Have I gone through the menopause?

[Leilaniii]

Hi everyone, I am not sure if I have gone through the menopause or I've got it all to come. Basically at 50 my periods suddenly stopped. They were monthly, regular as clockwork, then... nothing.

That was three years ago and I have had no other symptoms. Will I get them at some point, or does the fact that I haven't had a pieced for 3 years mean I am through it?

Thanks for your help.

Certainly double check with a dr. but seems like your now menopausal.

...seems like your now menopausal.

How depressing . I was going to ask the doctor for HRT as I thought it might make my skin better, protect against osteoporosis etc. but is there any point now?

well menopause is diagnosed by no periods for 12 months in women not using hormonal contraception (copied from the NICE guidelines).
so if you have gone 36 months but without some of the annoying symptoms why disappointed?
you can ask and the physician may certainly review your options.

Lucky you not going through the nightmare I did - hot flushes, mod swings, depression. I'd be overjoyed

Not lucky really, had a shit few years so probably wouldn't have even noticed over the stress symptoms of my normal life.

You are unlikely to be prescribed HRT for your skin (!) or osteoporosis unless you have a high risk of the latter. HRT is only given for symptoms affecting quality of life, or in some women to treat low bone density. It's not prescribed if you are without symptoms.
If you have no symptoms after 3years without a period, you've had a lucky escape! There is no need to see a dr.

But I thought you were meant to take it indefinitely? I didn't realise it was just to alleviate pre-menopause symptoms.

Not sure why you thought that?
Until recently, most GPs were prescribing it for between 2-5 years only. Some still are as shown by the posts here and on other forums.

The mantra is ' the lowest dose for the shortest time'.

For many women this is just until their flushes etc have gone. That varies- some like you have few, others have them for 30 years.

Because HRT does have risks, there have to be reasons to use it - it's not given out as a prophylactic drug.

But I thought recent research showed that HRT helped to prevent some cancers and heart problems, etc?

well yes, that is so, but HRT still can't be prescribed for prevention. There have to be symptoms . There are also risks- albeit small ones- breast cancer and stroke - so no dr would prescribe HRT as prevention. If someone is already taking it for meno symptoms they may be able to continue forever if they and their dr feels the benefits outweigh risk, but you'll be hard pushed to find a GP who'd do this.