My mom and sister started menopause in their early 50’s. I’m 48 and I think mine might be starting, since I’ve now completely skipped 2 periods. I’m “fixed” so I know I’m not preggers. I know 48 is still in the normal age range to start, but just wondering if my Type 1 (dx at 16) has anything to do with it. Just wondering what to expect. I feel a little bloated but I’m not getting that post-period flush-out like I normally do. But it sure is nice to have skipped a couple of periods because my cramps were always just awful.
Greetings! I will be 50 in a few weeks and started perimenopause at 45-ish, maybe earlier. I have not had a period in probably 3 years, and that was only 6 hours, if my memory serves (and anyone in menopause knows you also suffer from CRS - can’t remember shit). My mother passed when I was 14, my maternal grandmother passed when I was 28, so I’ve relied on my aunt (menopause in her 60s) and cousin who is 2 yrs older (not yet). My gyn attributes my early menopause to a combination of the diabetes and being a smoker.
You’ll find that your cycle will become erratic - skip a month, have a couple in a row that are ‘normal’, a few that are lighter or heavier, have multiple menses in a month, etc, for a few years. It’s totally normal. When it comes to menses, there is no ‘normal’.
I’ll offer some unsolicited advice here: maintain a log of your cycle and your glucose levels. I found that as I stopped menstruation, my body still acted as if I was. My glucose runs high for several days as the hormones that controlled my cycle continue to switch over - forgive me if I confuse them, but as estrogen drops and progesterone rises, which is what triggers your uterus to shed the lining when the egg isn’t fertilized, I become insulin resistant and need to change my basal, sometimes as high as a 20% increase, and up my boluses as well.
Also, and I’ve had this conversation with non-diabetics and several nurse friends as well, the hot flashes and night sweats increase at the same time.
Yeah, you’ll still have your ‘period’, just without the mess. Hold onto your feminine products, you’ll need them for a couple more years - 
Nancy
I was dx at 10 mos, 49 yrs ago. I started peri-menopause probably 8 years ago. Both my mom and maternal grandmother passed early in their lives, so I’ve relied on when my aunt (in her 60s) and cousin (older by 2 years, hasn’t started) have gone into menopause.
My gyn suggested my early menopause is due to a combination of diabetes and being a smoker.
I suspect you’ll be in peri-menopause for several years until your period full on stops. I had my last one 3 years ago, and that was for 6 hours if memory serves.
I’d like to offer some unsolicited advice to you - keep a log of your glucose along with your cycle. Track what your blood sugar does between periods - I found as menses stopped, I still had the other symptoms, including the erratic highs for several days before my ‘cycle’ starts over again. The hormones are still in production, estrogen for the first half, progesterone for the latter half, and as mine switch over I grow insulin resistant. I adjust my basal up about 20% and increase my boluses at mealtimes.
No, you’re not alone.
I am 48 and had my last period when I was 43 or 44. No sign of it since. My ob-gyn said diabetes could definitely make menopause start earlier.
I stopped menstruating in 2011, at 47. No one specifically identified diabetes as the culprit, but I had an 800 glucose when I was dx at 10 mos old and I’m certain my pituitary was damaged.