How old were you when....

[HorseCrow]

.... you had your first period?

[Athena-Nadine]

I got my first period two weeks after my 13th birthday. :) Gods, I am getting old. :lol: I had to think about it because I couldn't remember at first!

[HorseCrow]

I got mine about a month after I turned 14- and boy, was it painful! :collapse:

[Athena-Nadine]

Mine has always been really painful. I normaly get cramp that put me in bed all day the first day, along with chills, hot flashes, and horrible nausea. It's amazing that I didn't really get morning sickness with Robert. My doctor prescribed me codeine for my cramps as a teenager because they were so bad. I only took it once and then never took it again because it knocked me out. I am hoping that my cramps won't be as bad once my period returns but I'm afraid they may be even worse!

[Kalika]

Somewhere between 11-12. I was at camp, far away from my mom, and didn't really know what the heck to do about getting what I needed. :p

I didn't start having severe cramps until after HS, but still do now. (Well... not now but you know what I mean) Bah.

[SilverSeraphim]

I got mine a few days after I turned 12. If I didn't take ibuprofen as soon as it started, I'd get hit with cramps that would knock me out for the day. Fortunately, I'd only have to worry about them for a day or two. And now that I'm on BC, I don't seem to get cramps as badly.:)

[halfwaynowhere]

I got mine sometime when i was in 8th grade, so i was 12... it hurt so bad, i couldn't go to school that week, i could barely get out of bed. then i got my second sometime when i was 13, and the third, i was 15... i have just started being normal since january, and now i'm really late again, which is kind of pissing me off... i don't like this not knowing when to expect it. but anyways, i was 12 when i got my first, and for some reason, we had this huge stash of pads in the bathroom, i don't know if my mom just bought them when they were on sale, because she knew my sister and i would need them one day, but they have always been there, so it was no big deal. i was carrying a pad in my backpack with me since i was 8, just in case. so i was prepared for it, at least.

[Catiana]

I got mine when I was 11

[RoseKitten]

When I was 10.

[Marcasite]

I got mine when I was 14. Ample time to prepare, but I still didn't know what to do! I didn't get bad cramps till later in my teens, now I get them all the time despite being on the pill.

[Élistariel]

I got mine when I was 13. It was Feb 16, and a snow day. I remember my GUY cousin was over to play computer games until the roads cleared up. I wanted NOTHING to do with it. I didn't get cramps until around high school. I've learned to take an ibuprofen or two at the first sign. Otherwise I'm writhing around in pain for a day. To be honest, the most annoying thing about it is the zits I get about a week before it starts. It's like a really obnoxious warning system. :tongueout

[Tzhebee]

I want to say I was 13...Honestly, I don't remember my age...but I think I was in the 8th grade. *shrug*

[Ceres]

I was nearly twelve and my mother was away for an extended stay. Luckily two of my adult sisters were visiting and I was able to get what I needed in the way of supplies. The cramps didnt start till I was in my twenties.

[Broken Babydoll]

I was twelve. It was the very end of 6th grade. I remember because I was so worried about the end of the year band concert that night. I lost it in my teens for about three years (due to anorexia) and it came back when I was 18 or 19, not entirely sure when. It wasn't until my early twenties that I got cramps. :ghost:

[catphrodite]

I was twelve. :}

[Lunacie]

I had my first period when I was 9. I can't remember when I started getting cramps but I know I had them in high school because every 23 days I would go to the office and tell the secretary I needed a pass to go home. And then I'd spend the rest of the day laying on my parent's bed with the heating pad and a book, just hurting.

I've been reading that women who have A.D.D. are more likely to have PMS and also difficult menopause.

Oh - all my sisters had their first period at the age of 9 and so did my daughter. My granddaughter is 8 and she already knows what it's all about and what to do.

[RubyRose]

I was 12

[Prinsazz]

Im feeling very lonely in the 15 y.o. group. Mine have always been painful which is now apparently down to the fibryomyalgia. I am thoroughly lucky I have my mum cos she was at work but came straight home when I told her.

[Gwyndara]

I was 12 and I've always had, passing out from the pain, can't get off the floor cramps. But it's not anything we discussed in our home. I learned about it at school, so I knew what to do.
Birth Control never helped the pain.

