at age 48) and am done with periods forever now.
I have passed the year mark. But my last period lasted 10 WEEKS and it was heavy like stand up and gush. It near broke me mentally. It was coming out of covid time so my doctor wasn’t seeing patients and he was a 2 hr drive away. So he tried to refer me to a gynaecologist who was closer and they never called back. I ended up going to emergency at our hospital where the doc prescribed birth control pills to try and end it. I needed 2 prescriptions before it stopped. Since the year has passed now its weight gain, brain fog, no hot flashes yet but man being an aging woman is a rough time
Just an FYI to women: it takes 2 years without a period to reach menopause. It may still come back after a year. Or 13 months, in my case. Ask your doctor.
Ten weeks!!! Oh my gosh, how miserable that must have been!
I love that people in the public eye are talking about this more, you cover these stories, the comments share other people’s experiences. Thank you!
I’m 44 and something in me definitely shifted early last year, including weight gain, higher resting heart rate than in previous years (since I got a tracker anyway), anxiety beyond what I’ve experienced before, and a few other things. I think it could be perimenopause but I’m on a progesterone only pill so I don’t have periods and don’t have that data. I did mention it last time I saw a GP but she told me I was too young for menopause (technically incorrect, it can happen at my age) and looked blank when I said PERImenopause. Not helpful.
So yes, I really appreciate hearing from other people about their experiences and that is helping me put together my own puzzle.
So much solidarity for everyone in the comments section on this one – going through the same phase of life and the exhaustion and brain fog are a killer. Not to mention the cramping I now have around my period which is almost unbearable – and which I haven’t had this bad since I was a teen!
I officially hit menopause this year after 9 years of perimenopause symptoms. And although peri went on for what felt like ever, my journey generally was pretty easy. I did eventually have to go on anti-depressants for anxiety, but I don’t know if that was peri or just, you know, modern life!
I’m glad people are talking about it more and moving beyond the old jokes about “the change” and how bitchy women get. Although I don’t love all the side effects I’ve experienced, I do feel more empowered and comfortable in my skin, no matter how saggy it is!
I am so scared of this. I have PMDD so I’m horrible the week before my period. It’s more than being moody or irritable that my husband is breathing too loud. I honestly don’t know if my marriage will survive a period every two weeks and I can’t say I’d blame him.
I’m glad celebrities are talking about this because it gets us talking about it in the comments and I learn so much. It never occurred to me that perimenopause could last for years or what symptoms to look out for.
I think I’ve had every symptom possible, I have had a very difficult time with peri/menopause but one I wish people had told me about was heart palpitations – they precede a hot flash for me (when it’s not nausea or “pinpricks” on my skin, such fun). I had no idea and freaked out when it started happening…The Guardian had a good article about it a while ago, their coverage of menopause in general is pretty good. Magnesium solved the brain fog problem for me and also helped (but didn’t fix) sleep problems, but get ready for unpredictable diarrhea if you get the dosage wrong – I know the location of every public bathroom around supermarkets and my other regular errands, LOL!
I can say that now that I am two years post menopausal, there is a bit of sun breaking through the clouds in my mental and emotional state. For example my (formerly very good) memory has showed considerable improvement and the brain fog has lifted, so I’m happy about that. But there’s no “going back” or “returning to your old self.” Part of menopause is accepting how it completely rewires you and changes your perspective on so many things, the younger you feels almost like a daughter you love but you are separate beings now and you’ve got to get on with the “you” you are now, whoever and whatever that is…I’m still trying to figure it out!
On the downside, I still have loads of awful physical problems, unfortunately even two years after my periods stopped. I’m not on HRT, I decided to tough it out for various reasons…I liked Gabapentin for hot flashes but I had to keep upping the dosage and you can’t have caffeine when taking it so I’ve paused that for now. I’m hoping my symptoms slowly subside as my hormone levels stabilise but if there’s anything menopause has taught me is I’m not in charge, so I try (pardon the metaphor) to go with the flow.
Talking about it helps, my husband has gotten used to me being open about it and among my girlfriends and female family members it’s a godsend to share info and commiserate.
Totally with you on the heart palpitations! It was terrifying…. I’d wake up from a dead sleep to the sensation of my heart pounding… sometimes irregularly. One time it was so bad I called an ambulance because I thought I was having a heart attack. I went through scans and wearing monitors for days … everything looked fine and no one had a clue why it was happening, which made it scarier. If I’d have known palpitations were a possible symptom I still would’ve gotten checked out, but wouldn’t have been so terrified every time it happened.
