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I am 48 and I have been on my period for almost 3 weeks. It is not heavy but it won't stop. Just enough to be annoying. What can I do?
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Oh, sorry, I see now that you said how old you were in your first post and I just read right over it.
I wish we could just make it stop. It probably will have to run its course, at least this cycle. But it most likely is a symptom of perimenopause, which means you're in for more of the same.
Stress, changes in the weather (like how hot it has gotten recently), changes in your level of activity or in the kinds of medicine you take can all affect your hormones. Has anything big changed for you in the last few weeks?
If not, check out the Mayo Clinic's page on perimenopause and see if it sounds like it's what you are dealing with. There are blue links down the left-hand side that will take you to more pages with symptoms, causes, and treatments:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/perimenopause/ds00554
If this happens again next month, you might talk to your doctor about it. Many recommend the use of low-dose birth control pills to help regulate periods that are wildly irregular due to pre-menopause (even though you don't need it for birth control itself).
Here are a couple of pages that discuss this:
http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/women/reproductive/menopause/326.html
http://health.msn.com/womens-health/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100058035
Perimenopause is different for every woman. Some have many symptoms and they last for up to 10 years; others go through it in two or three years. Some have severe hot flashes and night sweats, others sort of breeze through that part. It's a time of life when we have to weigh each symptom as it begins happening and decide how to handle them.
You might also be interested in this Discovery Health article on solutions for seven symptoms of perimenopause. It deals with hot flashes, lower libido, vaginal dryness, sleep disturbances, weight gain, dry skin and mood swings. Unfortunately it doesn't deal with the spotting and long period that you're experiencing now, but it's very good info that might be helpful in the near future:
http://health.discovery.com/centers/womens/perimenopause/perimenopause.html
June 25, 2009 - 6:28pmThis Comment
Thank you!
June 25, 2009 - 6:37pmThis Comment
Confused, so sorry you're having this problem. Has this ever happened before?
Are you on birth control pills? By chance did you perhaps miss a dose, or get off by a day or two? That can sometimes affect our periods like you are experiencing.
If I were you I might put a call in to the gynecologist's office and ask to speak to the nurse. The main worry here is that you might becoming anemic from losing too much blood.
Can I ask how old you are? Irregular and long periods can sometimes be the norm when you are entering perimenopause. It's a sign that your body's hormones are getting a little inconsistent. Sometimes a period can go longer, sometimes shorter; sometimes you might miss one altogether. Your age is a big factor here; perimenopause starts in the 30s for some women, the 40s for most others.
If you think that might be a possibility, here is a page that talks about it:
http://www.menopauseinsight.com/blogs/menopause_questions__answers/archive/2006/06/01/95742.aspx
Have you had any other symptoms besides the long period? Any dizziness or light-headedness, significant moodiness, etc? Have you had cramps this whole time? (Gosh I hope not on that last one especially.)
June 25, 2009 - 5:05pmThis Comment
I am 48. I do not take any type of birth control, I had a tubal ligation 23 years ago. I had slight cramps a few days before it started and once a gain it is very light. It will start and stop repetitively. No other symptons. How can I make it stop or does it have to just run its course?
June 25, 2009 - 5:23pmThis Comment