[Phoenix Element]

15, I was a late bloomer. I was never told about it except in high school health class, so I had no idea what to expect, really. The evening I got it, my mom didn't want to talk about it, tell me anything about it, or reassure me. I slapped a pad the size of NYC on and lay awake all night, visiting the bathroom every hour or so. :lol:

I never got cramps too badly. Unless I did a lot of rigorous exercise two days before bleeding up to two days after. Before was actually worse - I run two miles every morning and after running, I'd be curled up for a good fifteen minutes, unable to do anything but make small hurting noises. >_< Now I'm on the Pill and have virtually NO cramps! Huzzah!!

[Zoritsa_Nepenthe]

I was 11...and at Great America at the time.Come to think of it...I had my period alot when I wanted to go someplace fun or cool,and I was miserable each and every time.My Mother even comments now and then about how crabby I was in Disney World,King Richards Faire,etc...and I have to remind her that it was because I had my period and wasn't told about tampons or Tylonol back then!!

[moonchild]

I was 14 and my boyfriend at the time was over...apparently all the kissing got something started! lol!

[wolf]

11. Secretariat won the Kentucky Derby that day. It's the only reason I remember exactly.

[Brónach Druid]

I guess I was 11 or 12, I was in fifth grade.

[WitchOfEndor]

I was 11 & in total shock because I had stated to my Mother " that may happen to other girls but that is NOT going to happen to me" I was so embarassed when it happened because I was so sure I could will it not to come. LOL Ahhh the innocence & arrogance of my childhood. LOL

[Luminessence]

I was 11. I think I got it the day I went on a church field trip with my Sunday School. (I don't know what it is about my period and church, but my period almost always gets stronger when I'm there, or at least it used to.)

[Scarlettvixen]

2 days after my 9th birthday! what a lovely present
they ahve always cramped and flooded
the drs advice when mum took me for the pain - it will go away after u have a baby! stupid twit!
at 43 i still flood and cramp and need a hot pack and pain killers
at least now i can have them! (my mother never believed in pain meds!)
as for birth control? they made the pms from hell even worse than it was before and the cramping and flooding worse too

[WitchJezebel]

I was 12; my mother was at work and I was hanging out up the street with my best friend Debbie who already had hers. She showed me what to do with the maxi pad and then when my mother came home I told her. She was all proud and I thought she was going to throw a freakin' party. I was so embarrassed and humiliated - she told everyone in my family. I wanted to just disappear - I never forgave her for that and still bring it up to ruffle her feathers. :lol:

[Strega Del Vento]

I got mine about a week before my 11th birthday.

[Avalonia]

I was 10. And I was in class. xP Luckily, my mother was teaching at the same school I attended at the time, so other than me having to interrupt her class and get her to help me (I had some idea of what was going on because I had just finished reading "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret", and the whole thing of the first period was a big deal in the book). But it still kinda frightened me. It wouldn't be for another few months until the extremely painful cramps and nausea and chills started up. xP

[thewhitetigress]

9
was so proud cuz mom told me it meant i was no longer a girl but a woman!

sheesh i was only 9!!!
and the pain and cramping still occurs to this day although the days are less since my boy's birth.. used to be 2 wks long.. yikes

[Mouse]

I was 8, but they were stress induced so once things settled down I didn't get them again until I was 12.

[Philosophia]

11 and I've had virtually no pain and they last for 4 days (sometimes less).

[arianrhods_daughter]

11 had them every three months for two years, then they stopped, then they came back full force and with a vengence

[KaidaMidnight]

It was 2 days after my 12th birthday. and then every 28 days after that til I got pregnant with my first son. Now I'm not on as regular a time frame as I was back then LOL. I NEVER had cramps til after I had RW (He's my oldest). Now when I get my period, I'm in bed for at least a day before it strikes and the day it strikes, as moving is too painful..

[atropa]

I was 13, and then didn't have another one for 6 months. It was pretty irregular till I got older.

[DixieWitch]

I was 11...it was July, Louisiana heat. YAY around 13 yrs old, I started getting horrible cramps too. The kind that kept me in a dark room, curled in the fetal position all day. No OTC meds worked, so my mom got me a prescription. It finally helped. I was always regular, only late by maybe 1 or 2 days. It's how I knew I was pregnant all 3 times!!!

[Sequoia]

I was about 12 and 1/2. I remember it because I was staying over at my father's house, and I was SO excited when I saw it and realized what it was, then horrified because I didn't have any pads or anything at all! I went and asked my father if I could go to the store, trying to be all subtle. When he finally realized what I wanted, he said "What? Well, didn't you bring any of those things with you?" and I said, all ultra-embarrassed and frustrated at him, "It's my first time!"

