No Periods for a Year - Am I Through the Menopause?

[Icequeen01]

I'm 56 and haven't had a period now for a year. Does this mean I can say I have now gone through the menopause? I did try Dr Google but it wasn't clear.

Yes you are done! Twelve months with no period equals menopause.

Yes, I think that's the definition! Congratulations. I'm nearly two years in now and I couldn't be more pleased. Menstruation was a problem for me in all sorts of ways and it's great to be rid of it. No more endometriosis, no more ovarian cysts, no more pain/flooding/debilitating tiredness/borderline anaemia, no need to remember to buy tampons etc etc etc. I've got rid of my period pants!

The hot flushes are a small price to pay.

That's fab news, thank you. I was lucky and went through it pretty easily. Some hot flushes at night and occasional periods of feeling anxious for no reason, oh and my hair has got thinner, but all in all compared to some it has not been too bad. I will go through my drawers tomorrow and get rid of the boxes and boxes of tampons I seem to have acquired over the years. What a great feeling!

Not wanting to rain on your parades, but be aware that there are some symptoms post meno that can increase or appear for the first time once your estrogen levels fall right off.

Namely: bladder issues, vaginal atrophy, low bone density and joint problems. If you get these, get help as they will only get worse without treatment.

My mum has had flushes from her 50s to her 80s and this is not that uncommon.

Good luck.

I would celebrate the return of periods if it meant the awful vaginal atrophy was cured.
As PP said if you get symptoms of that do not leave, it gets worse if left.

:)

The thing is, many women get a whole load of symptoms post meno which they never realise are related to loss of estrogen- they think it's old age, anxiety etc.

Estrogen 'feeds/ supports' almost every organ of your body including your skin, so when estrogen falls (greatest fall off is within 5 years of meno) things can start to go wrong.

Many women suffer for decades with bladder issues, painful sex, insomnia, aches and pains, and don't know that HRT usually sorts all of this.

Sorry NK that was supposed to be a :( for you.

Thank you for the warnings, I will bear that in mind. I did suffer quite badly from aching joints about six months ago (I had totally forgotten about that until a poster mentioned it). It was really painful but my DH and I took up walking in the summer as we decided it was time to lose some weight and get fitter and I found that really helped my aching joints.

Taking Vagifem pessaries to help with vaginal atrophy-can definitely recommend.

I was just about to start a thread asking if menopause was possibility after having no periods for nearly a year

Only "symptom" I've ever had apart from no periods is hot flushes

Can it really be so easy? I suffered terribly with agonising pain, sickness, awful backache and fainting when I started at about age 14, so maybe nature has decided to be kind to me at the other end!

I think it can, @zukiecat. I've been very fortunate not to suffer mood swings, anxiety, memory problems or any of the other things mentioned here. My joints aren't great but that's been the case for a long time now and runs in my dad's family (and would undoubtedly be helped by losing a bit of weight ). My family has a poor history when it comes to breast cancer so I'm very reluctant indeed to take HRT.

Never had a hot flush, no anxiety, forgetfulness, joint pains, moodiness....nothing apart from the awful VA I went on about earlier in this his thread.
Now thanks to systemic HRT and Vagifem it is sorted, but I had a fight on my hands getting it prescribed, thanks to the ignorant medical profession I encountered.

Only 25% of women have no symptoms, or symptoms that aren't bad enough for HRT. (Or maybe they don't want HRT.)

The rest do have symptoms but not all of them in most cases!

I never had any of the emotional stuff; I retrained twice in my 50s and took up new careers, and am still working in my 60s, but I did have hourly hot flushes and insomnia.

I do have awful pain in my upper limbs and joints GaspOde but I've had numerous blood tests and appointments with a rheumatologist and while it's not exactly Rheumatoid Arthritis I have, it's a kind of milder form

At no time has she ever asked about menopause and I would never have connected the two anyway