For anyone that may have read about my drama this month, it just isn't ending.

I've had 2 two week long fatigue crashes, unrelenting every hour of the day for both of the weeks. I suddenly felt *better* 2 days ago, just tired, not fatigued in bed with PMS.
I am on day 24 of my cycle, was out shopping with my Girlfriend and suddenly felt a cramp and a flow...I got home and have had a small stringy black (black as in black) discharge, bleed, whatever I should call it.
Last month I thought I had the feeling of being preg., but test was negative but barely bled at all.

Old stuff from endometrium lining? Miscarriage? I swear I have never been so out of it like last month BUT had 6 days of enormous energy after ovulation that I hadn't had for YEARS!!!!(followed with another 6 days in bed)

What in the world has happened to me this month? Massively low progesterone????
PLEASE give me some sort of clue

I'm clueless and very helpless right now.

Hi GM,
I think that you are in the menopause wringer at the moment. It sounds as if all your balance has been shot to pieces and it is not a pretty place to be. I have to say that in the latter years of my periods I just grew to accept almost constant discomfort. Ovulation was a complete pain then the last week of the cycle was always just awful. At least a week before the bleed I would develop a headache which could often blossom into a very serious migraine. It seemed to get harder and harder to do the decent thing and just start my period. Sometimes I would get 'black' blood, almost as if it were very stale for three days before the bleed would finally flow. Similarly I would suffer very stale looking brown blood for several days at the end of the bleed.
I think that the discoloured blood does signal that you are getting close to actual menopause.
I am now 2 and a half years post and all that bloating, discomfort and generalised crap have all gone and my pelvic region feels very stable, comfortable and calm.
We women pay a very high price for our fertility!

Take care,


XIII

I certainly have had more than my share of headaches and body aches as well this month.
I just never felt so deranged before. Like as if I must be seriously ill not being able to hold my eyes open for days and days on end. But that blast of energy was as far to the other end of the scale of my fatigue. Psycho, I'll tell ya!
Well, I am 47 in another 4 weeks....I have a feeling I may only have another 2-3 years left to go, if that.
I live for the day when my uterus feels stable instead of constantly present.
You are a Dear getting back to me so quick....a piece of calm so I can go out and follow through with my plans to out with my Girlfriend tonight. Thank you!!!....GM

Hi girlsmom, I am 48, still menstruating, FSH 23.3 married california girl. I have the black blood also, sometimes I get it a few days before my period and sometimes at the end? I have heard it has something to do with lower estrogen premenstrually. I think we are getting near the end!!!!! Please God, let it be. I recently had to up my thyroid meds. take levoxyl, you may want to check for hypothyroidism since you mentioned fatigue, my peri symptoms are incredibly more manageable since I raised my levoxyl dose. good luck Trista5

TSH and the like, all normal...there was nothing in my blood that signified anything abnormal....weird mense at the moment, feel like I could use a good *shedding* Have an appointment for a foot reflex massage on Tuesday am and hope it will help stimulate a good bleed. I believe I have a lot of build up and just really need a good shed. IF that is successful, maybe I will be luckier next month.....who knows! I am clueless where my hormones stand right now. Thought estro. dominant because of my breasts, but have read that we are not estro. dominant, just progesterone insufficient which makes a world of sense! all I can do is pray that it will be just a bit more balanced next month. I never want to relive this again.....but period seems to be here, and that is a good sign cause that is one of the 4 weeks out of the cycle that I do o.k......but the devil of peri WILL be back next week. oh yey

hi ladies,

I get this black blood too.It can be watery, or stringy and clot like.Sometimes its before my period and sometimes after or in between.It scared me really bad at first.I thought something was really wrong but now Im used to it.