LMFAO he looked like I'd just told him the dog was having kittens or something. He called up my aunt right away (his sister), who came over with just about every pad known to mankind and two giant bags of M&Ms. :lol:

[Calen]

I think I was twelve. I noticed the stain when I was going to the bathroom, and I remember thinking it looked like a stain from chocolate ice cream. I went downstairs, showed my mum, and she explained things.

I don't remember getting cramps till a little while on. Now I get mild cramping with most periods (although not so much at all this last, since I'm on bc) and I've only had a couple really horrible episodes.

[GalenaFaolan]

I feel like such a late bloomer!! :p I was 14 years old and had no idea what was happening. I had my fully grown boobs though by the time I was 12. LOL

I started one day right after I got home from school. I went to the bathroom, saw the blood and freaked out!! I called my Aunt crying and told her what was happening. She calmed me down and came right over with some pads for me. I still feel a little stupid about the whole thing but I had no mother to tell me these things and no other female in my dad's family had ever thought about it I guess.

I was always very regular right from the get go, oddly enough. Thankfully I never, ever had to endure cramps or anything. Only one time in my life have I had cramps and very happy I've never had to repeat that experience again!!

[Astara Seague]

I think I was 14

[Mysty Moon]

i got mine when i was 11 and it was always regular all i remember is wishing that i was older when i got it i never was one of those little girls who wanted it and i also never wanted my boobs and i also got those really early to

[Njorun Alma]

I was 11. I was just at home, spending time with my sisters when all of a sudden there was blood running down my legs.

And I've always had really painful cramps to go with my period. Ever since I first got it. *sighs* And it's always been pretty regular. Except for the first six months after I'd gotten my first period... those months were like a gamble. It'd be nothing for two months and then I'd have two periods per month. But after six-nine months it was like clockwork, basically.

[angelmikayla]

I marked 12 but it was actually 2 days before my 12th birthday. It was horrible then and has been ever since. I just got an IUD, though, so maybe I won't get it anymore.

[JasmineRose]

I got mine at 8. Then again I developed very early compared to everyone else.

[Meadhbh]

I was twelve almost thirteen.

[Brightshores]

I was 10. I was horribly embarassed about it at the time. (I was the first person I knew and I felt vaguely like there was something wrong with me.)

[Cindlady2]

Somewhere between 11-12. I was at camp, far away from my mom, and didn't really know what the heck to do about getting what I needed. :p

I didn't start having severe cramps until after HS, but still do now. (Well... not now but you know what I mean) Bah.


Camp must do that to some of us! LOL I started at camp too! ony I was 9

[CaitrionaMorgaine]

If memory serves, I was 13. I've always had fairly mild cramps, although certain birth control seems to make them worse.

[Tigerlily]

10, around Halloween time because the next day I got it, I had to go to a Hallooween sleepover party. I was really worried about having to change my pad.

[Bluewillow]

I was about 11 years old. I remember it happened at night, and when my brother came home from practising a play with his drama group, I proclaimed proudly to him that I'd gotten my period. He wasn't overly amused. :lol:

[Agaliha]

I was 9.
Not cool. Not cool at all.

[Amythest]

I got mine sometime when i was in 8th grade, so i was 12... it hurt so bad, i couldn't go to school that week, i could barely get out of bed. then i got my second sometime when i was 13, and the third, i was 15... i have just started being normal since january, and now i'm really late again, which is kind of pissing me off... i don't like this not knowing when to expect it. but anyways, i was 12 when i got my first, and for some reason, we had this huge stash of pads in the bathroom, i don't know if my mom just bought them when they were on sale, because she knew my sister and i would need them one day, but they have always been there, so it was no big deal. i was carrying a pad in my backpack with me since i was 8, just in case. so i was prepared for it, at least.

I know how you feel, trust me, it was only after my doctor died and I got my records that I could actually put a name to what I had. Amenorrhea is the stopage of normal menstrual periods. It is actually common. Most doctors will perscribe birthcontrol pills to regulate you, or a regiment of one week a month taking hormones. Been there done both. but still the waiting game, was I going to get it or still miss. After going off the birthcontrol pills my situation went back to the way it was before I started them. I have studied herbalism now for over 6 years, (more intently in the past 3 years), and have found an herbal mixture tea that works great, within 3-4 days after taking the tea, I have my period. With Amenorrhea when you do actually get your period it can be extremely painful. But I found a way around that, it works better them midol or pamprin or even Tylenol for women and even more so then ibuprofin. It is an herbal mixture of crampbark, camomile, yarrow, and anise (for taste but you can use mints if you like) I drink 2 teas a day of that during my first 3 days of my period and I feel fine, it even believe it or not helps with the bloating. If you wish to have my herbal mixture for anyone suffering from Amenorrhea, please send me a private message and I will give you the formula. The herbs are not really expensive, and the tea bags can be used up to 3 times before they are spent.

