Is this how periods stop?

[spartanrunnergirl]

Ok so feel like this is a real rookie question. I'm on oestrogel and utrogestan days 15 to 26 of cycle. Like clockwork - ish period will start days 28-30. Except this month. No sign of it and heading to day 40.. actually did a pregnancy test before I though oh .. do periods just stop in menopause?! I had this idea they'd just get lighter etc... maybe it's the HRT also. Just wondering about others' experience.. thank

I'm not sure but following. I've missed the last one, and the-one-before-the-one-before that. The only other time I've missed in the last 4 years (since my last Mirena was fitted) was when I had Covid.

I don't know how they stop but it's making me curious....

Over the course of a couple of years (with no HRT or hormonal contraception etc) mine got further apart, sometimes up to 80-90 days in between. Occasionally there would be an odd early one a week or two after the last, just to be really annoying!

I now take combined HRT and usually get a monthly ‘period’ at a certain point in the pack - bit like a withdrawal bleed I expect, not a ‘real’ period as such - but occasionally I also get a random one elsewhere in the cycle for fun . One downside of the HRT as I was quite enjoying not dealing with periods so often for a while there, but the benefits have been 100% worth it for me.

They are generally of a similar length and heaviness, much as my natural cycle was, but occasionally lighter or heavier. There’s no fucking rhyme or reason tbh

That’s just my experience of it all. Got to love being a woman.

@spartanrunnergirl No it's not how periods stop because the bleed you have on HRT is not a period. It's a timed withdrawal bleed. Nothing like a normal period. If someone follows a cyclical regime like you, they will have withdrawal bleeds forever- into their 60s, 70s and 80s (but they are not 'periods'.)

You won't know when your own periods stop when using HRT.

The reason you have had no bleed is that there is no lining to come away this month maybe because you aren't absorbing enough estrogen through HRT or because your own estrogen levels have fallen as well. (Both your own levels and the HRT estrogen are what build the lining up.)

I've been wondering the same - late last year they became heavier and now the last two months - nothing. I've also done two pregnancy tests, even though I knew it wouldn't be that! I'm not on hrt or anything else and have been getting night sweats for about a year, bit of brain fog and can't be arsedness.
I do feel a little like I'm waiting for it to happen - especially as I go on holiday next week so sods law......

How do you know when you can move to continuous progesterone from cyclical? If you are always having this withdrawal bleed how do you know when your periods have stopped? I hate the idea of bleeding every month forever especially as my periods became very spaced out over the last couple of years.

I asked if I could move to continuous to see if it would help fluctuations. Except I can't take it orally and have had to continue vaginally. I think I may still be having fluctuations (too early to tell) without the bleed so I'm not sure if I'll continue.

May Try and go back to cyclical but will try to wait for a bleed first. If not I'll stop for 2 weeks and start all over again on cyclical.

One reason was that the bleeds I was having were extremely sparse so it seemed time. However I'm now on a higher patch and I've also wondered if covid infections (x2 this year and knocked me sideways for some time) had an impact on periods somehow.

You don't have to move to continuous; you can carry on on cyclical post meno.

Yes this is what I'm wondering - how will I know? All feeling a bit of a minefield and I realise I need to learn much more.

I also don’t understand - surely we need to know when periods stop? To change from combi patches?

if the coil the only way to have hrt and no periods? I am so bored of them (and feeling rough beforehand)

If you stay on cyclical, the way I've had it described, you generally continue to have a withdrawal bleed. It's not a period as it's a result of a steady flow of oestrogen and the cyclical dose of progesterone.

However some women may miss some bleeds or they become v sparse. They may eventually choose to move to continuous but if it's the wrong time they may find they get breakthrough bleeding. Some women bleed more than others. More progesterone can be used (eg utrogestan) or a cyclical regime so there's a bit of warning.

My Gp said they usually move women to continuous after a year but apparently this doesn't have to happen and if women experience a lot of bleeding on continuous they may be better on a cyclical regime for a while or longer.

A friends periods had stopped for over a year when she started hrt and so was put on continuous but starting testosterone a few months later caused a bit of a bleed which needed to be checked. With cyclical you do know that you are safely shedding the lining

I came off HRT all the meds slowly finished six month ago no periods so another six months I can say I’m done still get hot flushes though they are slowing down, dreadful they are.

How do you know when you can move to continuous progesterone from cyclical?

The medical guidance is age 54 or when you have not had a period for 12 months (that's a normal period, not an HRT induced withdrawal bleed.)

If you swap to continuous too soon, the progesterone dose is sometimes not enough to control the estrogen stimulating the womb lining, (because your own estrogen will still be doing that too) and you can end up with bleeding at odd times (unpredictable.)

Going onto continuous is a choice, even though many GPs push it.

It has a downside- two hormones a day can cause more side effects (it's the progesterone that does that) and it also has a slightly higher risk of breast cancer than cyclical (according to the stats) if you plan on using HRT for many years.

All things to think about!

Hi OP,
I've never taken HRT but mine got a bit further apart by about 1 week over the course of a year and then just stopped. Then after about 4 months I had 1 period and then they just stopped again. It's been almost a year now and nothing. No periods or anything else you hear about such as hot flushes/rage etc.

I'm not going to lie, it's absolutely bloody marvellous not having periods or the premenstrual migraines I'd had for 20 years 🙂

Thanks for the advice everyone

I 'm not on HRT and would say periods are still generally regular. I had one at 48 days a few months back. I'm late again this month. Day 36.
I'm 50, but still convince myself I could be pregnant when this happens.
Ex had the snip but new partner hasn't, so reliant on condoms.
Probably sounds crazy but without the bleed each month, I have lost that certainty that everything is OK and thatmy child bearing days are over!!
Is it just me? I thought my pregnancy testing days were long gone. How does everyone cope with this?

Do you have any older female relatives you can ask, to get an idea of what is normal for the women in your family? I was lucky enough to be able to ask my mum this question , and she also knew about the experience of her mother, aunt, and grandmother, which had helped me no end in terms of knowing what to expect!

@Awaywiththefairies50 yes me too! The pregnancy testing is what got me thinking... missed period = possibly pregnant in my head as I'm on the cyclical HRT regime. Thankfully tests all negative!

This is why I'm holding off going on HRT. I was having periods up until June then nothing since

do your periods just stop though mine were 23 days apart and its two weeks late today. Im 49 so would imagine im not pregnant but havent really had a lot of other symptoms. Huge brain fog maybe but not much else. I am assuming its the menopause. How do the periods stop ? Im not on HRT either,

I only know my own, I went from every 28 days, to every 3 months to nothing. Over a year then nothing, so I think I'm done.

thanks for reassuring me!! I think it is the menopause. definitely dont think im pregnant im positively ancient!!!

I've also been wondering this. I had regular 26 day cycles until 18 months ago. I can now go anything between 60 and 90 days without a period with the odd 26 day cycle thrown in. Currently on day 70 and have only had four periods this year.

I assumed that as your ovaries deteriorate (not always equally at the same time), you produce less oestrogen and therefore stop producing eggs….and then lining doesn’t build up.

But I have no idea if that’s correct - I’ve been putting studying the menopause because it depresses me and I just want it to happen all at once over a day.

when I say ‘producing eggs’, I know you have a set amount - I meant stop ovulating.

No HRT but mine began to space out more then stopped for a year. I went on a flight and first day of holidays got my period totally unexpectedly. No period for another year went on holiday abroad again and hey presto another period. Nothing since.
So never say they are over until you are absolutely sure.

Long flights definitely mess with our bodies!!!