How do you know when your real periods have stopped?

[Bigcoatweather]

Just that really - I'm taking oestrogen gel with progesterone for 14 days a month and having a bleed when stopping the progesterone. Is this an actual period? The HRT really sorted out the heavy and painful periods I was having a year ago, but I suddenly had a painful period last month.
What I don't understand is that if HRT means I will have a regular bleed - will I ever know if my real periods have stopped?
Hope that makes sense!

In my experience the bleeds stop, even if you're taking progesterone. I'm on Utrogestan, and my periods gradually got lighter, until I didn't have any for a 4 month stretch, just a little bit of spotting. Sadly, I had a period again a couple of weeks ago ☹️. I was starting to feel way better too, but now I feel crap again- back on the wonky hormonal treadmill again I guess, shedding cogs in every direction. I keep shouting "Juuuuust stooooop foreverrrr!" in the general direction of my womb.

What I don't understand is that if HRT means I will have a regular bleed - will I ever know if my real periods have stopped?

You won't know.
The only way is to stop HRT and if after a year, you have no periods, they have stopped.

80% of women are post-meno by 54 but some go on to 56-ish.

I know someone who is 70 and on cyclical HRT and has withdrawal bleeds, so these bleeds don't stop just because someone is post-meno.

Thanks @crackofdoom your post made me laugh! I thought I was the only person having heated arguments with my womb 😊 It really is a treadmill. I just want them to stop already.

Oh @JinglingSpringbells that's the answer I feared. I'm so over having periods and they've started becoming painful again.