About to stop the pill. Will it all go pear-shaped (menopause)

[Neolara]

I'm 54 and am still taking the pill (progesterone only). So far, I've had very few menopause symptoms apart from getting hot and sweaty at nights and tired a lot. I don't have periods, but that might just being on the pill. My prescription is about to run out, and I think I'm just not going to get any more because I'm 54 and the chances of getting pregnant now must be absolutely tiny. But I'm apprehensive about what might happen when my body stops getting the progesterone. Am I going to be dive at breakneck speed into menopause proper? If anyone has been through this, I'd be grateful to hear what happened..

I don't have the answers I'm afraid, but I am also interested to find out the answer to this as I plan to do the same as you - take the pill into my 50s and then see what happens. Bumping the thread for you!

The POP isn't considered to contain enough hormone to effect menopausal (although enough to control heavy bleeding in peri for some women). Maybe use condoms for a while untill you are certain you are post menopausal, which is 1 year of no periods as you are over 50.

I felt considerably better when I came off the pill. I had been on the mini pill for a very long time. I wasn't aware of it at the time, but it had obviously dampened my libido. Was quite the revelation when I stopped taking it.

I had no increase in menopausal symptoms at all. If anything they reduced. That may be coincidental as I think I was over the menopause by the time I stopped the pill. I may be weird though as my main menopausal symptom was anxiety. The hot flushes were bearable and I had no night sweats at all.

I should add that pinpointing the progression of the menopause was tricky for me. I had no periods on the mini pill and had to rely on blood tests to tell me whether I was pre menopausal, menopausal or post.

The guidance is you can stop contraception at 54, regardless of periods. The chances of conceiving and carrying full term are pretty much zero.

No one can answer your question OP about what happens next.
You will have to wait and see.

But it's mainly a loss of estrogen that causes meno symptoms, so the POP shouldn't be masking much at all.

I'm 43 and on the progesterone only pill and am due to be prescribed hrt this week because of multiple menopause symptoms so I'd say being on it doesn't delay or prevent menopause sadly

Thanks all. Your answers have made me hopeful that's it's not going to be the car crash I had predicted.