My cycles are getting shorter & shorter!

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-26-2008
My cycles are getting shorter & shorter!
1
Sat, 07-26-2008 - 7:50pm

Hi, all.

My name is Becca. I'm 36 and the mom of three wonderful boys.

Since my period began at 13, I've been a VERY regular gal. Every 27-29 days, about 5 days long, etc. Nothing special. Even when I had my kids I didn't get that "nursing vacation" that everyone brags about. Despite the fact that I nursed for over 36 months over the course of my three kids - I never got a break!

Now to the point of my post. My cycles are changing. It was subtle at first...26 days for a few months, then 25. Then this month I had a 19 day cycle - which started on the 13th of July. Today, I started again - which was 13 days since the last one. I went to my OB/GYN last week. I had a completely normal internal exam. My recent pap and HPV test (from my yearly in May) were completely normal. I had bloodwork at my visit last week to check for anemia and thyroid issues (my mom has Graves disease). All that testing was normal, too. My doc suspects that I'm just perimenopausal and that I could have a "decade of fun" ahead of me. She suggested trying chasteberry for a few months to try to regulate my period.

So, I guess I am asking if this sounds normal? The worrywart in me is, of course, suspecting the worst. But, as my doc pointed out - my symptoms don't really point in the direction of a gyn cancer. She thinks it's hormonal related to perimenopause, but suggested an endometrial biopsy if the chasteberry didn't work. I can't go on the pill because I have migraines.

Any ideas?...suggestions?...

Thanks in advance!

~ Becca.

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-26-2006
Sun, 07-27-2008 - 4:17am

Hi there,

I suggest a second opinion. If you are in perimenopause, then hormone tests should tell you. Also, if your cycles are getting shorter and shorter, but your periods aren't getting lighter, then chasteberry might not help. Chasteberry will help boost your progesterone levels, but if you are ovulating earlier and earlier as well, then chasteberry won't stop that.

It is possible that you are having problems with fibroids or polyps. I know my mother used to suffer from undiagnosed fibroids right from a teenager, through to a hysterectomy in her late 20s, and her cycles were only 14 days long when she wasn't on the pill!