18 Days!!!!!!

[lovin2shop]

Seriously, why does my period come this often now! I used to be a regular 28 day girl. Then, I hit my mid 30's and it was 21 days plus a difficult time conceiving. Now, I'm not trying for a third, but I'm still irritated to have AF almost every two weeks. I'm 38 now, isn't my cycle supposed to be getting longer not shorter? Grrr, maybe this belongs in the BP, but I'm curious if anyone else has the same problem?

[sste]

I thought shorter cycles were common as one ages.

I think one of the reasons for this is declining progesterone. And/or peri-menopause. But, those are not the only reasons.

[lovin2shop]

I thought shorter cycles were common as one ages.

I think one of the reasons for this is declining progesterone. And/or peri-menopause. But, those are not the only reasons.

Interesting, I just had a thyroid test and my doctor had commented that not having a period or going longer without them was normal with age. So, I just assumed that more often was not common.

[sste]

I had 20 day cycles and had difficulty conceiving #1 - - although it is controversial as to whether it works and who knows if it was coincidence, after almost a year of trying I was pregnant in one month with the progesterone.

My ob told me that progesterone can drop off as we get older. With pregnancy #2, I maintain that my hormones were JACKED UP from pregnancy #1 and BF for over a year. My cycles were a more typical 22-24 days and it took me just two months to get pg.

Anyway, I know you are not ttc but I wonder if it is declining progesterone . . .

[tiapam]

If I were you I would ask my doctor for a thorough thyroid check. More frequent periods and trouble conceiving can be symptoms of hypothyroidism.

HTH.

[kdeunc]

I have always been 28 days. The past three months have been 35 days, 24 days, 24 days. I am not pleased! I just turned 40. I am going to ask my gyn at my appointment next month.

[mytwosons]

This was me. Dr. said it was perimenopause and put me on the mini pill to even out the hormones. I'm trying to remember, but I think the second half of my cycle (after ovulating) was shorter, which indicated lower estrogen. But, it's been a while and I could have that wrong. Anyhow, the mini pill did help. I now very, very lightly spot around day 18 for a few hours and then AF arrives around day 28.

[lovin2shop]

I do feel like my hormones are out of whack, but I've had my thyroid tested twice this year and it has always come back normal. My OB and regular dr did say that my thyroid appears enlarged, so I just had an ultrasound done on it. I think that the scan was normal based on what the tech said, but I'm still waiting for official results from my drs. office. Thyroid problems do run pretty strongly through my family though.

In any event, I can't take the pill because of a very high risk of breast cancer. I don't know if the issue is low estrogen or low progesterone, but I'm considering going back to the acupuncturist who helped me with infertility. The reason I haven't up to this point is that it is expensive and even more of a bummer, time consuming!

Also on the progesterone issue, I had two miscarriages before having my 2nd baby. The third time, I took progesterone and it seemed to make a difference. Hard to know for sure, I guess. Wish that I had known that it may have helped with conception as well, maybe I should have been on it from the start.

[tiapam]

Sorry OP, for some reason I didn't realize post #3 was from you, too.

With a strong family history of thyroid problems, I would try to get my doc to treat based on symptoms, and if not, I would find a new doc. Also, if you only had a TSH test, I would insist on more comprehensive thyroid testing. At the very least, if symptoms continue, I would want a retest every three months. It can take time for test results to match symptoms, and for some of the people, depending on their specific thyroid problem, blood tests may never show a problem.