Starting periods

[Gemini]

My first grandchild and only granddaughter has started her periods. She is 12 years and 3 months old, which is pretty average for these days I think. One of her school friends started when they were still at primary school, in year 5 I think. I felt very sorry for her and am glad it didn't happen to my GD until she was at secondary school. She seems to be fine with it according to her mum. She was well prepared for it.

This started me thinking about this subject how old we and our DDs or GDs were when we started and how we felt about it all.

I was 12, going on 13. Several girls in my class, including my then best friend who was several months older than me, had already started. I felt I was left out of something and was keen for mine to begin and was glad when they did ! OH tells me that she was 15, and even then not ready for them!

My first period lasted for 9 days, I didn't have a second for the next 3 months and I was never ever regular until the menopause strangely enough. They always lasted 5 days. My poor mums was confused by all this as she was a 3 days period every 28 days woman all her reproductive life. I had a late menopause and was in my late 50's before my periods stopped.

DD1 was like me, almost 13 and really keen for her periods to come!
DD2 was just 12, DD3 almost 12.

[Oma]

Gem as I have said before , I was 11 when I started my periods ,
Having two older sisters 11 & 5 years older than me I was well prepared for them .

When my DD started her Periods just before her 9th Birthday we were totally unprepared not expecting them so soon ,
At first it was awful she was always a little thing and sanitary towels were like nappies then so swamped her .

We did see a specialist at the hospital who said they could delay them but he was reluctant as said it was messing with nature and wouldn't benefit her in the long run,
so we had to cope .

She has gone through a early menopause too

School was difficult at first each month she wouldn't go , when she did I must say they were brilliant , they didn't make her do PE and if she felt tearful the teacher would let her sit quietly or ring us to come get her .

[Gemini]

Poor girl Oma, what a lot to cope with when she was just a little girl. It's easier once they are at secondary school. They are more physically and emotionally ready, and other girls have them too.


The DD of the lady who does my nails had the same thing. They called it precocious puberty, and told them the same as they told you.

[Daisy]

Oma - your poor DD. Thank goodness the school were so sympathetic and didn't try to force her to do PE. I know some girls start their periods in primary school, but I didn't know what it was called.

Gem and Oma - it sounds as though you were both well-prepared.

I was a late starter - I think I was close to 15! I can't remember how I felt, except that most of my friends had already started so it didn't seem a big deal. I always had a long cycle - often 30-31 days and lasting about 7 days. I hated those horrible sanitary pads though, and switched to tampons, despite my mother being horrified.

[Gemini]

Daisy, I still remember my mother's horror at finding a tampon box in my bedroom bin! I was 16 so had some money to buy my own. Like you I had hated the sanitary towels. She more or less said I was a ruined woman and no one would want to marry me! I put her right on tampons and virginity

[Daisy]

Gem - I had a similar, but slightly less frank conversation with my mother. I think she thought I was a lost cause anyway!

[Nanto2girls]

I was 12, when i started,but i knew all about.
It was the night before we went on holiday to Blackpool for a week.
I can remember thinking i wished it had waited until we had got home.
As i got older,i hated it. After we knew our family was complete, i'd wished there was a button to press and they would stop.
I stopped when i was 50,and boy ws i glad.

[Gemini]

I had expected to stop at 50 Nan2, as my mum had. I was 58 I think, I began to think it would never end!

[Oma]

Mine stopped when I was 36 as I had to have a Hysterectomy , but as I retained my ovaries I still had the Menopause in my 50s

[Plantaholic]

Although I was the youngest of five girls, I was never prepared for the start of my periods. I think I was about 11 (so long ago) and I stopped around 48, the menopause wasn’t too much of a problem, mainly night sweats.

[Enfys]

I was 14, my mother never told me a thing but we’d had a film and talk at school and most of my friends had started so I knew A little bit. My mum was always so embarrassed about anything to do with (whisper) S e x so she just didn’t talk about it. I remember she put a paper bag on my bed and said ..they will be useful when you’re ready....a packet of sanitary towels! Friends at school put me right, I must admit to not believing everything I was told. I think I was about 54, 55 when I stopped. Just stopped, I had none of the usual menopause symptoms, I was very lucky in that respect.

DD was about the same, 14 and I think she stopped a couple of years ago, so about 51, 52.