Is this normal?

Hi!
I am 47 and a mother of 4. 11 years ago, after my daughter was born, I had a tubal ligation. I always had regular cycles until 10 months ago. My cycles are anywhere from 36 to 18 days and normally consists of 5 to 6 days of bleeding. in the last 3 months I have had some pelvic pain. The pain seems to be in my hip joints and lower back, I have trouble getting up after bending over to pick things up. My hips seem to lock up on me and it causes a lot of pain. My last cycle was unusual in that I bled regularly for 5 days and then continued to bleed very lightly. This has been going on for 12 days now. Is this normal?  Could I be starting to go through menopause?

[Machelle Seibel, MD]

There might be more than one thing going on with you. The irregular bleeding is certainly typical of menopause. However, it is a good idea to discuss your bleeding pattern with your doctor. He or she might want to sample the lining by taking an endometrial biopsy and see that the cells appear normal. They might also want to do an ultrasound of the uterus to see how thick the lining is.

Your hips could be due to something other than menopause. If they are locking, it could be useful to talk with an orthopedic doctor to see if there is a problem with your hip joint. There could also be a problem in your back.

So while the bleeding might be normal. It is best to check it out with your doctor to be certain. Hips that lock are not normal and should be checked.
Machelle M. Seibel, MD