It would be very useful if we could predict when we were going to start having periods and even better if we could be sure exactly when they were going to stop. But we can only make rough estimates.
As a general rule, the earlier you begin, the later you are likely to end, and vice versa. But they are rough rules and all sorts of variations are possible, just as the length of each woman’s monthly cycle will vary too; some will have a period every twenty-eight days; some every
thirty-five days; some every twenty-one days.
We vary too in the way we start our periods. Some girls start very easily and happily; others are distressed. Some have cramping pain from the very first period; some can actually suffer from the aching miseries for many months before their periods appear. The trouble is that because they are young, it often doesn’t occur to them or their parents that this is the first sign that periods are on the way. Their mothers are baffled by their sudden moodiness, bad temper, sulks or depression, especially if they have been even tempered and easy to handle up until then.
So if you have a nine- or ten-year-old daughter who seems to be changing before your very eyes into a moody, difficult creature, don’t take her to a psychiatrist — at least, not straightaway! Try keeping a chart together first. I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if you found that the moods arrived in a distinct pattern, every four weeks or so. And if that’s the case, you’ll know what’s the matter. You’ll also know that she needs all the help and sympathy you can give her.
The change of life, on the other hand, however tricky it might be in other ways, will certainly call a halt to the cramps and the aching miseries —for good. Many women welcome it for that very reason. But change is very rarely simple and as your body is working its way towards a new and different balance you may find that you run into various difficulties. Through research it appears as though some of them are caused by a shortage of the female sex hormone, oestrogen. Of course wrinkles, greying hair and middle-aged spread are common to mankind and, apart from using creams or dyes, or going on a rigid diet, there’s not a lot you can do about ageing except learn to live with it and make a virtue of your grey hairs. But if you suffer from any really unpleasant symptoms, like severe hot flushes or night sweats, or a dry vagina, don’t suffer in silence. Go and see your doctor. There are all sorts of treatments available. Once you’re through the change and out the other side you may find, as so many women do, that you’ve been given a new lease of life and that you feel fitter and more active than you’ve felt for years. There are consolations for growing old!
This new lease of life is something many women hope for if they have a hysterectomy, an operation to remove the womb. Sadly, many of them are disappointed. Although a hysterectomy will certainly stop periods, it doesn’t switch off the production of hormones by the ovaries, unless these have had to be removed as well. These will go on functioning as they did before the operation, until they switch themselves off, or in other words until the time when the change of life would occur naturally. So if you suffered from the miseries before your operation, I am sorry to say you are likely to go on suffering even after your womb has gone. Only, like the girls who haven’t started their periods, you might not appreciate that your mood swings, bouts of fatigue or depression are part of a monthly pattern —until you keep a chart. Once you know what’s the matter, you’ll know how to treat it. It does seem extremely unfair that you can suffer from difficulties with your periods before they begin and after they have stopped. But that’s how it is. I don’t think we’re helped either by the fact that our society is not geared to assisting men or women through any of the physical crises many face in the course of their lives. In fact, as women we are supposed to ignore the sexual rhythm of our lives altogether. We have our first period in secret and usually keep quiet about it, almost as though it were something to be ashamed of. If we suffer from period pain we keep that hidden too. It’s still uncommon to read a novel or watch a play where the heroine admits to having a period, leave alone a painful one. Torrid love scenes are two-a-penny nowadays, but menstruation is still virtually taboo.
All in all, we lead rather odd and artificial lives. Many of us are schooled to ignore our bodies and mistrust our instincts, which is a great pity because they are usually very sound indeed. If we follow them we can adapt far more readily to whatever situation we’re in, and this makes for a far more comfortable life for ourselves and our families.
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