menopause lower abdominal cramps

[inthelight]

I have not menstruated for nearly 18 months and about 1.5 months ago I started experiencing lower abdominal cramps like menstruation.  I'm 50 years old.  Could I be pregnant?  I had a large ovarian cyst once and wonder if that may be causing it.  The cramps are on both sides.  I am bloated also.  I fear I'm pregnant, but I never experienced cramps in my previous pregnancies.  I'm starting to become alarmed about pregnancy and am afraid to find out.  I thought that once periods stopped for this long that there was not a chance of pregnancy.  My menstrutation had been on and off again for about a year or more before it actually quit altogether.  Thanks.

[chiromom]

I heard that you are not through menopause until you haven't had your period in 3 years.  My OB said that he had a patient that got pregnant at 52 years old.  Good luck.

[RunningL8]

Maybe you should post in the menopause forum, where a doctor will answer your question.  My understanding, though, is that after a year of no periods, you are through with menopause.  You can always take a home pregnancy test to be sure.  My guess would be that you have one or more large fibroid tumors in your uterus (these are almost always benign--like 1 in 10,000 is not), and they will cause cramping like a period.  (I had a large one--the size of an apple--removed last year, and by that time I had almost constant cramping.)  You should see your ob-gyn, who can check you out by an ultrasound.