Also had the range of symptoms people are mentioning irregular any sometimes insanely heavy periods, brain fog, disrupted sleep, hot flashes and crazy sweats. Also had weird reactions to things, like a new and complete intolerance to any caffeine (kicked off palpitations, scattered brainness and dizziness), what seemed like histamine reactions to things that never bothered me foods, fragrances, touching certain plants, materials … sometimes with welts and itchiness wherever, other times nose eye allergy symptoms. And odd reactions to meds I’d been taking for years and flaring of new conditions I’d never had and that completely vanished after my hormones settled out … for example my previously well controlled blood pressure was way out of whack … would range high for an hour, then go low. At one point my doctor told me to stop taking the med I was on for it while he sorted it out … and my blood pressure became completely normal, no meds needed. It was like a wild roller coaster of anything-can-happen day everyday.
It was only towards the very end of it that some NP said, you know, looking at your history over the last several years, a lot of this is likely peri-menopause, menopause related … and she started ticking off things that were “typical” which I’d been experiencing. I wished I’d known that sooner.
I literally had a period for 8 months straight.
My doctor tried blood thinners, an IUD (which eventually was flushed out without my notice due to the heavy flow) and finally offered a hysterectomy at 51, which I jumped on.
The horribleness of bleeding through pads every few hours (even the huge post-pregnancy ones) and even something as simple as having to wear black clothes every day was so depressing. I felt powerless to stop my body from just slowly bleeding out. The laparoscopic surgery was a lifesafer, both physically and mentally.
Oh wow @lassie, I’m glad you found a solution…I remember those years at work where I wore nothing but black pants and ALWAYS carried a spare set in my office/car…plus spare underwear and pads+tampons in my purse (I needed both)…always memorising the location of bathrooms in various offices/work functions…just awful
I had crazy, heavy periods when perimenopause got going. My lovely Ob/Gyn shared that she loved her IUD, and I was heading that way but my period stopped the next month and stayed gone. As a side note, I have been a hospice Chaplain and based on a suggestion of a Patient’s husband, I always get with my annual exam a transvaginal ultrasound.
During perimenopause I found out I had some endometriosis then some fibroids which probably played into why I never got pregnant. I have a lot of health conditions so that was for the best, I think.
I had some hot flashes that were exacerbated when I ate dairy. When I started menopause it was like “Hurrah! Hurrah!” I could have done hormones or cremes, but I polled a bunch of friends on Facebook. The only ones who did hormones also got Breast cancer. One of them was my aunt.
My sleep is always wonky starting w/ perimenopause, and I found out all my aunt’s in addition to my mom have this. I also have chronic pain, so that impacts my sleep. On a good side, I was able to lose and keep off 45 lbs all the way through late perimenopause and menopause. Don’t believe you can’t do anything to improve your health in your Fifties — You can!
OMG. I was scrolling through all the period horror stories waiting to see if someone has tried an IUD and holy crap, I guess that’s not an option O_O
Mine lasted ten straight months, hemorrhaging fistfuls of clots daily at times. I’m not really sure what ended it. Compared to that, the rest of it was easy. Though hot flashes have recently restarted even though my last period was almost five years ago.
THANK YOU, so much, for sharing your story. Seriously, the fact that women haven’t talked about this before is awful, all of us need to know!
I’m 52 and still get a light period but also get mild hot flashes so I assume I’m in peri. Sad thing is that doctors just don’t study this part of life so no one knows jack shit on the subject. All we can do is talk amongst ourselves!!!
I’ve learned more from stalking the comments of this article than I have ever learned from my FEMALE doctor. Apparently they don’t talk to other women either?
I too am in the periods-twice-a-month club. I am 43.ni’ve been having that for years. Didn’t associate it as peri-menopause, no doc told me that. That’s encouraging! Hopefully I will go into menopause early. I have no desire to reproduce and my period has been irregular, heavy and monstrous all my life. I will be glad to say goodbye to it. I am sleepless too. Didn’t associate that as part of it! Glad Drew is speaking out. Really raises awareness of a topic that should not be taboo.
Insomnia has been my WORST symptom…I’m at year 7 (perimenopause for 5 years, menopausal for two) and I haven’t been able to sleep through the night more than a handful of days…Four hours a night is usually what I can manage, I’m grateful if I get six but it’s never straight through because I get hot flashes every hour so it’s more like repeated catnaps…on the weekend I can sometimes get in an hour or two for a nap from sheer exhaustion. It’s a horror show and nothing helped, I tried everything so I just suck it up
I started having my period every 2 weeks but it was due to hyperthyroidism and graves desease…. That came with all the back pain , brain fog and headaches. It was a nightmare for 3-4 months.
The insomnia is killing me.
My periods have always been super heavy the first few days and I usually bleed for 7-8 days total. It’s kind of shortened both in the length of time I’m heavily bleeding and in overall days. I had mid cycle bleeding for the first time last month. Realizing that the insomnia is likely hormone related is prompting me to look into HRT.
I’m on magnesium and vitamin d and doing all the things but I still cannot sleep and it makes life so much harder.