For those of you wanting to know when I started mine, it is a horror story actually, I started mine 1 month after my rape when I was 12.

[Beth]

11 and I've had virtually no pain and they last for 4 days (sometimes less).

*snap* only mine last two and a half days

[TseMoana]

I was fourteen and they never hurt (knocks on wood). Sometimes a bit of uncomfortableness but no pain. Which is actually not very useful since I'm very irregular, always have been. Yet I don't really want to go on the pill or anything to regulate casue with my forgetfulness I think I wouldn't keep to the schedule. And I don't know enough about herbs to know what herbs I could use.

[Laoghaire]

I was a little bit younger than 12, if I'm not mistaking. My high school was very close to my home, so every afternoon I came over and had lunch in our own house. A common thing to do here in Belgium. I was wearing white (!) trousers, not kidding. I went to the bathroom, saw the blood, took a pad and went back to school... My mom told me what to do a year before it actually happened, so I knew what to do.
My father was the first one who heard it. I told him that I had my first periods and he hugged me, trying to hide his tears. He was so damn proud (and sad too, now I think about it). We went to my granny, to pick up my mom and she almost cried when she heard it. I'm her oldest granddaughter, so...

Second time I had them, horrible pain occurred. My mom shook her head and said she experienced the same. But yes, it will go away, after I had my first child. Great thing to hear when you're 12... I'm on the pill now, but that's not a great solution. Yes, no cramps anymore (just a little bit), but I'm ruining my liver... Great disease, this Syndrome of Gilbert... *sigh*

[Seasaidh]

12.

Caught me off guard too. I had been wearing kahkis too, talk about embarassing. :( There was spaghetti for lunch that day, so I just thought I had sat in some sauce somehow. 8O (Didn't help that my cousin was bragging that she didn't get hers until she was 16. I felt like a freak. However, that Valentine's day my best friend got hers. I felt a bit better after that.)

If I remember correctly, it lasted for around seven days. Now they only last about five days. :cutie:

I didn't start having cramps during my period until I was 14. Luckily, my cramps usually aren't extremely painful or anything. They have been worse lately, though. :( I've also had nausea and hot flashes to the point where I've had to stay home.

For some reason my body refuses to set a pattern. However, the last couple times, I had dreams about it happening the night before it did.

[Palantari]

I was 9 and I had no idea what was happening, it wasn't a topic ever discussed with me and I am the oldest of us lot so...it started in the middle of the night and it scared the flip out of me I thought I was dying! lol I made it a point that when it came time my younger sister didn't have the same problem, she knew what to expect.

[Libris]

I think I was the last one of my friends to get mine. I was about 15 and a half and I was starting to think I'd never get it.

[wintermagick]

13. But because I was a huge fan of Judy Bloom's Are You There God, It's Me, Margaret I thought that getting a period also meant getting breasts.

I didn't grow boobs until age 26. :abored:

[Seasaidh]

I didn't grow boobs until age 26.

Perhaps there is hope for me yet. :nyah:

[fafonen]

I was 13 and it was the late in the summer before 8th grade. Luckily, it ended before school started. I was embarrassed. I mean, I know I didn't have any reason to be but I remember I didn't tell my mom for 2 days and even then she was the one to approach me about it.

I didn't have cramping or PMS at all until later. I'm 17 now and I didn't really start getting bad cramps until last year. They're awful now though, and I get ridiculously emotional. I'll fall apart all over the place and the littlest thing will set me off. I'll be screaming at someone one minute and collapsing over them crying my eyes out the next apologizing for being such a pain in the ass. Sometimes I honestly feel crazy when I'm PMSing.

Oh, and I forget who said that ADD women are more likely to have bad PMS and menopause but I can definitely vouch for the PMS end of that, I've got ADD.

Uggh and I am so jealous of people who posted saying they only have theirs for two or three days, mine's always been 5-7 days. Usually around 6-ish.

[nomadicdragon]

I had either just turned Ten or I was really close to my tenth birthday. The day is always a little fuzzy in my head, but I was around ten. I developed really early.

[RunningRiot]

11-12, can't remember which exactly. Wasn't abit freaked by it atall, though I remember my niece screamed and nearly died when she had hers- poor dear never got the whole "your body is alive" talk. :lol