To think my periods have stopped?

[NotMe1981]

I am 44 and haven’t had a period since January. They have been really irregular for at least 4 years now, but usually 50 something days is the longest it would be before I’d get one. I did have a random 4 month gap a couple of years ago, and I thought maybe that was that, but then I got one and they were semi regular for a while after that.

But 6 months is quite long isn’t it? I know it has to be a year before I’m officially menopausal but am I likely to get one if it’s been this long?

My last 3 periods were:

August 2024
September 2023
November 2022

I keep thinking I'm done. We will see. Incidentally, I've had no other symptoms apart from no period.

Oh maybe that’s not it for me then. No I don’t have any other symptoms really. It’s just really discombobulating not knowing where you are in your cycle. I felt sure I was about to come on a couple of months ago, felt very cranky and crampy, but then nothing.

I went into early menopause, 2 odd periods at 44, nothing till 45, then full on menopause

I went a few years with bleeds being 7 months apart. You can only say they have stopped if you have a full two years with no bleeding if you are under 50.

I didn’t know it needs to be 2 years under 50, I have a while to go there then.

Watching with interest. My periods have been getting closer together last 2/3 years. Usually about every 3.5 weeks or so. This time I'm almost 2 weeks late despite having loads of PMT type symptoms. Im deffo not pregnant so its not that. So I'm wondering now if this is the start of the menopause.

That’s what was going on for me around 5 years ago so I’d have been 39…I realise not everyone will have the same timeline on how menopause progresses through. Then from there things got completely random, my cycles might be 18 days, then 34 days, then 16 days, then 51 days etc, and that went on for a few years. I found if I had a long gap of 6 weeks or more then when I did get my period it was a monster one.

mine were 7 months apart at some point. Every time I hope it's the last hurrah and then 6-7 months later there is another one. sigh.

Mine just stopped one day (I was 41) and never came back. I was symptom free.

I’m kind of jealous. 46 and they are still like clockwork and absolutely no perimenopause symptoms (less jealous of those though).

I’ve two friends my age though who haven’t had periods in over a year now.

Wow that’s young!

You’d have thought less periods would be great but it does make you a bit all over the place hormonally when they are so irregular.

You’re not kidding. Mine are anything between 3 and 7 weeks now having been like clockwork all my life. I used to be able to book holidays to avoid period days, now I don’t even know if I’ll have one when I go away next month. Bloody annoying, pardon the pun.

Yes not being able to plan around them is annoying. I’ve got two weeks work at Glastonbury starting next week, praying my period doesn’t decide to make a comeback then.

It's a year now.

Update - today I got my period 😭. 241 days after the last one. I thought I was done, was toying with throwing away my period pants and I was fully in the mindset of periods having been a thing of the past. Apparently not though.