I had to go off HRT immediately after a breast cancer diagnosis in 2016. I’d had a total hysterectomy at 42 due to massive fibroids and ovarian cysts, so instant menopause at 64 was brutal. I now use a vegetable-sourced hormone cream, and take menosense and pueraria mirifica capsules to mitigate hot flashes. I also take ashwaganda and 5-HTP at night and it helps me get great sleeps with no hungover, groggy feeling the next day.
I am now 50 and have been in peri for at least 8yrs and it have been increasingly been getting worse. I fear menopause is still a ways away since my only gauge is my sister – we do not take after our mother who had zero issues with her period throughout her life and no issues with menopause – instead we take after our father’s side but all the women there had hysterectomies because the bleeding was so bad. In any case, my sis is 55 and still bleeding. This past year I started experiencing vaginal atrophy so my dr recommended going on the pill to help with that (I was getting UTIs all the time and so much vaginal irritation) and since I bleed so heavily (I also have fibroids) she thought that it was better than just doing something topical. I hate being on the pill but I decided to try because the bleeding was getting so bad and the UTIs were too much. I am on the lowest dose pill and it has definitely helped on both fronts (barely have a period) but I still hate the side effects (breast tenderness but that has improved) and am paranoid about the risks of cancer and clots but at least I did get some relief. Sucks nonetheless.
Ask your doctor about the cream. It’s applied vaginally and has much fewer side effects. It worked very well for me in resolving atrophy issues.
You guys, seriously, thank you. My Mom had a hysterectomy in her 30s, so she has miles of wisdom about the actual menopause, but zero experience with the peri part.
I had no idea there is a cream.
Hey, if your period comes back after a year it’s vital you go to your doctor and get it checked out. It can be a sign of something serious.
I went back on the pill because I needed to get my periods back in check. Thankfully it’s working for me.
I’m thru it now but I remember it well… the unpredictability of the periods almost broke me. One time I was giving a speech to 200 people at a professional event and all the sudden I felt it happening like a flood, and I was wearing a skirt-suit. People were coming up after trying to talk to me about the topic of my speech, and I had my legs pressed so tightly together trying to wobble toward the restroom and still graciously talk to them at the same time while I could feel blood oozing down.
People just don’t know the kind of crap women have to deal with!!!
I feel like it’s a problem too where once you hit 40 every single issue is lumped as perimenopause and we have to fight to be taken seriously about legitimate concerns.
Absolutely. If you’re bleeding heavily, get it checked out. If you’re exhausted, get it checked out. Depressed, see someone.
As women no one tells us and then when we talk we’re often dismissed. Not everything can be chalked up to perimenopause and could be the sign of something more serious going on.
Anyway, great reading about all your experiences. So much solidarity and support. I love posts like this.
THANK YOU so much for everyone who speaks candidly about this issue and for posting. I was peri and now have missed a few cycles. Peri was bad for me. 5 years of it and during some of the most stressful of my life work wise. The brain fog was bad and I wasn’t sure if I was getting Alzheimer’s or had COVID. The fantom smells sucked too. And I cannot get enough sleep if I tried.
I do have a question, anyone fighting bad headaches and nausea. Trying to avoid NSAIDs and not sure what’s out there. I have a female GYNO but all she does is sympathetically nod her head.
Try ashwaganda, it’s worked really well for me. I was getting headaches almost daily due to insomnia, and it has a very calming, mood-elevating effect that helps me get a good night’s sleep.
Thought I was starting perimenopause, it ended up being something completely different, but those several years of two week periods with such heavy bleeding I couldn’t leave the house were awful. Not looking forward to when perimenopause actually happens.
I got diagnosed with Graves disease (hyper thyroid) around this same time. I definitely recommend getting checked out by a doctor to rule this out if you’re having weird symptoms. I kept blaming everything on menopause-but a lot of it was my thyroid.
Check w doctor but vitE 400 iu was helpful against hot flashes. VitE needs to be plant sourced (vitE with d-alpha).
I have been having periods once every 23 days for a couple of years now. It is so annoying! I have spoken to an obgyn and they have spoken about an IUD & ablation to help control symptoms. Still considering whether or not to take either of those up…
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for this post. And, LOL, crime scene. That is so true about what heavy flow can look like. I wish had had seen postings about perimenopause 10 years ago when I was going through this. No one including my mom talked about menopause.
Same. The first time I saw a giant clot, I thought I was dying.
I am in the midst of all of this right now.
I had a partial hysterectomy in 2018 after 33 years in hell. My period started at 10 and was irregular, anywhere from 10-15 days long and always heavy. The last 7 years of it were every 10-15 days for 10-15 days and heavy enough to go through a Costco box of heavy tampons.
I started with the HRT patches almost a year ago and it has helped a lot with the hot flashes and the brain fog. The weight gain has been brutal (Covid restrictions on the gym did not help with that either) and the periods of bad sleep suck, but I suppose I’ll survive. I feel for anyone in this boat right now. It will end eventually!
Why do we need to know?
The worst thing about perimenopause for me was the hair loss!